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: Garfield

The moon illuminates the brightest light in the dark, night sky all across a particular quiet suburban neighborhood in Muncie, Indiana. Inside a house residing on Maple Street, Garfield, Odie, Nermal, and Arlene make themselves comfortable on or in front of the living room sofa. Their eyes are solely focused on the television screen as they watch an academy award show for cats on the channel known as WKAT, a secret channel exclusive to cats. Normally, Odie shouldn't be allowed to watch this particular program, as he's a dog, but since all of his friends consisted of cats, they allowed him to watch the show alongside them so as to make sure he isn't left out of the group.

"And the award for most food eaten in an entire household goes to…" The announcer said, opening the envelope in anticipation.

"Me, me! Come on, you all know it's me!" Garfield said, slightly inching his face closer to the TV.

"…Gabriel, the lime green cat!" The announcer finishes, the audience cheering as the winning feline approaches the stage.

"What!?" Garfield shouts in anger.

"Thank you, thank you all!" Gabriel said, a tear falling from his eye as he shows off his mouse trophy. "I'd like to thank all the little mice that made me win this award even possible! *BURP*"

"Mice does not count as food!" Garfield shouts at the screen. "I demand a recount!"

"Relax, Garfield." Arlene said, sitting right next to him. "It's just a show. I don't even know why you cats get so invested in stuff like this."

*MMM-HMM* Odie nods in agreement, sitting on the floor right beneath them.

"You kidding me? The feline awards is more than just winning a trophy, it's about acknowledging your achievements as a cat. To prove to everyone who's the best at being a cat!" The orange car explains. "*SIGH* It's the only way of gaining any form of respect from the other cats in this cruel world."

"You have my respect, though." The pink cat assures him, placing a paw on his shoulder. "You're true to yourself, and that's all I can ever ask from you. *SMOOCH*" She gives him a small peck on the cheek.

"Man, you really have poor taste in men, Arlene." Nermal mumbles to himself, sitting on the floor on the opposite side of the other cats.

"Thanks, Arlene." Garfield smiles.

*ARF* Odie climbs up to the soda, sticking his tongue out.

"Don't even think about it, Odie." Garfield said sternly, not wanting to have to shower off all the doggy drool again.

*AWWW* Odie disappointingly leaps off the sofa.

"Well, if anything, I should be winning all the awards ever created." Nermal said in his usual narcissistic manner. "I am the world's cutest kitten, after all."

"Do you know any other words in the dictionary besides cute?" Garfield teases.

"Shut up!" Nermal said. "Like you know any words other than lasagna and pizza."

"I do, actually. It's called a soda, which is exactly what you're gonna fetch for me right now." Garfield retorts.

"Aww, why do I have to fetch the soda!?" Nermal whines. "Why can't you have Odie do it!?"

"Because Odie's presence doesn't annoy me as much compared to yours." Garfield replies. "Now, hop to it!" He snaps his fingers before pointing them towards the kitchen door.

"Fine." The kitten gets up and proceeds to angrily stomp to the kitchen, grumbling insults at Garfield along the way.

"Y'know, Garfield, you could stand to be at least a little nicer to Nermal." Arlene said.

"When he starts to mature, I'll consider it." Garfield said, focusing his attention back to the TV. "Besides, I thought you just said you liked me for who I am."

"Well…there's still some room for improvement." The pink cat points out.

*MMM-HMM* Odie nods his head in agreement.

"Anyway, I still don't see the appeal of winning a trophy. They'd always hand one out to all those guys back on the island, and they just loved to brag about it to every girl they meet." Arlene said, rolling her eyes at that last part of her sentence. "*SIGH* It gets so annoying after a while."

"Hmmm, maybe I should've won some of those trophies while I was on vacation over there." Garfield said, pointing his thumbs at himself.

"Heh, like you'd be willing to go surf a 10-foot tidal wave all around the island, or compete against all those muscular jerks for an entire volleyball tournament." Arlene snarks.

"Eh, there's always participation trophies." The orange cat shrugs.

"Touché."

Just then, Nermal returns to the living room with four cans of soda between both his shoulders.

"Here, I got you your darn soda." The disgruntled kitten tosses a can to each of them before opening one for himself.

"Much obliged." Garfield said, taking a sip.

"Thanks, Nermal." Arlene smiles, opening her can.

"You're welcome, Arlene." Nermal said, taking a sip. "At least you're nice to me, unlike a certain someone I know."

"Hey, I've been trying!" Garfield retorts, taking another sip. "At least I said thank you."

"Still, you can at least show me just a little more appreciation for all the stuff you're making me do around here, and for how gorgeously cute I am." The kitten points out.

