Pup Academy Season Two (Alternate)/Episode One

The pups are returning to Pup Academy once more for another long year of learning! But this time, there are some new faces: Lila and Molly, the fashion-forward poodle sisters; Tracker, a red-bone coonhound pup with who isn't afraid to go head over heels for a girl; Fang, an old buddy of everyone's favorite frenemies, Bite and Rotty; and two brand new strays named Blue and Ginger, who just so happen to be childhood friends of Spark! However, tension breaks out between the groups as it is revealed to the beginning students that Spark now has a home with Morgan, who is dealing with some of his own (and Izzy's) troubles that, if not solved, might be the difference between the pups’ ability to go to the Academy for the rest of the year... and it's only the first week, too!

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### **The Episode**

*We open on Charlie, Morgan, DOG, and the rest of the facility wearing blue robes in front of* Pup Academy*. The* Canis Primus *constellation glows brightly in the night sky over their heads, reflecting off the statue of the first dog directly behind them.*

- “Eek! This is so exciting! I just can’t *believe* we got to come”, Izzy whispered to Morgan.

- “Shh!”, he reminded her. “We’re not supposed to be talking.”

- “So, another school year is upon us”, DOG said aloud. He either didn’t notice or didn’t mind the two youngsters’ muttering, as he didn’t reprimand them.

- “Yes, and so is another challenge”, Charlie added: “Fitz is still out for revenge.”

- “Yeah, and Leon from me and Izzy’s school is determined as ever to find proof that this school exists.” *Talking to dogs is so much easier now that I can understand what* they’re *saying*, Morgan thought to himself.

- “This is a big problem”, stated Headmistress Gruff.

- “Are we going to be discovered?”, queried Professor Howard.

- “Now, now, don’t get your fur all in a twist. I’m sure DOG has a solution”, assured Coach K9.

- “That I do”, DOG said. “I have decided on two more unconventional students to join us this year. They are tough and feisty, but if you befriend them, they are loyal through and through. They can easily keep our secret — and defend our school in case Fitz comes back.

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*Two strays are running down the road. One is holding an entire large steak. The other clutches a simple bag of treats.*

- The dog with the steak is running ahead. “How’s it goin’ back there, Ginger?”, she said in a muffled voice. Her bright orange eyes, flecked with yellow, glow with excitement.

- Ginger, a Yorkshire terrier pup, stops and turns around. “Animal Control; right behind us.” She looked back over at the other dog. “They’re in a car!”

- “Come on then!” Ginger was already zipping forward, the dropped treats forgotten.

- “Quick, in here!”, Ginger said as she changed course and headed into a different alley. The other dog followed her and Animal Control drove right by.

- “Whew, that was a close one”, said the other dog after she set down the steak. She was a blue Merle tri Aussie pup. Complimenting the tan of her fur was a simple copper chain of the same color hanging around her neck. She was a stunning dog to look at, especially because of her unique bright amber eyes.

- “You got that right, Blue. Wait — oh, no!” Ginger darted her head back and forth frantically.

- “What’s wrong, Ginger?”

- “I forgot the treats!”

- “Hey, it’s okay. We can always go back for them. Besides, there’s enough here for a month, anyways.”

- Ginger looked unconvinced. “For all *five* of us?”

- Blue took a minute to do the math in her head. “Take that back — there’s enough here for about 12 days.”

- Ginger sighed. She was so *sick* of this. She loved being a stray, especially if it meant living with Blue and her family, but she wished at least one part of her life could be easy.

- “Come on. Let’s get home.” Ginger started to walk out, refusing to meet her foster sister’s gaze. Blue picked up the steak and followed.

- They arrived at a small structure made of spruce wood. There was a small opening hidden behind curtains that they walked through to get inside.

- In one corner was a crate. Blue immediately dropped her steal inside. On the other side of the room was a table, and in the small space where it didn’t touch the wall, stairs with built-in cubbies occupied the space. There were two pillows below and three above the desk.

- A blue Merle Australian shepherd, darker in color than Blue and with no tan points, rested on top of the table. A black tricolor was singing softly to himself, while a bright orange dog with slightly blue eyes watched him rummage through a drawer.

- “Yo Bowser. Just stop. You’re not impressin’ anybody except Miss Bright Eyes over there”, Blue said.

- “Yeah, we can do so much better”, Ginger added.

