Jared remained in bed, cozy under the covers but bothered by the reek of his own sweat, which had evidently been produced copiously during his bad dream.
Yes, it had been so real, but he chose to dismiss it as a bad dream, some fantasy torn loose and let free by his recent experienced in four-footed form. Life as a dog held some positives, for sure, such as boundless energy and unbridled enthusiasm, but he needed to weigh the negatives, like dog food, leashes and a devotion to subservient behavior.
But why waste time thinking about the weird dream, let alone analyzing it? Kevin had solved the problem with his splitting of Jared and Shaggy. So, why did Jared continued to feel slightly envious of Shaggy?
"I don't want to be a dog," he spoke aloud in his quiet room. "Well, not permanently."
However, would it be so bad if he could escape to shagginess from time to time when the mounting pressures in life left him anxious or depressed? College admission essays, not-to-subtle hints from dad to get a part-time job, the endless list of chores from mom, the competition on the baseball field, trying to figure out girls — everything conspired to leave him needing a valve to let him vent the pressures when they became too much.
Jared heard a faint scratching at his door. He ignored the sound, but it returned. With a sigh, he pushed back the covers and got out of bed. He walked across the cold floor in bare feet and opened the door. Shaggy burst into the room and jumped onto his bed.
"Shaggy, what are you doing here?" Jared asked. "You're not supposed to be inside the house?"
The dog raised its face to him, eyes obscured by a furry fringe, and produced a soft bark. "We talk," Shaggy said.
Was he still dreaming or had Shaggy just spoken to him?
Shaggy gave some low arfs. "Sit! Talk."
Jared sat on the edge of his bed.
"Good." Shaggy barked in a hushed manner.
"This can't be real," Jared said.
"Listen." Shaggy instructed with a bark. "Trade again?"
Jared, seated on the edge of his bed in his boxers, stroked the thick fur atop the dog's head. "I don't want to be a dog, boy," he said.
"Yes," Shaggy barked.
"No," Jared insisted.
"Fun," Shaggy said. "Trade, have fun. Trade back. Fun."
It was a dream, surely, so he decided to go with it. "What do you mean, boy?"
Jared swore he could detect a hint of frustration when Shaggy barked in response. "Shiny thing." The sheepdog shook its big, furry head and forced the metal tag that had been the amulet to jangle.
Jared caught the gleam from the tag and reached to touch it. At the last second, he drew back his hand.
"Touch. Trade. Touch again, trade back." Shaggy barked.
Jared stared at the tag that had magically changed from the amulet. The shiny metal disc had Shaggy's name inscribed on it.
"Touch it!" Shaggy whined.
The teenager let his fingers close on the thin metal disc. He felt an instant and irresistible tug. For a brief instant, Jared seemed to hover over his bed. He saw himself and Shaggy. He saw something else, a shimmering bubble that arose from Shaggy, hovered past him, and burst upon contact with his own forehead.
His room tilted and shifted into black-and-white movie mode. His human scent on the sheets overpowered his nostrils. "You stink!" Jared barked.
Human Shaggy laughed and lifted an arm to smell a pit. "Maybe I do," he agreed.
Jared leaped off the bed, ran to his dresser, and balanced himself on hind legs with his front paws hooked on top of the dresser. He looked at the image of his shaggy self in the mirror. Transfixed, he continued to stare at the mirror as Shaggy walked over and entered the reflection as Jared's human body.
"I want to change back!" Jared freaked out and barked loudly. "Now!"
"But we've barely..."
"Now!" Jared barked again. "You promised."
"Calm down, boy," Shaggy said and reached with Jared's former human hand. The moment Shaggy touched the shiny tag, everything went right again.
At that moment, the door burst open and Kevin entered. "I knew I heard barking!" Jared's brother said. "What's Shaggy doing in your room?"
"I thought you let him in," Jared said. He still felt shaken by the rapid transitions from boy to dog and back again.
Kevin grabbed the collar. "You've got to go back outside," he said. "You know mom and dad will be back from their trip tomorrow, and mom won't be happy to find you've been in the house."
Shaggy whined but submitted to his master. Kevin led Shaggy toward the door, but Jared intervened. "Let me take him out," he said.
Kevin let his brother take hold of the collar. "Thanks, I was on Skype with Charlie."
Jared led Shaggy through the house, but stopped in the kitchen to grab a peanut-butter dog biscuit. Once they were in the yard, Jared attached the collar to the lead. As he did so, he saw the gleam from the tag.
Shaggy sat, expectantly, having smelled the dog biscuit in Jared's other hand.
"So, whenever I am ready to go back to being human, you'll trade back?" Jared asked.
Shaggy produced a "woof" but Jared heard the sound as "Yes."
Jared felt tingly and light-headed. "Okay!" He reached out and touched the tag, which an instant later left him with a shaggy coat of fur and four legs.
Shaggy, now in his body, looked down at him. As he did so, he felt the biscuit in his hand. "How about a reward?"
Jared smelled the peanut-butter biscuit. Saliva pooled and dripped from his jaws. Without thinking too much about it, he accepted the treat. After Jared curled his shaggy form inside the doghouse and prepared to enjoy the crunchy biscuit, Shaggy turned and walked back to the house.