Dog Boy

49

Jackie sat alone in the lunchroom, sipping her water bottle, but not touching her pizza or old looking banana. A week had passed since her life had ended... for the second time that year. Every day passed like a fleeting smell on a breeze. It felt like time meant nothing to her anymore. School meant nothing to her anymore. Only the pestering of people around her compelled her to eat.

Much to her dread, Douglas, Aidan, and Sadie all sat down at her table. Surprisingly, she saw Wendy sit next to her in the corner of her eye. Jackie had seen so little of the husky girl since she'd changed.

"Hey Jackie," Wendy said.

"Hi."

"I heard about Matt," Wendy said in a very quiet tone. It was very meek and calm, in contrast to the anger that had been present in her voice since her change.

"Yeah," Jackie said, only now taking a bite of pizza to avoid talking. Cold. Ugh.

"I've never known someone who's been stuck in a coma," Wendy said, "let alone two at the same time... but I have been through -"

"Spare me your ramshackle sympathy Wendy," Jackie said, her eyes firmly down at her tray. "I know how this ends. You hope and you hope... and then they don't come back. It's what happened to my dad. It's what's going to happen to Matt and Ashley."

Douglas placed his paw-hand on her shoulder. "You don't know that Jackie. People have been in comas for years, but then come out fine."

His words were all for show. Other than the people that'd been there when they confronted Seth, Jackie's mom and Douglas were the only other people who knew the truth. The Hewitt's had managed to keep it all relatively quiet, but Douglas was having to fight hard, and lie to a painful degree to keep all the people at the canis club from trying to visit Matt. He'd not been able to stop the nonstop tide of cards and little gifts hoping that he'd "wake up."

Jackie had read some of them. They'd only made her feel sicker. People poured out how much they cared about Matt, how his desire to be a friend to everyone had gotten them through their massive shift in life. She missed him so much. In his absence they had turned to her, as if she had anything to offer them.

She could make a neat little poster for the club, or take some artistic pictures for the club's social media, but she couldn't lead. Any attempt to comfort someone who'd been bullied led to her awkwardly handing the person off to Douglas, because she could think of nothing to say. She wondered how the club would react if she went into a "coma." Probably forget she existed. If they did, all the cards sent to her would vastly overstate what she did in the club. 

"I guess all I can say Jackie," Wendy said, "is that Matt would want you to try to keep a stiff upper lip, and try to get through it. He would want you to try to be happy."

"People just... augh," Jackie grunted, wiping her tears away in anger. "People keep saying that. Turn that frown upside down. Gosh I hate emotions. My mom is right. They suck. Everything should be more logical."

"I guess being told to be happy is really annoying," Aidan said. "When I first changed, I just was so... I felt awful. Now I don't mind it. It's not like I made an active effort to accept it. It just takes time. You can't magically lift yourself out of the water, but you can stay afloat the best you can."

Jackie didn't respond. She sat up straighter, and looked at her friends with a neutral expression. They were all dog people. Two huskies, another golden retriever, and an Australian shepherd. Being in love had distracted her from how weird this all was, but she felt like she was in a moment of wakeful clarity.

It all felt unnatural. She felt somehow, that she was doing something wrong by just existing. The others were simply pulled into this against their will. Jackie knew though that if she'd been given the opportunity, she may have chosen to willingly change. Other than perhaps Sadie, she didn't feel like she belonged around even canis people, let alone normal humans.