Cody: The Park

Once his relief had subsided, Cody sobered. How had he just done that? Wasn't he wearing undies under the unitard? There was only one way to find out.

Cody reached down, taking advantage of being alone in the backyard to get to the bottom of what he suspected. His eyes widened as he dug down into his wooly fur between his thighs.

"I'm... I... This whole time!?" He felt positively scandalized. He had gone out, gone to the groomers, all that… naked! Panicked, he tugged at his ears, yelping, though it was the yelp of a boy. Right, those were held in place by his hair. He grabbed his tail and was about to tug it when he noticed it twitch in his hand. He had to be losing his mind, right? It was fabric sewn to a unitard. It could not move on its own!

Nervous, he headed inside. He still had human feet, hands, and a face. He was not a dog! Curious, he tried to find the edge of the sleeve, but all found was his hand and the fluffy doughnut of fur around his wrist. It had been skintight all day, but now? Now it seemed like…

Ding! Cody’s head swung up as he heard the doorbell ring.

“Who’s here?” He asked, even as he charged toward the door.

“No barking, Cody!”

“I wasn’t.” Cody rolled his eyes, but as he neared the door, he suddenly… it was hard to explain, but he somehow knew, he just knew, that Leo stood on the other side of the door. He stopped, skidding to a halt.

“Aren’t you going to open it?” His mom asked. Ding! Dingy-ding! Definitely Leo. “Well?”

“No! I mean, uh, no. I don’t want Leo to see me like this.”

“Do you need to primp first?”

“What? No!” He stared at her, aghast. How could she not understand why he did not want his best friend in the whole world to see him all pink and fluffy and poodle and… and… pink!

"He can't see me like this!" Cody exclaimed again, dashing behind the couch.

"Don't be ridiculous. He's your best friend and I just know he'll love your new do." Mom frowned. "Did you wash your paws?"

"What?"

"After you went pee? Did you wash your paws?" The question baffled him so much that Cody stood there, paralyzed by confusion, as his mom opened the door and Leo walked in.

"Hey, Mrs. Cody's Mom. Can Cody come out and play?"

"If you can coax him out from behind the couch, sure."

"You playing hide and seek?" Leo asked, walking over to Cody. "Oh! Sweet!"

"Huh?" How could Leo look at him completely normally when he could clearly see Cody's pink wool? And, Cody thought, who knows what else? He crossed his legs nervously as he looked up at Leo.

"Wanna go outside, Cody?" Cody stood up, feeling a little better about being on the same eye level as Leo, but sunk back down to a crouch as he remembered his situation. That lady at the groomer, she had gotten a full eyeful and immediately knew Cody was a boy! That means she... "Hey? Earth to Cody?"

"Here." Mom squeezed his red bone and Cody immediately looked at it eagerly.

"Wow! New hairdo and a new toy?" Leo said. "I... didn't forget your birthday, did I?"

"No..."

"Then why are you? Oh. You smell Dexter on me, don't you?" Dexter was Leo's cat who had always seemed to hate Cody. The feeling was mutual, but that was not the reason why he was hiding! His best friend in the whole world should know he was not a poodle yesterday! "Is that it, bud?"

"No!" Cody insisted. "I mean, your socks could use a change." How did he even know that, he wondered at the same moment that he wanted to know why no one else could smell Leo's socks.

"I think some fresh air will get a certain little poodle back to his old self."

"Ugh, do I really gotta wear that?" Cody glared at the harness in his mom's hands.

"Yes."

"Here, let me." Leo took the harness and slipped it onto Cody's arms. "Wow, this new do of yours is"

"Awful?"

"Really great."

"Then why don't you get the same one?"

"Maybe if I had fur instead of hair." Leo said with a laugh, running his hand through his perfectly normal hair. It was brown, not pink, and Cody doubted a bow had ever touched it. "Let's go outside! Go outside, Cody? Go outside!"

"Be back before dinner." Mom called.

"I'll be sure to bring him back." Leo said with a chuckle. As soon as the door closed, he grinned at Cody. "Grab that frisbee. We're going to the park." Cody picked up the plastic disc, faded by the sun.

"Let's go."

"Uh, why are you holding it like that?"

"How else would I... oh. Oh! Ew, it's been on the ground!"

"Did you pee on it or something?"

"Ew!" Leo shrugged and wrapped the end of Cody's harness around his hand before patting him right on the poof between his ears.

