The Curse of the Cat
It was a Saturday morning when Scratch woke up and came out of his dollhouse. He was very surprised to see Molly just waking up herself with less energy than usual.
"Moll, are you okay?" Scratch asked.
*Yawn* "Oh, yeah. I'm just a little tired." Molly said.
After getting dressed, she went downstairs to the kitchen and had breakfast. Half of the times she had a spoonful of cereal however, she seemed to struggle eating it which worried Scratch.
"Are you sure there's nothing wrong?" Scratch asked.
"Of course I am. Nothing can get me down." Molly assured. "Especially after a whole week of enhappifying Brighton. And completing all of my school projects... and finishing all of... my boring homework... and doing... more chores... than usual... and... helping... Mom... with her... gigpig."
The more Molly spoke, the more bothered by it all she seemed to be until she shook her head.
"So what could possibly be wrong with me?"
Then the rest of the McGees came into the kitchen.
"Now that we're all done with our breakfast, it's time to start cleaning the house again." Sharon said. "We'll start with our own rooms and then deal with whatever the Wheel of Chore-fun assigns us with. Afterwards we'll clean the rest of the inside and then the outside."
Pete noticed that for some reason, Molly looked like she saw something scary.
"Is everything alright, Molly?" he asked.
"Everything and then some." Molly replied with a forced smile.
Due to her constant joy, the family mistook her odd behavior for more optimism. So they went to the living room and each spun the wheel(except for Scratch due to a ruined game). Molly spun last and got laundry duty. Everyone then went to their respective rooms and in Scratch's case, his dollhouse. Molly tried to clean up what little mess there was, but she kept feeling uneasy from just reaching down for a toy. She couldn't take it anymore, so she ran to her bed, grabbed her pillow, and screamed into it. Scratch saw her through his window, had enough of her out of character behavior, and went to her to ask her straight out.
"Alright, that's it. What's going on with you?"
"I don't know." Molly said. "Usually I'm happy to clean things. But now it's making me sick almost like I ate too much candy."
"As a ghost, I don't have that problem." Scratch said. "But it does sound exactly like what I suspected. You've been working waaayyyyy too much this week."
"You really think so?"
Scratch turned into a broom and said "Here. Sweep the floor with me."
Molly screamed into her pillow again.
"You're right, Scratch. I need a break." she said. "But it's cleaning day. I can't shirk on my chores. But I can't do my chores the way I am right now. I don't know what to doooo!"
Molly fell onto her bed face up with no solution to her problem. Then she looked at one of her animal posters.
"Cats sure have it easy. All they have to do is eat, sleep, and play. Sounds almost like you, Scratch."
Suddenly Scratch had a lightbulb moment.
"Molly, you just gave me an idea." he said. "What if I made you a cat for the rest of the day?"
*GASP!* "That would be awesome! I bet I'd be so adorable! But what about my chores?"
*Sigh* "I guess I could cover for you just this once."
"Really!?" Molly quickly gave Scratch one of her overly tight bearhugs. "Thank you, Scratch. I owe you one."
"You owe me two." Scratch corrected. "One for the curse. The other for the cleaning. Now let's do this."
"Wait." Molly said before opening the window. "We should take this outside. A cat indoors might be suspicious."
"Oh yeah." Scratch carried Molly out the window and to the front yard.
Molly struggled to contain her excitement. Then Scratch and the surroundings became warped and horrifying just as he began his new curse.
"FROM NOW UNTIL THE SUN SETS TODAY, YOU WILL HAVE THE BODY OF A COMMON CAT!"
Once Scratch and all around him changed back, Molly seemingly disappeared. In actuality, she was now a brown and orange little kitten.
"Oh my gosh! I'm a little kitten!" Molly cheerfully said. "Hey, some of the colors are wrong. I must be semi-color blind."
It was a good thing it rained last night, allowing Molly to find a puddle and see her reflection.
"I love it!"
"Just remember that only I as the curser and other animals can understand you." Scratch said. "Now go have fun."
"I will." Molly ran off down the sidewalk.
Scratch then frowned and said "Lucky."
Molly was already enjoying being a kitten, but she was still very careful when it came to the traffic. At one point, she waited for a red light and crossed the street, surprising a few drivers.
"That is one smart kitten." one of the drivers said.
