When Tammy woke up, she was very excited. It was her thirteenth birthday. She was officially a teenager. “Now is when the really big changes begin to happen in my life.” she thought.
Sometimes, however, changes happen that cannot be explained by the laws of humanity, nor can they be stopped, no matter how much one tries. Tammy would find this out firsthand, and it would change her life forever.
Tammy hopped out of bed and after a quick shower; she went to her closet to choose just the right outfit for this special day. She spent the next twenty minutes trying on different shirt and pants combinations. She finally had it narrowed down to two outfits; blue jeans with a pink sweatshirt, and purple jeans with a yellow turtleneck.
As she was trying to decide between the two, she heard a voice say, “Will you please hurry up. I have to go for my walk now. Tammy spun around, expecting to see Todd, her younger brother, but there was no one there except for her dog Rex.
“Very funny, Todd” she said through the closed door. Tammy thought that Todd had poked his head in the room and then quickly closed the door again.
Tammy chose the blue jeans and the pink sweatshirt and after getting dressed, she went downstairs, with Rex following close behind her. Tammy heard the voice again. “If I pee on the carpet, it will be your fault.” Tammy froze. There was no one else there besides Rex and herself.
Tammy thought she was losing her mind. She could have sworn that Rex had just talked to her. “What did you say?” she asked Rex. “I said, let’s go, unless you want a yellow rug.” answered Rex.
Tammy attached the leash to Rex’s collar, and as soon as she opened the door, Rex pulled her into the yard, where he took care of his urgent business, and then started pulling Tammy down the street.
“Slow down, Rex. What’s your hurry?” she asked.
“I don’t want to miss that cute poodle that just moved in down the street” Rex replied.
“When did you learn to talk?” Tammy asked Rex.
“I have always been able to talk, you just never bothered to listen before now.” said Rex.
As they reached the end of the block, they met a man walking a small white poodle.
“How about you and I ditch these people and go somewhere together?” Rex asked the poodle?”
“In your dreams, you big fleabag.” The poodle replied.
By now, Tammy was really beginning to freak out. She had just heard two dogs having a conversation. She was still in shock when they got back to the house.
When Tammy took off Rex’s leash, he ran into the kitchen, shouting; “Okay, I’m here, where’s my breakfast?”
Tammy entered the kitchen and saw Todd eating a bowl of cereal. “Did you hear Rex, just now?” she asked.
“Yes, I heard him barking. He is your dog. Why don’t you get him to shut up.?” answered Todd, with his mouth full of food.
“You didn’t hear him talk just now?” asked Tammy.
“You are pretty funny, Tammy.” he said. Even if Rex could talk, all he’d say would be ‘Duh, duh, I’m a stupid dog.’.”
Rex gave Todd a mean look and said, “At least Jenny doesn’t think I am a geek.”
Tammy laughed. Jenny was a girl in Todd’s class that he had a crush on. “So”, said Tammy, “I hear that Jenny thinks you are a geek.”
Todd almost choked on his cereal. “Who told you that?” he asked angrily.
“Rex told me.,” said Tammy. “He overheard you tell your friend yesterday.”
“Very funny” said Todd, and then he rushed upstairs to get ready for school.
Tammy’s mother walked into the kitchen and said, “Happy Birthday, Sweetheart. How does it feel to finally be a teenager?” she asked.
“Very strange.” replied Tammy, “Very strange.”
That morning, as Tammy walked to school, she heard many animal voices. Two squirrels were arguing about where they could find more acorns. She heard a female robin tell her companion that it was time to fly south, but the male bird said that they had plenty of time. “What’s the hurry?” he asked.
Tammy also discovered that she could read the minds of animals, and Tammy could communicate with them, with her mind as well. Tammy saw a cat, sneaking up on a bird. Tammy warned the bird and it flew away, just as the cat pounced.
The cat gave Tammy a angry look, and Tammy read what he was thinking.
“Thanks a lot. You just let my breakfast escape” said the cat.
“Well. It’s not nice to eat helpless animals,” said Tammy.
“And, just where do you think hamburgers, pork chops and fried chicken come from?” asked the cat, who then walked away irritated and angry.
When Tammy arrived at school, her friend Kara ran up to her. “Happy Birthday, Tammy”, she said. “Did you get any nice presents?”
“Well…” Tammy hesitated; she did not know if she should tell anyone about being to communicate with animals. She had to tell someone, so she told Kara. “When I woke up this morning, I discovered that I had the ability to understand and communicate with animals.”