Campbell residence. Now.
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The early afternoon sun crept through the shutters like a nosy neighbor; its beams forming a series of suspended dance floors for the dust floating around inside. Sarge pawed the door open and waltzed into Stephanie's bedroom. He navigated through an obstacle course of laundry, books, mixtapes and polaroids, and went straight for her bed.
"Mmmf..." a voice came from under the covers.
"Arf!" Sarge exclaimed, as if to say "Hey! My water bowl is empty, and you guys have locked the bathroom door again so I can't even get to that delicious toilet bowl water!"
The bed shook and a foot answered back, but the big white retriever was quick enough to doge.
"Ruff!" he threatened, as if to say "You wanna play dirty? I can play dirty."
He smugly strolled over to the nightstand, grabbed the cord hanging from the side, and gave it a gentle tug. A short fall later, the alarm clock crashed to the hardwood floor and the radio sprang to life.
<span class="mu-i">"...Marshall's diner, and get a delicious cheeseburger and your favorite soft drink for only $2.75! *kshhht!* Welcome back, folks! This is Waaacky Walter, and you're listening to KLLR! It's a beautiful day here in North Falls, so how about some tunes to get you lazy wastes of space still in bed going?! Up and at 'em, boils and ghouls! Up and at 'em!"</span>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY6MuvRY6g0Like a frog's tongue darting for a fly, an arm jerked out of the amorphous mass of sheets and pillows and teddy bears, and mechanically punched right where the clock radio was supposed to be.
"Ow, darn it!" a very groggy Stephanie moaned, begrudgingly sitting upright; she placed her bruised hand under her armpit and scrunched her face as her eyes adjusted to the light. And then she saw Sarge... His snout was covered in chocolate pudding and the <span class="mu-i">Choc-O-Sludge</span> lid was still stuck to his forehead.
"Dude, we've been over this. You can't have chocolate, it makes your tummy all--"
Sarge's stomach growled menacingly.
"Rawr..." he complained, as if to say "Uh, I don't feel so good..."
"No-no-no! Not in the--"
<span class="mu-i">HOARK!</span>
"...closet."
"Arf." the dog whined, as if to say "Sorry, must've been something I ate..."
Stephanie heard footsteps coming up the stairs.
<span class="mu-i">Knock-knock!</span>
"Kiddo, you decent?" Steven called behind the half-opened door.
"Yeah, come in."
"Hey, you're still in bed? I think Sarge got to the-- Oh." he ran a hand through his hair as he surveyed the mess; his moustache twitching slightly once the barf tang reached his nostrils.
"Downstairs. <span class="mu-i">Now.</span>"
The dog obeyed without making a single sound, rushing out of the room with his tail between his legs.
"So hey, I'm off to the cabin for the weekend. Gonna do some fishing. You gonna be okay on your own?"
"Don't worry, dad, I'm gonna be just fine. We've got that party at Amber's tonight, whole gang's gonna be there."
