Rufus and the Retainer

GULP! Many exclamations of shock filled the room as...Wait a minute. Let’s start this story at the beginning.

It was a pretty typical summer day for me; wake up, take a shower, and just relax. But today I decided I needed to do something fun. I texted my friends to see if they wanted to hang out. Of course, they all said yes. My friends and I decided to hang out at an animal shelter so we met up at our usual meeting spot and rode down there together. After about 20 minutes or so, we arrived at the animal shelter. It was always one of our favorite places to go to, as we all love animals so, so much.

“Look how cute this dog is!”

“Awww, look at this adorable cat!”

“This bunny is so soft and fluffy!” Our days with animals were filled with statements such as those. Our favorite hang out days always involved the animals. Sure, playing Mario Kart and swimming are fun but we just love being around those exciting little creatures. We just couldn’t get enough.

As the day went on, we wondered if we could ask one of the employees to let us play with a dog. So we asked and the employee happily obliged. She took us back to the dog cages and let the fluffiest and friendliest dog, a male named Rufus, out of his cage. He ran as fast as he could to us, as Rufus had been in the cage so long so he lacked human interaction. I set my bag down and went to my knees as he approached me. My bag somehow plopped open as it was set down. Rufus must have smelled some meat or something in my bag because he avoided me altogether and went straight for my bag. I went over and pulled my bag away. I guess I didn’t pull it away fast enough because when I looked over at Rufus, he had a small purple container in his mouth. It took me too long to realize it was my retainer case. Once it dawned on me, I began chasing Rufus around the room. My friends soon joined me and we were all trying to get him to drop it. We got closer and closer until… GULP! Many exclamations of shock filled the room as Rufus swallowed the case.

“Oh, no! He just swallowed my retainer case!” I exclaimed in disbelief.

“Well, were your retainers in it?” one of my friends asked.

“What do you think? Yes, they were!”

“Oh, no! What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. Is there anything I…”

“BEEP BEEP BEEP!” my alarm screams. I moan as I turn over in my bed to turn the alarm off. It only takes me a few minutes to fully wake up and realize the whole retainer fiasco was just a dream. I didn’t lose them at all. I just put them in a drawer one day and never took them out again. Oh, well.