"Hey, um, can you at least take my bows off?"

"What? Why?"

"Cuz?"

"You not wearing bows is like me... I dunno, not wearing pants. It's fine when you're alone, but out in public?" Cody sputtered.

“What? They’re freaking bows.”

“Why don’t you take them off yourself?”

“I’ve tried, but every time I do, mom thinks I’ve got fleas or something.”

“You don’t, do you?”

“No!”

“Exactly. I think you’re just too much of a good boy to take them off after your mommy put them on you.” Cody thought about pointing out that it was the groomer, but hadn’t Mom told them to? “Who’s a good boy?” Leo said, giving Cody a good scratching behind his ears in the perfect spot. “Who’s a good boy? Who’s a good boy?”

“Me.”

“That’s right!” Leo grinned. “Come on, let’s go bother Aiden.”

If it weren’t for the harness and the fact that he could feel his tail hitting the backs of his legs, Cody would have felt almost normal. He and Leo discussed the sorts of things boys their age tended to discuss and it was only when they got to Aiden’s that Cody suddenly remembered he was no longer the boy he once was.

“Cody! Here boy!” Aiden whistled from the porch. Cody rolled his eyes.

“Aren’t you gonna go say hi?” Leo asked.

“It’s kinda embarrassing.” Cody said, but Leo just shook his head disapprovingly.

“Go on! Go get him, boy! Sic or whatever!” Cody sighed and shuffled over to Aiden. As far as Aiden was concerned, however, Cody was beside himself with excitement. In no time flat, Cody found himself on his back, getting his tummy rubbed by Aiden as Leo scritched his ears. Maybe being a dog wasn’t so bad, he thought, though he realized how weird it was once they stopped and he had to clamber back to his feet without help. At least they had told him he was a good boy. He was a good boy, after all.

“What’s up?” Aiden asked. Cody noticed the boy was looking right past him and at Leo.

“Oh, I figured we’d take the pup to the park.”

“The pup? I’m right here.”

“Yep, we’re talking about you, Cody!” Aiden said, patting him on the head. Cody groaned. Great, now they couldn’t understand him.

“My underwear’s full of farts and butterflies.” He said. What did it matter when they couldn't understand him?

“Underwear? You’re a poodle.” Aiden said with a laugh. “What do you need underwear for?” Cody punched him in the arm.

“Come on, Cody! Let’s go to the park! Wanna run there?” Before Cody could say he was fine with walking, his friends took off and, thanks to the harness, Cody had little choice but to run along with them.

Why were they so fast? He wondered, trying his best to keep up. No, I’ll show them fast! He leaned forward to try and cut down on the resistance from his fur – no, his hair. It worked and he whizzed past them!

“Wish I was that fast on all fours.” Aiden said as Cody realized that the harness also kept him from getting too far ahead. All fours? He looked down. How long had he been crawling? He stood back up, wobbling a bit. Was he going to lose the ability to stand? How would he convince people he was a boy if he could not even stand?

“Look, Cody! The park!” Leo said, pointing ahead of them. “There’s even a place where you can get off your leash!”

“It’s technically a harness.”

“But you have to promise,” Aiden said. “To be a good boy and not run away.”

“His mom’s probably got him chipped or something.” Leo said. “But yeah. Promise, Cody?”

“I promise.” He was always a good boy! Leo laughed.

“He’d say anything to get off his leash.”

“Maybe he wants the other dogs to see his new hairdo. Furdo? It looks really cool, Cody.”

“Cool? I have cotton candy on my head!”

“How else is a pink poodle supposed to look?” Cody glared at Aiden.

“Throw the frisbee, Aiden.” Leo suggested. Aiden complied and Cody watched it soar.

“Go get it, Cody!” Cody jogged after it, but noticed another dog – a dog! He had to stop doing that! – going for it.

“Hey! Drop! That’s mine!” The dog paid him no mind. Cody growled and barked at the dog, who turned and looked at him before dropping the frisbee and going back toward its owner.

“Did that silly poodle yip at you?” The owner, a girl who looked to be in college, said. She rubbed the dog’s head roughly before coming over to Cody. “Hi there!”

“Uh hi.”

“What’s your name?”

“Cody?” She smiled and grabbed at his collar to look at his dog tag.

