The Day My Homework Ate The Dog

by Nathan Thompson

Due to a UFO (that's an unidentified floating object) stinking out the toilet block for the 5th time this term, everyone at Clockington Junior School was sent home early.

Johnny Loch-Ness, the youngest in his class by 37¼ days, arrived home at 12.30.

"Another poo?" his mother shouted from behind the kitchen door.

"No thanks, mum," Johnny said. "I'll just have a sandwich."

Mrs Loch-Ness went to the fridge and took out some chicken.

"It's lucky that Spido wasn't very hungry," she said, "Or you would have had to have just margarine."

"Where is he anyway?" Johnny asked.

"Sleeping off his lunch in the shed," she said. "And don't you go disturbing him."

After his sandwich was nearly down to his stomach Johnny flicked channels on the TV to see if there were any cartoons.

"Instead of sitting around watching Horrible Histories you should be doing your homework," said Mrs Loch-Ness.

"But I HATE doing homework," cried Johnny. "It's soooooo BORING!"

Remembering how much she had hated homework when she was 7 years old Mrs Loch-Ness agreed that her only son could play with the family pet first before bogging himself down in either The Night of the Ticklers or in his project to make a giant mouth out of old cardboard boxes and cotton buds his teacher had given them when he found that one of Johnny's classmates hadn't brushed her teeth since nursery school.

"Spi-do!" Johnny shouted from the kitchen door.

But there was no reply.

"Spi-do, Spi-DO, SPIDO!" he yelled.

Johnny went outside to the hut to see if Spido was there but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Spido!" he shouted.

He then looked in the cupboard underneath the stairs but still no luck.

"Spido! Where are you?"

There was only one place left to look.

"Spido!" Johnny shouted as he pulled back his bed covers, but the lump beneath the duvet was only Knightsbridge his favourite bear.

"Maybe while he's off playing hide and seek you should get on with your homework," Mrs Loch-Ness said.

"OK mum," Johnny said as he returned to the kitchen where the gaping hole of the cardboard mouth with the cotton bud teeth and the sponge for a tongue sat under a tea towel on the kitchen table.

"Muuum!" he shouted as he removed the tea towel.

Mrs Loch-Ness was at his side within a few seconds.

"What have we here?" she said but couldn't go on for laughing at the sight of the puppy all curled up and fast asleep

"It's Spido," Johnny said. "Just look at him!"

"Well now I think I've seen it all," she said. "As it's not every day you can say your dog was eaten by your homework."