Chapter: Lesson No. 1

Lesson No. 1

That smell ... Buster knew it well. It was the smell of "snickles," his favorite dog snack. Just thinking about these little delicacies made his mouth water. Slowly he opened his eyes. At first he was a bit puzzled by the strange color of the sky above him. He looked around and saw that the entire area was somehow a tad too pink for his taste. But the color wasn't the most extraordinary thing about the whole thing. Everything around him was somehow not entirely normal. He saw large trees that at first glance might have been mistaken for apple trees, but on closer inspection they had wonderfully fragrant sausages on their branches instead of fruit. And if he wasn’t mistaken, the big pink cloud that was just hovering over his head looked like a bone ...

But what puzzled him the most was the fact that he was no longer lying in his cozy dog ​​basket but on a kind of raft that glided at a leisurely pace over a narrow river.Before he could seriously wonder where the hell he was and how he got here, something caught his eye. There, on the right bank of the river, under a particularly large tree with branches that reached almost into the water, someone was sitting. Buster recognized her immediately. It was Susie, the hottest poodle in town, and his ex-girlfriend. For all other dogs in the area a world collapsed when this magnificent specimen decided on a mixed breed dog like him. Unfortunately, this connection hadn't lasted very long. Susie had just been too demanding. While Buster was already on cloud nine when they ate from the same bowl together, she had insisted that he should kindly take a bath every day. Swimming! When he heard that word, he felt very different. More and more often they had gotten into each other's wool and one day Susie had defiantly announced that she was now with Winston, the mayor's dog.That hurt Buster's pride in particular, because Winston was a small, conceited Pekingese who, due to his long pedigree, considered himself a great pike, although Buster knew full well that he was even afraid of his own tail. Every time Buster saw the two of them together and this snob grinned at him condescendingly while Susie didn't look at him, it stung his heart.

But exactly this dog lady sat there in the shade of the tree and smiled seductively at him. Her white fur shimmered like silk, which was no wonder, considering how much money her owner left at the dog barbershop a year. And those legs ... Buster had to pull himself together hard not to rush towards them immediately, but he too had his pride. She had left him freezing cold. No, he would stand firm!

But when she opened her shapely snout and called his name in her lovely voice, it was finally over for him.His paws suddenly developed a life of their own and carried him with one skilful leap from the raft across the river and over to his beloved in no time at all. She looked at him with her deep eyes and then leaned over to him. Buster closed his eyes and pursed his lips. Yes, he had always known that one day she would come to her senses and come back to him. They were very close now and Buster could already feel their sweet breath on his face. From somewhere he heard a dull knock. It had to be his heart, which was beating up to his throat. How long had he longed for it! ...

"BUNNY !! Damn it, get up or you'll be late for school again !!", a terribly loud voice boomed in his ear and cruelly pulled him out of his dream.

Bunny's mother had stuck her head in the room and was now trying to get her daughter out of bed for the second time that morning. However, the girl was still lying on the bed and made no move to get up."Come on, Buster, maybe you can make this dormouse legs", she called to the black and white spotted mongrel, who stared at her with sleepy eyes. If she didn't know better, she could have sworn to see a trace of hostility in his gaze.

Buster was really close to his family, but at that moment he would have given anything for a big bone to throw at this woman's head. Life was just unfair! And all because his mistress was such a bloody morning grouch. Sullenly, he got up from his basket, jumped on the bed and poked the inmate a little harder than necessary in the side. For this action he earned an annoyed growl before he was kicked back to the ground. That was really too much now! He stalked out of the room with his head held high, but not without glaring at the woman at the door.

"You really shouldn't take out your mood on that poor dog, young lady!"the mother reprimanded her daughter.

"Please get dressed now and come down! Your breakfast is already cold.", She scolded while she ran to the window and opened the curtains to let the bright sunlight into the room.

"Yeah ... I'm already awake.", Bunny grumbled and laboriously crawled out from under the covers.

"Besides, I still have a lot of time!", She added with a yawn and stretched her tired limbs.

"Have you checked the clock?" Asked her mother.