“Cody! That’s a cute name!” She said, so bubbly he knew she did not see him as a boy at all. “Do you wanna treat, Cody? Wanna treat?”

“Uh, what is it?”

“Sit, Cody! Sit!” She wiggled a lightly closed fist over his head. He sat down in the grass, glancing over at his friends. They seemed to be waiting patiently. “You sit too, Bambam!” The dog sat down next to Cody, tongue hanging out of his mouth. “Now… lie down, Cody!”

“I’m not doing”

“Lie down, Cody! C’mon Cody! Bambam, why don’t we show Cody? Lie down, Bambam!” The dog must have been expertly trained because he stretched his front paws out until his stomach was in the grass. “There we go!” The girl praised as Cody mirrored the dog. Hadn’t he earned the treat yet? “Now, roll over!” This wouldn’t be so bad if she would just talk normal, Cody thought in annoyance. She pushed the treat against his lips like at the groomers and Cody ate it. It was like a soft peanut butter ball. “What a good dog! You’re still a puppy, but you know three tricks already!” She smiled and rubbed his cheeks with her hands as she gushed over him. “You’re gonna be the prettiest poodle when you’re all grown up! Yes, you is! Yes, Cody is! And such a smart poodle too! I… can’t think of a p word for smart, but that’s what you are!” She laughed to herself. “Alright, off you go, Cody.” She helpfully picked up the frisbee and shoved it into his mouth. He wondered what she thought as he stood up and ran back over to his friends, only remembering to take the frisbee out of his mouth just before he got back to them.

“Putting the moves on that girl?” Leo asked with a snort.

“Shuddup.”

“She seemed very impressed.” Leo said, taking the frisbee from Cody. “What breed was she?”

“Breed?” Cody realized what Leo meant and he stammered before deciding to push past it.

“I’m not getting it if you throw it anywhere near her.” Cody said in warning.

“Wasn’t gonna, but… Try to catch this one in your mouth!” He threw the frisbee high in the air.

“My mouth? Won’t that hurt my teeth?” Cody muttered, watching the frisbee. Catching it with his hands was good enough, right?

“Go get it, Cody!” Aiden encouraged. Cody shrugged and ran after it, keeping a cautious eye to make sure Bambam and – his owner, what was her name? – were far away. “He’s still not doing it right.” Aiden said as Cody returned with the frisbee.

“One more try, Cody!” Leo said, taking the frisbee from his hand. “If you catch it before it hits the ground, we’ll go get ice cream, kay?” Cody felt something brush against his legs. He was too afraid to discover it was his tail wagging to look.

Cody ran after the Frisbee once Aiden threw it, determined to at least do his best to catch it before it hit the ground. He knew they would probably go get ice cream no matter what, but how cool would it be if he did catch it? Then again, how cool could you really hope to be when everyone saw you as a fluffy pink poodle with sissy bows in your fur? Hair, he corrected, hardly even aware that he had opened his mouth and caught the Frisbee right in it!

"Attaboy!" Leo and Aiden crowed, charging over and knocking Cody to the grass, practically smothering him with praise and pets in equal measure.

"I think you definitely earned yourself ice cream." Aiden said as Leo put Cody's harness back on. "Oh, shoot. Your bow's messed up." Cody tried to back away, but Leo kept him still as Aiden fixed the bow on the poof between his ears.

"I hate bows." Cody muttered. "I hate being pink."

"Is it opposite day?" Leo teased. "Let's go, Cody." Cody kept muttering under his breath, but the one plus of being out in just his fur was, there was no way he would be the one paying for ice cream.

Their favorite ice cream place, Scoop Dreams, wasn't all that far away. Cody would usually race for the door, but the harness made that impossible, so he had to match Leo's more leisurely pace.

"Alright, let's get Cody situated and then we'll get ice cream." Leo said.

"Situated?"

"No dogs allowed." Aiden said, pointing to the sign.

"What? I'm not a dog!" Leo tied the leash of the harness around the arm of a bench outside the entrance. Cody sighed and sat down on the bench. Almost before his wooly pink butt touched the polished wood, however, Aiden chimed in.

"Cody, down."

"Down, Cody!" Leo said more forcefully.

"I was just running around the park. Why can't I sit?"

"Down!" Cody sighed, but moved to the sidewalk. It felt so ridiculous sitting on the ground right next to an empty bench. "Stay!"

"Come on, guys. This is ridiculous."

