In a Dog’s World – Chapter 26

An excerpt from In a Dog’s World.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter.

“…the warmth in his brown eyes answered all the questions she hadn’t needed to ask.”

The Redding Dorm lounge had two pinball machines in it.  A poodle with a buzz cut, surrounded by a crowd of onlookers, played one of them.  The machine lit up in flashes of red and trebled with warbly happy sounds as the poodle rocked the levers frantically.  One of the dogs in the crowd looked over as Katasha stepped through the door, but he turned right back to the pinball game after seeing her.

She walked across the room, littered with ancient looking, horribly abused plushy couches to the doors in the back.  The door into the right hand arm of the dorm was ajar, so she figured she’d try that way first.  After walking past half a dozen closed doors and a few that were open on rooms that didn’t have Howell in them, Katasha began to feel that she was on a fool’s errand.  However, she decided that she may as well give the other arm of the dorm a try as well. Continue reading “In a Dog’s World – Chapter 26”

In a Dog’s World – Chapter 25

An excerpt from In a Dog’s World.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or  skip ahead to the next chapter.

“Cats always land on their feet.”  And, with that, she sprung off the roof and sailed through the air down to a springy bump landing at the bottom.

The chemistry lecture ended, and all the new students popped out of their seats like water molecules suddenly released from a boiling pot.  They flooded through the campus like a torrential downpour, headed to the dining hall and dorms.

All the new students were in for a surprise when they got there.  The upperclassmen, who must have been more prevalent than Katasha suspected at breakfast, had taken all the new student’s mattresses, shed them of their bedding, and created giant stacks of them in the dorm courtyards.  The brightly colored sheets and quilts, probably from all the new students beds, hung from the gutters along the roofs and from the branches of Greene Dorm’s elm tree. Continue reading “In a Dog’s World – Chapter 25”

In a Dog’s World – Chapter 24

An excerpt from In a Dog’s World.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or  skip ahead to the next chapter.

“On one of the tesseracts, Katasha began to sketch little caricatures of her new friends.”

Katasha thought Daria was asleep when she got back to their room.  The lights were out, and she had to get ready for bed in the dark, seeing only the dim gray shades visible with her night vision.  As soon as she crawled under her cozy covers, however, Daria mewed softly from her own bunk bed, “Did you find your hiking friends?”

Katasha whispered back to Daria across the quiet, empty air along the top of their room.  She told Daria about the picnic on the roof of the library and Tesseract Suite.  Daria stayed quiet, and, eventually, Katasha decided she must have fallen asleep.  Fair enough.  They’d be starting their classes in the morning.  Though, Katasha couldn’t help but wonder if Daria had been so quiet because she was disappointed that it didn’t sound like Katasha would be spending more time in Cheshire Suite.  Disappointed or even mad. Continue reading “In a Dog’s World – Chapter 24”

In a Dog’s World – Chapter 23

An excerpt from In a Dog’s World.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or  skip ahead to the next chapter.

“So now Katasha had a group of friends and a place for them to hang out.  She felt a purr rumbling in the back of her throat, and she saw that several tails were wagging.”

The gang hung out discussing tomorrow’s class schedules for each of them, a while longer.  Then they walked all the way over to Delaney to look at Turtle’s aquarium full of turtles again.  Most of them had been over to see it already, but Turtle insisted on showing it off to Ivy and Katasha as well.

“I thought it would be full of water,” Ivy said, looking at the waist-high glass tank.  The floor of the tank was mostly covered in dirt and rocks.  On one end, there was a plastic pan filled with water to give the half dozen turtles a small pool for swimming. Continue reading “In a Dog’s World – Chapter 23”

In a Dog’s World – Chapter 22

An excerpt from In a Dog’s World.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or  skip ahead to the next chapter.

“Katasha could see how the group must be intimidating to her.  This was, after all, Ivy’s very first day on campus.  The rest of them had a week on her.”

They drove down to the breakfast place in Old Town that Daria said was so popular.  There was indeed bacon in everything they ordered.

The restaurant clattered with the sounds of silverware and conversations, but Katasha and Dominic were quiet.  Dominic didn’t have any more news from home, and Katasha still didn’t want to talk about her week on the hiking trip.  Mostly, she wanted to be near her brother and soak up every last vestige of the connection he gave her to her old home.

