Ben woke up late in the afternoon without knowing it. Teddy was nuzzling him, hungry, thirsty, bored and needing to go to the toilet. Ben woke up groggily and rubbed his eyes. He went for his cup of water but Teddy had drank all of it. He stood up and went for the door. He peered out and saw his foster parents watching tv. 

"Ben's awake." grumbled Mr Kennedy looking at the boy peeking out from the storeroom door.
"Urgh." Ms Kennedy sighed and got up. She went to the kitchen and took the cold bowl of pasta leftovers they had had for lunch. She gave the bowl to Ben saying it was his lunch and told him to go to the bathroom now if he wanted to and not come out after till called. She then came back with some water. Ben ran to the bathroom and then ran back to the storage room and took Teddy before sprinting back to the toilet without his foster parents seeing. Teddy started peeing before Ben could close the door. Ben shut the door quickly and put Teddy over the toilet. Then, he placed the dog on the floor before going himself to toilet. Ben then washed his hands and using the floor towel, he wiped of the pee leaving a putrid smell. Ben then opened the door slightly and saw that his foster parents were watching tv once again and quickly ran back to his room with teddy in his hands. Ben fed Teddy some pasta and water.

"Alright don't mess anything up." warned Mr Kennedy. Ben nodded. It was his first day of school after a 2 week holiday. The Kennedys would leave Ben alone and he knew when his school started and would go himself. Just before 10, Ben took a long string and strung it around Teddy's neck. He then picked up his worn rucksack with pencils, an eraser, a small ruler from Mcdonald's, some scrap pieces of paper and in a little container, he had his lunch, some plain bread.

Wind blew in Ben's face as he ran with Teddy across the park. Teddy streaked in front of Ben taking the strong with him. Ben gasped and stopped, breathing heavily. His small bag slung over his shoulders. Teddy trotted back up to Ben, to his delight. Ben patted the dog on the head and they walked through the park and across a busy street. Before crossing, the road crossing guard (As the kids called him), made sure no cars were coming.
"Good morning Ben. Alone again?" greeted the friendly guard.
"Good morning Dale!" smiled Ben.
"You've got a dog with you?" asked Dale in disbelief. Ben nodded and skipped across the zebra crossing. They entered the school gates and several kids gasped and pointed at Teddy. A few kids came over to pet him, soon there was a big commotion about a dog at school. Ben was feeling very proud until a teacher started weaving her way through the crown towards Ben. Ben panicked and quickly ran behind the trees, pushed Teddy in the bushes and back into the crowd. The teacher was stuck in the middle of the crowd, scolding 2 bickering kids. As the kids saw ben had no more dog, they dispersed and let the teacher through.

"What's this Ben about a dog in school?" questioned the teacher.
"Nothing Mrs Price." Said Ben innocently.
"Well, I hope you did not bring any pets to school, you know the rules." frowned the teacher.
"Yes Mrs Price."
"Good well, now school is starting. Run along to your classroom now. You don't want to be late the first day."
"Yes Mrs Price." The teacher walked away, waving at a bunch of kids to get to their class before the bell rang. Ben grabbed his bag and ran down the school hallway. He made his way to a colourful classroom and barged in. His teacher, Mrs Haven was standing in the front, helping a little girl write her name. The other kids were all hunched over their desks, drawing or writing.
"Good morning Ben." Said Mrs Haven glancing up from the paper.
"Come sit over here." She gestured over to a seat next to a boy called Nicolas.
"We have a new boy in the class today and he chose your seat so to make him feel welcome I let him. Be a good boy will you and sit here next to Nico for now. You don't mind do you?" Asked the teacher preoccupied. Ben shook his head and sat down. The teacher passed him a piece of paper and told him to draw his family. Ben started drawing.

The kids clapped as Marlon sat back down on the carpet. They were presenting their drawings to the class.
"Alright Marlon, that was a very good drawing of your sister." congratulated Mrs Haven. She looked around.
"Ah Ben, your turn, you haven't done it yet." Ben stood up and went to the front of the class.

"This is my family." Ben said showing the picture. Kids started to whisper and laugh.
"Shhh, class! What is it Ben. Is that your mother or father?" asked the teacher kindly.
"It's my dog, his name is teddy," explained Ben, "He is my dog and he is my family. I don't have a mother, and I don't have a father." Ben sat back down. Mrs Haven smiled sadly and clapped. The other kids followed her lead.
"Good job everyone. That was a good drawing Ben," Mrs Haven stood up, "Now, it's almost lunch time but before going to lunch we need to do show and tell. Now who would like to start?"

Ben walked out to the playground where only a few young kids were playing on the swings. He had not eaten his lunch in the noisy chaotic cafeteria where almost all the students were now, he had gone straight to where he had left Teddy. He hoped he was still there. As he approached the hedges, he saw little brown furry thing and the next things he knew, he was covered in licks and happy yapping.
"Hi Teddy!" cried Ben. He pat the dog and sat behind the tree, They shared their lunch until the older kids started piling out into the playground.

"I'm just calling this meeting because I think we need to talk about Ben." explained Mr Haven from behind her desk. She shuffled some papers around then looked back at the unhappy couple sitting in front of her.

"What has he done now?" sighed Mrs Kennedy.
"Nothing nothing. I assure you. He is a good boy," pressed Mrs Haven, she didn't know what they did to Ben at home and she didn't want to make things worst for him by saying something wrong, "You really shouldn't blame him for anything."
"Well, we are here for Ben so how can we not blame it on him? He is the reason we are here." muttered Mr Kennedy, slouched on his chair, with his arms crossed and looking at the floor. Mrs Haven pretended not to hear.
"I just wanted to make things were fine with all of you at home. You know.. Spending enough time together. Making sure Ben is alright." Mrs Haven said worriedly.
"Now it's my turn to assure you that everything is fine," Snapped Mrs Kennedy, "And if you just wanted to tell us this then send us an email next time." Mrs Haven sighed.
"Well, I'm sorry but I just wanted to well, ok you know. I'm going to be honest with you. I don't think you are treating Ben right at home. I don't know, it's just a feeling." Blurted out Mrs Haven. Mr Kennedy stood up outraged.
"What! Are you accusing me and my wife of abusing our child?" shouted Mr Kennedy. Mrs Kennedy crossed her arms as she fumed on her chair, letting her husband do all the shouting.

"No no no Mr Kennedy, I did not mean it that way." Mrs Haven tried to calm Mr Kennedy down.

"You little... you little,...-" mr Kennedy turned bright red, his fists clenched. Mrs Kennedy stood up, she took her husband's hand and led him towards the door leaving Mrs Haven completely mystified.

"Good by Mrs Heaving.." sneered Mrs Kennedy slamming the door behind her. Mrs Haven stood up and sighed. She dropped back onto her chair. She knew she had made things worst for Ben. She shook her head and took her phone.

Mr Kennedy practically dragged Ben back to the house. Ben squirmed in his grasp. Mrs kennedy walked ahead of them, furiously.
"Ben! I have no words. I don't know what you've been telling your teacher but you are not going to school anymore!" growled Mrs Kennedy once back in their small apartment. Ben hung his head as Mr Kennedy locked him into his room. Ben was worried for Teddy. What was Teddy doing? Ben didn't know what to do. He decided he would leave. He needed to save Teddy.