After getting past that part of town, Molly reached her destination. The park. She ran around and did several things from chasing butterflies to playing in the flowers. She eventually stopped and relaxed under a bench.
"Ahhh. It feels good to relax after all that." she said.
"Oh goody! A kitty!" someone said.
"Huh? Who said that?" Molly asked.
She turned to look behind herself and there stood a very excited white puppy with brown spots.
"Hi there. I'm Sparky." the puppy said. "You wanna play tag?"
"Tag? So that's why dogs chase cats." Molly came out from under the bench. "I'm Molly and you... are it!"
She took off and Sparky chased after her, barking with joy.
"Ruffruffruffruffruffruffruffruffruffruffruff! I'm gonna get you!"
They ran all over the park until Sparky pounced Molly.
"Tag! You're it!"
"Not for long!" Molly then started chasing him.
It took her several minutes, but she eventually cut through some bushes and got Sparky by surprise.
"Tag! Now you're it again!"
Back and forth they kept playing until they heard someone whistle.
"Sparky! Time to go home!" a boy called.
"I gotta go." Sparky said. "Bye, Molly."
"Bye, Sparky." Molly said.
After Sparky left with his boy, Molly glanced at some trees and had a new idea.
"Why didn't I think of that yet?" she asked herself. "I've climbed trees before, but never as a kitten."
She went to the nearest tree and started climbing. She reached one of the high branches and laid there to catch her breath.
"Maybe I should've just kept resting." Molly said. "At least nothing can keep me from doing that now."
She then closed her eyes and went to sleep.
Back at the house, Scratch had finished cleaning both his dollhouse and Molly's room. However, the other McGees were already finished and in the living room when he came down.
"Hi, Scratch." Sharon said. "Is Molly done yet?"
"Uh, not really." Scratch lied.
"Really? She's usually quicker than this." Pete said. "I'll go check on her."
Scratch silently panicked as Pete went upstairs. While nobody was looking, Scratch went through the ceiling into Molly's room and blocked the door with her toy chest. Then Pete knocked.
"Molly. Are you okay?" he asked.
"Don't come in!" Scratch sounded like a raspy molly. "I'm making sure ALL of my clothes are clean!"
"Oh. Sorry. Wait. What's wrong with your voice?"
"I uh... got a lot of dust in my throat."
"Okay." Pete went back down.
"Phew." Scratch said. "I'm starting to have second thoughts on giving Molly a lazy day."
Back at the park, Molly woke up from her nap and heard chirping from above. She looked up and saw a nest.
*GASP!* "Baby birdies!" she climbed up to the higher branch and got a closer look at three baby birds. "Hi there. I'm Molly."
She approached the nest to try petting the baby birds, but they all got scared of her.
"What's wrong?" Molly asked before seeing her paw. "Oh. right."
Unfortunately for her, the mother bird returned and attacked her.
"Stay away from my babies!"
"AH!" Molly rushed down the tree as fast as possible. "I wasn't trying to eat them! Honest!"
Her words fell on deaf ears as the mother bird repeatedly tried to peck her. After a long enough chase, the bird stopped and flew back to her nest, confident that the threat was gone.
"I just wanted to pet them." Molly said.
"You used to live in a house, didn't you?" came a new voice.
Molly looked to her left and a few feet away was a gray furred adult cat.
"Hi there. I'm Molly." she said. "And yes actually."
"Friends call me Fuzzy. And don't worry I can show you around. Let's start with the food. Follow me."
Molly followed Fuzzy as suggested out of the park, across a couple streets, and into an alleyway full of garbage bags and trashcans.
"So where's the food?" Molly asked.
"In these big food holders of course." Fuzzy said.
Molly did not like that answer.
"I should've known."
Fuzzy climbed a couple boxes, got on top of an open trashcan, and started eating. Molly approached a torn open bag and tried to eat a banana peel. But this was too much for her.
"I can't do it."
"Yeah, you're a house cat alright." Fuzzy commented as he leapt down. "Living out here isn't always easy. You gotta take what you can get, fight other cats, and watch out for any surprise dangers."
"Oops." someone from up above said.
A flowerpot fell from a high window and hit fuzzy on the head. He dropped dead and a ghost came out of him.
"Fuzzy!" Molly ran over to her new friend and watched his ghost fly away.
