Kaeloo wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep. Her head was throbbing; her chest felt tight, as if an invisible hand was pressing down on her lungs. Her throat burned, and she desperately needed a glass of water. Her limbs ached, and even the blankets rubbing against her moist skin were a source of discomfort. She was definitely sick, there was no denying it. As much as she hated it, she would have to inform her friends that she wouldn't be able to come play with them today. Kaeloo reached for the phone on her bedside so she could call Mr. Cat and ask him to pass the message on to the others. Her eyes widened as she read the date on her lockscreen: July 11th. Her immune system had picked the worst possible time to let her down. For you see, the main four had spent several weeks planning for today.
A few weeks ago…
The main four were sitting on the couch, watching a movie. The main protagonist, a 15-year-old boy, was trying to sneak out of his house through the window to go to a party. Suddenly, his mother burst in through the door, sporting a huge smile.
"Bobby! Come on! We're going on a fun family trip to the zoo today!" she practically sang.
Bobby glared in annoyance and let out a disgusted "Ugh!" The scene was meant to be funny, but none of the main four laughed. Each of them felt a pang in their heart, for reasons that were different, yet the same. They sat through the rest of the movie in silence, though nobody was really paying attention. When Kaeloo turned the TV off, Quack Quack spoke up and said what everyone was thinking.
"Quack?"
Why wouldn't Bobby want to spend time with his family? He's very lucky to have one.
Kaeloo felt tears springing to her eyes, though she was careful not to let them out. She'd always wanted a loving family, but she was an only child, her parents were away traveling the world using the vast fortune that they'd amassed, and the rest of her relatives utterly despised her; she could almost feel the embarrassment and shame they felt every time they so much as looked at her. Stumpy glanced down at the floor, also contemplating his relationship with his family. His father rarely came to visit unless he needed something, like food or money. His mother was constantly working, and she never spent any time with him at all. Even when she returned home from her job, she was too busy trying to relax to pay attention to her son. He knew that she needed to support the family, but he dearly wished that she'd put more effort into their relationship. At least life was somewhat bearable before the unfortunate passing of his sisters. Quack Quack wasn't faring much better. Every time he watched a television show with a family in it, he felt envious. He knew envy was a terrible thing, but whenever he saw a family happily laughing and joking around at the park or at a restaurant, he wished he was part of one too. Mr. Cat pressed his lips into a thin line, fixing his eyes on the flower vase next to the television without actually looking at it. He tried to tell himself that Bobby probably hated his family for being so horrible to him, that all families were evil and deserved to be hated, that there wasn't something wrong with him that led his family to abuse him. It was all their fault. Not his.
"Family fun day sounds cool…" Stumpy mumbled. Kaeloo noticed the downcast expressions of her friends and her frown deepened. There had to be something she could do to help them… Suddenly, a lightbulb went on over her head.
"Why don't we have our own family fun day?" she asked. Upon noticing their bewildered expressions, she continued.
"We're just like a family! We've known each other forever, we have fun together, and we know that we'll all love and care for each other no matter what! We can organize a little trip of our own to the outside world, and it'll be a wonderful opportunity for bonding time!" she announced cheerfully. The other three knew what she was talking about, for in a way, they all considered the main four to be their true family.
"That's an awesome idea!" Stumpy said, with so much joy and vigor that you'd never guess he'd been upset just a few seconds ago.
"Quack!" Quack Quack agreed, a rare smile forming on his beak.
"Yeah, I guess," Mr. Cat agreed, trying to sound as indifferent as he could despite feeling extremely touched and happy that his friends wanted to spend time with him.
Without warning, Stumpy ran up and hugged Kaeloo. Quack Quack wrapped his arms around both of them. Mr. Cat continued to sit on the couch.
"Come on, Mr. Cat!" called Kaeloo. Stumpy and Quack Quack extended their arms, creating a space in the middle.
"Fine," said Mr. Cat, dragging his feet on the floor as he walked over to where the others were standing. The other three wrapped their arms around him, and he softly leaned his head on Kaeloo's shoulder. Sure, he wasn't hugging them, but the other three knew that deep down, he wanted this.
Back in the present…
Kaeloo knew her friends would be crushed if she didn't go with them. The whole point of today was to spend time with all of them, and it just wouldn't be the same without her.
… Right?
"Isn't this great, guys?" Stumpy asked, eating a panini with sausages, gribiche sauce, tons of cheese, and plenty of other unhealthy ingredients; in essence, a heart attack on a plate.
"Quack!" said Quack Quack, who had just gotten off a super-dangerous roller coaster ride.
"I'm so glad that annoying frog didn't come with us," sneered Mr. Cat. The three of them laughed together, happy to finally be free from the nuisance who had to ruin everything in their lives.
