Exultations of the Obeisant

24 hour update

In my house, dogs obey enthusiastically and correctly. You will learn all the standard commands, and do them perfectly.

Sit. Crate. Come. Sit. Fetch. Crate. Come. Down - Nope! A sit is not a down. You're thinking when you should be listening. We're going to start again, with a higher level on your e-collar.

you're sipping the electrolyte drink as we wait. i'm quietly reading the screamticker headlines. your hands won't stop fidgeting. your fingers find a brochure on the table in front of you, advertising the service you're already here to receive, for the fourth time. you half-read it like a cereal box. "SAMPLESCAN CLONING IS PERFECTLY SAFE" it says in handsome blue font. "ASIDE FROM A SMALL SCAR ON THE THIGH WHERE THE SAMPLE IS TAKEN, MOST CLIENTS REPORT ONLY MILD SCANNING SICKNESS AS A SIDE EFFECT. CLIENTS TYPICALLY REGAIN CONSCIOUSNESS WITHIN TWO TO THREE HOURS."

your eyes catch on that last word. you read it again. then again. your eyes drift from the brochure to the drink in your other hand to the unblemished flesh of your exposed thigh beneath your skirt. you taste your own mouth and try to remember how to breathe. you watch as i put my hand on your thigh, firm. you turn to look at me. my stare is flat and utterly without warmth. "happy birthday, baby." i say. "how does it feel to be one?"