Training!

India was sitting in the kitchen, patiently watching the back door, when Rohan bounded in, all legs, tail and tongue.  He screeched to a halt beside India and looked at her hopefully.

“Want to play, Ninja?” He asked.

“No, I don’t” India shook her head, “and it’s India!  How many more times do I have to tell you?”

“Aw, g’wan” Rohan pleaded, ignoring the criticism.

“No, I can’t.  As a matter of fact, I’m waiting for something” India looked quite pleased with herself.

“Wotcher waitin’ for, Ninja?”

India gave him a stern look.

“Inn-Dee-Yar” He corrected himself.

“That’s better.  Well, if you must know, I’m waiting to go to school”

“Thchool?  You mean like Flynn?”

“Well, sort of” India nodded, “only I go with Mom and we both learn things.  That’s who I’m waiting for now”

“Do you learn like reading and writing and hard thumth and thtuff?”

“No, it’s not like that.  I learn things that are useful for dogs”

“Ooh, like keeping wolveth?”  Rohan asked, excitedly.

“No, nothing to do with wolves” India chuckled.

“Chathing catth?”  He suggested, hopefully.

“Absolutely not!” India frowned at him, “I’ve told you about that, haven’t I?”

“Yeth, Ninja” Rohan nodded, looking crestfallen.

“INDIA!”  India snapped.

“Thorry, forth of habit” Rohan grinned.

“Humph!” India scowled at her young companion, “anyway, as I was saying, we learn things that are useful if you want to be a good, well-behaved, dog.  Like how to sit and stay, on command, and how to walk to heel and not jump up, things like that”

“I’m trying not to jump up, but itth difficult ‘cauth…thometimeth you jutht want to thay hello to thomeone, ‘cauth you really like them and you run up to them and…well, then you forget” Rohan admitted, sadly.

“Well, that just shows that you have to be disciplined” India nodded, adopting her wisest expression.

“Dithiplined?”

“Yes, it means erm…” India frowned as she struggled to find the right words.  She scratched furiously for a minute or two whilst she thought hard.  “It means that you have to tell yourself not to do something, and then...not do it” She was quite pleased with that definition.

“I tell mythelf not to chathe catth”

“I should hope that you do!  That’s a good thing because, if you ever tried it, any one of them would box your ears for you”

“I don’t want my ear-th boxed” Rohan looked worried.

“No, of course not, which is why you shouldn’t chase cats”

“Exthept Loxley”

“Hmm?  Why Loxley?”

“Becauth he playth ‘tick’ with me”

“Oh, yes, of course” India nodded.  Rohan and Loxley had become great friends since their earlier disagreement.  “That’s fine, if Loxley says it is, but don’t try it with anyone else!”

“I won’t Inn-Dee-Yar”

The two dogs sat and stared at the back door.

“Inn-Dee-Yar” Rohan said, eventually.

“Yes” She replied, warily.

“Will I go to thchool?”

“Well, I don’t know.  Yes, eventually, I suppose”

“Only, do you think they could teach me to read?”  He asked.

“Oh, I don’t think so.  It’s not something that dogs do, really”

“Oh!” Rohan said, a little sadly, “only, I wanted to know what it thaid on thethe thingth on my collar” He looked down at the shiny, new medallions attached to his collar.

“I can tell you that” India chuckled, “I don’t need to be able to read though.  Mom said what they were when she gave them to you, don’t you remember?”

“I don’t think I wath really lithtening” Rohan admitted, a little sheepishly.

“Typical!” India looked at him, sternly, “you’ve got to pay attention, you know.”

“Yeth, Inn-Dee-Yar” Rohan looked down at the ground and shuffled his front paws, guiltily.

“What it says is ‘Trainee Learning Assistant’”

“Trainee Learning…?”

“Assistant!”  India said, quickly, “Yeth, I mean yes!” 

“What doeth that mean, Ninja?”

“Well, it means…well, it’s like…you see, we all have jobs here at TURN Education.  We’re all here to help the children and young people learn new things, and new ways of doing things.  Even the Guinea Pigs and Rabbits”

“Gunny Pigth?”

“Little furry things that whistle” India explained.

“Oh yeth, I’ve theen them.  They do thith” Rohan made a good job of twitching his nose, like a Guinea Pig.

“Yes, they do” India grinned, “well, they’re all there to help the children to learn things, and ‘helping’ is sometimes called ‘assisting’”

Rohan frowned and was obviously trying to work something out.

“I wouldn’t worry about the word, ‘assisting’ just yet.” India said, quickly, “it’s a bit tricky.  The main thing is that, because I help the children, I’m a Learning Assistant” She said, proudly.

“And I’m a…what ith it?”

“You’re a Trainee.  That means you’re still learning”

“Tho, I’m a Learning Learning Ath…thingy?”

“Erm, yes, I suppose so!  You’re, sort of, my assistant” She explained, pleased with what she had come up with, “An Assistant’s Assistant – don’t try saying that!  You help me and I help the children”

“Wow!  Tho, what do I have to do?”

“Just follow me around…you’re good at that!” India raised an eyebrow and smiled, “and do as you’re told…you’re not so good at that, but you’ll get better”

“Tho, one day, I’ll be a Learning Ath…”

“Yes, one day” India interrupted, before it got too messy, “just as Packham was when I was still a puppy.  I learned from him and you’ll learn from me, if you pay attention and don’t…”

“What are you doing, Rohan?”  Loxley had appeared behind the two dogs as they were chatting.

“I’m leaning…” Rohan began.

“He means he’s learning!” India explained.

“Yeth, to be a train!” Rohan announced, proudly.

“I give up!” India shook her head and put a paw over her eyes.

“Oh great! Let’s play trains!” Loxley grinned, “Whoo-hoo! I’m a train!” He shouted and scampered off down the hallway.

“Me too!” Yelled Rohan, not at all sure what a train was, but only too happy to have an excuse to chase after Loxley.

‘I think there may be quite a bit of training to do, yet’ India thought to herself, ‘but he’ll get there, just like I did’ She smiled and waited for the call to go to her class.  After all, if you were going to be a Learning Assistant, then you had to do some training yourself.

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