She was used to ghosts, but still sad to see Fuzzy go already. That is until he got back up and shook his head, surprising her.
"Ow, that hurt." he said.
"Well what do you know?" Molly said. "Cats really do have nine lives."
"Of course we do. In fact, that was my third one which proves my point. If you're going to live out here, then be prepared for the worst. If you still have a house to live in, then you're better off going home."
"I guess you're right. I just wanted to relax outside for a change. Thanks for everything, Fuzzy. Bye."
"Goodbye, Molly."
Molly left the alley and ran down the sidewalk. She stopped at a corner and thought about her day.
"I didn't think I'd learn anything from this. When I'm okay with work again, I'm definitely doing something about the alley cats. For now I should find a safe place to spend the rest of the day. But where?"
"Hello there." came a voice Molly recognized. "You look lost."
Molly turned and looked up at her best friend Libby. She then had an idea and started rubbing against her leg.
"Awww. You want to come home with me." Libby picked Molly up and walked home with her. "I hope you like where I live."
Meanwhile, the McGees had stopped cleaning for a lunch break, but noticed that two people were missing.
"Molly! Scratch! It's lunch time!" Sharon called.
"Molly's still busy cleaning the basement." Scratch said as he came into the kitchen. "But I can bring her lunch to her."
"Well alright, but don't eat any of it." Sharon handed Scratch a sandwich on a plate.
Scratch scarfed down his own lunch and took Molly's down the stairs, closing the door behind himself. Darryl however started getting suspicious.
"Isn't it weird that we haven't seen much of Molly? The biggest people person we know?" he asked.
"Are you implying that Molly is playing hooky?" Pete gasped. "You know her better than that."
"I'm just saying."
"Molly would never do such a thing." Sharon said as she got up. "I'll prove it to you."
She went to the basement door and opened it. She then flicked the switch, but got no light.
"I guess it needs a new bulb. Molly? Could you come here, please?"
At the bottom of the stairs, a figure shaped like Molly stood partly visible in the dark and waved.
"You see? Molly's still here."
Pete and Darryl saw the same thing and nobody argued. But when the door closed, the figure who was really Scratch returned to his normal shape and ate Molly's sandwich.
"That was close." he said before hiding the lightbulb he took.
Libby had brought Molly back to Book Marks the Spot and entered her home above it.
"I know it's not much, but it's home to me." she said. "Now wait right here while I go pour some milk for you."
She placed Molly on the couch and went into the kitchen. Molly looked around the living room while she waited to be fed. Then she started to wonder about something.
"I wonder what Libby does when she's by herself." she said. "Is it just the usual stuff or does she have some kind of secret?"
Libby came back into the room and placed a bowl of milk on the floor.
"Drink up." she said.
Molly leapt off the couch and started licking that milk.
"Gee, you must've been starving." Libby said as she rubbed Molly's fur. "When you're done, I'll show you my room."
Once Molly was satisfied, Libby picked her up and took her to her room. She then gave her a brief tour.
"This bed is where I sleep and you too if you want. These are my turtles, Larry, Eric, Wendy, and Michelle. And this desk is where I write all of my stories that I'm too nervous to share."
The moment Molly heard that last part, she leapt from Libby's arms to the desk and pawed what she assumed was one of her stories with big eyes.
"Awww. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you could understand me. I guess reading to a kitten won't hurt."
Libby pulled out one of her stories and carried Molly to her bed.
"This is called 'The Garden Beast'."
And so Libby read to Molly for hours all the way to the end of her story. When she finished, Molly rubbed her head against her friend.
"You're so friendly, you remind me of Molly." Libby said.
"Libbyyy!" her mother, Leah called. "I'm back with the groceries!"
"Coming, Mom!" Libby carried Molly with her to the kitchen.
"Aww. I see you made a little friend." Leah said.
"Yeah. Can I keep her?" Libby asked.
"Well you already have your turtles." Leah thought about it. "Alright. But first, you need to make sure that nobody's missing her. Okay?"
"Okay. I bet Molly can make this easier." Libby was just about to leave.
"Ah-ah-ah. Groceries first."
"Oops. Sorry."
The family was sitting in the backyard when they finally finished all of their chores.
"Glad that's over." Pete said.
"Me too." Sharon agreed. "Darryl, could you let Molly and Scratch know we're all done."