"Hey, if you want to keep visiting, Nermal, you gotta follow the rules." Garfield said, taking a sip.

"What, do you make your mother follow the rules every time she visits you?" Nermal asks.

"No." Garfield simply replies.

"Then why do I have to follow them?" Nermal then asks.

"Because it's the only way to keep you away from me while you're here." The orange cat replies, starting to grow annoyed with his constant whining. "Now clam it, we're trying to watch the show!"

"Hmph." The gray kitten resigns himself next to Odie, crossing his arms as he and the others focus their attention back to the awards show. After a minute or so of silence, Arlene turns her head over to Garfield, being the first to restart their conversation.

"There is something I'm curious about though, seeing as Nermal mentioned your mother just now." Arlene said.

"Oh, what is it?" Garfield asks, just about finished drinking his soda.

"Where did you come from, exactly?" She asks. "I've been meaning to ask your mom when I met her on Mother's Day*, but I didn't want to get in the way of you spending time with her."

(*Garfield Quickies - Season 2 - Chapter 5: Mother's Day*)

"Well-"

"Yeah, now I'm curious too." Nermal said, climbing up to the sofa, anxious to hear the tale of his origin. "Where were you born?"

*MMM-HMM* Odie, once again, nods his head in agreement, having only heard bits and pieces of his friend's backstory from the feline himself throughout the years, but never in full detail. Now, he's just as curious as the other two cats in hearing the full story.

"*SIGH* Well, I was born in the kitchen of Mamma Leoni's Italian Restaurant…" The orange cat begins telling his story.

June 19th, 2012

"Meroooooooo!" A female cat roars as she's giving birth to her second kitten.

"Welcome to the world, little fella." She said as she thinks of a name for her newborn kitten. After pondering for a few seconds, she thought of the perfect name for him.

"I think I'll call you…Garfield." She proclaims as her newborn son opens his eyes for the very first time.

"I'm hungry!" Garfield said his first words as he peeks his head outside of his mother's blanket. "W-Where are we, mom?" He asks.

"Why, you're in the kitchen of an Italian restaurant, sweetie." His mother replies.

"Are Italians good to eat?" Garfield asks as he tries to climb out of the bed. "Oof!" He shouts as he trips.

"Hmm, mm, mmm." His mother chuckles at her son's clumsiness. "You have a lot to learn, Garfield. Remember, always sit up straight."

The kitten takes his first steps as he walks around, exploring the kitchen. He is amazed by everything he sees, from the stove to the various quantities of food and ingredients on the table. However, he stops dead in his tracks upon spotting a human wearing a chef hat heading towards his direction, carrying what appears to be a very hot tray. Garfield quickly runs out of the human's path and hides himself at the side of the stove.

"Garfield, the newborn kitten, is getting ready to rub up against his first human leg." Garfield proclaims, preparing to make his move towards the unsuspecting chef. "On my mark, get set…" He said in anticipation. "Rub up!" The kitten runs towards the chef and rubs up against his leg.

"ARRRRGH!" The chef screams as he falls to the ground and drops his hot tray. A piece of lasagna flies out of the tray and lands directly into Garfield's mouth. The kitten was surprised by just how delightfully tasty this pasta dish is. Wanting more of this amazing treat, he rushes towards the tray and devours the entire rest of the lasagna in a matter of seconds.

"I think I'm going to like this thing called eating, mom." Garfield said while chewing what remains of the lasagna.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, dear." His mother said, watching over him from the back of the kitchen.

"Ahhhhh, delicious." The kitten licks his mouth and rubs his belly, satisfied with his first meal. Then, he notices that the table has a lot more food sitting on top of it. Drawing out his claws, he climbs up to the table and gazes upon the wondrous amount of pasta dishes on it.

"Pasta!" Garfield exclaims in delight. "Infinite mountains of pasta!" He bounces from the gelatin right to the bowl of fettuccine and devours all of it.

"Garfield, one! Fettuccine, nothing!" He proudly proclaims. Noticing a cup filled with spaghetti noodles, the excited kitten leaps towards it. Chewing on a noodle, he finds the results unimpressive with how it was cooked.

"This spaghetti could stand to be cooked a little longer." Garfield adds, stretching and yawning before proceeding to take a nap, the first of many naps in his lifetime.

"Wake up, sleepyhead." Garfield's mom orders, but her son has already fallen asleep.

"And those were the last words I've heard from her…before I woke up in the pet shop the next morning." Garfield said, finishing the first part of his story.

"Wait, what!?" Arlene asks, confused by the sudden shift from one location to another.

"Did you ever find out what happened?" Nermal asks, just as curious as the others to know about all the details.

