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”

In a Dog’s World – Chapter 16

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.

“For a moment, she thought this was it.  Her first kiss.  Then he put his eye to the telescope again.”

Jimothy brought a flashlight, but Katasha had no trouble seeing in the moonlit dark.  She stepped silently through the undergrowth.  His progress was much more audible.

The tree she led him to was a gnarled old oak.  Both ancient and gigantic, it stretched out and up, dominating its little piece of forest entirely.  The twisty branches were perfect for climbing, and Katasha’s retractable claws gave her all the grip she needed.  Jimothy had to place his paws more carefully, reaching for good pawholds.  His blunt canine claws simply weren’t as effective as Katasha’s at being grappling hooks. Continue reading “In a Dog’s World – Chapter 16”

In a Dog’s World – Chapter 15

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.

“Sitting there, among dogs, listening to a dog tell a story about a dog, she felt acutely aware of her felinity.”

While the others set up the final camp, Katasha tried to think of how to get away, back to the quiet moments she’d had alone with Jimothy, earlier on the hike.  There weren’t many obvious chances though.  Mirabelle had stepped in as the overall group leader from the moment she showed up, and she kept everyone busy in the camp, delegating various cooking and campfire building jobs.  For, although there’d been no campfires up ’til now, Mirabelle felt they could get away with one big campfire on their last night.

After dinner was ready and the fire was roaring, the two groups sat around the campfire in a circle.  They stared into the dancing flames and chomped down on improvised tacos, devised from all the leftover bits and pieces of trail food that each group had still been carrying.  The tacos had been Mirabelle’s vision, and they were good. Continue reading “In a Dog’s World – Chapter 15”

In a Dog’s World – Chapter 14

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.

“It was the next to last day of the backpacking trip, and Katasha could feel the weight of the school year approaching.”

The fifth day was a breeze.  All their packs were lighter, since they’d eaten through more than half of their food and fresh water.  Katasha’s spirits were also lighter, and she felt her tail swinging merrily as she hiked.  She saw the dogs looking at each other as she pranced about the path, chattering at them about her plans for designing a space-probe that could descend from zero-gee space into the massy depths of Jupiter.  Claire seemed interested in the engineering challenge of it.  Mostly, though, Katasha could tell they were all startled by her change in attitude.

Jimothy returned her grins; Howell looked sad and a little stricken.  Unlike cats, they didn’t talk about it.  She kind of liked that. Continue reading “In a Dog’s World – Chapter 14”

In a Dog’s World – Chapter 13

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.

“Jimothy tried to claim it was a dog, but Katasha carefully molded the head to have pointed, feline ears.  It was definitely a cat.”

Katasha waited until her Jack Russell companion was standing on solid ground, albeit still twenty paces or more beneath her.  His triangular, flopped over ears were held alertly.  The brown patch over one side of his face gave him a lopsided look.  He must be listening for her, because he kept turning his head, incrementally, tilting it for better angles.

That meant he hadn’t seen her yet.  Katasha imagined that her dark grey ears and gray striped face, barely peaking over the top of the rock, must have blended in pretty well.  He clearly didn’t see the snowball coming. Continue reading “In a Dog’s World – Chapter 13”

In a Dog’s World – Chapter 12

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.

“She scrambled nimbly from one protruding rock to the next, digging in her retractable claws to get good holds.  She was able to move much more quickly here than Jimothy with his blunt canine claws…”

The second day of hiking was much the same as the first:  hard work and drudgery, dragging one paw after another for hours on end.  By the end of the day, however, the protein-pasta tasted pretty good.  The group was getting more comfortable together, and the conversation at meal times flowed more easily.

When they finished the double batch of pasta they’d cooked up for that night’s dinner, Howell was still a little hungry, but he wasn’t sure if he should open another whole package of pasta.  One comment led to another, and pretty soon Howell was boasting to the other three that he could eat a whole pound of protein-pasta all by himself.  They made him eat his words.  And the pasta! Continue reading “In a Dog’s World – Chapter 12”

In a Dog’s World – Chapter 11

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.

“She closed her eyes and, once again, dreamed about being a dog.”

The new students were all quite excited to visit the dining hall.  Except for the few rare students who’d had a chance to visit Isleywood while deciding which college to attend, this was the first time any of them had been in the dining hall where they would be taking their meals everyday for the next year.

The upperclassmen assured the new students quite vociferously that the food wouldn’t usually be this good.  Since there were so few of students on campus this early, the dining hall had ordered a bunch of take-out instead of bringing in the usual chefs for one night. Continue reading “In a Dog’s World – Chapter 11”

In a Dog’s World – Chapter 10

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.

“She wondered if she was really making friends with a dog for the first time.  The feeling was nice.  She hoped it wouldn’t end.”

The Intro to Isleywood hiking groups were supposed to meet in the college recreation center at three in the afternoon, one week before fall quarter started.

Katasha stood on the nicely trimmed lawn in front of that squat, concrete building, preparing herself to go inside.  She had her single duffel bag with a change of clothes and a rolled up sleeping bag slung over her shoulder.  The registration materials said that everything else would be provided.

Katasha sucked the warm afternoon air through her teeth.  She felt like she was only two twitches of a tail from fluffing out like a terrified porcupine.  She knew Howell was in that building.  She hadn’t talked to him in real time since that awkward conversation during finals week, though she still had a slightly rumpled copy of her digitally edited prom picture stuffed in her pocket.  She now wished that she’d traded it for a copy of the picture with all her littermates in it.  She wanted her freedom from them very much, but it was also lonely standing there, knowing that Dominic was already driving home. Continue reading “In a Dog’s World – Chapter 10”

In a Dog’s World – Chapter 9

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 would have to function alone, like she had wanted to for so long.  It was scary and wonderful.”

The end of Katasha’s high school career felt like a lingering death.  Classes continued to assign homework and batter her with lectures even though she’d already completed all the credits she needed to impress Isleywood into accepting her.  Classmates continued chattering and gossiping, acting as if their high school lives mattered even though they’d be gone from high school forever soon.

Corina, Dmitri, and Dominic were remarkably circumspect and understanding about the gossip Katasha had inspired by her passionate dancing with Howell at the prom.  They let the comments fly right past them.  It almost troubled Katasha how much they were okay with it.  She got the sense that they saw her night with Howell as a passing phase.  None of them seemed to realize how much she continued to think about him or how serious she was about breaking out of the invisible box that constrained most cats. Continue reading “In a Dog’s World – Chapter 9”