Jared fought to stay in command, but his doggie instincts kept tripping him up. For instance, he stopped and sniffed of every fire hydrant that he and Cy walked past.
Cy wore a huge, gloating grin the entire time. Every time he looked toward the sheepdog, he felt like laughing out loud knowing that it was really his rival.
"At least now I know why the new you is a much better guy," Cy remarked.
Jared was so busy sniffing the latest hydrant that he missed the comment. Cy tugged on the leash. "Listen up," he said. "I know you can hear me."
Jared cocked his head.
"So, what's the story? You wanted to be a dog?"
Jared whimpered and shook his head.
"Doesn't matter," Cy decided. "Looks like you're stuck."
Jared shook his head again. "Arf! Arf!"
"Sorry, dude," Cy remarked. "I don't speak dog."
"You can't mean to keep me like this? As your pet?" Jared barked.
Cy might not understand him, but he had a pretty good idea that Jared was chafing at finding himself under Cy's control.
"Let's pick up the pace," Cy said. "I've got a stop I want to make before I settle you into your new home."
That worried Jared. He didn't want anyone else to see him. He sat down on the sidewalk and refused to budge.
Cy's features darkened. "Get up, boy," he said. "It's nothing bad. I thought we'd stop by Cassie Henderson's home and see how she's doing."
Jared found a whimper rising in his throat. He and Cy had both been trying to impress Cassie since the start of the school year. So far, she had agreed to have coffee after school with Jared a few weeks ago. Of course, Jared had advertised that fact to Cy.
What was his plan anyway?
Cy approached and bent down to whisper. "You don't really want to mess with the guy who could have you fixed, do you?"
Jared went into full whimper mode. "I thought so." Cy tugged on the leash and forced the sheepdog to trudge along in his wake.