Janet nervously, but excitedly, walked over to the CritterCreek Cats alongside Alex. By the time she had got to the table where the cats were sitting, her worries had changed from ‘Why can’t I stop acting like such a girly-girl?’ to ‘Oh gosh, I hope they like me!’.
“Hiya Cats! Meeeow!” Alex said, putting up her little paws cutely, which the other girls responded by giggling and responding with a big ‘Meeeeeow!’ of their own.
“Alex, you’re back! Love the new bracelet!” a lynx girl with beautifully tufted ears said. “Who’s the new girl?”
“Hi there Lily! This is Janet! Isn’t she the cutest?” Alex said, giving Janet a hug as she introduced her to the rest of the CritterCreek Cats. “Janet, this is Lily, the leader of the Cats! She’s 12, so she can protect us from all the dumb, stinky boys! They’re always trying to mess with us just ‘cause we’re so beautiful and they know they never will be!.”
Lily the lynx smiled and gave Janet a hug to welcome her. “If you’re a cat and a girl, you’re a CritterCreek Cat in my book,” the friendly older girl said, then she instinctually began to groom the young cougar girl with her tongue, and Janet’s own instincts kicked in and she relaxed and cuddled with the older girl, purring happily like the cougar kitten she was becoming.
After a few minutes of grooming, Janet snapped out of her trance. She saw all the CritterCreek Cats looking at her happily, and one of them dug out a compact mirror so she could see herself. Janet’s long blond hair had been done up into adorable braids that hung off the side of her head, with flowers and barrettes woven in to keep the intricate hairstyle in place.
“Oh. My. Gosh.” Janet said as she saw her new look. “I… I LOVE IT!” she squealed, hopping around and hugging all the other cats.
Lily giggled happily at the little critter’s excitement. “I’m glad you like it. And now you don’t stink like skunk anymore. Stick with us and stay away from those stinky trash-eaters and you’ll do just fine here at Camp CritterCreek.” Lily put her nose up snobbishly, and the other girls did the same.
“Y-yeah, I will…” Janet said nervously as she stuck her nose up as well, eager to be a true member of the CritterCreek Cats like Alex was. She felt a little bad abandoning Jack and the others like that… Deep down, she still remembered Jackie as her girlfriend, but her face was slowly being replaced in her memory with Jack, the stinky, mischievous skunk boy. As she ran her paws over her cute new braids, she wondered if it was really worth it…