This is just a short one I thought up quickly while I'm in between writing some big suggestions. I love you all too much to leave you with nothing for so long! :) Thank you all so much for your support. I promise the next chapter will be really awesome to make up for this one. haha


The choirboys were all thrilled to be playing in the park one lovely afternoon. Henry was going to bring his new puppy over for the first time - - he'd just taken it in a few days prior to the playdate, and he was eager to show everyone his newest little toy. He skipped along the sidewalk, tugging the leash of the little puppy, who happily ran beside him. Maurice saw him in the distance. "There he is!" he told everyone. The boys gathered together in excitement. Even Jack Merridew was eager to get a look at the little dog.

Henry scooped the puppy up into his arms when he drew nearer. "This," he said breathlessly, holding the dog up under its front paws proudly. "Is Webber. Mummy and Daddy let me name him all by myself. He's only three months old!" The little dog was panting. Its pink tongue flopped out cutely. "Does he know his name?" Simon asked, reaching out to stroke a tiny paw. Henry nodded. "He sure does! He can even come when he's called. Well…sort of…but he's getting better at it." The boy plopped him onto the ground and unhooked his leash from his collar. "Let's play fetch!" Bill suggested. He picked up a ball he'd brought and showed it to Webber. "Ready…set…go! Go fetch it! Go get it!" he encouraged as he tossed the ball. Webber sat down. He watched all the boys in amazement. Harold laughed. "What a stupid dog! It doesn't even see a ball go flying!" Henry put his hands on his hips. He picked Webber up and faced him towards the ball. He gave his rump a small shove. "Go get it!" he commanded. The dog just turned nose all the way up to the sky so he could look backwards at the boys, who appeared upside-down to him. They all giggled.

Maurice rubbed his chin in thought. "Maybe he needs to learn by example!" he suggested. He handed Jack a Frisbee. "Here. Throw this for me. I'll show him what to do." Jack furrowed his brow and stepped back. "What are you going to do, Maurice? I'm a little afraid to let you off your leash…"

"I won't do anything stupid, I promise. Just throw it."

"Alright…here goes nothing…"

Jack tossed the Frisbee into the air. Maurice hopped onto all fours and took off at an incredibly skilled sprint across the grass. As the Frisbee was landing, he jumped up and caught it in his teeth as if he were an actual dog. He then ran back to Jack. Maurice the puppy dropped the Frisbee at his feet and sat down, panting with his tongue out. "Praise me," he breathlessly said. "Show what a good dog gets when he does the right thing." Jack hesitantly reached down and patted Maurice's head. "Good boy…" he said half-heartedly, still stupefied by the dog skills Maurice demonstrated. Did he actually practice this stuff? Bill ran over, rubbing Maurice's face excitedly and patting him. "Who's a good boy, Maurice? Who's a good boy? You are! Good doggie! Yay! Good boy!" he praised, as if he were talking to an actual animal.

Henry leaned down to talk to Webber. "Did you see that? See what he did?" he asked. Much to his dismay, the dog had missed all of it to try munching on some fresh-looking grass. Harold, Simon, Robert, and Roger all knelt down near him to pet him and touch his soft fur. "He's so cute!" Harold exclaimed, playing with one of the floppy ears. "Soft…" Roger murmured as he brushed his fingers along the back. Robert adjusted the blue collar around the animal's neck to see the bone-shaped nametag. Simon giggled when the puppy licked his hand. As everyone enjoyed the little animal, Jack looked on. He was pleased to see his choir so intrigued about something. Suddenly, he felt something plastic drop onto his feet. Maurice was sitting in front of him, eyes staring up at him with the utmost intensity. "Could you…maybe…do you want to throw it again?" he asked. Jack looked down at the red Frisbee. "Oh my God you're serious…" he realized in disbelief. Maurice reddened. "It's fun." he explained. Jack picked up the toy gingerly, still in shock that he was actually about to witness a boy - - one of his boys, to say the least - - transform temporarily into a dog. He gave the Frisbee a toss and watched as the boy scrambled after it on all fours.

This time, Webber gave a happy bark and leapt up from his place to follow Maurice.

Henry cheered and all the choirboys encouraged the running puppy. Little Webber grabbed onto the other end of the Frisbee with his teeth, engaging puppy Maurice in a game of tug-of-war. "I bet Webber wins!" Harold voted.

"I'm for Webber too!" Bill agreed.

"I hope Maurice wins!" giggled Simon.

"I think Webber's got an up on Maurice this time." Robert surmised.

"This has got to be the strangest thing I have ever witnessed!" Jack cried out, not understanding why no one else though it was weird.

Maurice let Webber win the tug-of-war. Everyone cheered. The puppy wagged his tail and happily chewed on the plastic. "Here, Webber!" Bill called out, breaking a treat and offering it to the dog. It stopped chewing to sniff the new piece delicately. A little pink tongue rolled out to capture his treat. Webber went back to gnawing on the plastic contently. Maurice stood up and dusted off his knees. Robert was eyeing the bag of dog treats. "I wonder what those taste like…" he thought aloud. Maurice nudged him. "Eat one." he whispered. "I dare you."

"No!"

"Why not?"

"Those are for dogs!"

"So?"

"I don't want to die!"

"You're not going to die - - besides, you're only tasting it! It's not like they make poisonous dog treats, you twit."

Robert fished a small dog cookie out of the bag. He held it up to his mouth. Grinning from nerves, he pointed to Maurice. "If I die, I'm coming back as a ghost to haunt you for the rest of your life." he warned. Then…he took a bite. Roger gasped. Bill shrieked, "EW!" Jack nearly passed out. Simon put a hand over his mouth. Henry's eyes widened. Maurice burst into uncontained laughter.

After chewing for just a small amount of time, Robert spit it all out. "It tasted like glue!" he shouted above the giggles. "And it had a waxy texture! That was the worst thing I ever put in my mouth!" Even Webber was staring at him in interest. Maurice rolled onto the ground and clutched his sides. "You…you actually…I saw…oh, your face!" he gasped. Robert wiped some spittle off his chin with the back of his hand. "Never speak of this to any girl I should date in the future!"
"No promises!"

Jack sat down on the grass. He put his head into his hands. Roger moved over, taking a seat beside him silently. "Am I running a fever?" Jack asked him. Roger put his fingers against the head boy's cheeks. "No," he replied.

"I feel like I've seen too many strange things today…"

"They're all bonkers."

"So you've seen it all too?"

"Of course,"

"Good, so I'm not delirious."

"You're thinking about it too much. Just let it all go and let them be stupid. They'll learn their lessons someday. But for now, you just sit back and watch the fun, chief."

Jack patted Roger's hand gently, enjoying having someone always by his side for him. Roger half-smiled, still not doing much better psychologically. Webber was now running in circles and yipping happily as Harold spun himself around. When he crashed onto the ground, the puppy jumped up and licked his face. Simon opened his arms when Webber seemed to be getting tired. He crawled onto the boy's lap and curled up. Simon cuddled the little thing until it was fast asleep.

It was a unanimous decision that this puppy was the cutest one they'd ever seen when it slept. The boys all laid down in a line on the grass to gaze up at the clouds - - something they always liked to do together when outdoors. "This was an incredible day," Bill remarked. "I think Webber had the most fun!" Henry laughed. Jack grinned, reaching over and rubbing Roger's arm gently. He wanted him to know he was following his advice again and just letting the goofiness commence. The dark-haired boy smiled back at him. "I think everyone had a good time today." Simon summarized, getting lots of agreements.

Maurice let out a happy bark from somewhere down the line of boys.