Jakey

By: Coneflower

Jake sat down on a bench in Central Park all the ready to eat his knockwurst he bought from a passing vendor. He wasn't done selling his papes though, so, lunch would have to be short.

*I can't wait to finish up. This heat is almost too much to bare* he thought, slipping off his bowler and wiping the sweat off his brow.

He started eating his lunch when all the sudden a brown spotted cat jumped on the bench. "Where'd you come from, buddy?" Jake said, petting the cat.

The cat just stood there enjoying the attention.

"Want some bread?" Jake knew the cat was probably hungry if it was wandering around in the park. And since he loved animals, he couldn't resist.

The cat sniffed the bread for a moment the gabbled it up.

"I see you like it!" Jake took a bit out of his knockwurst. "Not bad." Then he proceeded to finish it off. The cat laid down on his lap, all comfy. Jake petted the cat some more not really feeling like getting up to sell the rest of his papes.

A weird thought crossed his mind. *I wonder what the cat would look like with my bowler on?* While the cat slept, Jake gently placed his bowler down on the cat's head. It didn't even flinch.

Jake laughed to himself at the sight. But not for long. He felt a strange prickle feeling run up his arm. "What the…?"

POOF!

Jake opened his eyes, slightly disoriented. He groaned, and raised his head. *Where am I?* His vision became clearer to see that he was lying on someone's porch. Before he could even get up, he heard his name being called.

"Jakey! Whatcha doin', babe?" An average girl with long brown hair and glasses over her brown eyes ran up to him.

*Uh…who are you and why am I here?* Jake asked, standing up but felt a little wobbly.

"Whoa, Jakey babe, what's wrong? You act like you can't stand very well." The girl peered at him with concern.

*I'm a little bewildered NOT knowing where I am! And why do you keep calling me Jakey? I'm not a little boy.*

"Aww, my poor little boy! I'll carry you." The girl picked him up suddenly.

*Hey! What is going on?! I can't believe this girl is picking me up!* But Jake realized something was wrong when he looked down at himself. *Wait a sec…am I suppose to have a tail and fur?* The realization finally struck him. *I'M A CAT!*

Jake's furry body started to heave hard. *I cannot be a CAT! How did this happen?! I gotta get outta here!* He squired, trying to break free from the girl's hold.

"Jakey, where are you going?" the girl shouted at her spooked cat. Jake was too wrapped up in shock to notice he was running straight for something that was big, purple, and had wheels. "JAKEY!"

Jake suddenly came to a halt as the van stopped right in front of him. His heart was pounding by the time the girl ran over to him.

"What has gotten into you, Jakey?! Don't ever do that again!" she scolded him. The girl held him close, very tightly. He wasn't paying much mind, because the image of the van heading for him was still in his eyes.

*I could of…I could of…* He breathed deep, catching the realization. *I could of been KILLED by whatever that thing was!*

"Nina, is he all right?" a lady, who just emerged from van, asked. "Good thing I saw him before it was too late."

Nina nodded. "I think he's going to be fine……just a little shaken, arntcha babe?" She held him tightly some more, petting his fur.

The feeling made Jake relax and a vibrating sound came from his chest. *Am I purring?* He thought about that for a moment then decided he was. *Guess you can't control that.*

Nina headed for her house, and brought Jake inside. He felt the coolness of cold air. The only time he'd ever felt this kind of cold of in the winter. *Hey, this feels pretty good. But cold in the summer time? This is crazy! It has to be a dream.*

She stepped into a room that came off of the dining area, and closed the door. "Now, Jakey, you better not ever go running out in front of a car again! I like to of had a heart attack!"

*You and me both, lady.*

"You lay on the bed while I go get you some can food." Nina left out the room, leaving Jake on her bed.

He looked around, musing, *I always wanted to know how it'd be like to be in a girl's room, let alone her BED! But not in this form!* He heaved.

The room was filled with pictures of people, animals, and these odd looking cartoon characters. One character was a mouse in red shorts. *Hey, good choice in color.* he thought, signifying how much he liked the color red. His red vest was literally prized by him, just like his black bowler.

Nina finally came back with a paper plate and a can. "Here ya go." She set down the plate in front of Jake. He stared at the glob of mess on it then sniffed it.

*Yuck! It looks and smells like 3 day old fish on the Brooklyn docks. I ain't eatin' that junk, lady.* He plopped down on his rear, showing the girl he refused her offering.

"You don't want it?" she asked, in mock stupidity.

Jake was about to shake his head when he remembered he really couldn't because he was a dang cat! He just sat still on the bed.

"Fine. If you want to be that way. Go eat the dry food then. I wish I knew what has gotten into you Jakey, you've been acting strange." Nina got up and left out of the room again.

*I know what's gotten into 'Jakey', ME! Jake, the newsie! And I'm not enjoying this one bit.* He laid down, exhausted from just the plain surprise of finding himself in a cat's body. Jake looked around the room again since he had nothing better to do.

When he did, a certain picture caught his eyes. He stood up and ran over to the back of the door that the picture was hanging from. *It can't be. I must be in a nightmare and can't escape!!!* The picture was of him as a human, dressed in his usual newsie attire and sitting on a barrel with all the other newsies to the left for him.