The Cats of the Solar System

Chapter 17

"I got the mail everyone!" Earth called, her voice muffled. This was because her mouth was full of letters and the daily newspaper. The eleven year old terrestrial planet kitten carried the mail out to the dining room table where the rest of the family was eating their dinner. She set it down in front of the Sun so he could pass everything out.

"Thank you sweetie. Here, this one's for you," the Sun declared, holding up a letter. Earth graciously took it. He then handed out the rest of the mail. Both Venus and Saturn received their latest edition of their favorite magazines, Mars got a letter, Mercury had a pile of letters, Jupiter got a package and Uranus decided to cover himself in postage stamps from the letters.

"Ooh, that's stylish," Venus remarked, spotting a dress she really liked in her Stars magazine. Looking up from his fashion model magazine, Saturn peered over her shoulder and commented, "That is very stylish." Pushing him away, Venus grumbled, "Look at your own magazine!"

"Yes! It came!" Jupiter exclaimed, pulling out his brand new electric guitar out of the box it came in. He then pushed the box off the table. It didn't even spend a second on the floor when a postage stamp covered Uranus jumped inside. Getting up, Jupiter excused himself from the table as he explained, "Sorry, I have to go practice!" He then raced off to his room.

"Holy Celestial, is all of that from the school?" Mars asked, glancing at Mercury's stack of letters. Ripping open another letter, Mercury nodded his head and growled, "Apparently, the principal isn't too fond of my pranks. I now have detention all next week." Done skimming through the last letter, he tossed it aside and was about to open another one when he stopped. "Hey Sun," he meowed, holding up the envelope, "This one's for you. I think it got mixed up in mine."

"Oops, sorry about that Mercury," the Sun murmured, taking the letter. Setting down the Space News newspaper, the star cat opened up the envelope and pulled out the slip of paper inside. It was an invitation. Reading it, he murmured, "Shooting stars, I almost forgot about this."

"Forgot about what?" Earth asked, ever the curious child. Setting down the invitation, the Sun answered, "Well, every decade the star cats like to have a party downtown around this time of year. The party is tomorrow night."

"Can we come?" Uranus asked, peeking out from the cardboard box he was in. Shaking his head, the Sun replied, "Sorry but no kids allowed." Patting Uranus on the head, Mars added, "Plus, he said the star cats, not everyone in the universe."

"Besides, I shouldn't. I need to look after all of you," the Sun pointed out. Looking up, Venus meowed, "You can go. Ever since you brought Uranus home two years ago you haven't spent much time with your friends. You should go." Biting his lip, the Sun murmured, "I don't wanna trouble anyone to babysit you guys."

"We can look after ourselves. Jupiter and I are thirteen, Earth is twelve," Mars piped up. Adjusting his glasses on his nose, Saturn chimed into the conversation, "And the rest of us are eleven. We'll be fine." All of the planet kittens present looked at the Sun expectantly, waiting for his answer. Sighing softly, the Sun gave in, "Alright, I'll go."

Just then, everyone covered their ears as the house was filled with the sound of a very loud out of tune electric guitar.