At this point in her little fantasy, Kaeloo had curled into fetal position under her sheets and sobbed as tears streamed down her face.
Anybody who saw her now, including the very friends she was doubting so much, would be confused. But she had to accept reality, as ironic as it seemed: Kaeloo, the guardian of Smileyland, a maternal figure to its inhabitants, the happy ball of energy who organized games about law enforcement and good manners, sometimes doubted how important she really was to a group of friends that she was supposedly the "leader" of. Idiocy? Stupid sentimentalism? No, just the truth.
In truth, Kaeloo herself found her unease to be irrational… but logical reasoning did nothing to soothe her, and she continued to feel these emotions with the same intensity. Maybe it was the way all of her friends mocked her, calling her " annoying", "boring", "stuck up", or other adjectives that her heart failed to turn a deaf ear to. Maybe it was the infamous party incident with Pretty, that had made her self confidence start to waver. Maybe the origins of this pain started a long time ago, on the evenings when she, as a little child, would patiently wait for her parents to return from their successive business trips and they just looked at her with such disappointed eyes. Or maybe it was an amalgamation of all of these things, and so many other "accidents" that weighed on her heart, and she just didn't realize it.
Whatever the case, she couldn't let "that" happen. What is "that", you ask? The possibility that in her absence, her friends might just realize how much better their lives were without her in them. She had to go to "family fun day", no matter what the cost. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, slipping on a bathrobe because it was cold, and stumbled over to the seat in front of her vanity mirror. She looked in the mirror and was almost taken aback by what she saw. Her face was pale and drawn. Her eyes were sunken, and large dark circles had formed below them. She looked even uglier than usual, and there was no way she could go out looking like this. There was only one person in Smileyland who could help her now. Kaeloo grabbed her phone and flipped through the contacts until she reached the letter "P".
"Hello, Pretty?"
Pretty tapped her foot on the floor impatiently, waiting for Kaeloo to open the door. After what seemed like an eternity, the door slowly creaked open.
"Finally! I was -" she started, but stopped immediately once she saw Kaeloo's haggard, disheveled appearance.
"What happened to you?! You look terrible! Even worse than usual!" Pretty shrieked.
Kaeloo flinched mildly; she was fully aware of how ugly she looked, and she didn't need a beautiful girl like Pretty to rub it in that she was hideous.
"Come inside, I'll explain," Kaeloo wheezed, leaning against the doorway to support her body. The frog clumsily lumbered back towards the bedroom, Pretty following closely behind. Kaeloo sat down on one of the two chairs in front of the vanity mirror, beckoning with her hand for Pretty to sit on the other one, and began to narrate the problem. As Pretty listened intently, she couldn't help but feel a pang of annoyance at the little frog. She not only planned a fun outing with Pretty's beloved Mr. Cat, but had the audacity to ask Pretty to help her with something related to said fun outing? Well, alright. Turning towards her makeup bag to hide the cruel sneer that spread across her face, she pulled out some blush and lipstick.
"I'd be happy to help you," she grinned, though not for the reason Kaeloo thought.
"Thanks, Pretty!" Kaeloo smiled weakly. She was quite pleased to see someone as selfish and cruel as Pretty helping somebody else out of the goodness of her own heart, unaware of the rabbit's true intentions: rather than encouraging Kaeloo to stay home and reschedule her plans for another day, Pretty would do exactly as she requested and hide her illness for her. That way, Kaeloo would spend the day suffering in pain instead of having fun with her friends. If things got bad, Kaeloo might even end up humiliating herself in front of not only Mr. Cat, but several others as well, since the group was going to a number of public places.
"Alright, we're done!" Pretty said, pushing Kaeloo's chair closer to the vanity mirror. Kaeloo gaped at the mirror in amazement. The dark circles under her eyes had practically disappeared, and the blush and foundation gave her a healthy, rosy-cheeked appearance, especially compared to what she'd looked like before Pretty had worked her magic.
"Oh, thank you so much, Pretty!" Kaeloo exclaimed joyfully.
"You're welcome, Kaeloo," the rabbit smiled.
The doorbell rang again an hour later, and Kaeloo knew that this time, it wasn't Pretty, but her beloved friends. They'd all arranged to go in her car today, since Mr. Cat's was in the repair shop and Quack Quack's had been damaged from a fall off the cliff.
At first, Mr. Cat had been skeptical. The city of Broadway was far from being on the list of the top ten most dangerous places the main four had visited in their lives, but he disliked the general atmosphere of the city. Everything there was disproportionate: the buildings (or rather, skyscrapers) were stressfully long, the roads were long and narrow as far as the eye could see, the lights and the noise were untamable, and silence was non-existent - the city was never quiet, always vibrant. The city's inhabitants were just like the city itself: egocentric, always in a hurry, materialistic.
