The Career Day, which was supposed to be a fun event, turned into a chilling silence when the retired police dog named Grom, owned by Officer Ivan Sergeyevich, stared at the kind-hearted second-grade teacher and wouldn’t stop barking. This wasn’t barking for attention. This wasn’t fear.
It was something entirely different. And soon, everyone understood why. The «Sunny» school was a place where parents felt at ease.
Small classes, bright pictures on the walls, friendly staff. It was a place where children brought cookies on their birthdays, and parent committee meetings ended with hugs. So when Officer Ivan, a local hero and dog trainer, offered to bring his retired dog Grom for a safety demonstration, the school welcomed him with open arms.
Second-grade teacher Elena Viktorovna was all smiles that morning. Her class was decorated with cut-out stars and posters that read «Kindness is contagious.» She wore a red cardigan, soft glasses, and a warm smile that could calm any shy child.
No one doubted her presence. No one even thought about it. Until Grom walked in.
He didn’t sniff around as usual. He didn’t wag his tail. He didn’t radiate the usual good-naturedness.
He entered the class and froze. His eyes narrowed. His muscles tensed.
His nose twitched in the air. Then came the bark. One sharp, aggressive bark that cut through the cheerful chatter like a blade.
At first, everyone laughed. Maybe he saw a squirrel in the window. But then he moved.
Grom took two steps forward, ears flattened, a low growl. But he wasn’t barking at the window. He was barking at Elena Viktorovna.
«Hey, buddy,» Ivan gently tugged on the leash, confused. «Grom, place.»
But Grom didn’t stop. He lunged again, this time louder, baring his teeth. The children gasped.
One girl started crying. Elena Viktorovna raised her hands and backed toward the board.
«I don’t know what’s gotten into him. Maybe he smells my lunch?»
«Excuse me, do you have any meat or something in your pockets?» Ivan politely asked, trying to ease the tension.
«No, just a muesli bar,» she replied, forcing a smile. But her gaze darted toward the table.
Grom continued barking. Now, it wasn’t just annoying noise. It was a sound that made chills run down the spine, as if the body understood something that the mind had yet to realize.
«Maybe I should step out?» Elena Viktorovna quickly suggested. «I don’t want to scare the kids.»
Ivan hesitated, tugging on the leash again. Grom resisted, keeping his gaze locked, his tail tense, a low growl. In the last row, Masha Kovalenko, a quiet girl with brown eyes, wearing a purple hoodie and mismatched socks, froze in her chair. She looked at Elena Viktorovna, then at Grom, her fingers tightening around the straps of her backpack.
At lunch in the teacher’s lounge, conversations hummed.
«Dogs don’t bark like that for no reason,» said the school nurse, Mrs. Oksana. «Especially dogs like Grom. He’s trained.»
«He’s old,» shrugged the deputy principal, Pyotr Ivanovich. «Maybe his sense of smell is failing. Or stress.»
Ivan sat silently, sipping bitter coffee from a plastic cup. His gaze wasn’t on the teachers. He was watching Grom, who lay by the window, still alert. Still watching.
Still tense. He hadn’t relaxed, and he hadn’t barked at anyone else that day.
That night, Ivan called his boss.
«Something’s wrong,» he said. «You know Grom. You know how disciplined he is. Something was off today.»
«Who is this woman?» asked the captain.
«New teacher, Elena Viktorovna. She came here last fall. Her background check is clean, supposedly.»
«Supposedly,» Ivan paused. «Grom doesn’t trust her. And I trust him more than my instincts.»
The line went silent. Then the captain said:
«Check her out, quietly. And keep Grom with you.»
The next day at school, Elena Viktorovna was especially friendly. She handed out stickers with smiley faces and gave Masha a pink unicorn-shaped eraser. Masha gave a faint smile, but her eyes were tired. She hadn’t slept well. She dreamt of barking nightmares…
