Psst, guess what…update!

Enjoy readers!

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Chapter 6: Morning with the Heelers

That same night…barely ten minutes later: Bandit walked into the office…catching the sight of his wife, Chili, surfing the internet for information regarding a seven-year-old German Shepherd named Dustin Cierly.

"No address, no relatives, nothing…maybe we should-"

"Give them a chance, babe" her husband interjected.

"I suppose, but it just doesn't add up."

"None of it does, but does it have to? They need our help, Chili…" he stepped closer as Chili looked away, still unsure, "human…I tried searching for it, but nothing." She shook her head. To the Red Heeler, it must have been a terrifying thought: she probably thought a human was some sort of parasitic creature. She thought about it: what if this creature took over the mind of this little girl? Really, I'm really thinking this? She thought.

But, for her, maybe these so-called humans aren't so bad. Dustin seemed to have a genuine disposition, no ill malice…as far as Chili knew. It's just been a strange night, to say the least…she NEVER expected this to happen in a million years.

"Let's sleep on it, we can talk more about it later after brekkie" Bandit reassured before his significant other nodded slowly, "okay."

…

A few hours later, once the sun is up: I get ready for the day…deciding to take a shower (which is warranted, for sure.)

Once I stepped out, I ran into Bandit, who's just about to go downstairs. I looked at him and asked, with my voice kind of weak…still quite exhausted from last night, "morning, by chance…where's the washroom?"

He looked at me with a raised brow, not following that last word. I realized this and chuckled in response, "Uh, the bathroom…any chance I could take a shower?"

"Oh! Sure thing, just down there, kiddo. Try not to take too long, we'll all be eating soon" he said before I nodded, "right, thanks!"

I make it to the bathroom: which is tiled and has a bathtub and a shower. I didn't want to waste any time, so I went in the shower and started washing off all the dirt and other nasty bits from my fur.

The thing is, fur isn't like human skin: one, it's hard as hell to clean, and two: I didn't consider how long it would take to dry my fur.

Oh boy…what did I get myself into?

I got out of the shower and tried looking for a hairdryer but there wasn't any in the room! I grabbed towels to wrap around myself to dry faster; however, when I moved, I didn't see the puddle of water I made on the tile floor…as a result…I slipped. My eyes swirled before I shake my head, "ugh…"

Once I recovered, a thought crossed me: what if I start shaking myself like dogs usually do…can these dogs even do the same? I decided to give it a go, but…as expected I have no idea how to.

I groaned loudly, great…I guess I just got to run the towel all over till I'm dry. At least I won't smell foul anymore and whatnot.

After a few minutes, most of my fur is dry (but it's a cool kind of dry…not entirely dry because fur is persistent and whatnot.) Now came YET another problem: my fur is all over the place, not to mention matted.

I sighed, hopefully I can find a brush in here…how hard can brushing my own fur be?

Spoiler alert: it's a pain (I'd swear with my usual lingo but I'm in a world with cartoon dogs…so I better not.)

Anyway, after a few MORE minutes, I come out ready (with some matted patches of fur I missed, but oh well…) and I run into Chili (who had her paws on her hips as if she were disappointed…and she was.)

"Oh dear…" she muttered, looking at how messy my fur still was, "I thought you knew how to care for yourself?"

I rolled my eyes slightly, "I'm not exactly a dog, mind you. Sorry, I…didn't know how much of a pain this was going to be."

"You also didn't make your bed as promised" Chili stopped herself…she really thought about what her husband said earlier…like Bandit had said, maybe she just needs to give this person a chance. So, she decided to make the scene more lighthearted. She took the brush from me and kneeled to be more eye level and started straightening out the parts of my fur that are bad. I sighed, looking away in embarrassment, "sorry…"

The Red Heeler couldn't resist smiling softly at me, "no worries, we'll show you the ropes."

"Thanks, so uh…do you guys shake to get rid of water like dogs do in my world?"

"Sure do. There…" she finished and pulled away as she inspected: I was perfectly brushed and now dry. I looked up and smiled at her, "thanks for that."

"Yup. Come on, food's ready" she led me to the dining room.

"Food DOES sound nice…" I realized that I haven't eaten besides a few snacks I had the other day while playing in the house yesterday.

We arrive and I can see that the dining room is a small space that's connected to a balcony: where the family can have BBQs outside and whatnot.

"Ah, here she is!" Bandit smiled as I climbed to the seat.

"Hi, Dustin!" Both girls said as I smiled back at them, "morning Bluey, Bingo!"

The mother set a plate down for me as I, instinctively, ran my tongue across my snout, "looks great!" Once Chili sat down and everyone was ready, we all started eating. The two sisters would occasionally glance over to me and Bluey asked (with some food in her mouth) "can Dustin come to school with me?" The young Blue Heeler asked, but soon after her mother scolded her lightly with a soft warning, "Bluey."

