They Called It A Near Miss

I am taking a creative writing course. One of the assignments was to write a short piece using dialogue. This is not necessarily my favorite kind of writing, but since I am taking the course to stretch out of my comfort zone, I decided to give it a whirl. 

They called it a near miss, but Jethro called it something a bit different.

The alarm buzzed, the off button smacked. Jethro’s feet hit the floor. He could hear his sisters in the next room, obnoxious, noisy and annoying. He wandered out of the bedroom and into the hallway.

Chelsea and Kelly raced past Jethro.

“I can’t wait for breakfast,” laughed Kelly as she hurried to the kitchen.

“Me, too, “ agreed Chelsea, running after her.

“Good morning, Jethro,” squeaked Ellie. The youngest, Ellie was the smallest and most willful.

Jethro grumbled as he watched Ellie straighten her white socks. Dexter, his younger brother sauntered out of their bedroom. Jethro admired his little brother. Dexter’s physical build and graceful demeanor made him seem older, more mature. He had an air about him that could be mistaken for arrogance.

Dexter jumped into the breakfast fray. Jethro got pushed aside by Ellie. He simply let her have her way. He arrived in the kitchen last.

“You take too long, brother,” giggled Kelly, her mouth full of food. “It’s the same every morning. Why do you let Ellie get ahead of you when you are twice her size?”

Chelsea looked at her brothers and sisters, shaking her head in dismay. “Jethro,” she said softly, “You know what you need to do.”

“No, no, I can’t…I don’t want to,” he replied.

“Yes, you can,” she continued. “Believe in yourself. Make the leap.”

Jethro wasn’t sure of anything. When he was young, he never had to fight for anything, not even breakfast. His older sisters and parents took care of him. He was the golden child! When Dexter came along, things were still pretty good. Sure, there was a big to-do over the new baby brother, but all in all, they got along fine.

And then, along came Ellie.

The siblings knew neither age nor size had anything to do with who was in charge. They all knew their place. Ellie was the boss, the head honcho, the queen bee. She was the squeaky wheel and she always got the grease.

Maybe, thought Jethro, just maybe Chelsea was right. He needed to believe in himself. He needed to take that leap and claim what was his. And that is when it happened. He hunkered down and made the jump, soared across the 3-foot span, just barely catching the edge of the counter.

Yes, they called it a near miss, but Jethro called it something different. He finally got his breakfast before Ellie. He embraced his inner-cat.

Note: I have two dogs (Chelsea and Kelly) and three cats (Jethro, Dexter and Ellie Mae). Jethro came to me when he was a week old and I bottle-fed him for 5 weeks. I don’t think he knew he was a cat until I adopted the other two felines. He never tried to do cat things, like getting on the counters, until the other two corrupted him with their catty ways.