But maybe Mr. Cat had just gotten too used to the greenery and the bucolic appearance of Smileyland. That was precisely why he'd accepted the frog's proposition on a whim. It was time for him to dust off the prejudices he had about this other world, even though he didn't feel ready to do it.
Black jeans, a white turtleneck sweater, and black sneakers were not his usual attire, but he thought it would be better to conform to the urban spirit of their next trip. He got out of the car with the others, slammed the door forcefully, and brooded a bit behind them, his hands in his pockets, his expression neutral.
Stumpy was already ahead of him. The squirrel was hardly able to contain his excitement about discovering what they all called "the outside world". All those selfies he could take and send to Ursula! She'd be so impressed!
Being in such a good mood, it was he who rang his friend's doorbell. The moment the frog's door opened, Stumpy spoke.
"Hi, Kaeloo..."
He looked from her head to her toes and cocked his head to the side, raising an eyebrow.
"Uh... did you get out of bed just now, or did you just forget to get dressed? We're leaving in five minutes and you're still wearing pajama pants! And I didn't know you slept with makeup on..."
Mr. Cat, standing in the doorway behind the squirrel, didn't immediately express his surprise about the frog's strangely contradictory appearance. The ridiculous pajama pants she was wearing didn't pair well with the makeup that was literally gleaming from her face.
"Hello, buddies!"
She greeted them in the most cheerful, energetic way she could, which was no easy feat in her current condition.
"I'm just trying out a new look, Stumpy! I saw it on Amstramgram and I thought it looked pretty!"
Stumpy spent a lot of time on Amstramgram, so he understood what she meant. He too followed a lot of influencers on the app, so he knew firsthand how important it was to some people.
"Alright," he shrugged.
Kaeloo was relieved that he hadn't decided to pry further; she hated lying, but she had to do it, both for their sake and for her own.
"And since when do you follow trends?" pushed Mr. Cat, hardly convinced by her response, as he stepped away to make space for her to join them.
Kaeloo scrambled for an answer. "Pretty suggested it since I told her we were going on a day trip to the outside world!"
"I see... and since when do you listen to advice from that rabbit?"
"I know it's made an impression on you, but can you leave the questions for later, Mr. Cat?! Because we're going to be late for family fun day! Right, Quack Quack?" Stumpy explained, annoyed by Mr. Cat's questions, which he found senseless and devoid of purpose. He couldn't contain his excitement for much longer.
The duck, who had gotten out of the car to enjoy a yogurt, looked at the squirrel and nodded. He threw his yogurt container in the trash and returned to the car. Mr. Cat didn't hesitate to show his displeasure about the rodent's disrespect through a fist to his bean-shaped head. The squirrel reciprocated with a "hey!" and a glare, before forgetting all about it and running back to the car.
"Hey, Quack Quack, when was the last time you drove the car?" Kaeloo inquired.
"Quack."
"A month ago? That's a very long time! You should drive regularly to make sure you don't lose your driving skills. In fact, why don't you drive us right now?"
"I call shotgun!" Stumpy screamed, running towards the passenger door and accidentally slamming into it.
"Alright, then it's settled! Quack Quack, you and Stumpy can sit in the front, and Mr. Cat and I can sit in the back!" Kaeloo exclaimed cheerfully, casually putting her hands on Mr. Cat's shoulders.
Mr. Cat tried to quell the brief frisson that spread through his fur as he felt the frog's hand making contact with his body. The fact that he continued to feel the same way after so many years of her touching him almost every day created in him as much frustration as it did confusion. He gulped, nodded, and opened the back door to sit on the far side of the car.
"I just hope he doesn't get us all killed..." he murmured, shooting the duck a dark look through the rearview mirror.
The car ride was uncharacteristically peaceful for the main four, mainly because Kaeloo was too sick to stop Stumpy from reading comic books instead of talking with the "family" and Mr. Cat risked getting them all killed if he messed with Quack Quack while the latter was driving. Quack Quack turned on the radio and the sound of calming piano music wafted into the car.
"Hey! This sucks!" Stumpy said, pulling his nose out of his comics for once. "Can't we listen to death metal?"
Mr. Cat loved classical music, but he loved inconveniencing Quack Quack even more.
"Yeah, nutcracker's right!"
The two of them began yelling at Quack Quack until the latter finally relented and turned on some death metal instead. The loud music made Kaeloo's already aching head throb like crazy. She was sleepy. She was tired. Her head ached. Right now, she wanted something warm to snuggle up to, or a source of comfort. And whenever Kaeloo was upset or hurt, the first person she turned to for comfort was none other than Mr. Cat. Despite the foggy feeling in her brain, she was able to think coherently enough to form a plan. Noticing a speed bump up ahead in the road, she pulled out her water bottle and began to drink from it.