When Dominic dropped Katasha off on campus again, he said, “If you don’t call or send any messages, Mama and Papa are going to think that you’re wasting all your time playing chess.  ‘Cause, that’s all I’m going to tell them about.” Continue reading “In a Dog’s World – Chapter 22”

In a Dog’s World – Chapter 21

An excerpt from In a Dog’s World.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or  skip ahead to the next chapter.

“The natural currents of her life led her to be among other cats.  She had to strike out against those currents if she wanted to find herself in situations where she was interacting with dogs.”

There looked to be eight cats and two dogs hanging about Cheshire Suite when they got there.  Dominic was highly amused when he saw Daria climb in through the wide open window.  He stepped forward to follow her, and Aaron immediately cried out from his reclined position in the overstuffed armchair, “Halt!”

Dominic blinked at the funny Persian boy in his cape and beret.  He was wearing a different tunic and trousers today, but the cape and beret had stayed the same.  Aaron rose from his armchair and circled Dominic while swishing his tail.  It was an amusing sight.  Aaron was noticeably shorter, with ragged, fluffy orange fur.  Dominic looked especially sleek and rugged in comparison.  A tough guy, being sized up by the resident alpha-geek. Continue reading “In a Dog’s World – Chapter 21”

In a Dog’s World – Chapter 20

An excerpt from In a Dog’s World.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or  skip ahead to the next chapter.

“Dominic must be dying to get her unaesthetic boxes of stuff unloaded from his precious car.”

Breakfast was bleak in the morning.  Daria woke Katasha, unintentionally, by singing along with a songbird in a tree outside their window.  It was cloyingly sweet.  At least, it would have been if Daria could sing.

Katasha dragged herself out of bed slowly enough that by the time she made it to the dining hall, there was only a plate of stale mutton muffins out with a handwritten sign saying, “Dining Hall Hours will Return to Normal Tomorrow.”  Apparently, they were keeping abbreviated hours until more students arrived. Continue reading “In a Dog’s World – Chapter 20”

In a Dog’s World – Chapter 19

An excerpt from In a Dog’s World.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or  skip ahead to the next chapter.

“The difference between this experience and her week long hike could not have been more striking — soft pillows, gourmet food, and gossip.”

The atmosphere of the Persian restaurant was thick with tinkling music and the scent of spiced meat.  The walls were draped with gold and magenta curtains, and the floor was strewn with silk pillows.  The whole place reeked of luxury and affluence.

“Do college students come here much?” Katasha asked Daria as they entered.  “It seems kind of fancy.”  It was also about a fifteen minute walk from campus.

“This is the big celebration dinner for graduating from Pathways,” Daria answered.  “From what I hear, the really popular restaurant among Isleywooders is the breakfast place a few blocks back.  It stays open all night.” Continue reading “In a Dog’s World – Chapter 19”

In a Dog’s World – Chapter 18

An excerpt from In a Dog’s World.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or  skip ahead to the next chapter.

“Katasha held out a paw, but Daria looked at her for a moment and instead of accepting the paw, threw her arms around Katasha, embracing her.”

When the bus got them back to campus, the Intro to Isleywood students were taken to the recreation center to take showers and wash the week’s worth of dirt out of their fur.  Then they were met by Bruce, the overweight Mastiff who was Dean of Admissions.  He gave the group a speech about how proud he was that each of them had accepted the challenge of coming to Isleywood.  He was sure that each and every one of them would do well, because he’d picked all their applications out with his own paws.  “Besides, how hard can a few science classes be after a strenuous week of mountain climbing?” he woofed. Continue reading “In a Dog’s World – Chapter 18”

In a Dog’s World – Chapter 17

An excerpt from In a Dog’s World.  If you’d prefer, you can start with Chapter 1, return to the previous chapter, or  skip ahead to the next chapter.

“Overhearing their conversation, it was clear that they had everything in common.  A bizarre passion for Paw-Paw music.  Gentle, sweet-natured dispositions.”

For the final stretch of hike, Katasha walked close beside Jimothy.  The other hikers sang scramball chants and Paw-Paw songs, but Katasha and Jimothy chatted like old friends.  He told her that he was the only boy in his litter.  All his sisters would laugh when he told them that the first good friend he’d made at college was a cat.  “They’re always telling me how cat-like I am,” he said.  “I like to be clean and have things a particular way.”  He shrugged.  “Oh, and I hate swimming.”

“I’ve never been swimming,” Katasha said. Continue reading “In a Dog’s World – Chapter 17”