Ethan arrived ten minutes early for her mandatory Warper control session with Professor Reynard, nervously tugging at the upgraded tracking band now encircling her wrist. The new device looked almost identical to the old one, except for a small blinking light and slightly increased weight—minor differences that somehow made it feel all the more intrusive.

The world was crumbling around Ethan, piece by piece.

Three days had passed since Jordan's machine had transformed her, and the aftermath was unfolding in ways she couldn't have imagined. What had started as a desperate attempt to hide from her parents while Jordan tried to fix his mistake had evolved into something far worse.

The bedroom door slammed with such force that the framed diploma on the wall tilted sideways. Ethan didn't bother to fix it. She collapsed onto her bed, staring at the ceiling she'd gazed at for the past seventeen years of her life. The same ceiling, the same room, but everything else had changed.

The September sun beat down on Ethan's back as he lounged in Jordan's backyard, a half-empty can of soda warming beside him. It was one of those lazy weekend afternoons where time seemed to stretch endlessly, a welcome break from the first few weeks of their senior year that had already proven to be more demanding than expected.

PART 4
I found myself laughing, almost automatically. I dealt with so many dogs I had a routine check-list for their owners, a method of deciding whether the owner was Dog People or rather someone who liked accessories. Small dogs in handbags, oh please.

My boss did much the same thing, not only refusing jobs where one or more of us had raised enough concerns, but passing them up the line for official action. As she also ran a kennels and cattery near Shipley Bridge, we saw a LOT of dogs and their owners.

I sobered up quickly, giving him a smile, but refraining from patting his hand. Most definitely not a good idea.

“Sorry again; not laughing at you. It’s just ridiculous, given how you look after her. Who has this come from?”

“You got time for this?”

“Not working for anyone but myself today. What do you have?”

“Well, I’ll put the kettle on first, then. Tea or coffee?”

“Tea, please, in this weather”

He smiled.

“You can lie down again if you want, but I will be in a chair”

Part 2
I gave him enough time to get back down the path to the public car park, then gathered my two for their ride home. Ryan was wanting a chase again, so he stayed on the lead while Tara did her own in and out of the trees roaming, which I had worked out meant she typically walked and ran about a dozen times the distance I did. It was heading towards school run time, so I stopped by the little tea place, where they had a warm pasty and, to my delight, a piece of lemon drizzle cake.