As the car hit the speed bump, Kaeloo made sure to spill some water on her seat.
"My seat is wet!" she complained. "Quack Quack, could you pull over for a minute, please? I want to move to the middle seat."
The duck obliged, and Kaeloo unfastened her seatbelt and moved into the center seat.
Now that the first part of her plan was complete, Kaeloo didn't hesitate to begin the second part. She gradually approached Mr. Cat, until she felt her thigh brush against his. The feline, who had been watching her since the beginning of the "accident" with the water bottle, noticed the falsity of her unknowing look and the way her body was slowly moving towards his, but decided to remain silent, although he was confused… and a little surprised. An electric sensation coursed through his body when Kaeloo's leg made full contact with his. What had gotten into her?! Good grief, he knew she sometimes lacked a sense of personal space, but this seemed downright deliberate!
He turned his head towards her, on the verge of expressing his confusion. The imminent manifestations of this were already beginning to form, his eyebrow arched and his mouth turned downwards in a grumpy scowl, but he stopped dead when he noticed her eyelids fluttering.
And he watched her, bewildered, as she closed her eyes for a couple of seconds, then opened them wide again, as if for fear of being caught red-handed, before succumbing again to that strange drowsiness she was obviously struggling against. She didn't even notice the feline's prudent gaze on her, and she continued this little cycle before her breathing took on a more relaxed, regular rhythm which alerted Mr. Cat to the fact that she had fallen asleep.
Okay… Mr. Cat had better make a note of today's date, because it would go down in history. He didn't know why yet, but it was probably the end of the world, or pigs had finally started to fly. Because for Kaeloo - his Kaeloo - the guardian of Smileyland, the personification of the word "energy", the optimism coach of optimism itself, the master of excitement and childlike impatience, to fall asleep in a car that was taking her to a place that she'd certainly been fantasizing about with utmost enthusiasm for weeks together… there must really, really , have been a miracle. Mr. Cat forced himself to put his surprise aside, deciding not to tell the "barnacles" about it immediately, and began to analyze her face. It was rather difficult to notice any signs of fatigue thanks to that damn wall of makeup covering her skin… he toyed with the idea of running a finger under her eye to check for the presence of dark circles, but he remembered that he wasn't alone. If the nutcracker saw him, he'd think it was a sign of affection, or worse, an attempt to take advantage of the frog while she was sleeping, and he'd have a very unpleasant time afterwards. Besides, he risked waking her up.
Okay, maybe he was exaggerating. She had probably spent last night preparing her outfit and makeup (especially since it was the first time she had worn it for a serious occasion) and planning every place they were going to visit today, that she had forgotten to take a look at the time. As a result, she had went to bed late, and so her circadian rhythm, usually quite regular, had gotten disturbed. At the very moment that Mr. Cat reached this theory, he felt a weight pressing down on his shoulder. Kaeloo was recovering her lost hours of sleep…
With her head on his shoulder.
Well, she was certainly taking her liberties. Not that he was complaining… after all, it wasn't every day that he had the chance to have her so close to him. Yeah, maybe she should stay up at night more often, he chuckled on the inside, while he leaned against the window, his fist pressed against his cheek… to observe the landscape, of course, certainly not to hide the gentle blush that was spreading across his face.
"Quack?" (So where are we going first?)
The question snapped Mr. Cat out of his thoughts. Where did he want to go? He'd been really excited for this day, even though he'd kept most of his excitement under wraps, but in his haste, he hadn't actually planned anything. Kaeloo was usually the one who did the planning for social events like this, but she was slumbering away on his shoulder, unable to speak up. Mr. Cat briefly contemplated waking her up, but he knew firsthand how annoying it was to be woken up when you were exhausted - living with the other three as a cat, a creature that needed more sleep than most others, had certainly contributed to that experience - and on a less altruistic note, he also enjoyed having her resting against his shoulder, and if she were to move, he'd ache at the loss of her touch. And so, he let her rest.
"I want to go to the mall!" Stumpy piped up. "You can get so many cool clothes there!"
"Quack!" said Quack Quack. Mr. Cat was not the type of person who enjoyed shopping a lot. Especially for clothes, considering that the main four didn't even wear clothes that often so buying them was a huge waste of time. Was there something he could use to get out of it? A lightbulb went off over his head.
"Hey, barnacles, I don't know if you two noticed but froggy's asleep," he said. Stumpy turned around and Quack Quack looked in the rearview mirror to see that Kaeloo had indeed fallen asleep.
"Quack?"
"Yeah, she sure is being weird today!"
"You know what she needs? Something that'll wake her up. Why don't we go to the amusement park?" Mr. Cat suggested.
"Cool!" Stumpy said.
