A Human Among Dalmatians: By LukasLazzyy
Chapter 6: Homesick
By the time I finished the dishes, my hands were feeling sore from washing and drying all of the dog bowls, but to be honest, I didn't know what else I expected from doing the dishes when there were over a hundred dogs living here. Regardless, I was finally done with not only the dishes, but also with all of my chores.
With a sigh of relief, I made my way into the living room and proceeded to flop down onto the couch.
"Finished all your chores, huh Lukas?" A voice asked.
I looked up to see the nerd dalmatian from earlier, whose name I learned was Dawkins, sitting on the couch reading a book.
"Yep." I replied. "And I'm tired. I don't know how Dylan does it all the time, especially when he's got, like, a hundred dalmatians to clean up after."
"Well, Dylan has his ways." Dawkins said.
I sighed as I sat up on the couch, before I felt something in my pocket. Pulling it out revealed it to be my phone, which was still dead. Dawkins stared at the device with wide eyes, seemingly in awe.
"Um, Lukas, what is that magical rectangular object you're holding?"
"Oh this, this is called a smartphone." I replied. "Humans like me use these things pretty much on a daily basis."
"What do you use them for?" Dawkins asked.
"You can make calls, send messages, surf the internet, play games, and even watch videos."
Dawkins looked at me with a mix of awe and confusion. "It sounds like a gadget of endless possibilities! But how does it work? And why do humans use it so much?"
I leaned back on the couch, trying to find the right words to explain.
"Well, Dawkins." I began. "A phone works by sending and receiving signals through the air, like magic! Humans use it for many reasons. It helps us stay connected with family and friends, whether through calls or messages. We can also find information on just about anything, learn new things, and even keep up with the latest news. It's like having a world of knowledge and entertainment right at our fingertips."
Dawkins' ears perked up, his curiosity piqued even more. "Wow! So, you're saying it's like having a library and a communication tool all in one? That's remarkable!"
"Yeah, it's crazy to think how humans would be without phones." I said thoughtfully.
"Well, can you show me how it works?" Dawkins asked hopefully.
My smile soon faded as I realized something. "I would, but my phone's dead."
"It's dead?" Dawkins said puzzled. "But it's not alive."
"No, I mean it's out of battery." I corrected. "You see, phones are powered by batteries that only lasts a certain amount of time, and when a phone dies, it means I can't use it."
"Oh." Dawkins nodded in understanding. "That makes more sense."
"BOW WACKA WOW!" A voice suddenly yelled out.
Dawkins and I both looked over to see Dolly riding a skateboard around the living room with tremendous speed, performing one trick after the other, she even ended up doing a front flip over us. While I was impressed, Dawkins didn't seem too pleased.
"Lower your velocity, Dolly!" He said sternly.
"Chill out, Dawk." Dolly replied nonchalantly. "I'm just havin' fun."
"Does your idea of "fun" have to be so reckless?" Dawkins asked.
"Have you even met me?" Dolly asked sarcastically.
"Whoa Dolly, that was really impressive." I said sincerely.
"Thanks Lukas." Dolly replied gratefully. "See Dawkins? Someone appreciates my skills."
Dawkins just rolled his eyes.
Nighttime quickly took over and the sky had just turned completely dark, I was currently laying down on my bed in the guest room of the apartment, reflecting on the day's events.
I was still unable to fully wrap my head around the fact that I possessed the ability to understand animals. Even though I've only been here for a few hours, a lot has happened to me, I made friends with talking dogs, I stood up for myself when I encountered the Canal Crew, and many of my interactions with the other dalmatians.
As I lied there, I could overhear the voices of Doug and Delilah putting the much younger Dalmatians to be.
"Goodnight, my little angels." Delilah's voice said soothingly.
"See ya in the morning." Doug's voice added.
As I continued hearing them talk in their gentle voices. I stared up at the ceiling intently, until my eyelids finally felt heavy and I drifted off to sleep...
I had no idea how many hours had passed, but I could tell I could tell that it was really late into the night when consciousness returned to me. Looking at the alarm clock on the side table, I saw that it was well past midnight. I rose up and rubbed my eyes.
As quietly as I could, I got up from my bed and approached the door to my room and slowly opened it as it let out and audible creek, I cringed, thinking that someone would hear, but to my relief, no one seemed to hear it. I walked out of my room and started walking down the stairs, which turned out to be very difficult.
Once I got to the bottom, I walked through the living room, but just when I was about to walk into the kitchen to get a glass of water. I could tell that something was on the wall above the couch. Since it was dark, I couldn't tell what it was, but after finding a nearby light switch, the room lit up to reveal a bunch of pictures on the wall of all the dalmatians.
It was at that moment when I saw a certain picture, which was the biggest one out of all of them, the picture was of the Dalmatian family all crowded together, all with big smiles on their faces.
As I stared at the picture, I couldn't help but feel something I hadn't felt in a long time... homesickness. I was far away from my family and I was starting to miss them, who knows how long I'll be here for?
Sure enough, I felt a small tear go down my cheek, until the overwhelming feeling of homesickness took over me as I soon broke down into quiet sobs. I sat down on the couch and put my hands on my face.
"Oh mom, dad... I miss you." I whispered, my voice breaking.
After what felt like an eternity, I heard a quiet voice call out. "Lukas?"
I looked up from my tear-stained hands to find Dylan, looking at me with genuine concern. "What's wrong?"
"Oh, it's nothing, Dylan." I said dismissively, turning away from him. "You wouldn't understand."
"Come on, Lukas." Dylan encouraged, walking over to me. "You can tell me."
"You. Wouldn't. Understand." I repeated with emphasis.
"Of course I'll understand." Dylan persisted. "Just tell..."
"I SAID YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND!"
...
What just happened? I had never yelled like that before, most of the time when I'm angry, I just roll my eyes and try to calm myself down, but that was nothing compared to what I just did. Dylan just stared at me surprised as he backed away from me.
"Okay..." Dylan spoke softly. "I'm sorry I bothered you."
With that, Dylan started walking slowly away with head hung low. What have I done? I had just yelled at Dylan for seemingly no reason whatsoever. I was about to call him back, but something told me that he wasn't in the mood to talk to me anymore...
To Be Continued...