I imagine the "Bridge To Terabithia" theme song goes pretty well with the opening of this chapter.
For those of you with an imagination. ;)
Enjoy.
Chapter 1:
Sworn Enemies
Stan's POV:
It sucks to be a smart dog breed... in a high school... full of DUMB animals!
Everybody had their own agendas, their own friends... and I had mine. My agenda... was to NOT make friends. I liked it that way.
I called myself the "Lone Shadow" because I would always be off on my own somewhere, weather it's sneaking into an empty classroom or a closed off auditorium playing the piano in the dark... no other animals I knew had even a pinch of musical talent. Yet, the school still harbored a mediocre band-room full of animals that can't play jazz to save their lives.
Nobody cared about my piano talent and that was fine. I wasn't even that good. My father said that if I wanted to be as good as the famous Dodger B. Joel I had to put the practice hours in.
That shows how much my wise shepherd dad knows... I wanna be my own pianist. Enough said. "Barkety bark bark." This is why nobody knows anything...
But... to be fair, I do owe my mother some credit. She's the one who taught me in the first place... until I quit lessons and went off on my own. I hated it when someone would walk in on me and say how "amazing it was". But worse than that... if the walked in and told me to:
"Get out of here! You're not supposed to be here! Do you WANT to be suspended?"
I responded with a middle claw... but it's not like they saw me. I was just as black as the rest of the dark. My fur was midnight black all around on my mom's side, and the strange thing was, I was practically invisible because of it. It helped me get away with things...
I loved the piano... it was my only friend. I made enemies everywhere else I went simply because I was smart. Because of that, they avoided me. A bunch of jelly animals... they never understood me.
That's their loss... they never tried to.
One day I was in class, I finished work early and had nothing to do, so I asked to go to the bathroom.
And yes... I wasn't stupid. I hated class because it was always beneath me. The teachers knew less about the subjects than I did. I've been told my whole life that shepherds were smart, and I didn't realize it until I could get my work done 6 times faster than the average dog.
Anyway, as I was leaving the classroom for the bathroom, someone's hind leg tripped me from under a desk. When I hit the ground I growled, and heard a few other animals smirking. I stood back up to see the face of a fox... he was the only one who wasn't laughing. He looked very upset. I sneered at him in distaste.
Then came something I didn't expect... the teacher spoke up. "I guess that's what you get for being the smartest in the class... you fall on your a$$."
Then came the cheering from the class... I should be a poet.
If you think I came back to that class that day, think again... I was out like an empty bowl of food.
... As I once again found the unlocked door to the darkened auditorium... the moment I was on the other side... I started to cry.
If this is what happens to smart dogs, then I didn't want to BE a smart dog!
I felt torn... I went home that day in tears to my mom, telling her I hated being a freshdog, 9th grader... and I hated high school.
My dear shepherd mother... she told me something I will never forget. "If you can't eat them, beat them."
In other words... "Beat them at sports, beat them at music, beat them at school work. Be PROUD that I'm smart, and agile, and quick... because all of those things is what makes a survivor."
Dog, I love my mom.
A few long weeks went by... and I took every bit of advice from my mother.
Before I knew it, I was honor roll student, and by Dog... EVERYBODY hated me.
Good... I couldn't be more proud of myself. Even my father took me out for pizza once he saw my grades.
I wasn't sure why I wasn't as close to my dad... I guess he was the sports type and I liked music. Being the German shepherd that he was, he loved being athletic and sportsy... but that just wasn't the life for me. I guess I was probably a disappointment to him.
When I walked through the halls of the school, animals would glare at me, gossip about me, sometimes try to SNAP at me... but I ignored most of it.
I saw the fox again... he was sitting alone on a bench, reading a book... he didn't look up at me. I walked over to him, folding my arms. "Well... I think someone owes me an apology."
"What for?" The fox huffed, looking up at me and slamming the book. "Because you're Mr. Smart Dog and you deserve respect from every struggling student around you?"
"Hey, you don't have to lick my soles, all I want is an apology for tripping me."
"Pass." The fox spat, opening his book to bury his muzzle in it again.
This made my blood boil. I gritted my teeth and slapped the book out of his paws. "Woops. I guess I won't apologize for that, then!"