Bluey finished her food, soon after apologizing, "but can she? Dustin can meet everybody!"

"Can she come to my school?" Bingo inquired, but Bluey shook her head with a friendly retort, "she'll have a lot more fun in Calypso's class!"

The parents looked at one another and were hesitant. They didn't think it'd be a good idea, at least for now.

"I'm sorry, girls, but Dustin won't be going with you to school."

"Aw! Why not!?" Bluey demanded to know as I shielded my face from view with a paw.

The mother made a brief expression that read 'drop it' and her daughter immediately yielded. Their father leaned in with a reassuring face, "don't worry about it, kids. You'll be able to play with her later today."

"Can we go to the playground after school?" Bingo asked with a tilted head, her ears falling to the side. The parents subtly shrugged, "maybe."

"Yay!" Both kids cheered.

Chili playfully laughed back, "we said maybe, girls" she had interrupted their conversation. I chuckled at the scene happening in front of my eyes, "maybe puts a STRONG emphasis on yes" I quietly added before the girls across from me squealed and their mother jokingly (though not really) huffed at me in response.

Soon after, we all finished breakfast and Bluey-Bingo got their belongings. We got in the family car (a Jeep Wrangler by the looks of it) and we drove off. I sat in the back, between the sisters as they giggled excitedly. It was a bit awkward and claustrophobic. For one, I'm not used to this sort of thing. I haven't traveled like this (like a kid dependent on a driver) for years! Another thing is that I actually didn't know what the girls were learning in their respective schools. I assume Bluey isn't that far away from what…grade 3? As for Bingo, it was even harder to decipher…I assume she was either in playgroup or grade 1, or maybe she's too young for grade 1?

I turned to the Blue Heeler next to me, who was looking out the window for a split second, "so…school. Have you learned multiplication yet, Bluey?"

"A little, it's weird" she shrugged lightly.

"It looks hard" Bingo added, and I chuckled back, "trust me, it's not as hard as it looks…especially when you learn more things down the road."

"Like trendlines on graphs?" Bandit joked (referring to my line of work as a human) before Chili rolled her eyes.

"What's that?" Bingo and Bluey both made confused faces, I'll admit they were adorable and cartoonish to say the least, and I just had to giggle back in my new girly voice, "it's harder than multiplication. I don't think I can explain it well to you two." I stopped myself, I can't…can I? They don't know everything I told the parents yet…better play it cool for now. This is kind of NOT a lie because it's true, "my dad used to look at stuff on a board and see where a line was going and then he does math on it" I tried to explain as simply as possible. From a side glance, I can see that we're at a stop light and Bandit had turned to face me and winked (as if telling me I did a good job) and I nodded back.

Not too long after, Bluey and Bingo were dropped off and it was just me and the adults.

I sighed as we pulled away from Bluey's school, which was on a hill surrounded by an idyllic landscape.

"Is that stuff hard?" I heard the adult blue dog ask before I raise an eyebrow, "the charts?"

"Yeh."

"I suppose. It's technical analysis, you can try and predict where the price of an asset will move, but at the end of the day, it's not up to you. Doing that kind of work is unpredictable, but data often rhymes."

"I see" Bandit nodded slowly as if understanding. Then, as if to change the subject, he asked, "right then…any clues on how to help you, Dustin?"

"No idea…I woke up in the park and…that's the only 'lead' I've got" I said, unsure.

Chili thought to herself, "wait, is that why Bluey and Bingo were on that trail the other day?"

"I suppose. Your daughter, Bingo, said she saw me fall from the sky."

"Ouch" Bandit added in amusingly almost.

"So, I guess we can do a quick check and see if anything is there then" the Red Heeler suggested before I shrugged, "who knows…maybe there's a magic portal waiting for me there."

"Wicked" Bandit again added amusingly before lightly pressing on the accelerator.

And so, we made our way there. In the meantime, I looked out the window to see the landscape of Brisbane changing slightly and I am soon lost in my own little world.

Maybe it's this kid body, maybe it's not, but I felt a sense of calm while in the passenger seat behind the parents. It felt very nostalgic…in that moment I DID feel like a kid again…a kid who didn't have to think about the same stuff adults worry about…a kid who wanted to know what was outside beyond the hills and horizon…

Thing is…I WAS a kid again and I thought deeply about that very important detail.

Not everyone gets a second chance…I shouldn't waste this gift. Even if my journey would come to an end once we got to the park, I ought to enjoy this small moment.

With this thought in mind, a small smile formed on my snout, and I let my kid emotions take over for a bit…for the first time since ending up in this world: I wanted to enjoy being seven again.

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Alright folks, that's a wrap. I'll see you in the next update, take care!