A new day dawned. Birds sang, the sun shined, hundreds of different sounds announced the arrival of a new day.
Inside the house, Kevin and his older brother arrived at the breakfast table. "I've got an early meeting," Mom said, sitting two bowls of cereal in front of her sons.
Their father had already left for the bank. "And, since I am in such a rush, I was hoping you could drop your brother at school, Jared," Mom said.
The impostor spooned cereal and milk into his mouth. He chewed, swallowed, and smiled. "Sure, no problem, Mom."
She smiled, pleasantly surprised that she didn't have to nag him or remind him that's one of the reasons they had agreed to buy him a used car for his 17th birthday. "Thank you, Jared. You boys have a nice day at school."
She gave them each a quick kiss on the cheek and was out the door. The impostor liked his breakfast so much he stood and poured more cereal into his bowl and added more milk. "You hungry?" Kevin asked.
His brother grinned. "Hey, I have baseball practice after school, so I've got a long day ahead."
"So," Kevin said, sloshing his cereal and milk around in the bowl with his spoon. "You've not felt any more of those doggie impulses?"
His brother, standing with his second bowl of cereal at the counter, looked at him and smiled. "Nope," he said. "None at all. I've never felt more human, in fact."
"That's strange," Kevin said. "But it's probably just as well. From everything I've learned, that Wepwawet is one twisted dude."
Having finished off the second bowl of cereal, his brother turned and placed the bowl in the sink. "I think you can stop worrying," he said. "I think if anything else was going to happen, we would have known it by now."
"You're probably right," Kevin said. He followed his brother's example and carried his now empty bowl to the sink. "I'm going to say bye to Shaggy before we leave."
"Well, hurry," his brother warned. "I can't be late."
Kevin grabbed a bacon strip on his way out the back door. He found Shaggy over near the fence trying to peer into the alley. Then he heard the "Beep! Beep! Beep!" as the garbage truck backed into the narrow alley to empty a dumpster. Jared barked once, disturbed by the mechanical noises.
"That's just the garbage truck, boy," Kevin said.
When his sleep had ended, Jared remained in his doghouse, planning his next step. Thinking for very long wasn't easy for him, and he kept getting distracted. Nevertheless, he told himself that today was the day! He intended to get someone — Dad, Mom, Kevin, even the impostor — to listen to him.
He was glad to see Kevin. Convincing Kevin of his true identity would be easier since he had witnessed some of his earlier transformations.
Jared walked toward his brother, determined, but then he smelled something. Something incredibly tantalizing. He doubled his pace and bounded to Kevin's side.
Kevin patted his dog's head. "Wish I could just stay here all day with you, but I have to go to school," he said.
Jared heard most of the words. He definitely picked up on school. An image of a big brick building and lots of noisy teenagers popped into his head.
Jared sniffed at his brother's pants. The smell was definitely coming from one of the pockets.
Kevin laughed, slid his hand into his pocket, and pulled out the treat. "You looking for this, boy?"
ARF! ARF! ARF! Jared felt his hindquarters shimmy back and forth. "GIMME! GIMME! GIMME!"
Kevin tossed the treat into the air, and Jared caught snapped it into his mouth before it hit the ground. "Good catch, boy," he said. "You really like your bacon treats."
"Kevin, you coming," the impostor called from the back door.
Jared chomped on the bacon, but he took time to growl at the hated impostor.
"Shaggy, what are you doing?" Kevin asked. "Why are you growling at Jared?"
Woof! Woof! Bark! Bark! "Bad Jared. Me real Jared."
Of course, Kevin just shook his head, unable to differentiate one bark from another.
The impostor walked toward the carport, which prompted Jared to rush across the yard. Restrained at the end of the tether, he barked furiously at the impostor.
"What's his problem?" The impostor asked as he opened the car on the driver's side of Jared's car. The vehicle was the teenager's pride and joy.
Ruff! Ruff! Ruff! "Get out! Mine! Bad Jared!"
Kevin jerked on the lead. "Shaggy, you behave or no more bacon treats," the boy scolded.
Jared felt a wave of submissive behavior overcome him, and he practically wallowed on his belly in the dirt to make amends. He whimpered and whined. "Sorry. Me good dog."
The impostor honked the horn. "Kevin, get your butt in gear," he shouted.
"Bye, Shaggy," Kevin said.
The mortified sheepdog watched as his brother and the impostor drove away in his car. He wandered over to the shade of a small tree and sprawled on the dew-laden grass. He didn't like the feeling of wet fur, but he was too depressed to walk over to the relatively dry doghouse. Besides, the old cushion inside the doghouse still reeked from his nocturnal humping session.
He had taken two or three naps when he was awoke by an incredibly painful sound like someone was driving multiple hot needles into his brain. He whined and fled to the doghouse, where he tried to bury his ears with his front paws. Through a curtain of fur over his eyes, he saw the noisy monstrosity turn the corner. The green machine smelled of metal, grass, gas fumes and sweat. A Latino guy not much older than Jared drove the lawn mower back and forth across the lawn.
Of course! He remembered now. His parents contracted with a local landscaping firm to mow the yard twice a month, and they always came on Mondays. The sound of the mower's engine was nothing short of torture now that Jared had such an acute sense of hearing. Every time the mower came near his doghouse, he lunged at the machine and barked up a storm. The Latino driver, dressed in jeans and a sleeveless tee-shirt, laughed and shouted "perro feo" at him in Spanish. After a half hour of torment, Jared relaxed when the crew packed up their mowers and departed.
For an hour after they left, Jared continued to hear ringing in his ears. He trotted to his water dish and drank heartily. The salty bacon treat had made him thirsty. The rest of the day passed intolerably slowly.