The fox stood up abruptly and shoved me in the chest. "Buzz off, jock!" And he went to go pick up his book.
I didn't let him, I kicked that thing away from him so hard is slid almost 50 feet down the hallway.
That did it. He pounced on me. I fought back, yelling. "APOLOGIZE!" I yanked his ears and gave several warning bites on his shoulder before a couple of teachers came along and broke it up.
"I will NEVER apologize to you!" He shouted.
I spat in his face and in return got slapped by the teacher, a pig, a little larger than me. I could've fought her off, but didn't. I thought I was in the right at the time... the fox was just a jerk with no regards for anybody.
I hated him.
Present day:
As the bar was closing, me and my fancy tux went to the corner and played a little bit of piano.
As seats emptied and animals were leaving, the bartender, a honey badger named Tom whistled to me. "Okay, Stan, I gotta head out."
I closed the lid and walked over to him. "Ya know, I wish you had more piano jobs for me. I enjoy that more than comedy."
Tom sighed. "I know you do, kid, and I love your music, but... it's a little... depressing. You're better at making them laugh. That's where I need you right now."
"I'm better at piano than comedy, Tom."
"And the other guys are better at piano than you are... they've been playing since the day they were born. They KNOW how to impress the audience... you aren't ready for that. Maybe one day but... kid, I need ya on the stage, making them laugh. They expect that."
I sighed, nodded... and bid Tom a good night. As I was walking out I heard him behind me. "I'm sorry kid, I really am."
Oh, what I'd give to have heard that from Nick years ago back in high school...
With a slight turn I smiled at him... a hurt smile, but one none the less. "I understand, Tom. Have a good night."
"You as well." He said as I closed the door behind me.
A strange feeling came over me when I arrived at my apartment. I felt like the air was still and it was too quiet.
"... Wish I had a pet." I mumbled to myself.
It was a nice apartment though, a one bedroom studio... a queen bed by the window and a small kitchen on the other side. It was all a dog could ever want.
I took a shower, brushed my k9's, muted my ph-...
Wait... A text? ... I don't get a lot of those...
Oh... heh... it's from Nick.
"Wanna do something this week?"
I rubbed the back of my neck, laughing a little... I didn't know how to respond so I just put it back down.
I took off my trousers and went to bed... yes, I sleep in the nude, so what?
And the thing is... it was like this EVERY night. I got so used to it, but tonight... I thought about the text... something that slightly broke that routine.
I closed my eyes... and my thoughts turned on some memories from my past...
Past:
As me and the fox both sat in the principle's office, we avoided any and ALL eye contact.
Nobody said anything for several silent minutes... up until I heard the fox say "I'm sorry."
Wow... is THAT what the fox says? Because I didn't hear it. Say it LOUDER!
Instead of voicing that... I stayed quiet. I felt his head turn my direction though. "I'm talkin to YOU, Sheppy."
The principle walked in, a male leopard in a suit. Snappy. It suited him... haha. suited...
I don't know what I thought was so funny... I guess it was the fact that he had a smile on his face and was in a cheery mood. Maybe I knew we would get off scratch free.
He sat down and looked at the both of us. "Stanley Hepperd and Nicholas Wilde... did I get those right?"
"Yes." We both said.
He smiled. "Good." and he leaned in closer, putting his paws together. "Look, I know you two are good students, and I think if we can just sort out whatever it is, we can let this go and nobody gets hurt. I would hate to call either of your parents for something so menial."
"Yes sir." Nick said quietly.
The principal turned to me. "And you, Stanley... I understand that you have a history of skipping class after you finish your school work. I insist you instead find a book in the library and read it in class. Your teachers would greatly appreciate that."
"Oh." My ears lowered... and my heart sank. I knew what this meant... I couldn't go off on my own and play piano anymore...
The leopard leaned back in his chair, smiling again. "If this happens again, I'm not gonna have a choice. Someone's parents will be contacted. Understood?"
We both nodded.
"Super. I gotta go. Head on back to class, boys."
Me and Nick left his office, and we didn't speak to each other...
For the next 3 months.
Thank You For Reading!
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Mysterydude23 - Heh, I hope this answers your question. Thank you for your review. I'm glad you enjoy this.