"Sure." Darryl walked around the house to the frontyard. "Molly. Scratch. We're all done back here."
"Oh hey, Darryl." Scratch said with his arm shaped like a rake. "Molly just went inside. I'll go tell her."
He quickly went into the house through the wall. Darryl then noticed a couple of leaves on the ground.
"Looks like they missed a spot." he said. "I guess I can get that for-Hey! Wait a minute!"
In the kitchen, Scratch was rewarding himself with a snack from the fridge.
"Thank goodness I don't have to cover anymore." he said.
Soon after, Pete and Sharon came into the kitchen, then Darryl.
"Mom, Dad. We've been tricked!" Darryl said. "I just searched the whole house and Molly isn't here! Scratch has been covering for her the whole time!"
"What? Scratch, is this true?" Pete asked.
"Well-she-I-" Scratch tried to make up a new excuse, but gave up. "How'd you know?"
"I remembered that you can change the shape of your body." Darryl answered.
"Scratch, where's Molly?" Sharon asked with crossed arms and a stern tone.
Scratch could've just flown away or even gone to the Ghost World, but his bond with this family wouldn't let him. So he told the truth.
"I know you're not gonna believe me, but this is what happened."
Libby was carrying Molly down the street and arrived in front of the McGee household.
"Maybe I can sneak away and hide until I change back." Molly said to herself before remembering something. "Wait. That's supposed to happen at sunset!"
She looked at the sky and found that the sun was already setting.
"Oh sweet baby corn." Molly changed back.
"Wah!" *Boof!* Libby fell on her back with Molly sitting on her torso. "Molly!?"
"I guess I've got some explaining to do." Molly said with a chuckle. "Let's go to my room first so I don't get in trouble."
However, when Molly opened the door, her parents were waiting for her with serious faces.
"I think you're too late." Libby said.
"Molly, to the couch." Sharon said. "Libby, you may need to witness this."
Molly walked to the couch in shame and Libby followed her much to both of their confusion. Everybody was now sitting in the living room.
"I tried Moll, but Darryl figured it out near the end." Scratch said.
"It takes more than that to trick me." Darryl said.
"Molly, why did you shirk your chores?" Pete asked. "You're better than this."
Molly couldn't take the shame anymore, so she just let it all out.
"BECAUSE I NEEDED A BREAK!" she shouted, surprising everyone. "Everyday and every night for a week, I've been working and helping everybody! And then this morning, I couldn't even stand the thought of cleaning! I'm really sorry. I promise I'll make it up to you."
"That won't be necessary." Sharon said.
"Huh?" Molly was surprised.
"Scratch already explained it. We just wanted to make sure he wasn't lying again. You should've told us you were tired from all of that in the first place. We still have tomorrow."
"And you definitely shouldn't have overworked yourself." Pete added. "We're proud of you for all of the good you've done. Just give yourself a chance to rest once in a while."
Molly got up and hugged her parents.
"I promise I'll do that." she said.
"We know you will." Sharon said. "Now go upstairs and do what you want. You earned it."
"And Libby. Scratch." Pete said. "As her best friends, could you help her with her promise if she needs it."
"You got it." Scratch said.
"Of course." Libby said.
Molly then grabbed both of them by the wrist and took them to her room. Once inside, they all sat on her bed.
"So, what other awesome stories do you have?" Molly asked.
"You liked that?" Libby said.
"You bet I do."
So they talked about Libby's stories and other best friend stuff that wasn't too active. Molly was sure that by tomorrow, she would be herself again.
Author's Note: Sorry if Molly and/or Scratch seemed a little too out of character. I had a little trouble finding a good reason for Molly to become a kitten. But when asking myself why it would happen, my mind went to another Disney show you obviously know about in which somebody once sort of turned into a cat. A lazy one. Then I remembered four particular words from that same show(I-NEED-A-BREAK!). So I decided to have Molly overwork herself to the point of being sick of what she normally likes to do. Knowing Molly's all-nighters, this could actually happen. But as satisfied as I am with what I wrote, this chapter pales in comparison to the fanfic that inspired it. That's right, I took inspiration from a fic in which she turns into a puppy. But I made sure they weren't too similar to one another. Lastly, it feels good to put a curse on Molly again. For some reason, it's more fun to do it to her than anyone else in the show. Probably her optimism. Next time, a new bet will be made.