The Human Pup

🐺 n i n e 🐺

Nova didn't know how and what she should feel. On one hand, she felt so full of emotions that she could burst any time now. On the other, though, her face was beaming. No more school! No. More. School.

Of course, her mother and brother had made it very clear that they wouldn't tolerate her not doing her schoolwork and graduating with bad grades, which meant she would still have to study from home, obviously, and show up for a couple of exams... But still. No more school!

"Hey!"

Nova turned around at the voice, grinning at whoever had called out for her. It was Dino. Her smile faltered a bit, but she decided that nothing could ruin this day for her anymore. She'd been sulking for long enough already.

"Hello," she politely said, uniting her hands behind her back.

"Uh... What's up?"

"Nothing," the girl smiled. "I'm just heading to lunch."

"Oh," the boy's face fell. "I just came from lunch. I was wondering if you'd want to hang out for a while."

Nova tilted her head to the side and managed to keep a polite smile on her face. "Sorry. I'm really hungry. I only just woke up."

The guy raked his eyes from her face to her feet and back up again, and Nova allowed herself a little frown. This didn't feel very nice. "I can tell," he chuckled.

The girl frowned and looked down at herself. She was wearing her usual sneakers, with her favorite gray sweatpants and one of the comfiest shirts she owned... She felt like she looked nice, but did she really?

"Er. Okay. I'll go have some lunch now," the girl said, pointing over her shoulder in the direction she had been going to.

"Yeah, yeah. And if you wanna hang out later, I'll be in the lounge."

A moment of silence overtook them. "Cool." Was that what people her age said? Dino turned around and walked away, and the girl, a smile still on her face but eyes not shining anymore, made her way to the dining area.

Not many people were there anymore, but there was still a bit of food left, so she grabbed a plate and went to the self-service bar. She served herself a few slices of the cheese pizza and two caramel donuts for dessert. To grab a Fanta, she was obligated to place the plate on the counter for a moment. A big hand stopped her from opening the fridge.

"What do you think you're doing, pup?" a voice ordered from behind her.

Nova pressed her lips together. He was here, of course, he was. Her eyes started shining again when she turned to look at him. Hunter was standing there, blocking her from opening the fridge with the sodas inside, holding a plate that looked dangerously similar to hers.

"Er." She smiled her biggest smile. "Getting a Fanta?"

Hunter stared at her for a second, before his eyes narrowed a bit, his face losing its coldness. "A Fanta? With three slices of pizza and two large donuts?"

Nova nodded, the smile not fading from her face. "I just had the best news of my life, so I am celebrating."

"As if that excuses the sugar rush you're about to get."

The girl pushed his hand off the fridge and opened it. "I think that after all the sleeping I've been doing lately, I've kind of earned a sugar rush."

The man sighed, way too deeply, Nova thought. And then his large hand took a hold of her smaller one, removing it from the can of Fanta she had already touched. "You, little puppy," he whispered next to her ear as he closed the fridge. "Are gonna get water."