CHAPTER TWO: STUART AND SNOWBELL


Four years after he'd first met Margalo, Stuart Little was now in his mid-teens. He was in high school, which was quite a hard experience for him. Being so small, he was the frequent target of bullying. And he never told a teacher or the principal, as he knew that they'd then tell his mother. Or his foster mother, Mrs. Elanor Little, whom he now called "mom". His true mother, Mrs. Mouse, had died in a tragic accident, along with his father, Mr. Mouse, when he was a toddler, and he'd lived at an orphanage for years. The Littles had finally stopped babying him, now that he was in high school, and he was eager not to have them start up again, even if it meant some unplesantness that he could avoid if he was willing to put up with his parents being fussy.

Just the other day, he'd been flushed down the toilet, since he was too small to be given an effective swirly. Thankfully, he'd managed to survive until he came out in the sewer, though it took him so long to get back to class that he missed half of third period and received detention. He had just told Mrs. Little that he had had to stay after that day to work on a school project when he'd arrived home late.

Now, however, he was happy as he was leaving school for Christmas break. He looked at his motorcycle, a miniature model, but one that drove, which was in the school parking lot, and found that somebody had slashed its tires. "Oh come on!" he moaned. He was worried that he'd have to walk all the way home when he noticed Snowbell walking by with his friend Monty. "Hey Snow, over here! My motorcycle's been slashed!"

"Slashed?"

"Yeah, come look."

"I'm a little busy right now."

"You don't look busy."

"Trust me, I have a very busy schedule."

"Look, Snow, if you help me tow this home, I can help you open a can of tuna."

"Deal!"

"He'll do anything for tuna," Monty remarked.

"Yes, it's my one weakness."

"Well, one of them. Your other one is Menika Angora."

"Who's Menika Angora?" Stuart asked.

"You mean Snowbell's never told you?" Monty gasped. "I mean, he used to talk about her all the time. They went everywhere."

"You have a girlfriend?" Stuart gasped.

"Had a girlfriend. I was planning to meet her at the train station. However, something came up that led me to forget about her until it was too late. That was six years ago."

"And she hasn't contacted in all that time?"

"No. She said that she didn't have time for uncommitted kitties. And I blew her off."

"Maybe she'll come back."

"She's not like your girl, who comes back every spring."

"I was hoping she wouldn't leave this year."

"Well, if you been cooped up with Falcon for years, it makes sense that she'd want to do regular bird things like fly south."

"I know, but I was hoping she'd finally settle here with us. I don't understand why she just doesn't settle down."

"Perhaps she's like Menika."

"If she likes you so much, why hasn't she come back?"

"You know, I sure love that it's almost Christmas!" Snowbell said, deliberately changing the subject.

"Me too."

"You know, I feel like singing. Oh, jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg, the Bat Mobile lost a wheel, and the Joker got away, hey!"

Stuart and Monty laughed at Snowbell's rendition of "Jingle Bells". Stuart wondered why he'd changed the subject like that. There had to be something that had been troubling him about Menika and her absence. But what? Stuart and Snowbell took the bike back to the Little House. "Later guys," Monty said, walking off.

"Ok Stuart, I got your bike back home. Now get me the tuna," Snowbell demanded.

"Just as soon as you tell me more about Menika and why you think she hasn't come back."

"Hey, asking about my love life wasn't part of the deal!"

"I just don't get why she wouldn't like you. I mean, you're so funny, witty, and kind."

"Who said she doesn't like me? Of course she does!"

"She hasn't seen you in six years! I suppose absence makes the heart grow fonder, as it surely does with Margalo and I, but six years is pushing it."

"Give me the tuna and I'll tell you."

"Ok." Stuart opened the can of tuna and gave it to Snowbell. "Now tell me."

"Sucker!" Snowbell began to hungrily devour the can of tuna. "Wow, this one is the best one in the batch!"

"Hey, that's not fair!"

"This matter is personal, Stuart. I suggest you stop butting in."

"Maybe this relationship wasn't meant to be. It doesn't look good if she hasn't seen you in six years."

