We went to the police station, and the cops dutifully filled out a report. Fortunately, I was allowed to stay in the room. Still, listening to your two best friends fill out a missing person's report on you isn't exactly fun, especially when there's nothing you can do about it. So, I'd tuned it out as much as I could. I tried to focus on a plan of attack, but I kept getting overwhelmed by pretty much everything around me. People walking around behind us sounded like elephants, and even the smallest movement on the other side of the room would drag my attention towards it. I knew I'd always been pretty distractable, but this was on a whole new level.

Finally, we left the police station with the assurances that they'd do everything they could to find me. Apparently, the fact that I'd left my phone, keys and clothes in an alleyway really helped to cement the idea that I was in trouble. That, and the fact that my last message to Gabe had been a half-coherent mess that ended in the word help.

When we got back to the dorms, Olivia set me up with a prime spot in an open t-shirt drawer. She'd pulled a few shirts out first, to have something cat-free to wear around Gabe. Initially, I hadn't exactly been thrilled, but it turned out to be surprisingly comfortable. The shirts were soft, and I could snuggle under one to use as a comforter. Really, it was almost like having a giant, room-sized bed. And it was a lot better than the worn, somewhat lumpy mattress in my own room. A bed like this might actually be the one thing I missed after I became human again.

I spent most of that Saturday getting used to my new body. It was a little rough at first, especially walking. Olivia watched me, convinced she'd been right about me being injured. But the more I did it, the better I got. It was like some weird instinct somewhere in the depths of my mind started kicking in. Maybe that stupid Comet cat was right. I couldn't tell if that was a good thing or not.

Olivia tended to baby me, but I tried not to let it bother me. And I definitely didn't complain about it. Ever since the three of us walked into the police station, I'd hardly bothered with trying to talk. There didn't seem to be much point. I'd tried once or twice at the station, especially when it looked like Gabe and Olivia were getting upset. But it hadn't mattered. Everything I tried to say came out as a single-syllable meow. The tone might have been different, and the length varied. But that wasn't enough to make a difference to anyone around me. And on the way home, when Gabe had warned Olivia that I might be too noisy for the dorms, I'd stopped altogether. If anyone knew Olivia had me, she could get in trouble and I could be out on the streets. I hadn't made a sound since.

I got up Sunday morning and stretched, rearing back on my hind legs before crawling out from under my makeshift blankets.

"Are you awake, kitty?" Olivia asked sleepily. I looked over and saw her staring at me, eyes half-closed and head still resting on her pillow.

I nodded at her.

Olivia got a kind of weird expression on her face. I tilted my head, wondering why she was looking at me like that. Then, just as quickly, it was gone.

"You know," she said, propping herself up on her arm. "I've been thinking."

About what? About me? I tried not to get my hopes up.

"Mrrow?" I asked tentatively. I'd managed to make it sound like a question— a small victory.

"We really should give you a name, shouldn't we?"

Oh. That hadn't even occurred to me as an option. Clearly, we weren't on the same page here. I shook my head at her; I didn't want a new name. I was perfectly happy with my own name. And anything she would come up with was bound to be less than appealing— there was just no way I was going to let her call me Mittens or Fluffy.

"You know, you're a really weird cat," Olivia said.

I nodded. Good. I was glad she thought that. I was a weird cat. And the sooner she realized just how weird, the better.

"...Do you..." she started slowly. Then, she shook her head, as if trying to get rid of some ridiculous thought. "Never mind." 

"Mrrrow?" I asked again. I really wanted to know what she'd been going to say.

"It's just... It's like you understand me."

I nodded, grinning. I was pretty sure it didn't look anything like a human grin, but I didn't care. It looked like I was finally getting somewhere.

But Olivia just shook her head, mumbling, "freaky" to herself.

I let out a small hiss that I immediately squashed. I hadn't meant to do it. But I was starting to reach the end of my rope, and it just kind of came out.

Olivia moved me over to the bed before turning to her desk.

"Now, I've got a paper to write," she told me. "I really should have done it yesterday, but..."

But she'd been taking care of me.

I gave a short nod of acknowledgement before turning to explore the blue-and-green comforter. It took all of two minutes before I'd had enough and decided to curl up in the middle of her bed. I thought about moving to the nice, comfy-looking pillow, but I didn't think I'd be able to get away with lounging there. Instead, I just closed my eyes, listening to the clacking of laptop keys.

I must have fallen asleep at some point, because the next thing I heard was the sound of a phone pinging. Then, there was another ping. I reached absentmindedly across the bed, trying to feel for my phone. It wasn't there. I tried to move my hand around and realized it was stuck.

My eyes flew open as I jerked myself awake. I rolled onto my stomach, adrenaline flooding through me. I looked around and saw I was in a sea of blue-and-green cloth. It took me a minute to realize I was in Olivia's room. The events of the past two days came rushing back in a wave of disappointment. It wasn't my phone that was going off. And my paw? It was stuck to the bed because I'd apparently dug my claws into the comforter when searching for my non-existent phone.

"Sorry I woke you, kitty."

I turned to see Olivia putting her phone in her pocket. I laid my head back down on the bed, watching. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the tip of my tail curling up and down. I stopped it.

"I'll be back in a bit, alright?" she said. "Be good!" And with that, she walked out the door, closing it behind her.

I looked around, wondering what I was supposed to do with myself. I had no idea where she'd gone or how long she'd be out. Not that I was surprised. No one in their right mind would explain any of that to a cat. But it still would have been nice to know.

I might not have known about her plans outside of this room, but I did know that she'd left her laptop open. And since her roommate wasn't here for the weekend, she hadn't bothered to lock it either.

I jumped off the bed and onto the desk. Her essay was only half-complete, which was perfect. It meant she'd definitely have to re-read it in the very near future.

At the bottom of the page, I typed out a small message. It took a lot longer than it should have, pushing only one key at a time. But using a keyboard was a lot easier than struggling with the phone. After a few minutes, I had what I thought was a pretty decent message:

Hi, Olivia. It's me, Evan. I had a small problem yesterday that I can't really explain. There was this weird cat, and the next thing I know, I'm waking up cursed or something. It sounds crazy, I know. But that cat you found Friday night that's lounging in your room is me. I don't know what to do. Please, help me.
~Evan

I read it over and gave it a nod of satisfaction. Olivia was going to be in for quite the surprise when she got back.