10/17

Just A Quick Note/ Episode 1, Chapter 1

Hi everyone, and thanks for checking out my story. I really hope you enjoy it. I came up with this idea to write a book like it was a SciFi series. The first book would be the first season, with 12, multi chapter episodes per season. Maybe it's silly, but, I figured, life is short, why not be a little silly if it makes me happy. I hope you feel encouraged to comment, and vote on any and every part of the story. Please, know this is a rough draft with only superficial editing.  I will update and correct as needed, but this is not the finished product.  Love it or hate it, feed back, is greatly appreciated, so long as you are polite. Blatant negativity will be ignored. Some of the characters in the story are framed on real people. However, this story is a work of pure fiction with lots of embellishing and creative freedoms. Names are changed and all similarities to living people were known in advance and approved by the affected parties. Thank you, again, and welcome to Season 1 of 10/17.

Deborah Whitlock

Episode 1, Chapter 1

Monday, Oct 16th, 2017

Bang, bang, bang.

"Parker, wake up!" Mrs. Carlisle yelled as she pounded on her second oldest son's door. "Parker Allen Carlisle, don't make me come in there."

Bang, bang, bang, bang.

"Do you hear me? If I don't hear awake and moving noises in the next thirty seconds you're in it deep, mister."

His mother's annoyed threats, finally filtered through the sleepy fog in Parker's brain, spurring him to moan and grunt a response. The banging ceased. Pushing up on his elbows, he cracked one eye at the clock on his bedside table. Ten after six in the morning. To be at school at seven for morning drills, he needed to leave in thirty minutes. Parker would not incur the wrath of his CO for something as mundane as being tardy. He really should get up now, so he could make it to the coffee pot before his mom and dad drank it all, and then to the bathroom before his siblings got moving. That would be the smart move. A tiny voice in his mind told him to swing his legs off the bed and reach for his jeans. That was a good idea. He would definitely do that.

In five more minutes, he thought as his head found a particularly comfortable lump in his pillow.

The next thing Parker knew, several large, furry paws tipped with blunt but hard nails, pounced on on his rib cage, head, and arms. Even worse, two very cold, very wet tongues vigorously worked to clean his ears, nose and the rest of his face. One of those tongues managed a swipe across his teeth.

"Uck! Freaking gross," he sputtered, wiping his mouth with one hand as he fought off more advances from his enthusiastic attackers with the other. Unfortunately, his two over-sized dogs took this new action as a sign he wanted to play. They amped up their frisking to a new level of bouncy. With the animals on top of the blanket jumping all over each other and him, it was inevitable when one paw landed a direct hit on a very uncomfortable part of his anatomy. Parker huffed in pain as he doubled over, sheltering his injured parts from further abuse. He fought to pull the blanket over his head as he waved one arm at the unruly beasts making his morning a nightmare.

"Rowdy! Dot! Get down," he demanded, shoving at the dogs and pointing at the floor. "Down you dang dogs." Rowdy jumped down but put his front feet and head back on the bed. Dot just laid down where she was, right on top of him, looking for all the world as if that was what he meant all along.

"Oh good, you're awake." His mother's dry voice drifted from the doorway. "Rowdy, Dot, go on. Go lay down," she called. The German Shepard mixes looked up at the sound of their names. Tongues lolling, they romped out of the room, aware they had performed their parts to perfection and would be rewarded. "Good girl, good boy," Mrs. Carlisle cooed, patting heads and rear ends as they passed. Smiling she turned back to the kitchen. "10 minutes, Parker," she yelled back to her fuming, but now wide-awake teenager.