Oops, I'm a Cat

Chapter 1: Needing a Cat

"Come here!" squeaked Lily as she cradled the fragile kitten in her arms like it was made of whipped cream and dreams.

Lily was a thirteen-year-old girl who loved cats. Not just liked them, LOVED them. Like, if cats were a subject in school, she'd have straight A's and a scholarship to Meow-vard.

Sometimes she didn't just want a cat. She felt like she needed one. Like oxygen. Or chocolate.

Every single day, Lily would complain about the cruel twist of fate that made her sister allergic to cats. And her brother. Double betrayal.

"It's not fair! If they weren't allergic, I'd have TWO cute, adorable kittens by now!" she yelled, arms flailing like she was conducting a symphony of injustice.

Her best friend Alice was listening to every word, nodding like a therapist who secretly owned a cat café.

"I have a cat named Bean. He's an adorable orange tabby," she replied, casually tossing the fact into the air like confetti.

Lily turned to Alice. Her eyes narrowed.

"I just said I have a cat. What's wrong with that? Not every cat lover has to have a cat!" said Alice, laughing nervously like someone who just admitted to eating the last cookie.

Lily narrowed her eyes even more. So narrow, they disappeared. She looked like she was trying to see into another dimension. Then she popped open her pink cat-ear purse like it was a treasure chest and pulled out a stack of photos, every famous cat lover in the world.

"Look at every photo. What do you see?" she asked, handing them over like sacred scrolls.

"Wow, I see... cats in every photo," chuckled Alice, flipping through the feline fan club.

"Exactly! That's why I NEED a cat. Tell me, which cat lover does NOT have a cat?" Lily asked, dead serious. Like she was solving a mystery on a detective show.

Alice handed the photos back, but one fluttered to the sidewalk like a dramatic clue. She picked it up and gasped.

"This one! This cat lady has ZERO cats. But her whole house is decorated with them. She even holds the world record for the cat-iest house!"

Lily stared at the photo like it was a riddle wrapped in a furball. She noticed every detail, the cat-shaped windows, the whisker-themed wallpaper, the mailbox shaped like a litter box.

"She's rich. Where am I supposed to find a house with cat ears on top? She customized her WHOLE house!" Lily whined, dramatically flopping onto a bench like a Shakespearean heroine denied her feline destiny.

Alice rolled her eyes so hard they almost did a cartwheel.

"Whatever. Don't you have some ocean presentation at school tomorrow?" she asked, trying to change the subject before Lily started designing cat-themed skyscrapers.

"It's a fish presentation. And you'll see why I chose fish. First, the teacher gave us a list of topics, no cats on it, rude. So I thought, what about fish? They're cats' favorite food!"

"Oh, that's actually a good idea. Anyway, I have to head home for dinner," said Alice, waving like a normal person who didn't carry cat photos in her purse.

Lily waved back, strapped on her roller skates, and zoomed out of the playground like a comet. She headed for the park, mumbling her presentation lines.

"Over thirty thousand species..." she whispered, trying to memorize facts while skating like a multitasking expert.

"Wait, let me see if I can do a ballet twirl."

She jumped into the air, spun like a donut, and landed safely. Victory!

Then she challenged herself to skate with her eyes closed. Because why not?

She skated until she hit a big—

"ROCK!" she yelled, tumbling onto the grass like a dramatic potato.

She took off her skates and wandered to the empty side of the park. It was always empty. Except for one little girl who came there sometimes. No one else did, because of the creepy ghost sounds. But Lily wasn't scared of ghosts. She was too busy being mad about cat allergies.

"Hello! Check this out!" said the little girl, flopping to the ground, sticking out her tongue, and closing her eyes.

"Oh," replied Lily, trying not to sound like she was judging a very weird audition.

The girl popped up and stared at Lily.

"I was pretending to be dead!" she giggled.

Lily's eyes widened like saucers.

The girl giggled harder.

Suddenly, a piercing scream sliced through the air. Not a normal scream. A weird scream. Like a haunted kazoo.

The girl stopped giggling. Her face crumpled. She ran away crying.

"Thank goodness," sighed Lily as the scream faded.

Then she looked around.

"What was that scream anyway?" she wondered aloud, clutching her cat-ear purse like a shield.