《Overlap》Chapter 8-B (Bonus Chapter): The Cat Party
Advertisement
Not that today would ever hold down too much significance in my life, I still think back to it at times and laugh. As much as I didn't like school, days like this were what made it awesome.
It didn't start off as anything too special, just a new project assignment. It was given in math because math would obviously be involved in calculation. When it first started, I was sitting next to Laura to see if I could bounce some idea off of her, since I struggled to myself.
My usual girly self and trance about the skies and stars was for the moment suspended. I was capable and willing to put all of my thoughts and concentration onto this one project. Thus, there were no distractions. The assignment's premise for this project was simple sounding on paper: Students working either solo or in pairs will prepare a Power Point Presentation on throwing a party, and assess the partial and total costs of all items used in that party. The theme of the party will be up to the student or student pairs.
Simple. The teacher wanted to show us the unexpected costs of actually throwing a party in real life, even if it was just a birthday party, as a means to get us all thinking about money. In terms of calculations and processes, I understood very well what I had to do and what was expected of me. The problem was... "I just don't know what theme to pick. You have to help me Laura. I just need an idea that is interesting or fun."
"And realistic," she added while drawing on her own paper.
"Does it say it has to be realistic?" My question made Laura search the instructions again despite knowing already that there were no such limitations. There were not even any limits to how much we could spend. All of this was hypothetical after all.
"I guess not. Pick whatever you want."
"That's the issue," I reminded annoyed and frustrated. Laura and I were both not working in pairs. We didn't need to. But I often found her advice or help on topics better than what anyone else gave me, so I wanted to ask her of all people. "I don't know what I want."
Advertisement
"Aren't you always going on about absurd things? It doesn't even have to make sense. It could be something like a balloon party or a Halloween party, with cats or something."
"With cats?" I pondered what she said, my thoughts grasping at straws for ideas. The term cats held more significance to me than usual, and there was good reason for that.
Several years ago, before my parents split up, I used to have such a cute house pet, a cat named Jypsey. The cat ran away one day never to return home, and ever since then, I've always wanted another cat. I've wanted one so badly that I frequently draw them at random on paper. Showing off those doddles makes Maddison happy since she likes to draw cats on other people's paper for no apparent reasons. I should remind myself that she is also a dog person counting what pet she actually does have.
The point is, I have always had a minor fascination with cats since I wanted a new one as a pet for so long, while having been denied it for a long time now, especially since I recently developed a powerful outbreak of allergy-related Hives we were barely able to get under control. I'm allergic to cats now, despite having been fine before. I care more about funny cat pictures than the average student does, and people notice. Laura notices too, that I like cats so much, which is ultimately the reason why she said it; it was not as random as she meant it to sound.
But as soon as I thought about it some more, my eyes widened with vigor as the ultimate perfect idea popped into my head! "With cats!" I cried, excited enough to start writing up the idea faster than my hands could move.
Laura soon understood why I was making that face, picking up on the subtlety of my thought process. And as she thought about it, she couldn't stop herself from giggling at the absurdity. "Are you seriously going to go with that theme?"
"Of course I am!" I met her question with a proud confident smile of mine, presenting my new project title in front of her face... But as I held it up to her, Laura dug her face into her arms laughing even harder at the thought of how serious I was.
Advertisement
I didn't care about it though. This will be perfect! The teacher did say to make it as unique as we could. I doubt anyone else would pick a theme like the one I just did. I tried my best to keep it to myself before the presentation date in five days. But Banraus ended up learning of it, and could not resist the good laugh between herself and her friends. Needless to say, once it was presentation time, the entire class was most quiet and attentive to the beginning of my turn, while the teacher did not understand why initially.
Standing before the class in front of the Smartboard with my school flash drive plugged into the computer, I began the project presentation with one hell of an intro. "For the theme of my project, I will be throwing a cat party!" The students who were not keen to my plan had the most confused and funny looks on their faces, while the others were already laughing at the thought of someone throwing a party with cats. I could barely hold back myself, laughing in sympathy.
"Okay..." The teacher did her best not to laugh out loud either, failing to suppress the amazing expression on her face the others were making.
I entered the first slide after the intro, which at first entered preliminary results and data on how much normal tableware would cost. But soon after, the next slide played and broke down both the number of cats in attendance with the amount of food they would need to attend, all while the slideshow played Proces Verbaal (Intro) by Seriewoordenaar from Djax, otherwise known as a commonly used suspense soundtrack. The suspense of the song and the weight in my results matched pretty well. "There will be 300 cats attending this party. As such, the cost of the food for one serving per cat came out to be about $180, but combined with the cost of getting each cat, the total estimates to about $3,320."
