It was an ordinary Saturday afternoon at Shay and Hanna’s house—ordinary, that is, until Mr. Freckles, their tall, silly, polka-dotted cat, decided it was time for a game of hide-and-seek. Mr. Freckles wasn’t your average cat. For starters, he was taller than most cats, and his fur was yellow and covered in big colored dots that could change colors depending on his mood. Blue for sneaky, green for playful, pink for mischievous, and purple when he was sleepy.

“Alright, you two,” their mom said as she grabbed her keys. “I’ll be back in a few hours. Stay inside, don’t open the door for anyone, and try to keep the house clean. Especially you, Shay.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Shay saluted, though his eyes were already on the snack cabinet.

Mom gave them a look, then glanced at Mr. Freckles. “And no funny business from you either, Mr. Cat,” she warned, wagging her finger. Mr. Freckles responded with a dramatic bow and a loud, “Mee-row!”

As soon as the door closed, Mr. Freckles straightened up and grinned. “Who’s ready for a little game?” he purred, his fur shifting to a playful green. Before Shay or Hanna could answer, he leaped into the air, spinning twice, and disappeared behind the couch.

“Hide-and-seek it is!” Shay said. “Again!.”

Shay and Hanna searched everywhere. They peeked under the kitchen table, where Mr. Freckles usually hid behind a mountain of fallen crumbs. They opened the pantry, expecting him to tumble out with a box of cereal on his head. Nothing. They even checked the laundry basket, where he once pretended to be a very lumpy pile of socks. Not a whisker in sight.

“I bet he’s in the bathroom,” Hanna suggested. They tiptoed in and pulled back the shower curtain, but instead of Mr. Freckles, they found a hastily written note stuck to the wall: “Not here! Try harder! —Mr. Freckles.”

“Really?” Shay groaned. “He’s leaving us notes now?”

The hunt continued. Mr. Freckles wasn’t in the refrigerator (thank goodness) or the dishwasher (how he’d managed that last time was still a mystery). He wasn’t under Hanna’s bed, though they did find a stash of missing homework papers she’d blamed on him weeks ago.

Finally, just as they were about to give up, they heard a suspiciously loud sneeze coming from the closet. “Gotcha!” Shay shouted, flinging the door open.

Mr. Freckles leaped out, his fur turning bright pink as he burst into laughter. “Took you long enough!” he said, twirling in mid-air before dashing off again.

This game went on for another hour. Mr. Freckles popped out from behind curtains, sprang out of the toy chest, and even slid down the banister yelling, “Wheeee!” But just when they thought they’d found all his hiding spots, he vanished completely.

“Where is he now?” Hanna said, slumping onto their mom’s bed. Then she froze. “Wait... is the pillow purring?”

Sure enough, there he was. Mr. Freckles had curled himself into a giant, yellow-and-purple polka-dotted ball and was snoozing on their mom’s new down-feathered pillow, his loud purrs making it vibrate like a massage chair.

“Mr. Freckles!” Shay whispered urgently. “You can’t sleep there! Mom’s going to kill us if she finds your yellow fur on her bed. And her pillow! You have to get off of her pillow!”

But Mr. Freckles didn’t budge. He let out a loud, contented snore, his dots turning a peaceful lavender. “Wake him up!” Hanna hissed.

Shay grabbed a pillow feather from the floor and tickled his nose. With a dramatic sneeze, Mr. Freckles woke up, looked at the clock, and gasped. “Oh no, your mom’s almost home!” His dots turned rainbow with panic. “Time to disappear!”

With a swirl of polka dots and a snap of his tail, Mr. Freckles jumped up and ran out of the house just as they heard their mom’s car in the driveway.

When their mom walked in, she eyed the two suspiciously. “Everything okay?”

Shay and Hanna nodded furiously, hiding the feather behind their backs. “Yup. Totally fine. Nothing unusual here!”

“Good,” their mom said. “I need a nap. Where did all of these feathers come from?”

As soon as she left the room, Shay and Hanna collapsed into laughter. “That cat is going to get us in so much trouble,” Shay said.

“Totally worth it,” Hanna replied, grinning.