"You're one to talk about relationships and how they look! When Margalo first came here, she was coming only to steal Mrs. Little's wedding ring for that Falcon!"

Stuart stood there for a moment, deciding how best to respond. What Snowbell had said was true. Finally, he said "You have no idea what she's been through with that Falcon! You peed yourself just hearing about him, and she's lived with him for years!"

"Hey, I had a weak bladder that day!" Snowbell said defensively.

"Why hasn't she come here to live with you? I'm sure mom and dad would have taken her in."

"We know they'd take in Margalo. They positively adore..."

"Not Margalo, Menika Angora."

"Because, because, she wouldn't want to live with humans anyway."

"Why not?"

"Because, they gave her up to the pound and they nearly killed her there. She had to fight her way out of there and she distrusts humans completely."

"Wait, so why was she expecting this relationship to work?"

"Ok, ok, this is getting very personal!"

"Is there something you're hiding, Snowbell?"

"There is, but you've gotta swear that you won't tell the Littles what I'm going to tell you."

"Snowbell, you know..."

"Swear it!"

"Ok, I swear I won't tell."

"Ok. When I first was taken out of the pound, I was not sure what to make of them. Sure, they saved me, but being in a house seemed, well, boring."

"Boring? Is this kind of joke of yours? You've been content to stay here with your tuna, tinkleballs, and everything."

"Yes, I am now. But I was originally a street cat."

"You were a street cat?" Snowbell had never told him.

"Yes. I was born a stray, like Monty. We were pals, till they caught me and put me in the pound. The Littles saved me, but I wasn't sure I wanted to stay with them."

"Having trouble adjusting to change?"

"At first. But then they had George a few months after they took me in, and he seemed to like me. So then I was torn."

"Why were you torn? You had a family that loved you? Why would you want to leave?"

"Because of Menika. She loves me too. You have no idea how she makes me feel, Stuart! Being with humans with a dealbreaker for her, so I was, undecided."

"What made you decide?"

"That's what I wanted to be kept most secret of all from the Littles," the cat said, now whispering.

"What was it?" Stuart asked, whispering as well, despite the fact that nobody was around. They had gone to the backyard so that Stuart could repair the motorcycle without the Littles seeing that it had been vandalized.

"The last day I saw her, well, you see, George had been drifting from me as he got older, and well, I, I was thinking of leaving."

"So what kept you?"

"Well, I'd heard the Littles were going to get a kid, a new kid, and I thought, maybe that would be someone else to pay attention to me. Or, I realized, it could be more reasons for them to ignore me. Menika told me she was leaving, and was growing tired of me being uncommitted. I said I'd decide after the kid came. However, I'd more or less made up my mind to go with her. Only one thing, in the end, kept me from going. Something too insufferable to leave undone."

Now Stuart understood. "It was me, wasn't it? You didn't want to feel that you were leaving to be replaced by a mouse."

"Darn right I wasn't! And so I nearly killed you that very night. I was going to off you first before leaving. I figured it would be payback at them for replacing me with a..."

"They weren't replacing you with me!" Stuart snapped, angry that Snowbell could think such a thing.

"Anyway, I had plans to get rid of you before I left, and I came this close" the cat said, holding his paws a millimeter apart "from going through with it. Then, I realized I'd forgotten to meet her, but when I went to the spot where we were supposed to meet, she'd already left, just like she said she would."

"So, this whole thing, the scheme to get rid of me with Smokey's help wasn't just about being upset about having a mouse for a master, but because you felt I took Menika from you."

"Yes, now you get it. And please don't tell the Littles."

"I won't," Stuart sighed. "I wouldn't want to break their hearts."

"Hey, don't think of me as a deserter, it's just that Menika-"

"She seems to be a bad influence on you, Snow. Maybe you're best living without her."

"Live without her? Why don't you try living without Margalo?" the cat snapped, before walking away.

"Snow, wait!"

"Talk to the butt!" the cat said as he retreated inside the house, leaving Stuart alone.