Cerise Canine

Chapter 1: Quitting

I woke up that beautiful, sunny Saturday morning with lots of ebullience. That night prior I dreamt I finally got a puppy. I've been wanting a dog since I  was around eight years old; I'm currently twelve. I barged into my parent's room, midday, and asked, "Hey mom, dad, can we get a dog?" I continued, "I promise I'll take care of it, I'll feed it, I'll clean it-" Before I could finish my plea, my mom began speaking. 

"Jacob, I understand you want a puppy badly but we're almost never home which means we can't take care of it." She claimed. I frowned and went back to my room to get ready for baseball practice. After putting my uniform and cap on, I went downstairs.

"Dad, If I quit football and just do baseball, my schedule won't be as full and then we can finally get a dog. Please!" I begged. My dad sighed and left the room without saying a word. A few moments later he entered the room again.

"Your mom and I agreed to let you get a dog but only, and I mean this, only if you take care of it." He told me. I nodded with a smile. I was overjoyed.  "Now let's get you to your baseball game." He added.

My dad and I left to go to the baseball game while my mom went online searching for the perfect dog for me. During the baseball game, I wasn't focused at all. I totally dozed off as the ball was flying straight at me. My coach made us pause the game so he could have a word with me. During our conversation, he told me to go home because he didn't want me getting hurt if I'm not going to pay attention. I agreed but I still had to go to football practice and talk to my other coach. 

My dad and I were on the road. Inside the car, it was silent. It was until we arrived at the football field for practice when I finally spoke and told my dad, "Don't leave, I'll be right back. I'm going to go talk to my coach about quitting." I began treading towards the part of the field where my group was at. When I got to them, I pulled the coach aside. "Coach Abner, I'm sorry but," I hesitated for a moment, "I'm quitting." I took a deep breath and looked up at him. 

"What for? Do you not like playing it anymore? Last week it looked like you were having lots of fun! Why the change of thought?" He questioned me. I just stared at him, nervously.

"Well, you see, I've been wanting a dog for a while now and in order for me to actually get one I need more free time to take care of it. Which means-" He cut me off.

"Enough said. I understand. We'll miss you a lot, you were a great player. I'll talk to your parents about getting you off the team, permanently." He smiled. I began to walk back to the car but then he added, "Oh, by the way, if you are going to get a dog, get a trained one." He chuckled, "You don't want to have to continuously clean up its piss and poop." He continued chuckling as he headed back to his group. I rolled my eyes and walked back to the car. As I got into the passenger seat my dad looked at me with a smile.

"Guess what." He continued smiling.

"What?" I asked him.

"Your mother texted me, she said she found you a puppy!" He exclaimed.