Of Course Not

Katie kicked the fallen punching bag aside as she stepped into the kitchen. As expected, it was modern, contemporary, and spotless. Truth be told, it didn’t look like anyone had ever cooked a meal before in their lives.

She peered around the vast space and at the masses of cupboards high and low. Although Katie strained to hear a sound, she couldn’t. Either this kid was a hide-and-seek expert, or she wasn’t here at all.

Katie began peering into the cupboards. It's neat and tidy, but there's no sign of Roxanne anywhere. Not even a sound.

She was stumped. This mansion was huge. It must have at least 30 rooms. She didn’t want to get lost wandering the halls. Katie sighed as she finished covering half of the kitchen’s cupboards with no luck.

“Okay, Roxanne, you win. This isn’t funny anymore.”

Katie took an aimless turn around the kitchen, intending to go through the other door on the opposite side. Somewhere in the mansion, Roxanne pressed a button just in time.

Katie opened the door, not paying much attention to her surroundings and not learning from the last time she opened a door. The threshold had extended a few inches upwards at the click of Roxanne’s button. Not enough to be noticeable, but more than enough for a normal human not to lift their foot high enough.

She saw what looked to be a second garage leading out into the rear grounds. There was no car inside. Just a bare, empty space with an automatic light illuminating it.

Katie moved out of the kitchen, and her sneakers instantly caught the extended threshold. She screamed as she tumbled down the four steps leading onto the garage floor. The **** of the fall made her roll forward a few feet, leaving her crumpled in a heap.

For the third time, her hat rolled away from her grasp.