"Stay!" Leo repeated.

"We'll be right back, pup." Aiden tousled Cody's fluff and they disappeared inside.

Cody wondered what passers-by thought as he sat there cross-legged and tied to a bench. He stretched his legs out, leaning back on his palms, but quickly realized what a mistake that was as he eyed his lower fur. He shifted back to crossed legs, but stared down at it. It was pink, wooly fur, but it was vaguely reminiscent of the shape of his underwear. He had been wearing his underwear that morning before mom more or less forced him into the unitard. He tried to find the seam of the unitard’s sleeve on his wrist, but when he pushed the fur aside, it just seemed as if the fur was growing out of his wrist and not the cloth of the unitard. That wasn’t possible! It isn’t!
“Mommy, can I pet the doggy?” Cody jumped, only then noticing the little girl standing in front of him. He scrunched his nose, figuring she had snuck up on him because all he could smell were sugar cones and… well, now he smelled smells that his brain told him were little girl. At least, he thought they meant little girl. It was very confusing and so many smells at once was kind of overwhelming.

“Be very careful.” The girl’s mom said. “Let him sniff your hand first.” The girl stretched out a hand and Cody sighed. Was he supposed to indulge her? Her hands looked sticky! He made a motion as if he was sniffing her hand, even though he could smell her already. “There you go!”

“Nice doggy!” The girl said, patting his poof. Cody’s relief in how restrained she was, both in what she said to him and her pets showed. “Look, mommy! His tail’s wagging!”

“That’s how dogs tell us they’re happy, since they can’t talk like we can.”

“Can too.” Cody mumbled.

“See? All he can do is whimper and yip.”

“She sells seashells by the seashore.” Cody retorted, but they had already moved on. He looked up to see his friends emerge from the ice cream shop. Yeah, his tail was definitely wagging, but that did not matter. What did matter was that things felt almost normal when he was with them.

"We really should've used Cody to save a spot." Aiden said. Every table was occupied except for one that was covered in trash and a mystery substance.

"We did. This bench is perfect." Cody stood up, but Leo had other plans. He set a paper bowl down on the sidewalk and Cody followed it back down in defeat.

"What is this?"

“A pup cup.” It was a paper bowl filled with what looked like unflavored shaved ice. This was not ice cream at all!

"Pup cup?"

"Guy inside said it's guaranteed safe for dogs."

"But I'm... uh..."

"Can you have chocolate?" Aiden asked out of the blue.

"I don't know." Cody said thoughtfully. He didn't know a lot of things now. That morning, he had been an ordinary boy. Now he was... a pink poodle? He was pretty sure he was no longer a boy in a unitard. He absentmindedly touched one of his ears to see if it had become a headband again, but all he felt were the bows. He gave one a tug, surprised at how much he felt it.

"You should probably leave those alone. Your mom gets mad when you come back without your bows, remember?"

"Not really." He frowned as something occurred to him. As far as he recalled, this was all new to him, but comments like that almost made him wonder. "Wait, have I always" a greeting bark -- how did he know that? -- interrupted Cody. He turned and came face to face with a tan dog. Cody got to his feet to try and not feel so small. The tan dog tugged at her leash.

"It's ok. She's friendly!" The man holding the leash said with a grin.

"So's Cody!" Cody stood there as the dog walked around him and gave his butt a sniff.

"Why do you dogs do that?" It took Cody a second to realize he was more likely to answer than the other dog.

"It's just another way to say hello." He eeked out as the dog and her owner moved on.

"Bark! Bark! Hi, Cody! You've got awesome bows!" Aiden laughed at his own joke and then shrugged. "What? They suit him, don't they? I mean, if he's pink, he might as well."

"You do know he's not naturally pink, right? What color is your fur normally, Cody?" Cody shrugged.

“I don’t really know. I only became a dog this morning.” He waited to see what their response to that would be.

“Ugh, we’d better finish our ice cream fast.” Leo said. “Dad’s texting me to come home for dinner. School nights suck!”

“Wait. School?”

“Well, duh. It’s Sunday.” Leo said.

“That means school tomorrow, pup.” Aiden said.

“And I go to school?”

“Well, duh!” Leo said with a laugh. “Finish your pup cup.” Cody stuck his face down into it, but he could not decide how to feel. Even though he was apparently a dog, he still had to go to school? I really am a boy at the worst possible times, he thought.