This story was written over 5 weeks as the final project for the first-year Creative Writing students. It’s their first attempt at writing a short story on their own, combining all the skills they’ve learned through the year.

‘’Ruff‘’ Tom, the golden retriever, barked loudly.

Tom has fluffy gold fur with a red collar.

James said, ‘’I’m going on vacation tomorrow. I’m so excited.’’

They walked for 20 minutes, and he started to feel tired.

‘’I’m exhausted from our walk. Let's get back home, Tom.’’ said James.

James is a 19 year old dog lover, he has blonde hair and blue eyes paired with a plain white T-shirt and blue jeans.

James quickly ran back to his apartment and packed his passport, his clothes and his phone in his suitcase. James checked his luggage for tomorrow’s vacation, and he went to sleep, but he left his zipper open.

Tom couldn’t find a place comfortable to rest, so he hopped in. But James didn’t notice, because he was sleeping.

The next morning, he couldn’t see things clearly because he was too tired when he was standing in front of the hotel.

The guard said, ‘’You need to check your luggage, first.’’ He slid the luggage in the scanning machine. The light started to flash red.

The guard said, ‘’Sir, please go to the hotel lobby.’’

The lobby has a fountain in the center ,and lots of travellers from all over the world. The floor was as clean as a mirror. James was amazed by what he was looking at.

The employee said,’’ Can you please open your luggage.’’

When Tom opened his luggage, the employee shouted loudly, ‘’Ahhhhhhh, a dog.’’

Tom, the dog ran away immediately into the kitchen. James was very confused by the situation.

James asked the guard, ‘’What’s happening?’’

The guard told James, ‘’See this sign? No pets allowed here. If you can’t catch your dog, you’ll get kicked out.’’

James saw a trail of Tom’s fur on the ground. It led to the buffet. There were lots of tasty meals in there , it’s filled with warmth and laughter. Tom hid under a table in the buffet. Then, he ran into the kitchen.

Those chefs didn’t even notice Tom. James sprinted into the kitchen. The chef told James, ‘’Sorry sir. You can’t go to the kitchen. We’re busy cooking stuff.’’

He saw they’re cooking something orange inside the pot. It was sizzling and bubbling. He was suspicious of them because it's hard to make a brew that's orange with natural ingredients.

James called the police immediately. He heard Tom barking loudly ,so he ran to save Tom from a luxury traveller. James stood in front of her.

Clare is famous for her fashion products for pets.

Clare has brunette hair with brown eyes paired with short black jeans with a white tank top.

Tom asked, “Excuse me, can you give me my dog back, please?

“No, he will be my fourth dog model.’’ said the luxury traveller.

“Sorry, I kinda forgot to introduce myself. I am Clare, the famous pet fashion designer. Can you just get out of the way? I have an important business call to answer.’’

Clare was very rude to James.

The police arrived at the hotel, searched for the soup.

An officer said, “We can’t find it anywhere in the hotel.”

James ran to the buffet, and said, “There it is, the soup.’’

The chef said, “You can’t take our homemade orange jam.’’

James realized, “It was just jam all along.” His cheeks turned red.

James told the police, ”Sorry, I made a very big mistake.”

A police officer replied ,’’It’s alright. Sometimes, we also get something wrong.’’

The police officer tasted the orange jam. It tasted like oranges. So there was no possibility that the dog would be there, because dogs hate oranges.

After researching, they wanted to take a rest, but when they were exhausted ,they found out that the dog was in the resting room with Clare.

James ran to Clare and Tom and said, “Clare, please, give me my dog back. He is my best friend. You can’t take him. I love him.’’

She said, “Okay, I will give it back to you. I know. It feels like you lost something important and it feels awful.I lost my own puppy too.”

Tom hopped into James’ arms. James hugged him tightly. Tom purred and wagged his tail. Clare felt ashamed of herself and walked away quietly.

At last, James got kicked out, but Tom is way more important to him than a good vacation. James didn’t regret his decision. He loved Tom with all of his heart.

Dog Chase