Feline Friend

The Presentation

Millie nervously chewed on the end of her pencil. This was it.

Stood at the front of the class was Tony, his sweaty hands tightly grasping his presentation notes. The teacher gave the nod for Tony to begin. Tony took a deep breath and began his presentation.

"Thes... This project is about the life and... and legacy of... Abraham Lincoln," Tony said quietly.

Good start, good start. Keep it up.

Millie discreetly pressed her pointer finger to her temple, as if trying to send Tony encouragement telepathically.

"I can't hear him," a kid in the back said. Millie shot the kid a glare, though he didn't see it.

"Tony," the teacher said, "would you mind speaking up, please?"

Tony nodded and swallowed.

"This project is about the leg—the life and legacy of Ab—Abraham Lincoln."

Tony's voice was still quite quiet, but it was significantly louder than before.

Yes. Yes. You've got this. Keep going.

Millie's fist clenched with determination, her fingernails digging into her palm.

Tony continued his presentation. He attempted to make eye contact while presenting—his mother had suggested doing such—and locked eyes with Millie. She nodded encouragingly, a slight smile on her face. Tony took a deep breath.

The rest of the presentation was a surprise to Millie. By the middle, Tony had stopped losing his spot, and by the end, he had stopped stuttering. His voice was clear and, while not loud, able to be heard throughout the entire classroom without too much difficulty.

Tony finished his presentation and took a deep breath, his notes clutched tightly in his hands. They were bent and wrinkled from the sweat of Tony's hands. Tony looked around shyly at his audience.

Millie began clapping slowly and quietly. Another student joined in. Then another. Then another. Soon, the whole class was clapping and cheering for Tony. He turned red in the face and briskly walked back to his seat.

"I didn't know you could talk," the student next to Tony joked. Another told Tony he was glad they had chosen him to present. Millie supposed he was one of Tony's partners. Tony smiled shyly as the clapping subsided.

Millie let out a sigh of relief. Tony had done it, and he had done it better than anyone could have imagined. Millie looked over at Tony and gave him a thumbs up. Tony was confused at the sudden praise from someone who usually never positively interacted with anyone, but he smiled and mouthed "thank you."

Throughout the day, Tony was approached by many classmates. He was noticably nervous when large crowds approached, but he was happy to try to talk to two or three people at a time. By the end of the day, it looked like Tony had made some friends, and they playfully messed up his hair, as teenage boys do, and exchanged phone numbers, promising to hang out sometime soon. Millie saw that Tony was smiling widely as they both boarded the bus.

Millie returned home with a smile on her face as well. She hummed a song as she threw her backpack onto the floor and grabbed a snack from the kitchen.

He did it. All that hard work, all that anxiety and strong, and he did it. Great job, Tony.

Millie flopped onto her bed, still smiling. She was excited to see Tony later and congratulate him. Soon, she was transformed into a cat, and she trotted happily to Tony's house.

When Millie arrived, she meowed, and Tony jumped up from his desk to greet her.

"Kitty, guess what!" he said, his voice shaking with excitement (and likely strain as well). "I did it! I did it!!!"

He picked up Millie and hugged her close, resting his chin on her head. Millie's fur stood up in shock, but she sank into the hug, a small purr escaping her.

"Thank you so much, kitty," he said softly. "I never could've done this without you. You're the best friend I could hope to have."

A pang of sadness hit Millie. She would have to leave Tony soon and return to her life as a human.

No. Think happy thoughts.

Millie rubbed her head against Tony in congratulations, silencing her sad thoughts.

Tony gently placed Millie back on the windowsill.

"So, after I finished my presentation, a whole lot of my classmates were like 'that was cool' and 'good job' and lots of them were like 'I didn't know you knew how to speak,' which I understand, since I never talked to anyone before, but I made some friends, finally! Mom's proud of me and said we can get ice cream tomorrow after school! Thank you so, so much, kitty!"

Millie stood in shock while Tony chattered on.

This kid can really talk. Even moreso than when he ranted to me that one time. Dang.

Tony gave Millie one last hug before she left. As she stood on the windowsill, she looked back at him and meowed a farewell. She felt this would be the last time they saw each other like this. She hopped from the windowsill and headed towards her house, a bittersweet feeling building in her.

Millie arrived at her house and saw a gray cat sitting on the ground in front of her window. Jerome.

"Jerome, hey," Millie said. "What's up?"

"You seem to be in a good mood," Jerome replied.

"Yep."

"Come with me," Jerome said. He began walking towards Miss Hopkins' house.

"Every-so-often check-up?" Millie asked.

"Yes. And perhaps more."

"Will my curse be broken?"

"It all depends on what Miss Hopkins decides."

The two cats reached Miss Hopkins' house and made their way into the living room, where Miss Hopkins was waiting for them, drinking tea as usual.

"Ah, you're back again," she said. "Have a seat; let's talk."