It took nearly an hour, but eventually Tracy got Emily into the car. In the end she had to drag the girl by her ear. Now Emily sat in the front seat holding the side of her head and quietly crying from the pain. Jen and Rex were both lounging on the back seat. Jen had come along out of a mixture of curiosity and a strong desire to see Chesterton again. She wondered if she would feel any different being there now that she was aware of how the curse had controlled her. But the curse was firmly in her hands now. She still didn't know what she was going to do with it now that she had gotten her revenge and her wish together in one neat package, but she had a few ideas.
Tracy spent the entire trip lecturing Emily on the dangers of gambling, the immorality of theft, and how she was wasting her brilliant mind on criminal pursuits. Emily kept trying to deny the theft, but her mother wouldn't hear any of it. Emily had always been a rebel and troublemaker. Now that reputation had caught up and overtaken her.
Before long they came to the gates of Chesterton. The last time Jen had passed through them she had remembered the curse and what it had made her do. She held her breath as they passed through, anxiety twisting her stomach into knots. Of course nothing happened. Kyle's curse had already done its job. Jen tried to focus on settling her nerves. She thought about how much fun she was going to have seeing Ms. Lockehart and Betty again. Then she remembered Mina and wondered what had happened with her. Was she still in training, or had she graduated and gone back to her job by now?
As the car pulled up to the front entrance the doors opened and Betty came out to meet them. She was flanked by Alice and a tall, muscular woman Jen had never seen before. The woman introduced herself as Nurse Opal, Betty's new assistant.
"We hired her just before Jen's graduation." Betty explained, "But she only finished her training last week. She will be assisting me with on-boarding students for our new program. Speaking of which, I believe we have one here now?"
Betty looked over at Emily, who was sulking by the car. Tracy grabbed her arm and pulled her forward.
"Yes." Tracy said. "This is my other daughter, Emily. She is to be enrolled immediately. Her behavior lately has been atrocious and I'm hoping you can fix that. Jen has been so well behaved since she graduated, and happier too, I want to see if it will have a similar effect on Emily."
Both Betty and Nurse Opal smiled warmly at Emily. Emily glowered back.
"You don't seem as happy to be here as your sister was when she first arrived." Betty commented.
"Jen's weird." Emily mumbled. "Coming here just made her weirder."
Nurse Opal crouched down in front of Jen and started rubbing her face and ears just like you would an actual dog. Jen leaned into it, it felt kind of nice.
"She doesn't seem that weird to me." Opal commented. "She seems like a very sweet puppy."
Emily made an exaggerated gagging face. Tracy smacked her in the back of the head, knocking her off-balance.
"There will be no more of that." Tracy said sternly.
Emily stood up straight and gave her mother a haughty, but mildly worried look. Opal stood back up and turned toward the young teen, giving her an appraising look.
"She's a little on the scrawny side." Opal declared, "I might have to adjust the pads a bit to make them work."
"Pads?" Emily asked, confused.
"For your knees." Betty explained. "It's so you don't hurt them during training."
"What, you mean like Jen's?" Emily asked, "You want me to crawl around naked and act like a dog for a month like Jen did?"
Emily stared at Betty, then at Jen, then at her mother. It seemed to dawn on her that everyone was actually serious about this. That she was going to be going to obedience school just like Jen had.
"Fuck this." She said, and ran for the gates.
Nurse Opal didn't hesitate. She took several long strides and easily caught up with the fleeing girl. Emily was scooped up before she could make it 10 feet. She was carried back under the nurse's arm, struggling all the way.
"I'll just take this one and get her checked in." Opal said, raising her voice over Emily's rather inventive swearing. "She's a feisty one isn't she? Are the MK3 collars ready yet, Betty?"
"I have a couple in the bottom drawer of my desk. My supplier is having issues getting battery packs at the moment so supplies are short. And use the MK5 locking pads as well. I have a feeling that she is a talented escape artist."
"Can do!"
Nurse Opal carried Emily into the building, kicking and screaming the whole way. When the closing door finally cut off the girl's swearing, Betty turned to Jen.
"That reminds me, I have a present for you!"
