Mint's Story

Morning came like every day; the only difference was that over the night, something was pressing on his chest.

Darren groggily half-opened his right eye, and saw a black-haired little girl. Why a little girl? Had to be a dream; it was the first time Darren had this kind of dream, and if he was dreaming of little girls he'd never seen before, then something wasn't right. He read a Psychology book a couple weeks ago, it said something about dreams being a "window to the subconscious" or some BS like that, but it made sense to him, and that only frightened him about the depths of his possible mental problems further.

However, the weight on his chest was very real, but at least that had a more logical answer. Surely it was his little kitten, Mint, with her head on his chest, and his imagination was making him think she was about forty pounds heavier than usual. To prove it he just had to open his eyes and wake up. But the little girl was still there, and in Mint's usual position. Surprised even though he was fully aware now, Darren couldn't hold back his surprise in the form of a nice loud shout.

"What the hell?!" Then the little girl stretched out on the bed next to him. She was waking up. When she sat up, he was able to see much more: ear-like protrusions from the girl's head with little tufts of fur on top; a long, swaying tail; she had some silverish streaks of hair mixed in with the normal color, too; she even had a black dress on that laid out just around her when she crossed her legs on the mattress. It was because of the first two that he repeated himself in a more muttered tone, though. "The hell...?"

Now rubbing the sleep out of her face, the mysterious girl took a look at Darren's shocked face through her lively green eyes, and sleepily said without any shadow of a doubt (and with a little smile no less!), "Morning, Master."

"'Master?' The hell's goin' on here?" A girl no older than freakin' ten years old, equipped with cat ears and apparently a prehensile tail, just called him MASTER? Then it finally hit him. Took him long enough. As he sat up in his bed, Darren asked, "Mint?"

Still rubbing the sleep from her eyes, the little girl looked at Darren in response to the name. "Nyaa."

He couldn't suppress another exclamation over what's going on. "What the hell?! How're you human?!"

"I dunno."

"Okay, well how do you know how to speak English?"

"I dunno." With every question he asked, more kept popping up in his head. He must be going insane. His kitten turned human overnight; anyone would admit him to the sanitarium if he said it out loud.

He closed his eyes to deny what they just saw, lying back down on the bed. Had to be an explanation, something to explain what was going on here. Cats DO NOT turn into humans overnight!

Darren spent a few moments thinking and came to a (completely crazy) conclusion: First, the girl never said her name. She only reacted when he called her Mint. Second, her answers were completely vague. With that information the only logical solution was that the girl got hit in the head and lost her memory, somehow managed to enter his apartment, probably following the real Mint who should be playing outside or something, and the poor girl is trying to forge a new identity with the very little information she has. Totally being logical and reasonable right now, he ignored the voice shouting in his head: What about the ears? What about the tail? He opened his eyes again and sat up, ready to unravel the mystery and perhaps help the poor girl.

"So, what's your name?"

"Mint; you just called me by my name, Master!" The girl who's now calling herself by his cat's name started to pout, as if upset that Darren thought she was someone else. Such a cute little girl, he started to feel guilty. The face was unmistakably his pet kitten's. Mint always made a pouty-looking face when he did something she didn't like, like taking her out of the tub when the water was on.

"Did something happen to you last night?"

"Not that I remember."

"Nothing? Not some kind of magic potion or crap like that?" Of course, he never did believe in magic, but maybe the little girl would have the imagination.

"I drank something funny last night, but I just came back in and fell asleep." The girl herself started to look guilty, like it could've been something she didn't want Darren to find out, but she kept answering.

"Where?"

"Outside with the neighbor cats."

Neighbor cats? Does Mint go out at night? Does she actually meet up with other cats around the neighborhood? Did they drink that shit, too? Did Mint get any on Darren, and if so, can it be absorbed through the skin and cause him to have these extremely vivid yet screwy dreams? SO MANY QUESTIONS. (Find out next time on "My Cat Turned Into a Ten Year Old Girl!")

"You know you should be smarter than to drink something you found outside." Then again, she wasn't even a year old, it wasn't easy to lecture something so young. Or... wait, how does her cat age translate to human...? Whatever! Darren took a look at the clock on his nightstand; he woke up earlier than usual thanks to his cat... human... THING. Guess I have some extra time for a bigger cup of coffee today, he thought. He had to leave in a while, so he could hope the girl disappeared and he got his cat back by the time he returned. It didn't seem like that was happening though, since Mint quickly found herself trying to figure out how her nails were supposed to work on the scratching post in the room.

Soon enough, she climbed back onto the bed and looked at Darren with an almost pleading face and holding her stomach with one pa--hand. "Master, can we have breakfast?" Breakfast? He was starting to wonder if she was still able to eat the cat food he'd been feeding her. Maybe she's up for a bowl of cereal or something. With a sigh, he gave the former kitten a nod and went with her to the kitchen, preparing said bowl for her and filling it with some Golden Crisps, as well as a spoon since he didn't want her trying to lap it up. In the meantime, he started brewing some coffee for himself. With a, "Thank you, Master," and a smile, she started eating.

