Life of a Cat 2

By: Trevor Shum

Today started like any other day; I overslept, Angelina woke me up then went to school, I hunted for the day. Who would have told me what would happen that evening? It was around 8 pm when:

“Psst. Ollie.”

I jumped about two feet into the air. Angelina, who was getting ready for bed, stroked my fur until I settled down. After 2 long hours, I crept up to the window to see what was on. It was Leo.

“How do you get past these pots?”

“There’s another window over there.”

Leo looked over, and indeed there was another window next to the one he was peeking through. “Come on. I need some help.” I hitched out of the window and joined him on the roof and asked him what the matter was.

“You know the Javanese over on Greenery, James? He can’t pay his taxes because he’s

injured. The leaders have turned down his applications. Last night was the third.”

I was alarmed. I knew in the brief he gave me that if you stopped taxes for three weeks, you were to be persecuted, which means arrested. And Greenery is part of Leo’s district, so he’s in charge. “So, what are you going to do?”

“File, like, the fifth application. I don’t know why they’re not accepting it. It’s triple-checked down to paw prints.”

We arrived at the centre of the state, which was in the alley, luckily not too far. The party leaders and the elderly governor were there, and Leo gave a soft yowl. They all woke up abruptly. The governor asked: “Hello, Representative Leo. What do you wish?”

“May I inquire into the repeated rejections of these?” He put forth the application form. The dog leader, a quick-tempered basenji examined it and sighed. “I believe this is not in order.”

“You’ve said that four times before, your honor. Could you please provide an explanation?”

“Do you know these need to be self-signed, not by you?”

Leo’s large, luminous eyes grew so big they stretched across his face. ” C’mon, Ollie, let’s go!”

I darted after him across three blocks until we got to the address. Leo clambered onto the roof, almost knocking over a potted plant.

“Watch it!” I half-shouted, scanning the place for a non-destructive pathway. I found one and proceeded onto the roof. Leo carefully got down to a top floor and pounded the wall, almost falling over. I caught him and we waited. A good three minutes later, a bandaged Javanese who was struggling to stand on twos appeared in the window, next to a young and inquisitive Labrador. “Shoo, you dog.”

“You have to sign this by your own paw, or it’s the trial.” Leo said, ignoring my comment altogether. James, who understood the severity, raised his paw to sign the paper. But his strength failed him, and he fell backwards, which caused a yelp from the Labrador, who snarled at James. I swiped at him with my claws, and he looked at me as if to say “I’m very sorry for my bad behavior”. Oh, well.

After a few failed attempts, Leo got the idea of me supporting James’ forearm while he tried to imprint it. I tried, and it worked. We then thanked James and he returned the favor. “You two really helped me. Otherwise, who knows what would happen?”

“Who knows indeed!” said an overenthusiastic Leo. I sighed. “C’mon, if we don’t turn it in, all of this will be for nothing.”

“Right!” and then we were off like two furry grey bullets who homed in on mice. We dashed past several blocks, narrowly avoided traffic (and being seen), until we made it halfway to the alley. But then Leo stops. “I dropped it!”

“Argh!” I let out a loud yowl, but Leo pointed on top of a tree just across the street. The paper was jammed in the branches. Leo scampered up, but failed to swipe the paper. Back on the ground, he explained that someone with thinner limbs was needed. Like me. I climbed up the tree and snatched the application. And then the imaginary gun fired again, and we were off. We soon arrived at the alley.

“Why, hello.” Leo, ignoring the greeting, slapped the paper down. The basenji caught it. “This is a bi-”

“Don’t talk to me about ‘pristine copies’!” The basenji, surprised, backed up to avoid being bitten by Leo’s baring teeth. He thrust the application under a device, which scanned the paw print. “Owner identified.” He turned to us. “Well, if this machine is correct, James will be cleared of all charges. And good job for being on time.” I found an old wristwatch on the side and checked the time. 2:59 am. Documents were due at 3. We made it!

“Well, thanks for the help, Ollie!”

“You, too. Now, I have to go now. Angelina’s noticed I had a late night yesterday. See you.”

“Bye!”

Well, that was sure chaotic! And to think it’s only my second day! See you next time.