Disclaimer: Garfield and all related characters are the property of Paws Inc. and ViacomCBS/Nickelodeon at the time of this story's creation.

Happy (Belated) 43rd Anniversary Garfield!

Garfield In: New Year's Resolutions

December 31, 2016

11:55 PM

Only five minutes remained before the end of the year. Many families have gathered at the park to get a close up view of the upcoming fireworks. Among the guests was Jon Arbuckle, who was frantically searching for his two pets, as they decided to wander off to cause some last minute shenanigans.

"Garfield! Odie! Where are you!?" Jon shouts, accidently bumping into a muscular man.

"Watch where you're going, punk!" The man angrily shouts, cracking his knuckles.

"Sorry, sir! I'm just looking for my pets!" Jon nervously said before walking away.

"Now where could that cat have gone?" Jon ponders to himself. Before taking another step, he hears a woman screaming.

"EEEEEK! THERE'S A CAT IN THE PUNCH!"

"I should've known." Jon pinches his nose, knowing exactly who's causing all this.

11:56 PM

"GARFIELD!" Jon angrily shouts, picking the cat up from his exposed tail and dragging him out of the punch bowl. "You just ruined a good bowl of punch for everybody else!" He scolds his cat. "What do you have to say for yourself!?"

"That punch really needed some more sugar." Garfield shrugs.

"And where's Odie!? The countdown's about to start!" Jon said.

"Oh, him? He's a little...tied up at the moment." Garfield said, struggling to contain his laughter.

"Garfield, what did you do?" Jon eyes him suspiciously.

"I asked him to hold onto my balloons...and *Snickers* well…"

*AROOOOOO*

Upon looking up, Jon spots his dog Odie, tied onto a group of balloons, floating away in the night sky.

"ODIE!" Jon shouts frantically. "Don't worry buddy, I'll get you down!" He places Garfield down and runs after the troubled dog.

"Knowing him, he won't be back till sunrise." Garfield said to the reader.

11:57 PM

Garfield stares at all the stars that beautifully luminated the night sky during this momentous celebration.

"Another day, another year has passed." Garfield ponders to himself.

"I'd better start making my New Year's Resolutions." The cat thought. "Maybe this year, I'll resolve to be nicer to Odie. He did save me when I was captured by those spooky pirate ghosts a few months ago, so I definitely owe my life to him*." He said. (*Garfield's In Disguise for his Halloween Adventure!*)

"And while I'm at it, I should also resolve to spend more time with mom." He added. "She was so happy to be a part of my life again when I found her in that abandoned restaurant**. (**Look Out, Here Comes Garfield!**)

"Ok, I got it. This year, I'll resolve to lose weight and to actually start exercising this year." He finally declared.

11:58 PM

Then, the cat had a sudden realization.

"Wait a minute! Am I going insane!? What the hell am I saying!?" Garfield asked himself.

"I'm NOT going to diet! I'm NOT going to exercise!" He declared, his face boiling red with pure rage.

"I'M FAT, AND I'M LAZY, AND I'M PROUD OF IT!"

11:59 PM

As everyone at the park begins the countdown to the new year, they fail to notice the enraged cat running straight to the buffet and stuffing his face with all sorts of delightful treats that lay on the table.

"Hey! That cat's eating all the food!" Someone points out, causing others to take notice. Soon enough, a huge portion of the crowd stop counting down the time and start yelling at the cat to get his filthy and hairy paws off the table.

"NO!" Garfield shouts, grabbing a drumstick. "THIS FOOD IS ALL MINE!"

*SMACK* The cat smacks a random bystander with the drumstick, causing a big red mark to burn on the man's face.

"OK! THAT DOES IT!" The man furiously jumps onto the table, causing it to collapse onto the floor.

"All of the food is ruined!" A woman shouts, she and the entire crowd angrily glaring at the orange cat.

"Well, would you look at the time, I better get going." Garfield laughs nervously before making a run for his life.

12:00 AM

"When I get my hands on that cat, I'm going to teach him a lesson he'll never forget!" Jon said, carrying Odie in his arms.

Upon returning to the party, he spots his cat running away as fast as he could.

"Garfield?" Jon asks, perplexed as to why he's running away in such a hurry.

*UH-OH* Odie notices the angry mob, suddenly carrying pitchforks and torches, coming after them.

"ARRRRGH!" Jon and Odie scream as they run for their lives.

"GARFIELD!" Jon angrily shouts as all three of them are being pursued.

"Happy New Year, everyone!" Garfield happily said to the reader, blowing on a party horn.