AAOOOSC! #10

After the Penguins’ practice, Beau is sitting on his sofa in his living room, reading a French issue of National Geographic upside-down.

Spikey pads over to the corner of the sofa, peering up at his caretaker. He’s reading that magazine wrong. Oh, Beau. He hops up to the sofa and trots over to him, halting next to him. He begins pawing at the cover of the magazine.

Beau, Beau, you’re reading it upside down… “Miau... Miau… Miau…miau…,” is what comes out of Spikey’s mouth.

Beau slowly lowers down the magazine from his face, covering his nose down. He peers down at the cat, who is meowing quite medically.

Spikey pats the magazine. Beau, the magazine, it’s upside-down. “Miau, miau… Miau, miau…”
He peers up at Beau with huge, blue, cute eyes. Beau, don’t you notice that you’re reading the magazine wrong? All he says though is: “Miau… Miau, miau…”

Beau eyes the cat skeptically. “Are you singing to me, Spikey?”

No, no, no, your magazine, it’s upside down. “Miau, miau… Miau, miau, miau…”

“You are singing…!”

No, Beau--

Beau’s eyes light up with an idea. “Ooo! You can sing to my music!” He gasps more. “Oh! We can start a band!” He scrambles off the sofa and rushes down toward the other end of the room.

Spikey follows him with his eyes filled with trepidation. Uh-oh. “Miau.” He jumps down and trots over to Beau.

Beau is lifting the lid up of a black grand piano. He peers down at the cat with a huge smile.

“Here, Spikey, come up; sing along to my song!” He places the lid prop underneath the lid, slides onto the polished bench, and lifts the fall board up, revealing the shiny piano keys.

Beau runs his hands up the octaves of the piano, one note after another in chords, creating a tingling, beautiful flow of music.

Spikey hops onto the piano, landing next to the music rack, as Beau continues playing surprisingly harmoniously on the large instrument. He gazes down at the keyboard, watching Beau’s hand scan up and down the keys, producing the sweet music.

Spikey got ahold of the smooth melody and begins to sing to it. More like meow to it: “Miau… Miau, miau, miau, miau… Miau, miau, miau, miau-au-au… Miau, miau, miau, miau…”

Beau lets out four strong chords on the lower octave. He pauses. Then he blasts out into a jam of loud chords and trilling keys, his hands flying over the keyboard with such fast movements, movements matching the tempo of the song.

“Miau, miau, miau, miau--!” Spikey sings shakily, trying to keep up with the rushed tune. “Miau, miau, miau, miau--!”

“Beau?” a man’s voice shouts from the entrance of the house.

Beau halts in his piano playing and quickly looks to his right, where the voice along with footsteps are coming from. “Bortz?”

Roberto Bortuzzo appears in the room with his hands in his jeans’ pockets. His eyebrows are knitted with confusion. “What are you doing?”

“Oh! Spikey and I are starting up a band!”

What, we really are? Spikey snaps his eyes at Beau, then at Robert, then back at Beau. Nuh-uh, no way. Then with a shake of his head, he begins trotting down the piano’s edge to make an escape.

Robert follows Spikey with his eyes skeptically. “Huh, really?”

Spikey places his paw too far to the left, stepping into the space where the strings are location.
He lost his footing and immediately plunges into the space, swiping his paw in the air to grasp onto something that would hold him up. Instead, he knocks the lid prop over, managing to slam the lid over him.

“So that’s what you do now that I’m gone, eh?” Robert crosses his arms. “Replace me with a cat?”

Beau has shifty eyes. “Well, um--”

“Come on, first off, I’m taller than that cat!” He throws his hands out from his sides. “And I can talk!”

“Well, can you sing to my music?” Beau swings himself to face the piano again and hits a chord in the bass clef. BRMMMMM!!!

With such sudden vibration, Spikey blasts through the lid and up toward the ceiling, crying out: “MIIIIIIAAAAAAUUUUUUUU!!!”

Beau gazes up at the flying cat and gasps. “Spikey!”

Spikey begins plummeting down, then lands on all of his four paws safely on the railing located on the second floor.

“Oh no, Spikey!” Beau clambers off from the bench, speeds through the room, and rushes up the stairs toward the cat.

Robert shuffles after him, muttering: “I can’t believe it: I got replaced by a cat.” He halts at the foot of the stairs. “Don’t worry, Beau, I’ll help you out...with your cat.” He slowly climbs up the stairs.

Notes