Surprisingly, Mint already knew how to use utensils; grasped it between her fingers and used it to scoop up the cereal. She still tried to lap it out of the damn spoon at first, but she figured out that part a moment later.

"So do you wanna tell me who these 'neighbor cats' are?" Darren made a short pause. "And stop callin' me 'Master', will ya?" It made him uncomfortable, and not in the sense of having hired a maid or something either. Mint took a second to swallow a bite before she answered.

"There's Connor, and Lucy, and JoJo, and Ruffles, and Mavvy, and Blackie, and Fluffy." Mint answered in rhythm; as soon as she stopped, she resumed eating, Darren pouring himself some coffee and adding in a light creamer. Not too bitter; not too sweet.

"Do you know where they live?"

"No."

"How do you know them, then?"

"We just see each other sometimes."

"Did they drink that 'funny stuff' like you?"

"Fluffy drank it first." Like a real kid, she practically pinned the blame on peer pressure and one of her companions. Darren almost chuckled until he realized the severity of this. Did those cats all turn into ten year olds, too, or did their age translate into teens or even grown adults?

After Darren finished his drink and Mint's bowl was taken care of, he took her back to the bedroom. "I need to take a shower and get ready for work. DON'T come in after me." It was enough that she liked playing in the water, possibly even semi-cute that a cat would do that, but this would just be unacceptable by any standards.

While showering Darren thought how strange this situation was. Illogical as it may seem there was no other explanation than that his cat became a ten year old girl. Perhaps some mad scientist expelled from society developed some kind of chemical and decided to test it on the neighborhood cats. Selfish bastard complicating the lives of others. In any case he would have to seriously consider looking for the other cats' owners to see if something like this happened to them, even if he hated talking to people.

This is just to see if the same thing happened to other people, that's all. He just had to keep telling himself that, and he'd be fine. Maybe they could even shed some insight into the matter.

Mint, left to her own devices, starting searching through Darren's closet like she wanted to play dress-up, at least until she found what she was looking for.

(Will Darren actually dare to willingly converse with other humans? Will he find the other cat owners? What did Mint find in Darren's closet? Did Fluffy really drink it first? Find out next time on... "My Cat Turned Into a Ten Year Old Girl!")

Darren's shower was longer than usual; he got lost in his thoughts for a few extra minutes, trying to figure out how he'd ask complete strangers if they woke up and their cats were mostly human. And if he hit the mark, what kind of people are they? At least three have to be stranger than him, one cat's named Blackie, and if that doesn't sound racist then what will?

As soon as he got out of the shower and dried himself off, he went about getting some clothes from his closet, at least until he hit the door handle. Freakin' little girl in his room, he's about to walk out naked, and he's pretty damn sure she wouldn't leave even for a few minutes. Of course, he didn't care when she was still a cat; it's just so much easier to be aware like this when you suddenly realize that since she's human now she can understand human shit! He quickly wrapped the towel around his waist, took a matter of seconds to reach and grab some clothes from the closet, then retreated to the bathroom once again to get dressed. It wasn't quick enough to keep him from hearing an inquisitive, "Master?" though.

"I said stop calling me that." When he was finally dressed and the towel was on its hangar, he came out of the bathroom to find his former cat sitting on the bed wearing a fedora over her ears. "Put that thing away, too."

"Aww, why?"

"It's mine."

"You weren't using it." Ugh.

"Fine. Just make sure you don't lose it." Another look, and Mint looked even more like a kid with the hat on. If there was a way to disguise her tail then she could probably go out in public. If this effect's gonna last, she'd need more than just a nightgown-like dress, and Darren wasn't gonna start going into the girls' section of a store and guessing what'd fit her, let alone look any good. He wasn't fashion-oriented.

Heading to the front door, Darren was grateful he hadn't moved into a dorm for college. "Mint, I have to go to work. Do you think you can stay in the apartment by yourself?" Of course Mint's done this before, but it's doubtful that she won't want to explore her newfound humanity. He just wants her to stay in because people will see her tail. He's also not too sure if the dress was the only thing she was wearing, and he didn't want to find out. (The fact she had any clothes at all when he woke up amazed him.)

"Mhm."

"Now make sure you don't leave the apartment. When I get back, we'll have to get you some new clothes." Here's hoping his sister would be willing to help. God knows he doesn't want go through with this kinda crap alone. Since he has a TV and a decent cable plan, Darren made sure Mint knew what channels some cartoons are on, and off he went.

"Have a good day, Master!"

(What does Darren do at work? Will his sister help him? Will Mint really stay inside? Will the television occupy her active, kitten-like attention span? Will we find out if Fluffy really drank the funny stuff first? Find out next time on... "My Cat Turned Into a Ten Year Old Girl!")