- Bowser looked taken aback, but then the orange dog leaned against him comfortingly. “Don’t worry; you’re still good. Now, I need to get back to my human.”

- “Okay. See you later, Misty.”

- “Oo-oh”, the two pups chimed. They knew it wasn’t a big deal — *but*, they could still *make* it one if they wanted.

- “Bowser’s got a *girlfriend*”, said another dog as she walked in. She was white with brown splotches (except they were actually red, but they looked brown)

- “Yeah, big deal, Cocoa”, Basil said jokingly as she brushed past her on the way out.

- Once she was gone, Cocoa turned to Bowser and the dog on the table. “Bowser, Ali, you want to come scavenging with me. All I got was a couple of scraps.”

- “Sure”, they said, leaving Blue and Ginger alone in the room until DOG suddenly walked in.

- “Hey, what do you think you’re playin’ at? This is our doghouse, buster!”, Blue said, growling under her breath.

- “Yes, I’m well aware of this. And I’m here to invite you to mine”, DOG said. He dipped his head and two Pup Academy tags appeared around around the two young dogs’ necks; Blue’s dangled from the previously noted copper chain, while Ginger received a thin silver chain for her’s

- “And remember: when you hear the whistle blow, and you see your tag glow, through the doorway you shall go.” And then DOG left.

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- “Come on Spark, we’re gonna’ be late!”, Morgan called from off the screen. Spark was eating out of a dog bowl in the kitchen/dining room of their apartment.

- “Coming, Morgan!” She had only travelled by toilet once before, and she really liked it. She was the dog of the apprentice caretaker — shouldn’t that give her special rights? Bite wouldn’t see it that way, though, so it would be a one day-only sort of thing. Just for today.

- Spark arrived in the bathroom to see Morgan already about to climb on the toilet. He was in his regular clothes because of the function where the humans, like the dogs, would change in and out of their uniforms when they went through the portals. Morgan picked up his dog, and with their usual “Woah-woah”’s and “Ah-ah”-ing, they went to Pup Academy.

*Meanwhile, at Izzy and Corazon’s house, we see the two comrades saying their goodbyes.*

- “Bye, Corazon. Have a good first day back at Pup Academy!”, Izzy said. Corazon replied with a bark, since she can’t understand him. She walks up the stairs into the rest of her house.

- “Bye!”, Corazon shouts enthusiastically after her. Then he goes out the doggy-door and under the fence to his hydrant, exclaiming, “Pup Academy, here I come!”

*James and Whiz are doing a similar thing at the farm.*

- “See you after school, boy!”, James says as he walks out of the backyard

- “He has no idea how literal that term is for me”, Whiz mutters to himself. He barks loudly, causing the last sheep (Clyde) to run into the pen. Whiz jumps up to close and lock the gate, a trick he learned from James. He then runs out of the backyard and through the doorway.

- “Hey, Blue, I just noticed something: when our tags glow, so do the hydrants. Maybe they’re the doorways he was talking about!”, Ginger says. She is running, with Blue close behind, toward the hydrant at the opposite end of their alley.

- Blue pulls ahead of her. “Fine. But if I bash my head into one more wall, I swear I’ll —“ Then Blue and Ginger fly through the portal.

- “You swear you’ll what ...”, Ginger asks once they’re on the other side. Both are awestruck by what lays before them.

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*(CUT TO THEME SONG)*

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*We start with looking down on the school from above, with full view of the dogs coming through the hydrants. When we zoom in, we see Whiz and Corazon emerge from the portals. Spark is running to them from the direction of the* Portal Potty*. All of them are decked out in their regular uniforms.*

- “And the *Dos Amigos* are officially back!”, Corazon exclaimed as Spark came over.

- “Hey, guys, notice anything *different*?”, Spark questioned. She puffed out her chest, causing her Academy tag to jingle on the collar Izzy made for her.

- “Umm, new haircut?”, Corazon guessed.

- “Nope”, she told him.

- “New uniform?”

- “Nuh-uh”

- “Ooh — new diet!”

- Spark sighed which was Whiz’s cue to jump in and say, “Wow, rocking that new collar, Spark!”

- As they continue to reacquaint themselves, we look back over at Ginger and Blue.

- “Is this a uniform?”, Ginger said as she looked down at her new outfit.

- “Yeah, and not too shabby either”, replied Blue. “Which means this is a school.”

