I take a deep breath and walk through the door, smiling half-heartedly at the jingle bells that announce a new customer. The smell is the first thing that welcomes me. Again, I want to laugh, or at least smile, but that wouldn't be fair. I can't smile until Lucy can too.

"Well that's why I'm here," I mutter, looking around. I reach out and feel the toys on the wall, and check the food labels for no reason. I mean, how can there be so many brands of pet food? The fish in the little aquariums seem to watch my every move, but when I turn to look at them, they swim away.

"Welcome to Edolas Pet Emporium. Do you need anything?" The lady behind the counter asks with a bored voice.

"Uhh, yeah..." I reply, following the fish with my eyes. Shaking my head, I turn to her, "I was here a while ago with my friend, and we saw this kitten. He was very little, and uh, small... Oh, and he was bright blue!"

"Oh. You want that one. We'll, just because I'm nice I'll warn you. He's a troublemaker. Anyone who has ever wanted to adopt him are scared away. He never sits still. Always trying to get to the fish tanks. Refuses to eat his food. Are you sure you want him?" She reaches behind the counter and picks up a small, blue cat. Around his neck is a green collar, which has a thick rope attached to it. He seems to shiver, standing there, and when he sees the lady he tries to jump away. He leaps into my arms, or at least tries to, but the rope stops him short. I can see in his eyes he's pleading with me.

"Oh, don't give him that look," at first I think the lady's talking to the cat, but I look up and see she's talking to me. "Don't fall for his little tricks. He's a troublemaker."

"I'll take him! Off your hands," I add as a last thought. It does the trick, and she unties the rope. The cat jumps into my arms and starts purring. "How much for the cat, a bed, litter box, actual litter, food, a brush, and three toys?" I can actually see her head spin. I pull the list out of my pocket, while the cat walks around my shoulders. Eventually I find all the things I need, and shove everything into my car.

"Wait!" I call out, locking my car door and running back into the store, the cat clinging to my shirt. "I forgot a name tag!"

"Just use this machine over here. Type out the name and your number, and it will print it out on whatever tag you pick." She lazily explains. I grab an orange, fish-shaped tag and purchase it. Sliding it into the machine, I slowly type out the name I want, and my cellphone number. On impulse, I add a second number, and the tag pops out again. Smiling, I look it over, at the engraved name. I pull the cat off of my back and hold him in front of me, as I clip the name tag onto his collar.

"Let's go home, Happy."

It takes me a bunch of trips to get everything from the car into the house, but I finally get it done. Sitting on the floor with the cat carrier in front of me, I open the latch, and he springs forward.

"Woah boy!" I exclaim, diving to the floor and catching him before he can run off. "Let me just explain a few things. You are not my cat."

He tilts his head at that.

"I know, seems weird, right? Well, actually you're a gift for a friend. I want to cheer her up somehow, and I'm hoping you can do that, Happy. Which brings me to my second point. Your name is Happy. Learn it, because that is what I need you to do. I want you to be happy. I want Luce to be happy. And I want to remember feeling happy the first time I met you! So let's be a close family!"

~

Apparently my speech meant nothing to him. These three days have been crazy. After school I have to rush out and drive back home as fast as I can with the messy roads. I'm constantly woken up by Happy's butt in my face, and I have to make everything cat-proof. The litter box stinks up the bathroom occasionally, and Happy keeps knocking over his food and water. That's just on a good day. He doesn't always use the litter box, he eats things that aren't his food, he gets stuck in places I didn't know anyone could reach... Oh and I didnt exactly tell Wendy or Aunt Porlyuscia I was getting a cat...

"Happy... Happy, no!!" I shout, running after him.  He sprints down and into the kitchen, where he climbs the window curtain above the sink and gets stuck.

"MERROOWWWW," he calls out, refusing to try to climb down.

"You dumb neko..." I mutter, grabbing the step stool for the seventh time today. "What, you think you can fly or something?" As I climb up and reach out to grab him, he leaps past me and lands on his feet on the floor.

Damn cat.

~

This cat is actually the spawn of the devil. A trickster, prankster, demon cat that refuses to take a bath. I've had him for about two weeks, and this is the first time I've actually gotten soap on his body on purpose. 

"Happy, come back here!!" I cry out, chasing him out of the bathroom and down the stairs. My hands are still a little sudsy, as I was trying to make the sink a kind of bubble bath for him. I knew I should have locked the bathroom door!

"Meerroww," I hear him cry. I look around the kitchen and spot him hiding in the lower cabinets with the pots and pans. Reaching in, I pluck him out of his hiding spot and brings him back upstairs, this time locking the bathroom door.

I hum to myself as I scrub the kitten. He starts to like it when I rub behind his ears. Rinsing him off, I realize he looks brighter. Shinier, and bluer, if that's possible. Maybe the dirt made his coat darker... I don't know. The hair dryer comes out, and call me crazy, but I swear he gives me a dirty look. Can't deny, this cat has personality. He jumps around, until he finds his footing on the sink. Sweeping his tail back and forth, I watch as my phone teeters precariously over the edge.

"Happy, noooo..." With one strong click of the tail, I watch in shock as my phone is pushed the opposite way, landing in the sink full of water rather than the ground. I quickly pull it out, just to watch the screen flip out and go dark.

"NOW YOU'RE REALLY GONNA GET IT!" I grab him and forcefully blow dry the devil out of him. His fur fluffs up as it dries, turning him into a blue pompom.

"Don't give me that. You look handsome," I say, stifling my laughter. Another thing is, I swear Happy can understand me sometimes. It's a little freaky. Happy jumps out of my arms and sits by the door, definitely more blue than before.

"The lights are not playing tricks on me. You're getting bluer with every wash... What the hell?" I say out loud as I open the door. He flies out and down the stairs, into Wendy's waiting arms.

"I'M HOME!!" She calls out, picking up Happy and squeezing the life out of him.

"Hello Wendy-chan. Did ya' have a nice day?"

"It was ok, onii-chan. The teacher gave us a pop quiz."

"A pop quiz? On what?" I ask.

"Math. It wasn't too hard, but it put a damper on the whole day."

"Aww, well now Happy can cheer you up," I say, smiling at her. I can't bring myself to tell her that after he grows and becomes more mellow I'm giving him to Luce. Happy looks at me as if he can tell what I'm thinking, but I just look away. In that instant, Happy leaps from Wendy's arms and makes his way onto my shoulder.

"I don't know about that, Happy seems to have a special connection to you! Plus, I'm waiting until I can get my own cat!!!" Wendy exclaims brightly, not upset the least that Happy favors me. I pluck him off my shoulder and hold him at arm's length. 

"You are one strange cat," I mutter. Happy just looks at me and tilts his head.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Happy's here! Maybe not in the way you'd expect though, huh? Until next time!!

:P Shadow