Bunny followed her advice and checked the alarm clock on her bedside table. It was 7:55 a.m. and that meant you had just under 5 minutes before the first lesson began.

"Damn, I overslept! I can never do that! Why didn't you wake me up earlier, Mom ??", Bunny screeched angrily and dashed into the bathroom.

"This kid is killing me ...", her mother sighed and shook her head in resignation.

After Bunny had washed and dressed in a hurry and then hastily swallowed a piece of cold toast, she ran all the way to school as if the devil himself was after her.And in a certain way that was also true ... Despite all the racing she was already half an hour late and unfortunately this has happened more often lately. The bulldog would kill her.

Completely out of breath, Bunny stormed into the class and almost knocked her teacher over. At the last moment she managed to slow down her run, but this led to the fact that she tripped over her own legs and sat down on the bottom of her pants with a thud. With a red head and aching rump, she got to her feet and looked straight into the fat face of her English teacher Miss Bullworth, a stocky, elderly lady with a somewhat strange taste in fashion who was only called "The Bulldog" by all the students. Also, it somehow gave off the smell of mothballs ...

"How very kind of you to join us after all, Miss Bunny. Would you please stop disturbing the class with your jokes and sit down quietly… NOW !!"Miss Bullworth hissed, her elegant English accent barely hiding her anger. Bunny muttered a fleeting apology and sat down in her seat as quickly as she could.

"Well, slept again?", Hina giggled softly, but Bunny just nodded silently. She was in her mind again.

All this crap was getting on her nerves! She had never cared much about school, but it was really unbearable lately.

When her two brothers were still at home, she had had something to laugh about after class and Ace had even somehow managed to get her to do her homework. But after Luffy said goodbye six months ago to become a pirate, Bunny felt her own life empty. The people from school were nice, but they just had different interests. While the other girls in her class were interested in fancy clothes and cute boys, Bunny had dreamed of going to sea and becoming a pirate since she was a child.Of course, her big brothers had also put the flea in her ear, which her parents were anything but enthusiastic about. In her opinion, her little girl should get a good education and later become a respected doctor. Bunny loved her parents and it hurt to see their disappointed faces when she got a bad grade again, but they just couldn't understand her wish. One day it would happen. Then she would turn her back on her homeland to experience adventures herself and her parents would not be able to stop her.

And that day was not too far off. Bunny had been secretly planning her trip for weeks.

One event was particularly decisive. A mysterious stranger anchored in the port of their village about a month ago. He seemed to be alone and he didn't exchange many words with the villagers, but rumors circulated that he was just passing through to transport a mysterious cargo to one of the neighboring islands.Nobody knew what it was about and nobody dared to ask about it. Bunny had followed him inconspicuously on the way home when he had stopped at the tavern to buy new supplies and to allow himself a sumptuous meal before moving on. This man both frightened and fascinated her. He was unusually tall and wore a dark cloak with a hood that covered almost his entire face. From her place in the corner she could hear how he ordered another beer in a hoarse voice, which the intimidated bartender served him immediately. After a sip, the stranger turned to the man again.

"The beer is warm. Don't you have any ice?" He growled and the poor guy's face immediately drained of any color.

"I'm terribly sorry, sir, but unfortunately the refrigerator broke this morning and the repair service still wasn't there," he stuttered fearfully.

"You don't have to pay for it either.That's on the house. I'll get you some rice if you want. "he added hastily and hurried over to the kitchen.

After the waiter had disappeared, the stranger looked around briefly as if he felt he was being watched and Bunny half crawled under the table so that he would not see her. Maybe it was actually quite harmless, but to be honest, she just didn't feel like testing it out. He really didn't seem to have seen her because he turned back to his meal. Bunny let out a relieved sigh, but shortly afterwards she caught her breath again. The man had raised his beer glass and was slowly bringing it to his mouth, but instead of drinking from it, he seemed to just briefly breath on it. Immediately a thin layer of ice formed around the glass and then he emptied the contents in one gulp.

Was that just really happening? Bunny rubbed her eyes in amazement and looked over again. It seemed as