Victor was pissed off

Victor was pissed off. He was depressed. He was…he wasn't sure what he was, but he hadn't been the same since… He still couldn't think about it without wanting to cry. He gritted his teeth, clenched his fists and fought back the tears as the thing he kept trying to forget came back out of nowhere and stabbed him.

He'd always felt different and now he knew why.

For seventeen years no one paid much attention to the white and black stripy-faced kitten and the grey kitten with the eye patches, who hung around together. The background cats, that's what they were called. They weren't the only ones, though. There were other cats who didn't talk much either, Asparagus, Bill Bailey and Electra for instance, but suddenly they were all made famous, and Victor and George were still the background cats. Worse, they were the London background cats. That made it sound as if there were other background cats elsewhere, but the reality was that no one could be bothered to remember their names or who they were. Some people knew better and they told the others that some of the background cats were just known by different names; Plato was Admetus, Pouncival was Carbucketty and Tumblebrutus was Bill Bailey. Some even came up with a theory that the famous version of Admetus was really a stand-in for George, who hadn't wanted to be famous anyway.

But then Asparagus suddenly re-appeared, with a whole new wardrobe, and took Victor's line. The one line he said by himself every year at the Jellicle Ball. When the old, grey-with-a-red-frill-round-his-neck cat did that it was all Victor could do to stop hate taking control of him. The old refrain kept repeating itself in his head "There are no small parts, only small actors". After all, he still had his best friend and he'd never had his own line.

Then George announced that he was leaving.

"Why?" everyone asked. They were all surprised, but after a while they got used to the idea and they were all happy for him to go and do what he wanted. All of them except Victor. He tried to be happy for George too, but he couldn't help the feelings of sadness that grew each day, until finally the big day came. George packed his bags, said his goodbyes, and left.

Victor missed him, that was all there was to it. Oh, he'd eventually get over it and become best friends with someone else. Jennyanydots had said it herself and the other elder cats had agreed. Victor had let himself believe that they cared until that Asparagus had nodded along with the rest of them. It was then that he realised; none of them had any idea how he felt. They saw him sitting by himself and threw him the odd glance. He heard them whispering about him. Did they really think he couldn't hear them? He hated them for that as much as for being insensitive enough to talk about him in the first place.

One day he heard them planning something to cheer him up. Could it be that they understood? No. They just sent Alonzo over to play cards with him. And the sod cheated, like he always did.

Of course to the rest of the world Victor seemed more or less the same. He'd never said much, so that didn't make a huge change. He seemed to be happy with the other cats' attempts to include him, but then, he thought to himself, anyone can force a smile. He'd never been that big on smiling either, so his eternal look of dejection didn't make a big difference.

Once he tried to talk about how he felt. He was so desperate that he opened up to the first cat he saw. He should've known Tugger wouldn't understand, even if he did think he could "feel your pain". After that he resigned himself to the fact that he was and always would be the background cat that no one cared about. But it was hard and questions kept firing themselves at him. They were simple really. Why shouldn't he be appreciated for who he was, instead of ignored for what he was? Why did he have to be a background cat in the first place? Why not Munkustrap or Tugger? What was so special about them? The only conclusion he could come to was that someone had to be in the background, and he had been chosen. Once Victor had thought about it all so much he'd gone so far as to hit on the idea of leaving them all and joining Macavity. At least then he'd be noticed, albeit negatively, but then he realised he'd only be stereotyping himself even more.

No. He'd just have to settle for being the best background cat ever, or the best male one anyway. He'd have to look Exotica up one of these days. At least she was famous.