Sapphire Eyes ~ 10 Chapter Challenge

One Day After the Letter

Drawing Nessa ~ Mirna

I sneak in through the back door, even though there's no way Deb is home. She works so much, it really makes it easy to sneak around. I say hi to Nessa, who is out in the backyard and then go upstairs to my room. Nessa uses her doggie door to come inside, and she follows me upstairs and into my room, which makes me smile. "Hi girl. How was your day?" I say. I give her ears a good scratch.

It's a mess up here, so nothing out of the ordinary. I think about cleaning up my chaos, so Deb doesn't have to sort through my junk after I'm gone, but it would probably alert her that something is going on. It's best to just keep things as normal as possible.

I sit on my bed and flop back, my eyes on the starry ceiling mural above me. I really should start packing, but it would make everything seem too real. It's nice to pretend that everything is fine. I need something to distract me, so I grab my phone and earbuds, get up, and go to my art supplies in the corner.

Jimmy bought me an art station the day he found out I like to draw. I use it to store all my stuff, but I still draw on the floor. It's silly, but old habits, I guess. This time, I choose a small drawing notebook I can hold in my lap. I grab a pencil and go downstairs. Out the back door and into the backyard.

I find a nice comfy spot under our big shade tree and settle down in the grass with my back to the tree. Nessa follows me again. She's just too precious! I turn on my music, put in my earbuds and open the notebook to the first blank page. I've got assignments for class, but none of them interest me, and besides, I won't be turning them in anyways.

I look up at Nessa and start a sketch. In all the days I've been here, I never thought to just draw Nessa. She's been in other drawings I've done, at the beach or whatever, but she's never just been the subject of my sketch. Now seems like just as good a time as any to finally draw Jimmy's dog.

Nessa doesn't want to leave me alone to draw. She sniffs my hand, licks my knuckles, and paws at my arm. I pet her for a while and then try to go back to my drawing. She nuzzles my drawing hand again, so I tell her to go lay down, and she does.

I draw until my hand starts to hurt, and then I massage my hand for a while.

"Alright, Nessa, let's do some practice," I say. "It's time to earn my money." I go back inside and up to my room, where I drag out the box where I stashed Nessa's harness. I head back outside and put the harness on Nessa.

Her demeanor changes instantly. She no longer wants to lick my hand or play. She's all business. Putting on the harness is like putting on a job uniform, and Nessa takes her job very seriously.

"Alright Nessa. Heel," I say, and I take her on a walk around the backyard. She follows me perfectly without me needing to pull on her harness. I pay her with a treat from a pocket on her harness. "Sit." She hunkers down, and I pay her again. "Stay."

I walk away from her, set my phone in the grass, and then keep walking a bit. "Come!" I say and she immediately gets up and hurries over to me. I give her another treat.

"Fetch my phone," I tell her, pointing to where I put my phone in the grass. This is a new command, and I'm curious if she will figure out what to do. It's a very useful command for her to learn so she can help her new owner if they drop their phone. "Nessa, fetch my phone," I say again. I step up and point down at the phone in the grass, and this time she goes to get it. She nudges it with her nose, brings it into her mouth, and lifts it up to me without crushing it.

"Wow, great job Nessa!" I take the phone from her and pay her with a few treats. "Alright, down." Nessa lays down in the grass. I give her another treat.