Phoebe couldn't get the Jellicles off her mind. She tried every means possible, but it just couldn't be done. She decided that she would try harder than ever to persuade Sammy to join the Jellicles with her, even if it made him mad at her.
Make him mad at her it did, though not exactly mad. He was more annoyed than anything. One day, when he was particularly cross, he burst out, "What's the matter with you, Phoebe? Are you trying to get us in trouble?"
Phoebe stared at him in shock. Sammy had never yelled at her before. "No, Sammy, no…I could never try to make you get hurt! Why would you think that?"
"Talking about the Jellicles around here gets you in big trouble!" Sammy whispered, so the other agents wouldn't hear. "Do both of us a favor and forget them! They're Macavity's enemies. He hates them, Phoebe. Don't you know that?"
"Of course I know that!" Phoebe snapped. "But if Macavity can do something so wicked to Demeter, then think of all the other things he might have done! Did you ever stop to think that maybe Macavity is bad, like the Jellicles say? That maybe, by being his friend, you've become a criminal? Do you ever stop to think at all anymore, Sammy?"
Angry and hurt, Phoebe turned on her heel and hurried away. Sammy just stared after her, shocked that they'd actually quarreled. That was something they never did.
Hm! Good riddance to the Jellicles, he thought to himself. They're the ones causing all this trouble between us. They must be bad if just thinking about them makes Phoebe and I fight.
Feeling angry with the Jellicles, he turned and stalked in the opposite direction.
Phoebe hurried into her room and slammed the door. She threw herself down on her bed and glared up at the ceiling.
Stupid Sammy, she thought. Why can't he admit that maybe I'm right for once?
She sat up and looked around her room. It was cozy and comfortable, but she'd leave it for the Jellicles in a second, if only Sammy would agree to come with. There was absolutely no way she'd leave Sammy behind.
This got her thinking about why she didn't want to leave Sammy. After all, it wasn't as though he was her family or anything. He was just her friend. Or was he?
Phoebe felt hot tears in her eyes as she thought about this.
Was it possible that she was in love with Sammy?
Sammy stalked off to his room in a huff.
Why does that dumb kitten have to think about the Jellicles so much? he thought to himself. Why can't she just leave it alone? We were fine here until she met them.
He put his arms up behind his head and lay back on his pillow. He didn't want to join the Jellicles, but he certainly didn't want Phoebe to go off and leave him. He started to think about what he would do if she decided to go to the Jellicles without him. That got him thinking about how much he would miss her, and how much he needed her with him every day.
He sat bolt upright as the realization hit him. Could he be in love with Phoebe? He'd never considered this possibility before, and so it seemed rather odd. But there it was, just the same, and he was seriously considering it. It was a logical explanation for what he was feeling.
He was startled by a sudden knock at the door.
"Come in," he called, rather absently. He was surprised to see that it was Macavity himself who strode into the room.
"Sir," Sammy said, rising to his feet. "I didn't expect you to…"
Macavity held up his hand to silence him. "I've heard some unfavorable reports on you. Are they true, Samuel?"
Sammy's mouth hung wide open in surprise. "Unfavorable…reports?" he asked numbly. "I…I don't understand."
"Don't play dumb with me!" Macavity roared. "Have you or have you not been negotiating with the Jellicles?"
The Jellicles! Where on earth had Macavity heard that?
"I…I've never been to their place, sir," said Sammy. "I've never met one of them, ever, I swear!"
"I was told you were even considering joining them!" said Macavity, smacking him across the face. Sammy held his jaw and couldn't reply, he was so shocked.
"Who…how…" he stammered.
"This information was given to me from a very reliable source," Macavity told him. "If this doesn't stop, Samuel, you don't want to know what I'll do to you."
As the ginger tom turned to leave, he stopped a moment in the doorway.
"And warn your little girlfriend," he said. "She was actually seen inside the Jellicle junkyard. You'd better warn her and keep her out of trouble."
Meanwhile…
Phoebe was so upset with Sammy that she decided to go visit the Jellicles and ask them what to do. She hurried out of Macavity's Lair, making sure that no one was watching her, and headed for the junkyard. Jemima saw her come in the gate and was happy to see her.
"I haven't seen you in awhile, Phoebe," she said. "Where've you been lately?"
"I've been…busy," said Phoebe. "Well…not exactly busy. Just…"
Phoebe searched for the right words to use to tell her friend what she was going through. When she thought about it, it seemed so simple, but when she tried to put it into words…somehow, it became much more complicated.
"I've been thinking," she tried again. "You see, I live at Macavity's Lair."
She tried not to say 'Macavity's Lair' too loudly.
"I know," said Jemima. "But I don't think I'll ever be able to guess why you live there. You'll never tell me."
"Well, I think today's the day," said Phoebe. "I haven't told you because I've been trying to figure it out myself. But today, I've figured it out. It was so simple, but it took me all this time to see it! You see, the only reason I live at Macavity's Lair is because my best friend, Sammy, lives there. He's one of Macavity's agents, except he doesn't actually ever do anything much for Macavity. I want to become a Jellicle – I want to become a Jellicle very much – but he doesn't. He says he's fine right where he is. He doesn't realize that Macavity's bad. I thought about coming here and becoming a Jellicle without him, but then I could never see him again. And that's when I thought that maybe…maybe he wasn't just my friend anymore. Maybe I love him. Anyway, I just couldn't leave him, and so now I don't know what to do!"
"That's a very…interesting story," said Jemima. "Maybe you should try to show him how bad Macavity is."
"I've tried everything that I can," said Phoebe. "I can't think of anything else to try."
"Well, maybe you should bring him here and Demeter can tell him her story," said Jemima. "Maybe then he'll believe it."
"But how will I get him to come here? He won't want to, because he knows he'll get in trouble if he's caught."
Jemima smiled. "Don't worry, I have a way."
"Oh, Sammy, it's such a nice day!" Phoebe exclaimed as she looked out the window the next afternoon. "Won't you come on a walk with me?"
Sammy looked up from where he was lounging on a sofa. "You want me to come on a walk with you? That's something new. What are you up to?"
"Sammy!" Phoebe looked at him incredulously. "You should know me better than that."
Sammy got up off the sofa and brushed himself off. "You're right," he said, smiling. "I should know you better. I'm sorry."
Phoebe found herself blushing as he smiled at her.
"Well, are you coming?" Sammy asked. Phoebe snapped out of it and walked beside him out the door.
So far, so good.
"So…where are we going?" Sammy asked as they walked along.
"Nowhere, really," said Phoebe. "I usually just walk this way. Sometimes I stop to visit some friends that live along this road."
"This road?" Sammy asked, looking around. "There certainly isn't much here that's appealing to live in."
"Well, they live here just the same," said Phoebe. "Would you like to meet them?"
"Sure," said Sammy cheerfully. "Any friend of yours is a friend of mine."
Phoebe smiled. "I was hoping you'd say that," she said.
They walked along silently for a while. Suddenly, Samuel reached over and took Phoebe's paw.
"What are you doing?" Phoebe asked quietly. Sammy took his paw away and looked embarrassed.
"I…I thought your paw was a…a…a falling leaf," he stammered. Phoebe laughed.
Then she reached over and hooked her arm through his.