Storytelling week 2: Katrina the Cat

There once was a girl named Katrina. Everyone in the neighborhood called her “Kat” for short. Kat had few friends and was socially awkward. She was a freshman in high school and had never had a boyfriend, or a boy who was even a friend. Walking home from school one day Kat was contemplating how to make more friends. She was very intelligent; she had never received less than an A in any class. She decided she was going to put her brain to good use and offer tutoring to her peers to gain friends. Kat made flyers that read “Free Tutoring,’ she knew that several people were struggling in her chemistry class and thought she would ask the teacher if she could advertise the flyer for the students that needed help. The next day before class Mrs. Ridge, the chemistry teacher, stood in front of the class and informed them that Katrina was giving free tutoring and everyone who was having difficulties should seek her for guidance. Katrina waited in the library after school for three hours and not a soul showed up to study with her. She told herself that since it was the first day people probably needed time to rearrange their schedules. There was a certain boy Katrina had hoped would show up, which was Jeremy. Jeremy was the captain of the football team, student body president, and the cutest boy in school. Every day they passed each other in the hallway, but they never spoke. After three days of waiting for people to show up for tutoring, Kat was ready to give up. The library closed at six o’clock so at 5:45 she started to pack up her things for another unsuccessful day, when she heard “excuse me, Miss?” Katrina froze because she had heard that voice so many times but it was never directed to her. She turned around to see Jeremy staring back at her. “Do you think I could get some help on my chem homework?” Jeremy asked. Katrina managed to utter a “surrre” out. Jeremy exchanged his schedule with Katrina and made plans to meet her the next day to go over a study guide for the next test and do his homework. They continued the tutoring into the next week. After a week other football players started to show up and Katrina found herself almost too busy to do her own homework. Katrina thought she would talk to Jeremy about feeling stressed because she thought he would understand she needed to focus on her own grades too. “Hey Jeremy I think it would be best if we only studied a couple nights a week, instead of every day because I have homework too,” Katrina casually mentioned during their study session. Jeremy responded with “Well actually Katrina, I really need you to study with me every day because if I don’t pass this class I won’t go to a Division 1 school to play football and then I will never have a shot at the pros!” Katrina then felt obligated to keep studying with him. Weeks went by and Jeremy was passing chemistry with flying colors. Prom was coming up and Katrina was sure that Jeremy was going to ask her because he had been asking if anyone was taking her. Katrina passed by Jeremy in the hallway with Tiffany, captain of the cheerleader squad. She heard Jeremy ask Tiffany to go to prom with him. Katrina was devastated. She could not believe that she had given up so much for him and he could not even see it. She was constantly there for him when he needed something. Right then and there Katrina realized she was not helping Jeremy any longer. She also lost all of her love she had once felt for him because of his personality.

Author’s Note: I read the Aesop (Winter) Fables and enjoyed the lessons from them. I feel like this was a lesson taught by many fables. In The Cat and the Monkey, the cat was being played by the monkey to get him roasted nuts out of the fire. Katrina was the cat in this story because her feelings were being hurt, much like the cats paw. Another lesson taught here is that popularity is not everything. I used this fable because I thought it was something everyone has experienced and can relate to. source

 

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Bibliography 

"The Cat and the Monkey." Joseph Jacobs. From The Aesop for Children (1919).