The class spent the rest of the period playing fetch. Over time, the dogs had fewer and fewer turns, and stood there, waiting for the humans to retrieve the balls. Every time Jon returned with the ball, Abby gave him another approving look and he barely had time to respond before another ball shot out and he had to retrieve it.
By the time class was over, Jon felt he was running around more than Abby was. He'd had more fun in gym than he had in a long while. The fetching had filled him with adrenaline and he was having trouble standing still. "Bye, girl. I'd better get to my next class," he said, petting her one final time. "Don't want to be late."
But Abby followed him. He was so focused, he completely forgot about changing back into his regular clothes, or that he'd left his things in the locker. As he walked towards his next class, he noticed that nearly every student he passed had a dog walking with them.
"Hi, Jon," a familiar voice said. He turned and saw one of his teachers...a human teacher, standing there. It was the first he'd seen an adult all day, come to think of it.
"Hello, Mrs. Simpson," he said. "What has been going on here? I haven't seen any teachers all day." He was still jumpy from all the activity, but starting to calm down again.
"Aren't the substitutes taking good care of you? We've been in classes of our own all morning on the new curriculum," she said.
"What new curriculum?" Jon started. Abby suddenly barked sternly.
"Your dog is right, Jon," Mrs. Simpson said. "We should get to our classes."
"But..."
Abby began to gently nudge his leg. He started toward class.
