Time passed, because that is what time does. Days turned into weeks, and before Joanna knew it, they were well into October. The days turned shorter, and even though the junkyard was most often in a state of perpetual dawn, it got darker. Mistoffelees was however kind enough to conjure up a few balls of lightning to illuminate the twists and turns of the university, which was more than any of the students had expected from him. Magical cats works in mysterious ways. Perhaps he did it just to get Ekwy and Gecka to quit nagging him when they bumped into things.
Classes mostly interested Joanna, although Mary-Sue and You taught by Victoria made her slightly nervous. After all she had seen at the Heavyside, she wondered if she would ever be able to create an original character that wasn't a 'Sue. It seemed impossible, but to get her fanfic-licence, she had to have accomplished this by the end of the year.
Weekends somehow tended to fill up. If she wasn't taking care of Polly, she was trying to write something for the Junkyard Lantern, and if she wasn't doing that, she always had homework. The extracurricular activities on Sundays had started as well, offering courses like Music, Crocheting and Tatting, taught by Jennyanydots; Acting by Gus the Theatre Cat and Dancing by Victoria and Mistoffelees. The latter course filled up fast due to all of Mistoffelees's fangirls that signed their names as soon as miss Minnaloushe had put up the list.
Misty was rather interested in acting, but Joanna kept with the Lantern. She was certain that if she really tried writing something good, then Polly would reward her and turn into a Pollcile real fast. So far the pixay showed no sign of wanting to be a Good Idea at all, but Joanna was patient.
One who wasn't, though, was Misty.
"I don't get this," she said one day as the autumn winds blew around the corners of the TSE 4. "How in Heaviside are we supposed to make those little devils happy? It's not like we can take them out and play with them. We'd get bitten!"
Joanna looked up from her essay about magical powers at the junkyard ("It's not just fancy lightning, you know!") and shrugged.
"Maybe they'll calm down after a while," she said. "Hey, do you have another word for 'conjure'?"
"'Invoke.'"
"Thanks."
"No problem." Misty groaned and leaned backwards. "I'm bored."
"Then do your homework," said Joanna calmly. "That oughta keep you busy."
"No thanks, little miss goody-two-shoes. I want to do something fun."
"Such as?"
"I don't know! Don't disturb me, I have to think of something."
Joanna returned to her homework. It was strange how she took these things seriously now at OFUC, she had always been the type of person to put things up to the very last minute. Somehow, doing the right thing seemed so much more fun here.
They spent a few minutes in silence when the only thing heard was the rasping of Joanna's pencil, and then they heard a sound. Someone was knocking on the car door.
"Are you expecting any visitors, Jo?" asked Misty curiously.
"Nope," said Joanna and put down her essay. "You?"
"Not that I know of." She paused for a moment. "You think it's safe to open? Knowing this place, it could be anything out there."
Joanna looked out the window. She could barely see a thing. Not only was the window dirty, but it was getting dark out, and the only thing she could make out was something blurry that moved spookily back and forth.
Misty went up to the door and took a deep breath. "Ready?"
Joanna grabbed her copy of the Iliad that she read for Naming, (it was the thickest and thereby heaviest book she had) and nodded resolutely.
Misty opened the door, ready to face whatever menace lurking out there, and...
"Trick or treat!"
Misty gaped at the creatures standing outside. They did look rather peculiar. The one first spotted was a ghost, easily recognized by the tattered sheet draped over its head. From the grey-and-white fur that poked out through the many tears in the sheet, the two inhabitants of the car drew the conclusion that this was in fact Etcetera in disguise.
Next in line was Jemima. She had wrapped long bandages (probably stolen from Jennyanydots's infirmary) around her waist and legs as best as she could, thus transforming herself into a very sloppy mummy. She tried to growl, but it sounded very unconvincing.
Victoria had put on a witch's hat that she had probably found in a pile of garbage somewhere. It was a bit too big for her, so she was peeking out from two holes a few inches above the brim of the hat. She was also clenching what appeared to be a wand in one paw, and a plastic kettle dangled from her other arm. A mini-Pollicle stood by her feet, wearing cat-ears and a miserable expression. Joanna thought it was Jimimuh, but she wasn't sure.
Electra was wearing a cape that was neatly tied under her chin. She had also managed to get a hold of a pair of plastic vampire fangs, but since those had been designed for a human wearer, Electra held them in her paw like a bizarre ventriloquist dummy.
Misty and Joanna stared in silence at the sight. A part of Joanna's brain was squealing at the cuteness of the situation, but the rest of her was merely confused.
The four kittens looked at each other and seemed to reach a decision.
"Trick or treat!" they repeated, and Victoria shook her plastic kettle.
"Eh... Halloween isn't yet for a couple of weeks," said Misty finally.
"We know!" said the Etcetera ghost merrily. "But we wanted to try out our costumes for the masquerade ball at All Hallows Eve!"
"There's gonna be a ball?" asked Joanna and blinked in surprise as Misty perked up. "When was this decided?"
"When we found out that there was a thing called Halloween!" squeaked Jemima excitedly.
"We have been reading about human festivities," said Victoria and nodded importantly. "And this sounded like fun, and so we figured you'd deserve a ball."
"Aren't we generous?" beamed Etcetera.
Misty, who was looking happier by the minute, clapped her hands. "Party! I love parties! Is Tugger going to be there?"
Etcetera got something dreamy about her at the mentioning of Tugger's name, so Electra answered for her: "We are not allowed to tell you anything about Tugger's whereabouts, miss Minnaloushe says. She says that you people might try and glomp him."
"Tugger likes being glomped!" protested Etcetera.
"Maybe when YOU do it," replied Electra and grinned brightly. "But it's disturbing when fic-writers are."
Victoria gave them both a nudge, and they looked at her dimly. She waved her kettle around.
