Gem of Knowledge

        Justin grabbed his bag and ran out the door.  If he didn’t hurry, he was going to be late to his first class of college.  He made a mental note to smother his roommate in his sleep tonight.  He deserved it after turning off Justin’s alarm clock so that he could get more sleep himself.  He decided to take a short-cut across campus.  If he jumped the bushes in front of Dean Hall, he could cut a good five minutes off his walk.  He was nearing the aforementioned hall now.  In one decisive movement, he leapt over the Dean’s prized garden.  He came up short however, and found himself lying on his back in a pile of what used to be tulips.   As he struggled to get up, he heard a yelp come from underneath him.  Startled, Justin jumped to his feet.  When he looked back over his shoulder, he saw a small black and brown puppy wagging its tail at him.  He closed his eyes with a sigh.  He was definitely going to be late now.

He continued on his walk to class, hoping the tiny creature wouldn’t follow him.  Luck didn’t seem to be with him however.  He looked back, and saw the thing trotting happily by his side.
“Go away,” he whispered, “We’re not allowed pets on campus.”

The dog sat down at his feet and panted up happily at him.  Justin looked around, unsure what to do.  He couldn’t just leave it out here all alone; who knew what could happen to it.  With a sigh, he picked up the thing - which he saw now was a boy - and stuck it into his nearly empty bag.  The puppy gave a small bark of protest, but quieted down when Justin glared at him.
“None of that, now.  You’ll get me in trouble.”

He entered the classroom, and took a seat in the back.  He scooted into his chair, being very gentle as he put his bag on the floor.  The teacher raised one eyebrow at him, silently promising a talk after class.  The lecture went fine, until Justin noticed scuffling sounds coming from under the desk.  He looked down to find that his bag was wiggling and scooting across the floor.  He moved quickly, stomping on the bag’s strap to halt its movement.  His action didn’t go unnoticed however, and the professor called him up to the front of the class.  Completely humiliated, the poor boy handed his bag over.  The professor opened it, and gave a cry of surprise as the puppy leapt out.  Justin quickly explained the situation, hoping to keep out of trouble.  The teacher smiled and patted the dog gently.
“I guess we have no choice,” she said.  “We’ll just have to adopt this little fellow as our class pet.”
The class took a vote, and the dog soon had a name; Gem.  The teacher smiled at the dog.
“Well little guy, I guess you’ll be our own Gem of Knowledge.”