ELSA'S POV:

"Elsa, wake up", mutters Alia. "It's 7 am already. Time to go running." Alia's fingers brush through my fur.

I lick her hand and eventually her entire face, hoping that she would finally fall asleep and let me sleep too. But she misunderstands me. Every single time. And they say humans are smart.

"Good, you are up", she says, sitting up on her majestic bed, and tying her hair. "Awww look at how big you have grown."

Okay, lady, I understand I'm a little overweight, but you don't have to rub it on my nose.

"You were just a little puppy two years ago, and now here you are- my big baby, sleeping next to me on my bed", she kind of coochie coos me.

Okay so she was talking about my length, not my weight.

Alia continues with her baby talk. Frankly speaking, I find it a little embarrassing, because technically speaking, in dog years, I am fourteen years old. Not two.

I lick her nose to prevent her from talking anymore.

"Where are those biscuits you like?" Alia gets up from the bed and rummages in her cupboard.

Now, she's talking. I immediately jump down from the bed and sit next to her, wagging my tail. Thoughtful of her to remember to give me a treat every single morning.

"Awww who's the smart little puppy? Did you understand that I'm going to give you a biscuit? Yes you did! Yes you did!"

I lick her entire hand, waiting impatiently for the delicious smelling treat. She throws it into the air, and I catch it unmistakeably and accurately.

She pats my head and runs into the shower to get dressed. She doesn't know I know this, but I know she thinks I have all the qualities to become a show dog. Honestly, I don't want to be one. Too much politics.

"Elsa, I'll be out in just a minute, okay? Why don't you be a good girl and go get your belt?" Alia calls out from the bathroom. Since my hearing ability is excellent I can hear her mutter, "What am I saying? As if she can understand me."

She insults my intelligence every time she says that. But I don't care. I love her anyway. I run downstairs to get my belt from above the shoe stand.

I notice dad sitting on the couch, with a cup of tea in one hand and a newspaper in the other. He peers at me through his glasses and smiles at me good naturedly. "Up already, Elsa? Where's Alia?"

I put the belt in my mouth and run towards dad. He scratches my back. God, that feels so good. I think a few ticks fell off, although I'm damn sure I don't have any, I just checked last night. Alia thought I was going crazy by biting myself. A few hair did fall off though. I knew I should have tried the new shampoo, which Tasha, my friend from the garden that Alia takes me to, every Sunday, uses. The bottle said the contents include vanilla and lavender, and boy do they smell fantastic.

Speaking of smelling fantastic- what do I smell? Oh yes, tea! In dad's hand. It's like an automatic instinct. My nose carries me forward towards dad's tea and I smell it to my heart's content. I'm careful not to lick it though. I know he doesn't like that for some reason.

Dad looks at me sternly,"No Elsa, this isn't for you." He keeps the cup of tea at a safe distance from me. Hey, can't blame a dog for trying!

Mom enters the living room with another newspaper in her hand. God these humans and their crazy reading habits. The closest I've ever come to reading anything is the pattern of poop. It's not just a pattern, it's like an ID. It gives me information about a particular fellow dog.

Mom pats me and scratches behind my ears. "Alia still running late, isn't she?"
She asks me as if expecting an answer so I just tilt my head in response. It looks like I'm thinking, which sort of works, since mom says, "I knew it. That girl can never be punctual." She shakes her head, gives me one final pat, and leaves to sit on the couch next to dad.

Not much has changed here in two years. Yes, Alia has enrolled in a veterinary school, but she is still single. She scored really great marks in 12th, which I remember clearly, because she was so ecstatic about it for some reason, that she got me fish to eat. Paws down, the best meal I've had in years.

She did have some guy issues because she used to hug me for hours together and cry. At first I thought it was Sid, because she used to say a lot of "Sid said this, Sid said that", but then I realised it was some other guy named Vansh. Weird name, even for a human.

Speaking of weird names, guess what Tasha's mate's name is? Pikachu! I remember when she told me she was having Pikachu's puppies, I said to her, "What? You slept with a cat?" She barked at me for an hour for making fun of her mate. Tasha thinks I should have puppies soon. I tell her I have my career to focus on, and she looks at me confused. Well that answer works for humans.

"C'mon Elsa, I'm ready!" Alia yells. It's as if she thinks I'm deaf. My ear flaps are hurting. Alia calls them ear drums, but I don't see anything remotely drummy in my ears.

Alia starts jogging around the garden first, and I struggle to keep up. I am lazy, and I'm not ashamed of it.

"Sid says he'll visit next month, sounds good, right?" Alia asks me.

