High-Speed Tag

I dropped down from the refrigerator handle to the floor and grabbed an empty cardboard matchbox from the counter edge. Three days trapped indoors running laps around kitchen cutlery was making me restless. I needed real speed. Sliding across the polished floorboards toward the hallway, I flicked the tiny box straight toward the baseboard. It ricocheted with a sharp click. Right on cue, a dark blur erupted from the rug—the black cat lunged, broad paws skidding against the wood to bat the box back into my path. I dropped into a sprint, cut a hard lateral pivot, and tapped his front paw before diving clear into the sunlight.