Dog Boy

3

Monday began with a worse start than Saturday. I had drooled on my pillow. Again.

I nervously got up and went to the bathroom, looking at my tongue. It hadn't gotten longer, but it still looked flatter than normal. I pulled my tongue back into my mouth. I felt a distinct discomfort. Like it felt cramped inside.

I breathed in deep, causing my senses to be filled with all the smells in the bathroom. I panted, and licked my nose. Trying to relax. Maybe this was all stress. I had been feeling stressed out when I was with my friends, then I'd felt stressed out from being embarrassed about my panting - it probably pushed me into this old habit. Then I freaked out from the panting, which only got me more stressed. I needed to relax. If I felt like I needed to pant, I'd find a time I could do it, and then do it. It wouldn't be a big deal. I'd just relax.

And so I got ready for school, slowly becoming more calm, panting less. It would be okay. 

The panic began to rise up once more however, when I got to school. I did not consider myself a shy person, but I suddenly felt suffocated as I walked through the crowds. They were going to see something. Anything. They were going to realize I had some bizarre problem. 

I rushed to my locker as I felt the urge to pant rising. When I got there, I opened the door and quickly check to make sure no one was looking at me. I panted and licked my nose. Slowly I was able to calm down again after taking deep breaths. I fought the fear that people were noticing how loud my panting was. It was all in my head. I was only thinking it was super loud.

I got out my home tablet and changed it out for my school one, charging in the locker. As I put it in my pocket, I caught my reflection in my locker mirror.

No. I had to be imagining it. I was making myself go crazy. But despite my denial, something was there. My nose was naturally a bit upturned... but it appeared more pronounced. I placed a finger up to it. It was... damp. The texture of it also felt different too. 

I gripped the edge of the locker door, to the point that it hurt. Don't freak out. Don't freak out. I breathed deep. The influx of air suddenly blasted me with the scent of tons of high schoolers. It felt just like the cacophony of all the noise in the hallway, but for my nose instead. The nausea of it distracted me for a moment, and I shut my locker door and began marching to my Physics class.

The situation did not improve when I got to class. New smells hit my nostrils. The smell of an old classroom had always been there, but now I could pick it apart with detail - as well as smelling all the other students sitting down at their desks. It thankfully wasn't as intense as it had been in the hallway, but I was still able to discern that unfortunately, some of the guys in the class had not showered that morning - or had put on some awful body spray.

I did notice amid the smells from the girls one that I somehow recognized. I briefly caught a glimpse of Jackie before I looked away. No. Not now. I was already uncertain with where I stood with her, but the last thing I needed was for her to notice me being weird. Unfortunately, I sat right next to her. At the time it had seemed like a steal. Over time it had grown more stressful. Today it was unbearable. 

I closed my eyes, forcing myself to just relax. Get my heart rate down. The room was thankfully cooler than the heat at home, so my desire to pant was lessened. The bell rang, and I directed my attention to my tablet, starting on our daily quiz from our homework. This class was making me begin to realize that my dream in Junior High of being an engineer was not going to happen, even if I didn't have to do the math by hand.

Mr. Dun had questions on his tests like "if you are attempting to outrun a raptor on a skateboard..." that made it slightly more tolerable, but no amount of humor made the questions on friction easier for me.