"From what my mom told me, the chef was furious that I ate all the food that he cooked in the kitchen, so he grabbed me while I was asleep and walked all the way to the pet shop, then he just dumped me there…" Garfield explains. "…all before I could say goodbye to her."

*MMMM MMMMMM* Odie whimpers, showing sympathy for the orange feline.

"That's terrible, Garfield." Arlene said, placing a comforting paw on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry to hear that. I'm sure your mom felt terrible losing you."

"Eh, what's done is done." Garfield simply shrugs. "Besides, if it weren't for that, I wouldn't have wound up here…and met all you guys, so, in a way, it all worked out in the end."

"Awwwww." Arlene wraps her arms around him in a tight hug, happy knowing that Garfield is truly content with the life he has now…

…and that he wouldn't change a thing about it.

"Well, at least we all know where you got your appetite from." Nermal said. "So, what happened after that?" He asks, genuinely curious to know the rest of the story.

"Well, I thought I was doomed to remain in the pet shop for the rest of my life, or at least for a very long time." The orange cat explains. "That is, until a certain Arbuckle came through that door…"

*DING DONG*

Garfield jumps in surprise upon hearing the sound of the door's bell. Then, he notices a tall human approaching the cashier.

"Hello there." The man said to the cashier. "I'd like to buy a pet, please?"

Garfield wastes no time pondering what to do…

…for this is it…

…this is his chance for a better life rather than living in this crowded pet store.

Not wanting to miss this opportunity given to him, the desperate kitten runs up and jumps right onto the man's face!

"Take me! Take me!" Garfield begs. "I'll catch your mice, fetch your paper, and scratch your back! I'll be sweet, lick your feet, and even fix you a snack! I'll do anything for you! JUST TAKE ME WITH YOU!" He quickly adds.

"Alright, alright!" The man said, grabbing the kitten off his face and carefully observing him. "Hmmm…well this one seems friendly. And adorable."

After pondering for a moment, the man makes his final decision…

…one that'll change his life forever.

"I'll take him!"

"Y-You mean it?" Garfield asks, hoping that he isn't just messing with him.

The man simply nods, indicating that he truly means it, much to the kitten's utter joy.

"YES! Oh, thank you so much!" Garfield showers his brand new owner with many kisses on both of his cheeks.

"Heh, heh, heh." The cashier chuckles. "He seems to really like you, mister…uhhhhh…"

"Jon Arbuckle." The man said, revealing his name to him and his new kitten.

"Okay, Mr. Arbuckle. That'll be 90 dollars please." The cashier said, adding up the amount on his register.

"You got it." Jon said, reaching for his wallet and giving him the money.

"Thanks, sir. Enjoy your new cat!" The cashier waves goodbye as Jon walks out of the pet shop with his newly adopted kitten resting in his hands.

Garfield, very excited for his new life of comfort and luxury, proceeds to list out everything he'll need to be fully comfortable with his new owner.

"Ok, so I sleep 'till noon and desire my milk tepid. I require three daily scratchings and I eat a pasta-based diet. No substitutions, please. As far as accommodations, my…bed…must…be…" Having already exhausted himself by thinking of this list, he begins to drift to sleep.

"Wow." Jon said to himself, "Only one minute after being adopted, and he's already fallen asleep."

Jon opens his car door and gently places the sleeping tabby in the passenger's seat. After getting in the front and putting his seat belt on, he starts up the vehicle. Smiling, he gently strokes the kitten's back.

"Welcome to your new home, little fella." Jon said as he thinks of a name for his new pet kitten. After pondering for a few seconds, he thought of the perfect name for him.

"I think I'll call you…Garfield." He proclaims as he begins to drive back home with his newly adopted cat. He didn't think that Garfield would be awake to hear him give him his name…

…but he was.

"Since then, as you can see, I've been kickin' it here in Jon's pad." Garfield finishes the rest of the story.

*OOOOOOHHHHHH* Odie smiles, satisfied with obtaining the rest of the missing puzzle pieces of his friend's story after so long.

"Hmmm, seems too much of a coincidence that both Jon and your mother decided to give you the exact same name." Arlene points out.

"Eh, fate works in mysterious ways." Garfield said, shrugging.

"So, now I know both Arlene and Garfield's backstories." Nermal said. "Fascinating."

"Wait, you already told him your life story?" Garfield asks.

"Mmm-hmm." Arlene nods her head. "You were out cold when I explained it to him and Odie**."

(**Garfield Quickies - Season 2 - Chapter 1: The Invisible Feline**)

"Well, I think now's the perfect time to explain to me, and all the readers, how you got your life started."

"Alright, might as well no longer have you all out of the loop." Arlene said to Garfield and the reader. "It all started back in the chief's hut in Paradise World…" The pink cat begins telling her story.

Next Chapter: Arlene