"Quack!" Quack Quack wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep. Her head was throbbing; her chest felt tight, as if an invisible hand was pressing down on her lungs. Her throat burned, and she desperately needed a glass of water. Her limbs ached, and even the blankets rubbing against her moist skin were a source of discomfort. She was definitely sick, there was no denying it. As much as she hated it, she would have to inform her friends that she wouldn't be able to come play with them today. Kaeloo reached for the phone on her bedside so she could call Mr. Cat and ask him to pass the message on to the others. Her eyes widened as she read the date on her lockscreen: July 11th. Her immune system had picked the worst possible time to let her down. For you see, the main four had spent several weeks planning for today.
A few weeks ago…
The main four were sitting on the couch, watching a movie. The main protagonist, a 15-year-old boy, was trying to sneak out of his house through the window to go to a party. Suddenly, his mother burst in through the door, sporting a huge smile.
"Bobby! Come on! We're going on a fun family trip to the zoo today!" she practically sang.
Bobby glared in annoyance and let out a disgusted "Ugh!" The scene was meant to be funny, but none of the main four laughed. Each of them felt a pang in their heart, for reasons that were different, yet the same. They sat through the rest of the movie in silence, though nobody was really paying attention. When Kaeloo turned the TV off, Quack Quack spoke up and said what everyone was thinking.
"Quack?"
Why wouldn't Bobby want to spend time with his family? He's very lucky to have one.
Kaeloo felt tears springing to her eyes, though she was careful not to let them out. She'd always wanted a loving family, but she was an only child, her parents were away traveling the world using the vast fortune that they'd amassed, and the rest of her relatives utterly despised her; she could almost feel the embarrassment and shame they felt every time they so much as looked at her. Stumpy glanced down at the floor, also contemplating his relationship with his family. His father rarely came to visit unless he needed something, like food or money. His mother was constantly working, and she never spent any time with him at all. Even when she returned home from her job, she was too busy trying to relax to pay attention to her son. He knew that she needed to support the family, but he dearly wished that she'd put more effort into their relationship. At least life was somewhat bearable before the unfortunate passing of his sisters. Quack Quack wasn't faring much better. Every time he watched a television show with a family in it, he felt envious. He knew envy was a terrible thing, but whenever he saw a family happily laughing and joking around at the park or at a restaurant, he wished he was part of one too. Mr. Cat pressed his lips into a thin line, fixing his eyes on the flower vase next to the television without actually looking at it. He tried to tell himself that Bobby probably hated his family for being so horrible to him, that all families were evil and deserved to be hated, that there wasn't something wrong with him that led his family to abuse him. It was all their fault. Not his.
"Family fun day sounds cool…" Stumpy mumbled. Kaeloo noticed the downcast expressions of her friends and her frown deepened. There had to be something she could do to help them… Suddenly, a lightbulb went on over her head.
"Why don't we have our own family fun day?" she asked. Upon noticing their bewildered expressions, she continued.
"We're just like a family! We've known each other forever, we have fun together, and we know that we'll all love and care for each other no matter what! We can organize a little trip of our own to the outside world, and it'll be a wonderful opportunity for bonding time!" she announced cheerfully. The other three knew what she was talking about, for in a way, they all considered the main four to be their true family.
"That's an awesome idea!" Stumpy said, with so much joy and vigor that you'd never guess he'd been upset just a few seconds ago.
"Quack!" Quack Quack agreed, a rare smile forming on his beak.
"Yeah, I guess," Mr. Cat agreed, trying to sound as indifferent as he could despite feeling extremely touched and happy that his friends wanted to spend time with him.
Without warning, Stumpy ran up and hugged Kaeloo. Quack Quack wrapped his arms around both of them. Mr. Cat continued to sit on the couch.
"Come on, Mr. Cat!" called Kaeloo. Stumpy and Quack Quack extended their arms, creating a space in the middle.
"Fine," said Mr. Cat, dragging his feet on the floor as he walked over to where the others were standing. The other three wrapped their arms around him, and he softly leaned his head on Kaeloo's shoulder. Sure, he wasn't hugging them, but the other three knew that deep down, he wanted this.
Back in the present…
Kaeloo knew her friends would be crushed if she didn't go with them. The whole point of today was to spend time with all of them, and it just wouldn't be the same without her.
… Right?
"Isn't this great, guys?" Stumpy asked, eating a panini with sausages, gribiche sauce, tons of cheese, and plenty of other unhealthy ingredients; in essence, a heart attack on a plate.
"Quack!" said Quack Quack, who had just gotten off a super-dangerous roller coaster ride.
"I'm so glad that annoying frog didn't come with us," sneered Mr. Cat. The three of them laughed together, happy to finally be free from the nuisance who had to ruin everything in their lives.
