The doors to the school were locked when we arrived. It was early still, so nobody had yet shown up. I wanted to feel nervous, but unfortunately, Sophie was in charge of that emotion and she was quite content to stand around waiting.
After a few minutes, Principal McDaniel calmly strode up to us very. “So I guess we are really doing this.” She said flatly as she unlocked the door to the school.
“Good morning, Principal McDaniel. Thank you for meeting us like this.” Dr. Crowe said smoothly.
“Yes, yes. Best to get her inside before the students show up and cause a stir before we can put this into context.” Principal McDaniel said. She pulled open the door and the three of us headed inside.
It was still an hour before the students were to arrive. I tried to listen to what they were discussing, but once we got into the building, Sophie was suddenly stimulated by the new surroundings. She kept bouncing around and jerking on the leash, trying to take the entire building in all at once.
We had been here a month ago and she didn’t really care. She kept looking around and I had this feeling as if Craig was about to step out of one of the classrooms or something. There was a memory of him being here with me. I couldn’t get it out of my head. Sophie must have been thinking of it as well.
“Are you prepared for your presentation?” Principal McDaniel asked.
Dr. Crowe smiled and nodded. She was always prepared to present. It’s what she lived for. “What time is the assembly?”
“Once everyone shows up to their homerooms, I will announce over the intercom to come to the auditorium. The teachers are aware, so we should all be set by 8:30.” Principal McDaniel said.
“How do we keep Sophie hidden until we are ready to go?” Dr. Crowe asked.
“There is a changing room near the stage. I’ll have Josh stay with her while you are talking.” Principal McDaniel said. “Where is he, by the way?”
“I asked him to meet me here this morning. He must be running late.” Dr. Crowe said. “Here. “I’ll go check on him.”
Principal McDaniel took the leash as Dr. Crowe retreated to the front entrance to see if Josh had shown up at the school yet.
Principal McDaniel was a sturdy woman in her mid-40s. She had a plain face and rarely wore much makeup. She was wide without being curvy, and projected a strength that most kids in the school tried to avoid getting on her bad side.
She wore a frown as she looked me up and down. “What am I to do with you, Annie?” she muttered. I was terrified by this question. I had not really considered that she would do ANYTHING with me… and now she was evidently deciding something.
Her stare made me 100% aware that I was standing there naked in the school hallway. In an hour, this same hall would be filled with the kids I had grown up with, all of them staring at me and worse. I didn’t even have Craig around to protect me this time.
For her part, Sophie was oblivious to all of this. She kept looking at Principal McDaniel with a curious grin, expecting her to give us some command to sit or fetch or some nonsense. It never really occurred to Sophie that anything bad would ever happen to us until it did… and when it was over, she would bounce back to normal after just a short break.
“Do you do any tricks?” Principal asked calmly. Sophie’s expression didn’t change. After an awkward second, I heard her say in a stern voice, “Sit.”
Immediately, Sophie sat on the floor, knees up to my chest. The polished tile floor was cold on my butt, but Sophie was so happy to have someone paying attention to her, I don’t think she even noticed.
Principal McDaniel nodded to herself. “Lie down.”
Sophie rolled over on my side, slid my legs flat, and then rolled back onto my stomach. Josh had been working on these commands for a while, and Sophie had gotten good at obedience.
Again, Principal McDaniel didn’t say anything to Sophie but merely nodded to herself. “Roll over.”
Sophie rolled over completely, landing back on my stomach about a foot to the left of where we started.
The floor was cold on my body, but at least for the time being it was still clean. If I had to endure this once 500 teenagers had been wandering around the building for a few hours, I was going to end up filthy.
“Up.” Principal McDaniel said, firmly.
This was a mad shuffle. When Josh practiced the Up command, it meant different things depending on where we started. If I was sitting, it meant to stand. If I was standing, it meant to jump. But from a lying position, it meant return to sitting.
After a half-roll and some leg rotation, I was finally back to the sitting position. Principal McDaniel waited to see if we were going to come all the way up, but when we didn’t she said, “Stand.”
Sophie popped up and went back to a standing position. I felt my face break into a huge grin when Principal McDaniel uttered the words “Good girl.” Sophie was so pleased.
“Hi, Sophie.” I heard Josh say from behind. Sophie turned around to see Josh and Dr. Crowe walking down the hallway. She tried running to meet him, but Principal McDaniel had a firm grip on the leash, stopping us in our track after just a couple of steps.
“Sophie, Stay.” Dr. Crowe commanded. She and Josh walked up to us without quickening their steps. I felt my tail wagging as they got closer. “Was she well-behaved?” Dr. Crowe asked once she had closed the distance between us.
“She is very obedient.” Principal McDaniel agreed. “I’m afraid she might be too obedient if you know what I mean.”
Dr. Crowe nodded. “She’ll need a chaperone who can be accountable around the other children.”
“I don’t have any staff I can spare to keep an eye on her.” Principal McDaniel said coolly.
“It’ll have to be one of the students.” Dr. Crowe agreed. “Here, Josh. Take Sophie for a walk before the students arrive.” She then took the leash from Principal McDaniel and handed it to Josh.
“Are you sure about that?” I heard Principal McDaniel ask as we walked away. Dr. Crowe began explaining how well Josh treated me over the past few months.
Once we were out of earshot, Josh said, “It’ll be okay, Sophie. It’ll be okay Annie.” Instead of going outside, he took me into the boys’ restroom. We had practiced using the toilet, and he even wiped the seat off before telling Sophie to go pee. When we were done, he even wiped the small pittle of water off my front before bringing us back to meet with Dr. Crowe and Principal McDaniel.
Principal McDaniel led us to the auditorium. Behind the stage was a dressing room. They had Sophie sit while they went over the plan. Josh would stay back here with me behind the closed door. Dr. Crowe would give her presentation that would include her explanation for why I would be attending the school naked. She would field any questions and once everything was explained, Principal McDaniel would come to the dressing room and have Josh bring me onto the stage.
“What happens after that?” Josh asked.
“Everyone goes back to class.” Principal McDaniel said flatly.
“I mean, what happens to Sophie? You can’t just have her go to class like THIS.” He complained, emphasizing the problem by holding his hand toward me.
“Of course she’s going to class like this. That’s the point.” Dr. Crowe said to him patiently. “Annie needs to integrate with her peers. What is your concern?”
Josh’s mouth fell open, trying to get the words out. He managed to get out the word, “THIS!” and then grabbed my right breast.
“JOSH” Principal McDaniel shouted, causing him to pull his hand away and take a step back defensively.
She looked shocked. Dr. Crowe, on the other hand, had a small smirk. “It’s okay, Josh. We will make sure that she has a chaperone the whole time.”
“Who?” He asked. He might have been terrified, but he was not going to retreat from defending me.
“For starters, you.” Dr. Crowe said.
“As long as you don’t make a habit of molesting the poor girl.” Principal McDaniel said. That made Josh blush a bit. “I won’t.” he said sheepishly.
“We’ll identify others later.” Dr. Crowe said.
Just then, the bell rang, causing Sophie to flinch. It was the first bell. It told the students to report to the first class. In five minutes, it would ring again, and anyone not in class would be considered tardy. What it meant to me and Josh was that the school was not full of students. No going back now.
“Josh, stay here and keep the door shut. I’ll come get you when it’s time.” Principal McDaniel told him.
After the women left, Josh sat next to me, petting my hair. I’m not sure if it was to comfort me or him. Probably both.
The whole while we sat there, he kept repeating softly, “It’ll be okay.” By the time Principal McDaniel came to have him bring me on stage, I think he finally started to believe it.