Betty walked over to a bright pink VW Bug and opened the trunk. She pulled out a wooden box, identical to the one she had given Jen before and brought it over. She placed it on the ground in front of Jen and popped the clasps. Inside was another set of pink leather pads and gloves, but these ones seemed slimmer than the ones she was currently wearing. Betty pulled out one of the kneepads and showed it to Jen.
"I modified the design a little. Your current set restricts your legs and hands, preventing you from standing upright or using your fingers. They're good for training, but since you've already graduated with top marks there is really no need to restrict you. These pads will allow you to go from doggy, to young woman, and back again, without having to struggle in and out of all that bulky padding."
Jen was rather surprised. She didn't think she needed these new pads. She had become so comfortable as a dog that the thought of acting like the human she really was was almost laughable. But she couldn't bring herself to disappoint Betty. With Betty and Alice's help, Jen removed her old pads and donned the new ones. She had to admit they were more comfortable. Easier to move in as well. The gloves didn't have the thick pads immobilizing her fingers and she was almost able to make a fist. The kneepads didn't lock her knees either so she was able to stand upright, though she didn't remain that way for long. While Jen tested her new pads, Betty examined her old ones with a critical eye.
"Just as I thought." She sighed. "The leather wasn't good enough quality. You've been going for walks on rough concrete sidewalks haven't you? I'll have to redesign these with more durable materials."
Betty wandered back into the building, mumbling about sourcing supplies, leaving Alice with Tracy and Jen. Alice watched her go, then sighed.
"She gets a new project and completely forgets about our honored guests." Alice said dryly. "Would the two of you like to come inside for some refreshments?"
"Yes please." Tracy said with an air of relief. "It's quite warm out here, I could use a cold drink."
Alice lead the two of them inside and guided them to a well-appointed lounge where she gave Tracy a bottle of sparkling lemonade and placed a dish of water on the floor for Jen. The two women sat down on a leather sofa and made small talk while they drank. Alice filled Tracy in on some of the finer details of Jen's training. Tracy asked questions about how Emily would be trained. Jen drank her fill of water and lay down on a cushion provided for any dogs that might be brought in by their owners. She figured that was where she should be. Before long, the door opened and Ms. Lockehart joined them.
Hello Tracy." she said warmly, "And hello to you too, Jen. Glad you could come back to us so soon."
She ruffled Jen's hair in greeting.
"Hello Amelia!" Tracy said, "We were just discussing how you were going to train my younger daughter, Emily."
"Ah, yes." Amelia responded, "I was just observing her intake. She seems quite reluctant to undergo our special training, but I have a feeling she'll come around to it before long. I was hoping she would be more like her sister and embrace it."
"Jen is special." Alice said, reaching over to pat Jen's head, "We won't see the likes of her very often."
"Just so long as she doesn't end up like Mina." Amelia said with a grimace.
"Who's Mina?" Tracy asked.
"The second student to join our program after Jen." Alice responded, "She was one of our employees, but we caught her masturbating on her shift. Amelia was kind enough to let her keep her job if she took the same training Jen did. She was showing promise until Jen graduated and left. She would have graduated this week. Betty has taken charge of her training now."
"Masturbating on her shift?" Tracy asked, shocked, "Why would she be doing that?!"
"We think it had to do with Jen's training." Amelia answered. "At least, that's what drew our attention to it. It appears that she had wanted to be trained like Jen was for years and could not control herself once they had met. She also admitted to several other transgressions during her time employed here. Thankfully she never endangered any of our clients, if she had I would have let her go on the spot, but her negligence could not be ignored. I was going to fire her last week and remove her from the program, but Betty convinced me to keep her on as an experimental case under her purview. I have not received any updates since then, but Betty assures me she is investigating an alternative training program for special cases like Mina."
Something stirred in the back of Jen's mind. She felt a sudden compulsion to volunteer for this new training program along with Mina, but it was weak. She wondered where it had come from. Then the sound of Kyle's voice echoed through her mind once again. 'You will do so well that they may even offer you more advanced classes, which if they do, you must also attend them.' Jen rebelled against this and to her surprise found that she was able to resist. She figured that since the final part of the dare had already been completed and the curse passed on then this supplemental piece must not have as much power anymore. If she wanted to she could ignore it entirely... Or maybe she could just go along with it and see where it leads her...