At this point in her little fantasy, Kaeloo had curled into fetal position under her sheets and sobbed as tears streamed down her face.
Anybody who saw her now, including the very friends she was doubting so much, would be confused. But she had to accept reality, as ironic as it seemed: Kaeloo, the guardian of Smileyland, a maternal figure to its inhabitants, the happy ball of energy who organized games about law enforcement and good manners, sometimes doubted how important she really was to a group of friends that she was supposedly the "leader" of. Idiocy? Stupid sentimentalism? No, just the truth.
In truth, Kaeloo herself found her unease to be irrational… but logical reasoning did nothing to soothe her, and she continued to feel these emotions with the same intensity. Maybe it was the way all of her friends mocked her, calling her " annoying", "boring", "stuck up", or other adjectives that her heart failed to turn a deaf ear to. Maybe it was the infamous party incident with Pretty, that had made her self confidence start to waver. Maybe the origins of this pain started a long time ago, on the evenings when she, as a little child, would patiently wait for her parents to return from their successive business trips and they just looked at her with such disappointed eyes. Or maybe it was an amalgamation of all of these things, and so many other "accidents" that weighed on her heart, and she just didn't realize it.
Whatever the case, she couldn't let "that" happen. What is "that", you ask? The possibility that in her absence, her friends might just realize how much better their lives were without her in them. She had to go to "family fun day", no matter what the cost. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, slipping on a bathrobe because it was cold, and stumbled over to the seat in front of her vanity mirror. She looked in the mirror and was almost taken aback by what she saw. Her face was pale and drawn. Her eyes were sunken, and large dark circles had formed below them. She looked even uglier than usual, and there was no way she could go out looking like this. There was only one person in Smileyland who could help her now. Kaeloo grabbed her phone and flipped through the contacts until she reached the letter "P".
"Hello, Pretty?"
Pretty tapped her foot on the floor impatiently, waiting for Kaeloo to open the door. After what seemed like an eternity, the door slowly creaked open.
"Finally! I was -" she started, but stopped immediately once she saw Kaeloo's haggard, disheveled appearance.
"What happened to you?! You look terrible! Even worse than usual!" Pretty shrieked.
Kaeloo flinched mildly; she was fully aware of how ugly she looked, and she didn't need a beautiful girl like Pretty to rub it in that she was hideous.
"Come inside, I'll explain," Kaeloo wheezed, leaning against the doorway to support her body. The frog clumsily lumbered back towards the bedroom, Pretty following closely behind. Kaeloo sat down on one of the two chairs in front of the vanity mirror, beckoning with her hand for Pretty to sit on the other one, and began to narrate the problem. As Pretty listened intently, she couldn't help but feel a pang of annoyance at the little frog. She not only planned a fun outing with Pretty's beloved Mr. Cat, but had the audacity to ask Pretty to help her with something related to said fun outing? Well, alright. Turning towards her makeup bag to hide the cruel sneer that spread across her face, she pulled out some blush and lipstick.
"I'd be happy to help you," she grinned, though not for the reason Kaeloo thought.
"Thanks, Pretty!" Kaeloo smiled weakly. She was quite pleased to see someone as selfish and cruel as Pretty helping somebody else out of the goodness of her own heart, unaware of the rabbit's true intentions: rather than encouraging Kaeloo to stay home and reschedule her plans for another day, Pretty would do exactly as she requested and hide her illness for her. That way, Kaeloo would spend the day suffering in pain instead of having fun with her friends. If things got bad, Kaeloo might even end up humiliating herself in front of not only Mr. Cat, but several others as well, since the group was going to a number of public places.
"Alright, we're done!" Pretty said, pushing Kaeloo's chair closer to the vanity mirror. Kaeloo gaped at the mirror in amazement. The dark circles under her eyes had practically disappeared, and the blush and foundation gave her a healthy, rosy-cheeked appearance, especially compared to what she'd looked like before Pretty had worked her magic.
"Oh, thank you so much, Pretty!" Kaeloo exclaimed joyfully.
"You're welcome, Kaeloo," the rabbit smiled.
The doorbell rang again an hour later, and Kaeloo knew that this time, it wasn't Pretty, but her beloved friends. They'd all arranged to go in her car today, since Mr. Cat's was in the repair shop and Quack Quack's had been damaged from a fall off the cliff.
At first, Mr. Cat had been skeptical. The city of Broadway was far from being on the list of the top ten most dangerous places the main four had visited in their lives, but he disliked the general atmosphere of the city. Everything there was disproportionate: the buildings (or rather, skyscrapers) were stressfully long, the roads were long and narrow as far as the eye could see, the lights and the noise were untamable, and silence was non-existent - the city was never quiet, always vibrant. The city's inhabitants were just like the city itself: egocentric, always in a hurry, materialistic.