In my next slide, I made sure to insert both graphics and sound effects of some random cute cats, all while drawing out the hypothetical nightmare that would be if this idea were implemented for real. At the same time, I kept my tone of voice nice and normal, as if to make this entire idea seem like it was perfectly natural, which only made it easier for everyone to laugh at the unexpected presentation I revealed to everyone. In all, the entire presentation was short but balanced. As intended, I happened to make the entire moment fun for everyone involved, which ended up making me feel better about it too. "Any questions?"
Raising his hand, one of the random students asked something I knew he would. "Yeah.... Why?" Creating another chain of chuckling even from myself, it was easy to feel the lightened mood in the entire room from this lone presentation. He was only joking around, but wondered how I would answer to this abomination of an idea.
"Oh, just because. Cats are cool. So I thought, why not throw a cat party?" We were all just messing around at this point, so the teacher had no choice but to dismiss me back to my seat. She graded the project in her spare time later with an A+, focusing on the math part of the assignment above all else.
But the hilarity of the idea was even stronger than I predicted before the presentation. Later that day, word went around my other classes pretty quick since others had her same class at different times. I was randomly approached by several students asking if I really went through with a "Cat Party" theme. I just told them the truth. I could, therefore I did. I wasn't expecting to be approached like that by people I did not know in totally different classes, but I welcomed the attention for the day, since it gave us all something funny to talk about.
Man, thinking back on it now, it sounds stupid, and yet it still puts a smile on my face. Days like this were always worth remembering, so I never forgot a single detail.
Advertisement
- In Serial16 Chapters
Layers of Hell
The forces of the underworld have been plotting to rise to the surface world and make it the 1000th layer of Hell. To combat this, Grim faces impossible odds in a world where death is the only way to progress. He gathers his allies, acquires powerful magic and weapons, and finally confronts the final boss Lilith. After many grueling battles, he at last emerges victorious. As for his player, he is the first to beat the Layers of Hell, the most expansive game known. As a special offer, he is given the chance at a New Game+, promising exciting new content. What could go wrong?
8 87 - In Serial12 Chapters
Unsanity is Relative
A mad man who considers himself un-un-sane is summoned through an ancient ritual to a land of magic and wonder. He finds himself in this new world, accompanied by nothing but the voices in his head and the gown he wears. He finds himself wondering if any of this is real, and then wondering if it matters. Follow him on his wild adventure through a litrpg world. Where he will do whatever he can to find some pudding, or invent it if it doesn't exist. The only problem is, he doesn't know the recipe. ---- First story please give critisism and comment about grammar errors and misspells. Cover art from pinterest.
8 165 - In Serial8 Chapters
From beyond The Veil
Witnesses say that the angels blaze appeared back in the eighties. A dazzling light ripped through the sky all across the world. People say they saw a rainbow of colors bathing the sky. It was gone in a instant. Some legends say that it was an angel falling from the sky. But most scholars agree that it was a rare comet. They all were wrong. The light was a breaking of the veil, the veil to my world. Now creatures from my side of the veil are breaking through and it's my job to keep them back and protect all the humans. But I tend to like to watch the chaos.
8 180 - In Serial88 Chapters
The Fateful Uchiha
Jun cursed his luck from being reincarnated into the Uchiha clan. He would rather remain dead recalling the fate of the clan. But he was given a new life, and he refused to let it end prematurely. How can he prevent crucial events from happening? Itachi Uchiha will kill all Uchihas except for his little brother Sasuke. How can Jun stop the clan massacre to avoid his inevitable demise?
8 549 - In Serial18 Chapters
StarSword Online
In a near cyberpunk future, VRMMOs aren’t all just fun and games. Max is a poor teenage boy, born into the lowest societal rung of Gray City known as the Bottoms. To earn money to pay for his dying mother’s medical treatment, Max04428 works as a gem miner in Alethia—the fantasy world within a death game called Starsword Online. No reality is kind to those of the Bottoms, however, and soon Max’s ever-mounting expenses begin nipping at his heels, threatening to bring his fragile life crumbling down. Overworked and under-appreciated, he takes drastic measures to improve his situation. Namely, thievery... but new thieves are rarely good thieves. When the scheme backfires, Max is thrown into a dangerous world with no friends, very little knowledge, and nothing in his inventory but an unidentifiable black stone he found in the mines. As Max struggles to level up and gain power in the vast world of Alethia, he’ll need to fight his way through mountain citadels ruled by Yetis and a sky city with an empty throne. Steadfast allies are sure to come to his aid, but murderous enemies also follow his trail, seeking answers to the mysterious item in his possession… Answers which lead to the very heart of Starsword Online itself.
8 172 - In Serial10 Chapters
Hey deku, is this always how you've been..? (Discontinued)
Izuku is having a nice life but somewhat still misses his friends and his dad back in America, luckily for him he heard his classmates getting tired of him so he could finally leave and have a valid reason. What happens when U.A moves to America to Izuku? Will uraraka be clingy to Izuku? Find out what happens :)Swearing
8 72

