"Well, I think I got the better bargain," Kevin, now in Jared's human body, said while pulling back his forearms to make his biceps bulge while admiring the new image greeting him in the mirror.
Jared barked once. "What about me?"
Kevin looked at his barking brother. "Hold on, boy."
Jared meant to express frustration and produced a sound more like a gruff, whimpering growl. "Don't speak to me like I'm a dog," he said somewhat without irony.
Kevin gathered some articles of clothing from his brother's wardrobe. Once dressed, he grabbed the collar around Jared's neck and pulled the resistant German shepherd downstairs and into the backyard. He stopped, closed the door behind them, and smiled down at Jared, who kept twisting and turning in a futile effort to break free of his brother's grasp.
"I think I will take a walk," Kevin said, but he stopped after his first couple of steps. He heard something jangle in one of the pockets of Jared's pants. He fished out a key. "Hehe...I don't need to walk now," he said. "I think I will take your car for a spin."
His car! Jared barked furiously. "You can't drive my car! You're only 12 years old!"
Kevin walked his new body to the garage, flicked the keys to spring the door locks, slid behind the wheel, rolled down the window, and advised Jared to stop barking and chill.
"We've got to start adjusting," Kevin said, prompting an involuntary shiver that silenced the barking dog.
Jared didn't want to adjust. He didn't want to be a dumb dog. He needed to make Kevin see reason...
The sound of rubber screeching on asphalt hurt Jared's upright, furry ears. The sensitive nose on the end of his snout detected the unpleasant odor of burnt tire residue on the driveway pavement. He didn't know whether to worry most about his prized car, his kid brother, or himself trapped in a canine body.
He whimpered and raised a hind leg to dig at an itch behind his left ear. He wished he could simply deal with one crisis at a time!