But maybe Mr. Cat had just gotten too used to the greenery and the bucolic appearance of Smileyland. That was precisely why he'd accepted the frog's proposition on a whim. It was time for him to dust off the prejudices he had about this other world, even though he didn't feel ready to do it.
Black jeans, a white turtleneck sweater, and black sneakers were not his usual attire, but he thought it would be better to conform to the urban spirit of their next trip. He got out of the car with the others, slammed the door forcefully, and brooded a bit behind them, his hands in his pockets, his expression neutral.
Stumpy was already ahead of him. The squirrel was hardly able to contain his excitement about discovering what they all called "the outside world". All those selfies he could take and send to Ursula! She'd be so impressed!
Being in such a good mood, it was he who rang his friend's doorbell. The moment the frog's door opened, Stumpy spoke.
"Hi, Kaeloo..."
He looked from her head to her toes and cocked his head to the side, raising an eyebrow.
"Uh... did you get out of bed just now, or did you just forget to get dressed? We're leaving in five minutes and you're still wearing pajama pants! And I didn't know you slept with makeup on..."
Mr. Cat, standing in the doorway behind the squirrel, didn't immediately express his surprise about the frog's strangely contradictory appearance. The ridiculous pajama pants she was wearing didn't pair well with the makeup that was literally gleaming from her face.
"Hello, buddies!"
She greeted them in the most cheerful, energetic way she could, which was no easy feat in her current condition.
"I'm just trying out a new look, Stumpy! I saw it on Amstramgram and I thought it looked pretty!"
Stumpy spent a lot of time on Amstramgram, so he understood what she meant. He too followed a lot of influencers on the app, so he knew firsthand how important it was to some people.
"Alright," he shrugged.
Kaeloo was relieved that he hadn't decided to pry further; she hated lying, but she had to do it, both for their sake and for her own.
"And since when do you follow trends?" pushed Mr. Cat, hardly convinced by her response, as he stepped away to make space for her to join them.
Kaeloo scrambled for an answer. "Pretty suggested it since I told her we were going on a day trip to the outside world!"
"I see... and since when do you listen to advice from that rabbit?"
"I know it's made an impression on you, but can you leave the questions for later, Mr. Cat?! Because we're going to be late for family fun day! Right, Quack Quack?" Stumpy explained, annoyed by Mr. Cat's questions, which he found senseless and devoid of purpose. He couldn't contain his excitement for much longer.
The duck, who had gotten out of the car to enjoy a yogurt, looked at the squirrel and nodded. He threw his yogurt container in the trash and returned to the car. Mr. Cat didn't hesitate to show his displeasure about the rodent's disrespect through a fist to his bean-shaped head. The squirrel reciprocated with a "hey!" and a glare, before forgetting all about it and running back to the car.
"Hey, Quack Quack, when was the last time you drove the car?" Kaeloo inquired.
"Quack."
"A month ago? That's a very long time! You should drive regularly to make sure you don't lose your driving skills. In fact, why don't you drive us right now?"
"I call shotgun!" Stumpy screamed, running towards the passenger door and accidentally slamming into it.
"Alright, then it's settled! Quack Quack, you and Stumpy can sit in the front, and Mr. Cat and I can sit in the back!" Kaeloo exclaimed cheerfully, casually putting her hands on Mr. Cat's shoulders.
Mr. Cat tried to quell the brief frisson that spread through his fur as he felt the frog's hand making contact with his body. The fact that he continued to feel the same way after so many years of her touching him almost every day created in him as much frustration as it did confusion. He gulped, nodded, and opened the back door to sit on the far side of the car.
"I just hope he doesn't get us all killed..." he murmured, shooting the duck a dark look through the rearview mirror.
The car ride was uncharacteristically peaceful for the main four, mainly because Kaeloo was too sick to stop Stumpy from reading comic books instead of talking with the "family" and Mr. Cat risked getting them all killed if he messed with Quack Quack while the latter was driving. Quack Quack turned on the radio and the sound of calming piano music wafted into the car.
"Hey! This sucks!" Stumpy said, pulling his nose out of his comics for once. "Can't we listen to death metal?"
Mr. Cat loved classical music, but he loved inconveniencing Quack Quack even more.
"Yeah, nutcracker's right!"
The two of them began yelling at Quack Quack until the latter finally relented and turned on some death metal instead. The loud music made Kaeloo's already aching head throb like crazy. She was sleepy. She was tired. Her head ached. Right now, she wanted something warm to snuggle up to, or a source of comfort. And whenever Kaeloo was upset or hurt, the first person she turned to for comfort was none other than Mr. Cat. Despite the foggy feeling in her brain, she was able to think coherently enough to form a plan. Noticing a speed bump up ahead in the road, she pulled out her water bottle and began to drink from it.