"Oh yeah," mumbled Etcetera and turned back to Joanna and Misty. "Trick or treat, you two!"
"Sorry, but we don't have any candy..." said Joanna apologetically.
"I might have something," said Misty and grinned before darting back into the car. "What a sec!"
There was some ruffling around in the backseat, and then the fake-Jellicle showed up again. She was holding a bright yellow paper bag that Joanna hadn't seen before. The bag had a picture of a smiling cat on the front, and big, black letters printed across it stated that this was "Bustopher Jones' Shrimp Delights."
"Here we go," said Misty cheerfully.
"Where did you get that?" asked Joanna.
"The kitchen," her roommate replied. "I couldn't sleep the other night, so I went there to get a snack. Macavity's henchcats are very nice, you know. I got an entire bag of these babies!"
She rattled the bag. Joanna frowned.
"You sure there's nothing wrong with them? I mean... the cafeteria personnel are evil, after all. Maybe they tampered with it."
"Nah, I've had tons of the stuff," said Misty and shrugged. "There's nothing wrong with it. Okay guys, here we go!"
The four Jellicle kittens held out their paws (except for Victoria, who held out her plastic kettle), and Misty properly gave them two treats each.
"Thank you!" chirped Etcetera. "Happy Halloween!"
Joanna and Misty gave them a wave, and then they closed the door.
"So," said Misty and rubbed her paws together. "A party, huh."
"Seems you got your wish. Something fun did happen, after all."
Joanna sunk back down with her homework, but it was harder for her to concentrate now. Her head was filled with thoughts, very, very interesting thoughts.
A ball. The canons would most certainly be there. Knowing the Jellicles, there would be dancing. It was the perfect opportunity to win the heart of the magical cat! She only had to think out a beautiful dancing routine, and when he saw her he would fall in love instantly. And then they'd dance together, and she'd be envied by all...
From the look on Misty's face, the Tugger fangirl had thought of the same thing. She looked pensive.
'I'll have to find something good to wear,' thought Joanna, making a mental list. 'And I need to maybe find some make-up, and figure out what to do with my hair...'
Forgotten was the homework, forgotten were the thoughts of graduating and getting her writer's licence. She could only think about Mistoffelees now, and how he'd fall for her.
Misty sighed dreamily from her seat. "I can hardly wait for Halloween," she purred.
The following day, the entire university was humming with the rumours of the party. Apparently, Etcetera and her friends had been around everywhere, spreading the news, and now no one could concentrate on school. Also, a few students had gotten their cars pelted with cabbage since they didn't have a treat when the kits came knocking. The school smelled a lot worse than it usually did, and since it was a junkyard, that was quite a bit.
Miss Minnaloushe wasn't sure of this at all. The canons had enough trouble with fangirls as it was; she couldn't even begin to imagine what a party would do. Hormones would be all over the place.
"Don't worry, miss Minn," said Ekwy soothingly and reached up to pat the course coordinator on the shoulder.
She thought better of it at the last moment and withdrew. Miss Minnaloushe harrumphed.
"There will be a carnage," she muttered. "Fangirl screeches will fill the air, and the ground will tremble from the stomps of their feet as they stampede..."
"How very poetic of you," said Old Deuteronomy and chuckled. "Do not fret, my dear. We can fight for ourselves."
"Against a horde of fangirls attacking at once?" Miss Minnaloushe shook her head. "I don't think so."
"Then Gecks and I will help out." Ekwy smiled a little. "C'mon now. They work hard. They deserve one night of fun."
The course coordinator sighed in defeat. "Very well. But I will most certainly not attend this travesty."
She swept away elegantly, leaving the Agent and the tribe leader alone in the corridor. Ekwy shook her head with an amused smile.
"She'll be there," she said calmly. "She doesn't trust us for a minute to keep things in order. She is something of a perfectionist, I've gathered."
Old Deuteronomy chuckled again. "Indeed."
The two started walking towards the faculty area.
"So," said Ekwy conversationally. "What do the Jellicles think of this idea?"
"Oh, they are looking forward to it." The old cat smiled fondly. "You know us, we're always in favour of a good party. I believe most of them are practicing new dance steps as we speak. And Jennyanydots is busy in the kitchen, planning out the menu with Macavity's henchcats. I think everyone is planning on a wonderful time."
"That's good to hear." Ekwy frowned. "Err... What about the Twins? Are they preparing as well?"
Coricopat and Tantomile were still working on what to do with the Jellice. More of the pink dessert arrived each day, and even though it tasted good enough, the faculty had eaten enough to never want to see it ever again.
Deuteronomy nodded slowly. "I think so. I have not heard much from them lately. Perhaps they have reached a vital point in their research?"
"Perhaps. It kind of worries me, though."
"Don't. Neither of them has any fangirls, most of the students seem afraid of them. There is no reason to worry." The oold cat patted her on the head.
Old Deuteronomy was rarely wrong, but now he was. There was reason to worry. Just not about the things he thought.
Answers to Reviews:
BlackRoseTiger: I knew Twitch had to come from this place! Only a OFUC-reader would bother to check out my website. :) I can't wait for the Official Fanfiction University of Animorphs... And I know the last chapter was a little boring, but I'll try and make up for that.
Eclectica: Your description was quite enough. .:is still twitching:.
Lyrange: Miss Minn is a busy Ironwing! She doesn't have time to appear in every singly chapter. :)
Antigone: You're sweet. :) Unfortunately, sooner or later, this story has to end. It will be a good while before that happens, though. I have so many ideas...
Lobo Diablo Lone Wolf: Sure, you can still enroll even if you don't know a lot about CATS. And Korora, having a Lust Object is not mandatory. I have a few students here that doesn't have one. Should you choose to enroll, I'll let you hang with those guys.. :)