Puppy Love – Part One

 My alarm blared loudly, rousing me awake. I swung my arm behind me, groping for my nightstand, until my paw finally landed on the off button, and silence broke over the room once more.  I rolled over onto my back and stared at the ceiling. It was time for school, and a Monday awaited me.  I swung my legs over the side of my bed and stood up, stretching and looking around my room.

     Dirty clothes were strewn about in a haphazard kind of way, covering virtually every surface in the room. It was still dark outside, but the sun was just beginning to send a pre-dawn glow over the snowcapped hills, visible through my only window. A shaft of light fell through the clutter onto a little wooden block. I picked it up. It was an old woodshop project from 8th grade. It wasn’t very creative; I only engraved my name into it. In the morning half-light you could just make out Miles messily drilled into the wood. I set it back down and continued my inspection.

      Various gadgets and devices were in the strangest spots imaginable. I padded over to my dresser, opened the top drawer, and took out my toothbrush. If you asked me, I would have been able to tell you where every one of my possessions was. But as soon as my mother told me to clean my room, I suddenly wasn’t able to find anything. I grabbed my deodorant from my nightstand drawer and walked into the bathroom, as my mind slowly woke itself up. I glanced in the mirror as I always do and assessed what I was dealing with before I walked into the shower.

     My normally silky and smooth fur was mussed up by a night of restless sleep. I looked more like a puffball than a wolf.  My tail was completely limp, though it somehow remained fluffy and soft. I was slumped over with sleepiness. I groggily straightened myself up, raised my tail a little higher, and stared back into the mirror. Better. My deep violet fur was still messy, but that could be fixed in the shower. My green eyes stared back at me in the mirror, glinting off the fluorescent bulbs. I decided enough was enough, and hopped into the shower.