Disclaimer: Garfield and all related characters are the intellectual property of Paws Inc. and Paramount Global/Nickelodeon at the time this story was written.
Chapter 1: Another Boring Tuesday Morning
The morning sun once again shines its bright light across the quiet suburban town of Muncie, Indiana. Over at one particular house on Maple Street, an orange cat opens the front door with a huge grin on his face. For all the other animals that roamed around the neighborhood, this would be an unusual sighting, as this particular cat had a reputation of always waking up in a grumpy mood. That is, if he even bothered to set foot out of the house. Nope, this was a special kind of day for the fat feline…
…for today was Tuesday, as in, NOT MONDAY!
The cat, who goes by the name of Garfield, felt so relieved that the worst day of the week was finally behind him, at least for now. Smelling the Tuesday morning air, he never felt so alive!
"What a beautiful morning!" Garfield said, watching the birds fly by. "I think I'll stay in bed all day!"
The cat's huge smile remained on his face as he walks back inside the house. He then sees his two friends, a dog named Odie and a female cat named Arlene, waking up with drowsy eyes on their faces.
"Why good morning, my friends!" Garfield exclaims, giving them both a nice big hug.
"Morning, Garfield." Arlene yawns, still waking up as she hugs him back.
*ARF* Odie greets his friend, still only half-awake.
"Hey, why the long faces, you two?" Garfield asks, letting go of the hug. "It's a beautiful morning, and you know why that is!?"
"No, why?" Arlene asks.
"Because it's Tuesday! The day after Monday!" Garfield cheers as he cartwheels across the living room. "No more Monday! Hooray! No more Monday! Hooray!"
"He seems quite chipper today." Arlene said, not used to seeing the orange cat in such a pleasant mood, especially in the morning.
*MMM HMM* Odie nods in agreement.
As Garfield continues his happy dance across the living room, his nose begins to pick up a familiar scent coming from the kitchen.
"I think I recognize that delightful aroma from anywhere." Garfield said with an even bigger grin on his face. "Ah, as if this day couldn't possibly get any better."
Happily skipping his way into the kitchen, the cat finds his owner Jon sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in his hand.
"Morning, sleepyhead!" Garfield happily greets. "You ready for yet another glorious fun-filled day with your all-time favorite pet!?"
His owner doesn't respond to him, instead sipping down his coffee as he remains completely oblivious to his presence.
"Jon? Hello!?" The cat waves his hand around to get his attention, but no dice.
*SIGH* The cartoonist lets out a deep breath, still not saying a word, much to the dismay of his hungry feline now sitting next to him.
"Are you at least gonna make me breakfast?" Garfield asks, resting his hands on the table as his bright mood is beginning to already turn sour.
Jon gets up from his chair and grabs a plate to catch the toast sent flying across the kitchen by the toaster. After catching both pieces, he returns to his seat and passes one over to his cat.
"That's it? Just one piece of toast?" Garfield asks, expecting more than just one piece of toasted bread. "Eh, I might as well grab some butter."
Jumping off the chair, Garfield heads to the refrigerator. Opening the door, he finds that there's no butter to be found inside…
…in fact, there's almost nothing in there!
"Jon!" Garfield angrily shouts, slamming the refrigerator door. "You were supposed to go to the grocery store yesterday!"
His owner still remains completely silent, not even noticing Odie and Arlene entering the kitchen.
"Is something wrong, Garfield?" Arlene asks, having heard the fridge slam all the way from the living room.
"Oh, there's something wrong alright!" Garfield takes a bite of his non-buttery toast, now in a very grumpy mood. "There's no food left in the fridge, because somebody decided not to go grocery shopping yesterday!"
Jon lets out a depressed sigh, the first audible thing to come from his mouth all morning, before leaving the kitchen, not even bothering to put the dirty dishes in the sink.
*MMM MMM MMM* Odie whimpers, deeply concerned for his owner's well-being.
"Yeah, he's been like this for days now." Arlene said, having noticed his unusual behavior for quite some time. "I'm starting to worry about him."
"Me too." Garfield said, taking another bite of his toast as he heads to the kitchen door. "I better go check up on him and make sure nothing's wrong with him."
"Since when did you start caring about others?" Arlene jokingly asks.
"Jon's my friend, and I do anything to help my friend no matter what." Garfield explains.
Both Arlene and Odie give him a blank stare, not believing him in the slightest.
"Okay, he's my meal ticket." The orange cat finally admits, pushing through the kitchen door.
"Typical Garfield." The pink cat rolls her eyes.
"Hundred forty-one, hundred forty-two, hundred forty-three, hundred forty-four." Jon finishes counting all the tiles on the bedroom ceiling before letting out a depressed sigh.
"Yoo, hoo. Arbuckle, you in here?" Garfield lets himself in, noticing that Jon is lying on his bed, still wearing his pajamas.
"Morning, Garfield." Jon greets him with the least amount of enthusiasm he's ever given him. "Did you know the bedroom ceiling has 144 tiles?"
"Yes, I know." Garfield nods. "The living room has 214."
"Garfield, what the hell am I doing with my life?" The cartoonist sincerely asks.
"Living it?" The orange cat bluntly replies.
"What's the point of going on?" Jon asks his cat another sincere question. "Every day, I wake up and wonder to myself just how and why my life ended up like this." He explains, putting a pillow over his head.
"You mean an average citizen who organizes his sock drawer every Friday night?" Garfield points out.
"Why is my life so boring?" Jon muffles from the pillow.
"Because you're in your room lying in bed all day!" Garfield shouts, grabbing the pillow and tossing it across the room. "There's a bigger world out there beyond your sock drawer, and you should be out there living it!"
"Maybe you're right, Garfield." Jon said, realizing what his cat is trying to tell him. "There should be more to my life than just socks."
"That's the spirit, Jonny boy!" The cat grabs his owner's hand and drags him out of the bedroom. "C'mon! Let's go out and get you a life, and some groceries!"