- Ginger, though her face doesn’t show it, is excited to be around other pups her own age. She looks around at the other dogs, darting her eyes from a coonhound to a French bulldog until she notices the *Dos Amigos*. “Hey, is that ...”

- “Spark!” Blue joins in on saying her name, making it loud enough for her to notice and turn around.

- “Blue! Ginger!” Spark ran over to them and the three girls pressed against each other happily, tails high and wagging.

- “Umm, Spark, who are these dogs?”, Whiz asked.

- “Guys, these are Blue and Ginger. We were friends when we were pups”, Spark told them.

- “Oh, come on Spark, we can introduce ourselves”, Ginger said, walking over to the boys. They all started sniffing butts to say hello, except for ...

- “No, thanks, I think I’ll pass”, Blue said.

- “Ah, same old Blue”, Spark chuckled

- “I’m Headmistress Gruff. Welcome to Pup Academy, ‘Where Pups Become Dogs’”, said Headmistress Gruff. “Little do your humans know that when they go to school, so do you. Each year, we select special pups to study here and take their teachings back to their communities. You, the few, the proud, the furry, have no idea how special you are.”

- “Welcome, pup-pup-puppies!”, cheered Pom-Pom as she ran over. Corazon looked at her with dreamy eyes.

- “What’s with him?”, Blue asked Spark.

- “He has a crush on Pom-Pom”, Spark replied.

- “Oh. That makes a lot more sense than my idea”, Ginger added

- “What was your idea?”, Whiz asked.

- We never got to hear Ginger’s idea, because Headmistress Gruff continued by saying, “Meet our head cheerleader, Pom-Pom”.

- “I’m Pom-Pom!”

- “On your way to your first assembly, Pom-Pom is going to take you on a tour of Pup Academy.”

- Pom-Pom bounded off and the pups followed. We notice Spark, one of the first to follow, look over at her shoulder at Ginger and Blue. “Girls, you comin’?” They realized they weren’t being given an explanation, so they followed. Whiz moves a bit closer to Ginger to say, “I still want to hear your idea, by the way”, then resumes his former position.

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- ”So, how’s it goin’ so far?” Izzy was FaceTiming Morgan on her walk to school.

- “Good. Pom Pom is starting to take them on the school tour before the first assembly”, Morgan said.

- “Cool -- wait, who’s Pom Pom?”

- Morgan laughed. “She’s the head cheerleader, Izzy. Now, I need to get back to work and you have to go to school. I’ll see you at lunch, though.”

- “Okay. Bye, Morgan.”

- “Bye. And remember, don’t run into the poll!”

- Izzy tore her face away from the screen right as she walked into something and fell down. “Too late”, she groaned.

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- Pom Pom ended the tour with the Dog Bowl. “This is the Dog Bowl. Humans learn table manners -- here, we learn *under* the table manners. Yay, kibble!”

- “Free food?!”, Ginger exclaimed.

- “Huh. This place is better than I thought”, Blue said.

- “Like that wasn’t apparent, Queen of Obvious”, Spark teased.

- “Okay, pups, off to assembly”, Headmistress Gruff walked by and told them.

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- “Do the pups know their houses yet?”, Izzy asked. She was talking through her Woofie Talkie to Morgan in the hallway.

- “No, not yet”, he answered. The assembly was taking place behind him.

- “How are they doing?”

- “Pretty well, I think. I don’t know them that well yet.”

- “And this is Charlie, our Human on Campus”, DOG said.

- “Yup, I’m Charlie. Your HOC. And this is my apprentice, Morgan”, Charlie told the pups.

- “Excuse me for a sec Izzy”, Morgan said into the device. “Hi, I’m Morgan. Happy to be here for another year of Pup Academy.” He walked away from the podium so DOG could ask Gruff to lead the school howl, so we hear the chorus of singing/barking dogs in the background for the rest of their conversation.

- “Okay, I’m back. What else do you want to ask me?”

- “Well, who are the new dogs?”

- “Umm, there’s Lila and Molly, the poodle sisters; Tracker, a redbone coonhound; Toby/Snoopy, a beagle pup; Fang, a Rottweiler and friend of Bite’s--”

- “Oo-oo, trouble”, Izzy interrupted.

- “And, finally, the strays: Blue, an Australian shepherd; and Ginger, a Biewer."

- “Is there another prophecy?”