As the car hit the speed bump, Kaeloo made sure to spill some water on her seat.
"My seat is wet!" she complained. "Quack Quack, could you pull over for a minute, please? I want to move to the middle seat."
The duck obliged, and Kaeloo unfastened her seatbelt and moved into the center seat.
Now that the first part of her plan was complete, Kaeloo didn't hesitate to begin the second part. She gradually approached Mr. Cat, until she felt her thigh brush against his. The feline, who had been watching her since the beginning of the "accident" with the water bottle, noticed the falsity of her unknowing look and the way her body was slowly moving towards his, but decided to remain silent, although he was confused… and a little surprised. An electric sensation coursed through his body when Kaeloo's leg made full contact with his. What had gotten into her?! Good grief, he knew she sometimes lacked a sense of personal space, but this seemed downright deliberate!
He turned his head towards her, on the verge of expressing his confusion. The imminent manifestations of this were already beginning to form, his eyebrow arched and his mouth turned downwards in a grumpy scowl, but he stopped dead when he noticed her eyelids fluttering.
And he watched her, bewildered, as she closed her eyes for a couple of seconds, then opened them wide again, as if for fear of being caught red-handed, before succumbing again to that strange drowsiness she was obviously struggling against. She didn't even notice the feline's prudent gaze on her, and she continued this little cycle before her breathing took on a more relaxed, regular rhythm which alerted Mr. Cat to the fact that she had fallen asleep.
Okay… Mr. Cat had better make a note of today's date, because it would go down in history. He didn't know why yet, but it was probably the end of the world, or pigs had finally started to fly. Because for Kaeloo - his Kaeloo - the guardian of Smileyland, the personification of the word "energy", the optimism coach of optimism itself, the master of excitement and childlike impatience, to fall asleep in a car that was taking her to a place that she'd certainly been fantasizing about with utmost enthusiasm for weeks together… there must really, really , have been a miracle. Mr. Cat forced himself to put his surprise aside, deciding not to tell the "barnacles" about it immediately, and began to analyze her face. It was rather difficult to notice any signs of fatigue thanks to that damn wall of makeup covering her skin… he toyed with the idea of running a finger under her eye to check for the presence of dark circles, but he remembered that he wasn't alone. If the nutcracker saw him, he'd think it was a sign of affection, or worse, an attempt to take advantage of the frog while she was sleeping, and he'd have a very unpleasant time afterwards. Besides, he risked waking her up.
Okay, maybe he was exaggerating. She had probably spent last night preparing her outfit and makeup (especially since it was the first time she had worn it for a serious occasion) and planning every place they were going to visit today, that she had forgotten to take a look at the time. As a result, she had went to bed late, and so her circadian rhythm, usually quite regular, had gotten disturbed. At the very moment that Mr. Cat reached this theory, he felt a weight pressing down on his shoulder. Kaeloo was recovering her lost hours of sleep…
With her head on his shoulder.
Well, she was certainly taking her liberties. Not that he was complaining… after all, it wasn't every day that he had the chance to have her so close to him. Yeah, maybe she should stay up at night more often, he chuckled on the inside, while he leaned against the window, his fist pressed against his cheek… to observe the landscape, of course, certainly not to hide the gentle blush that was spreading across his face.
"Quack?" (So where are we going first?)
The question snapped Mr. Cat out of his thoughts. Where did he want to go? He'd been really excited for this day, even though he'd kept most of his excitement under wraps, but in his haste, he hadn't actually planned anything. Kaeloo was usually the one who did the planning for social events like this, but she was slumbering away on his shoulder, unable to speak up. Mr. Cat briefly contemplated waking her up, but he knew firsthand how annoying it was to be woken up when you were exhausted - living with the other three as a cat, a creature that needed more sleep than most others, had certainly contributed to that experience - and on a less altruistic note, he also enjoyed having her resting against his shoulder, and if she were to move, he'd ache at the loss of her touch. And so, he let her rest.
"I want to go to the mall!" Stumpy piped up. "You can get so many cool clothes there!"
"Quack!" said Quack Quack. Mr. Cat was not the type of person who enjoyed shopping a lot. Especially for clothes, considering that the main four didn't even wear clothes that often so buying them was a huge waste of time. Was there something he could use to get out of it? A lightbulb went off over his head.
"Hey, barnacles, I don't know if you two noticed but froggy's asleep," he said. Stumpy turned around and Quack Quack looked in the rearview mirror to see that Kaeloo had indeed fallen asleep.
"Quack?"
"Yeah, she sure is being weird today!"
"You know what she needs? Something that'll wake her up. Why don't we go to the amusement park?" Mr. Cat suggested.
"Cool!" Stumpy said.
"Quack!" Quack Quack agreed.