At the mention of Sid, I become so excited that I start drooling. Or maybe it's just because of the exhaustion of running around with a cheetah. Alia is really fast.

Sid is my favourite person in the world. Well, apart from Alia ofcourse. He is currently pursuing engineering in Bangablore- I think that's what Alia said- and his girlfriend Tanvi is abroad, studying pyschology.

I once asked Tasha where abroad was. She said it was the garden next to ours, which we weren't allowed to visit. I don't think she's right.

"C'mon Elsa, two more laps", says Alia, turning at the corner of the street.

Oh oh. Smell alert. My nose twitches and almost instantly a tall, dark and handsome dog stands in front of me.

Woah. He's unbelievably hot. I think I'm having a fangirl moment.

"Hey, almost didn't see you there", he says.

"Yeah, me neither." Oh my God, I'm all out of breath right now! I'm panting like an idiot- what must he think of me?

He looks at me and tilts his head,"You don't look so good, blondie."

My temper immediately flares up. That racist son of a bitch. "Watch who you are calling blondie!" I bark at him.

"Elsa, no!" Alia yells, and yanks my chain away from the hot dog. Hey wait, I didn't do anything!

"Bruno! Oh shit!" A tall guy approaches us. The way Alia is looking at him, I can tell he is handsome too. And probably only a year or two older than she is. "I'm so sorry", the guy tells Alia. "Bruno tends to free himself from his leash whenever there's a female around." He looks at me and exclaims, "Oh, yours is a labrador too? What's her name?"

"Elsa", replies Alia. What the hell is a labrador? Is the guy insulting me? I growl at him.

The guy chuckles and says,"Whoa, easy there pretty girl." He pets me and scratches my back. I instantly like him. Meanwhile Bruno is watching me with interest, trying to smell me. I ignore him and move away. "How old is she?"

"Approximately two years old", replies Alia.

"Bruno here is about two and a half years old", says the guy, patting Bruno. He puffs his chest out in response. What a show off.

"Hey, listen, is your dog, by any chance on heat period? Bruno has a tendency to sniff around-"

Wow, hot and horny. Perfect.

"No, no", says Alia, shaking her head. She bends down and scratches Bruno behind his ears. "He's a handsome lad."

What? What?? What a traitor! I'm standing right here and she's just busy petting some other dog?!

I bark at her, wanting her to stop touching Bruno. Alia belonged to me only.

"Someone's getting a little territorial", laughs the new guy. "I'm Raunak, by the way." The guy holds out his hand.

"Alia", says Alia, shaking his hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you", he says, kissing the back of her hand. Alia blushes furiously. I growl a little at him. He better watch it, otherwise he may lose a few pairs of jeans and a little flesh. He should definitely not mess around with Alia's heart.

"He's the best guy ever", says Bruno. "Don't worry, he won't hurt Alia. I think he likes her, I haven't seen him kissing somebody's hand before. He usually only kisses my forehead."

"Are you sure?" I ask Bruno, a little doubtful of his judgement.

"Trust me", says Bruno, whining a little. "And sorry about calling you Blondie. You are hot. Wanna be my new playmate?"

I look at him in enthusiasm and bark. "Sure! I think I want to have my future puppies with you."

"Let's just play ball for now."

"Good idea."

"What the hell are they on to?" Raunak asks, incredulously, looking at the two of us.

"I think both of them like each other", Alia giggles.

"Damn right", says Bruno, tilting his head. "Elsa's all mine." I tilt my head too, and Alia and Raunak burst out laughing. Great, they just ruined the perfect moment.

"Where do you live by the way?" Alia asks. "I haven't seen you before."

"At the end of the street, opposite the beautiful house with this huge garden and a big mango tree- I just shifted with my parents yesterday."

"No way, I live opposite to your house! You are my new neighbour?! I heard about Sharma uncle moving out-"

"Sharma uncle is my uncle! He sold his house to us!" Raunak laughs. "What are the chances?"

Alia laughs too. Raunak looks at me and Bruno standing next to each other and says, "Well I guess their love story is settled." He looks at Alia. "You wanna go and grab a bite? I'm hungry, and you?"

"Starving", says Alia. "Let's go."

Raunak holds Alia's hand, and Alia doesn't resist. They walk side by side, me and Bruno following suit. We are however having an argument.

"You totally checked her out-" I say, barking at him.

"No baby, you know I wouldn't look at any other bitch-"

"Did you just call me a bitch?"

"No, that wasn't for you-I'm sorry-"

"I knew it! You never loved me! Who is it? Is it that Pinky who lives at the corner?"

"No baby, I love only you-"

Alia and Raunak walk hand in hand, blissfully ignoring our barks.