- Morgan stuttered. He had to have a reason to separate those two from the rest, but at the same time, he didn’t want to reveal the school’s weakness after last year, so…

- “Charlie and DOG are thinking of expanding the requirements to go into our school. You used to have to be a pet. King and Spark were exceptions, obviously. Now, though, we want to allow all dogs in Wolfhead to have the chance to come”, he lied. *It wouldn’t be a bad idea to do that, though… Maybe I’ll tell Grandpa.*

- The school bell rings at Wolfhead Elementary. “You should get to class”, Morgan urged. “before--”

- “Yes, Morgan is right; you *should* get to class.” Izzy startledly looked up to see Principal Schiffley looming over her. “It’s fine for you to be interested in Morgan’s work-study, but you can’t let it get in the way of school.”

- “Don’t worry, I won’t”, Izzy assured her.

- “Good. Now, run along.”

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- “Human schools are grouped by home rooms”, Pom Pom started. “At Pup Academy, you’re grouped by Dog Houses: Sniffers, Barkers, Howlers, and Growlers. The rest of you already know, but Blue, Ginger, since you have red ties, you are Howlers! Okay, see you in class!

- “Bye, Pom Pom!”, Corazon shouted after her.

- “Glad we’re in the same group, Spark”, Ginger said.

- “Yeah, I don’t think I would *survive* if we were separated”, Blue exaggerated with a smirk.

- Spark appreciated this and laughed. “Same. So, you’ve already met Whiz and Corazon -- these are George and Mullet. Oh, and you might want to stay away from Bite and his crew. They’re nothing to be *afraid* of, per say, but they can be a *pain in the tail*.”

- “We’ll keep an eye out, don’t worry”, Ginger told her.

- The school bell rang and Headmistress Gruff walked up behind them. “Everybody get to class; your Pup Academy school year starts now.”

- “I wouldn’t be afraid even if he was a force to reckon with”, Blue grumbled as they all walked to the door, rolling her eyes.

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- “Hey, pups. I’m Professor Kingsley, and today I’m teaching Canine Languages”, King told his class. He was excited to be a new teacher, but he hoped they wouldn’t mention…

- “Didn’t you wreck the school during the WAG?”, a pup interrupted.

*- Too late.* “Umm, yes, I did”, King managed to force out.

- “And didn’t Spark help you?”, another pup called. All the eyes in the room flirted to Spark as she shrank beneath her shoulders.

- “Yes, she did. Here, I’ll--”

- “But then why are you here?”

- “Do you want me to tell you the story or not?” King immediately regretted lashing out like that because of the hurt look on the pup’s face. *But he doesn’t look shocked*, King told himself. *Big surprise…*

**SKIP THIS PART IF YOU’VE ALREADY SEEN THE FIRST SEASON**

- “Okay, when I was your age, I was invited here by DOG because of the same prophecy that Spark fulfilled. I was a stray then, but Charlie’s former apprentice, Morgan’s dad, adopted me. When he passed away, I was so upset; I thought he had abandoned me on purpose. I broke so many rules that I got expelled, so I held a grudge against this place ever since. Then, about eight school years later, Spark came along. She was afraid to admit that she was a stray, so she lied to the class and made up an owner.” (Spark hung her head again after this) “Whiz and Corazon were interested, so they followed her through the hydrant, but they got captured by Animal Control. Spark came to me and agreed on a paw-pact as payment to help get them back. When I called in the favor, I asked to get inside Pup Academy and threatened to hurt her friends if she didn’t oblige. I wrecked the place -- she got expelled, but was allowed back in after she and her group exposed Fitz’s plans. Then, a little while later, I got captured by Animal Control and she helped me, so I owed her, and she asked me to help save the academy, and -- well, you get the gist.”

**OKAY I FINISHED THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE**

- The new pups’ mouths hung open, too astonished to ask what this prophecy was. The returning dogs glanced at each other with knowing glances. Blue had her head on the desk and was snoring a little, too bored to do anything but fall asleep. Bite looked at her, his gaze part approval, part jealousy. Then everyone (excluding Blue, of course) started murmuring to each other, so King got on with the lesson. “In this class, we will learn to communicate with humans. As you know, Charlie and Morgan are the only people who can understand us, so we need other methods. Break into groups and practice.” The pups were whispering again, but King could relax now. He did what he was supposed to. He didn’t mess up this time.

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*TO BE CONTINUED...*