Oops, I'm a Cat

Chapter 15: Falling the Cat

It's the same thing: you sneeze, you sneeze. If you see something chasing you, you run. That's just life. If you see a random stranger chasing you for no reason, you don't stop to ask questions, you run like your shoelaces are on fire.

And that's exactly what was happening with Chloé. YEAH. Except... she wasn't running because of a random stranger. Nope. She was running because she forgot to wake up early for her business. Classic Chloé move.

Meanwhile, Alice, Lily, and Opal were at the hotel, dragging their suitcases. It was time to leave Paris. They had already said their dramatic goodbyes, but for some reason, they kept wearing the exact same clothes. Fashion consistency or laundry avoidance? Who knows.

At the airport, a Parisian woman demanded their tickets with the kind of glare that could melt cheese.

"She's speaking in French," whispered Opal, eyes wide like she'd just seen a baguette ghost.

"Don't worry, I know French," winked Alice, adjusting her gloves like a spy.

"Bonjour, voici nos billets, nous nous excusons pour le désagrément," Alice rattled off like she was auditioning for a French rap battle.

"Merci, veuillez vous rendre à vos sièges," replied the woman, unimpressed but satisfied.

Alice, Lily, and Opal shuffled to their seats.

"At last, peace," sighed Lily the cat, curling up like she owned the plane.

But Opal wasn't done. She leaned in, whispering like it was a opera reveal. "How did you speak French so fluently?"

Alice clutched her gloves dramatically. "I'm from Paris."

Opal's jaw dropped so hard it almost hit the floor. "Why didn't you tell us at the start?"

"Because I thought you'd make fun."

"No, Alice, that's actually really cool. Is Chloé even related to you?"

"Yes. If you looked closely, she's my aunt."

Opal blinked. "Oh, coooool."

Before anyone could process the family drama, the crowd started murmuring. Something had struck the plane.

Lily woke up from her nap like a grumpy grandma. "Seriously, what happened?"

Alice's eyes widened. She unbuckled her seatbelt like she was about to star in an action movie and leaned toward the window. She gasped.

"What in the world..." whispered Lily, hopping onto someone's lap like it was her throne.

"You should be saying what in the clouds... or plane..." added Opal, squishing herself into the scene.

"THAT CAT CAN TALK?!" blurted the poor passenger under Lily.

"Quiet, or I'll scratch you like a raccoon in a bad mood," hissed Opal, pressing her nails to the person's cheeks.

The plane shook again. The waitress panicked, then inhaled like she was about to run a marathon. "Bonjour! Veuillez vous assurer que vous êtes attaché avec votre ceinture de sécurité..." she blurted at lightning speed.

Another woman appeared, calm as a cucumber. "Hello dears, nothing to worry about. Seatbelts on, remain quiet, merci."

Alice froze. That second lady was Dixie in disguise. She hadn't hit the plane, but she was using the chaos to hunt them down.

"Lily, Opal. Hide. Now. Dixie and Ellie are here. FAST." whispered Alice like a spy commander.

The trio crawled to the restroom like sneaky raccoons, and shut the door.

"What do we do?" asked Opal, panicking.

"Quiet," snapped Alice.

Lily eyed the sink like it was her mortal enemy. She unscrewed it with her claws and smashed it onto the toilet.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" shrieked Opal.

"Saving our lives," Lily replied, dead serious.

Alice pulled out parachutes from a secret storage bin like she'd been waiting for this moment her whole life. She kept hitting the toilet until — surprise! — it opened to the sky.

"It leads to the sky? Okay... that's strange and weird," giggled Lily, clearly enjoying herself.

They strapped on parachutes, ready to jump, until Ellie burst in like a villain, because she was. "YOU three are in trouble. THERE YOU ARE!" she sang, grabbing Alice's hoodie.

Opal tried to help but slipped on the water and fell straight out the sky hole. "OPAL!" screamed Alice.

Luckily, Opal knew how to parachute. She was alone, but alive.

Lily hissed and pounced on Ellie, scratching like her claws were lightsabers.

"Alice! I can't leave you—" Lily began.

Alice shoved her toward the sky hole. "Run! I'll meet you at Silver Lakes!"

"ALICE!" yowled Lily, paws flailing as she fell.

Ellie slammed a metal plate over the hole. Dixie grabbed Alice and dragged her back to her seat.

The plane shook harder. Passengers screamed like extras in a disaster movie.

Alice looked out the window. The creature was visible now. It was nothing like they had ever seen.

"What in the clouds?" gasped Alice. "What IS that thing?"

to be continued...