" Uh..... Hey, Annie?"
On the other line, Annie appeared to be drinking something. " Spit it out." She said. " I have fries to eat."
Mia choked but shook her head. " Could you.... Oh, I don't know.... Cut your shopping spree short?"
" Why?"
" Because....."
" Because what?"
Mia took a deep breath. " BecauseweburntthekitchenandEmmasdriftingoffintospaceinareallyweirdtreetrunk."
Annie blinked. " What?"
Nelson was running around the kitchen, throwing open drawers and cabinets in a desperate search for...something, anything that could fix the disaster they were in. Pots and pans clanged loudly, silverware spilled everywhere, and he kept muttering, "This is bad, this is so bad, why does she have to float off in a tree trunk of all things!?"
Meanwhile, Blackie sat serenely on the counter, sipping a boba tea and delicately picking up fries from a container, completely unfazed by the chaos around him. He looked as if he were enjoying a casual afternoon snack, his tail curled elegantly around his paws.
"Annie," Mia said, her voice wavering, "we really, really need your help. Like, immediately."
"Okay, wait, back up," Annie said slowly, clearly trying to make sense of the mess Mia had just dumped on her. "First of all, how did you burn the kitchen? And second, what do you mean Emma is drifting off into space in a tree trunk?!"
Nelson, still rummaging around, suddenly threw a spatula over his shoulder with a dramatic cry. "We're doomed! Emma's going to end up somewhere near Saturn, and it's all my fault!" He dramatically flopped onto the kitchen floor, as if that would somehow fix things.
Blackie raised an eyebrow and sighed, taking a long, slow sip of his drink. "Oh please, you're being so dramatic," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "It's just space. Emma will be fine. She's got a tree trunk, doesn't she?"
Mia shot a desperate look at Blackie. "You're not helping!"
"I'm not trying to," Blackie replied smoothly, crunching on another fry. "You're the one who needs help, not me."
Annie's face was slowly contorting with a mixture of disbelief and amusement. "Okay, okay. You two are hopeless. I'll be there in ten minutes. Just...don't do anything else that's crazy until I get there. And stop panicking, Nelson!"
"PANICKING? I'm not panicking!" Nelson yelled, flailing his arms dramatically. Then he paused, caught sight of Blackie casually dipping another fry into his boba tea, and let out a frustrated groan. "How are you so calm?!"
Blackie gave a lazy shrug, not even looking up from his meal. "Because unlike you, I'm not the one who's supposed to fix this mess. I'm just here for the show."
Mia threw her hands up in the air, clearly at her wit's end. "Okay, Blackie, if you're not going to help, at least stop being so smug about it!"
The cat gave a feline grin, his whiskers twitching with amusement. "Oh, but I am helping. I'm keeping you both entertained while Annie comes to the rescue."
Nelson's face was red with frustration, and Mia had to physically stop him from grabbing a nearby frying pan and launching it at Blackie. "Just... breathe, Nelson," she said, trying to calm him down. "Annie's on her way, and she'll know what to do."
Nelson took a shaky breath, nodding. "Right... Right. We just have to hold it together until she gets here."
Blackie licked his paw with a satisfied smirk. "Good luck with that."
