Pugs and Kisses

by J. J. Howard

  Finally, Ms. V gave me, Calvin, and Phoebe our shirts. We started pulling them on over what we were wearing. Calvin looked down at his shirt, which, just like all the others, said I’M A GIRL WHO CODES—ASK ME HOW.

  “Huh,” Calvin said.

  “It’s for Girls Who Code,” I explained. “It’s an organization that Ms. Vasquez supports. That’s what we did the fund-raiser for last semester.”

  “Not manly enough for ya?” Phoebe asked.

  Calvin shrugged. “My aunt’s an engineer. I can get behind this. Besides,” he said, doing a slow turn in front of us and pointing to his T-shirt, “I make this look good.”

  Phoebe and I both started laughing, and a few minutes later Ms. V finally finished her (very inefficient) T-shirt distribution and started class.

  “Today we’re going to have a mini-lesson on the history of the programming language Ruby and its creator, Yukihiro Matsumoto,” Ms. V began. “Ruby was first released in 1995. I know—forever ago! But it’s still a very commonly used language, and especially popular with those new to coding. One great feature of Ruby is that it follows the POLA—can anyone tell me what that means?”

  I raised my hand and Ms. V called on me.

  “It stands for principle of least astonishment,” I answered. “It means that systems should behave the way that users expect them to behave.”

  “Good! That’s why we’re learning this language here in Coding I. Now, let’s talk a little bit about Matsumoto.”

  “Wow, that was impressive,” Calvin said under his breath while a video clip Ms. V had embedded in her presentation was loading.

  “Thanks,” I said. I was glad when Ms. V turned the lights off for the video because I was afraid I might be blushing again.

  On the other side of me, Phoebe whispered, “You really should start using that principle of least astonishment thing yourself. Like coming up with a way to get Osito on Saturday?” she added.

  “Touché,” I said.

  “What does that mean?”

  “It means you’re right,” I whispered back.

  IDEA #2:

  Study timer.

  Functions: Disable social media and other time-suck sites.

  Send reminders about assignments due.

  Maybe send motivational quotes?

  Goal: GET BACK TO WORK ALREADY.

  Working-title ideas:

  Get to Work, Ana

  Mrs. Ramirez was so excited to hear about Phoebe and her “new pug” that she bought a little packet of bones tied with a pink ribbon for her.

  When Phoebe came over to study on Saturday morning, I showed her the bag of treats. “Look, I know I’m always hungry, but I’m not eating those,” Phoebe said, then laughed at her own joke.

  “Ha ha,” I said, sitting down on my bed. “I guess I’ll take them to the shelter?”

  “But why not just give them to Osito?”

  I narrowed my eyes at her. “Wait for it …”

  “Oh, duh—they’re from Mrs. R.” Phoebe pretended to smack her forehead. “And he’s her actual dog. Okay, so why not just give them to Pancake, then?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. The bones would just be another thing to explain to Calvin. I could say they were a present from me, but that seemed … weird.

  Phoebe shut her history book. “Did you pick out your outfit for dinner tonight? Meeting the parents for the first time. Big milestone.”

  “It’s a doggy playdate!” I exclaimed, my voice coming out much higher than normal. “The parent part is … incidental. I’m just going to wear clothes.”

  “Well, I have to say I support that idea,” Phoebe said drily.

  * * *

  I met Calvin and Pancake at the dog run at five o’clock, with the dognapped Osito on his leash. The two pugs licked each other gleefully, and then we all walked over to Calvin’s building on Ninth Street. It was a much newer building than the one I lived in, and a doorman appeared to open the door for us. The elevator we stepped into climbed to the seventh floor almost soundlessly.

  “It must be so great to have an elevator,” I said.

  “Your building doesn’t have one?” Calvin asked.

  “Nope, it’s a walk-up,” I said as we stepped out of the elevator with our pugs.

  “What floor do you live on?”

  “Fifth … I mean fourth,” I said, blushing. I’d been thinking of how far I had to walk up and down with Osito—since Mrs. R lived on the fifth floor.

  Calvin gave me a strange look, no doubt wondering why I’d forgotten what floor I lived on, but he didn’t say anything. He unlocked the door to his apartment and we headed inside.

  “Oh, this must be Ana! I’ve been dying to meet you.” A tall girl with blonde hair the same color as Calvin’s sprang out of a chair and enfolded me in a huge hug. I met Calvin’s eyes over her shoulder and he shrugged helplessly.

  “I didn’t know my sister was going to be home,” Calvin said, in a way that almost sounded like an apology. “So Ana, now you’ve met Chelsea,” he said. “She’s a hugger.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Chelsea,” I said.

  “And who’s this?” Chelsea knelt down to pet Osito, and he immediately rolled over on his back, wriggling happily as she scratched his stomach. Pancake barked, wanting to join in on the fun, and Chelsea rubbed her tummy as well.

  A woman who looked a lot like both Calvin and Chelsea came out of the kitchen. She was wearing a green apron that said ROMAINE CALM—COOK ON with a picture of a head of lettuce with eyes and a mouth underneath it.

  “Hi there,” the woman said. “You must be Ana. We’ve heard so much about you.”

  Calvin had told his mom about me? “Hi, Mrs. Palmer. It’s nice to meet you. And thank you for having me.”

  “You remember that Ana’s staying for dinner, right?” Calvin asked her.

  “Of course, sweetie,” his mom said with a smile. “We’re having lasagna, hope that’s okay.”

  “It’s vegetarian,” Calvin told me. “We don’t eat meat.”

  “Oh, I didn’t know that,” I said, thinking back to what I’d seen Calvin eat at lunchtime. I hadn’t noticed. “But I don’t mind—I like everything. Italian food’s actually my favorite, so lasagna sounds great.”

  “Yeah? I like Mexican food the best. The vegetarian thing was Chelsea’s fault originally,” Calvin added. “She got a pet chick for Easter when she was five, and when she found out that baby chicks turn into the chickens that people eat … well, long story short, eventually we all started living the veggie life.”

  “I’m glad I’m here to meet you, Ana,” Chelsea said. She was still sprawled on the floor petting Osito and Pancake. “I’m going back to school tomorrow morning.”

  “Where do you go to college?” I asked her.

  “GW. George Washington University. In DC,” she said.

  “On a full scholarship,” Calvin added.

  “Yeah, but Calvin’s the brain in the family,” Chelsea told me. “He takes after our mom.”

  “What does your mom do?” I asked.

  “She’s a consultant for the government. It’s all very top secret.”

  “Do you mean she’s a spy?” I asked, my eyes bugging out. It was becoming clear that Calvin’s family was so much cooler than mine.

  “No. But I think maybe she used to be … ,” Chelsea said with a wink.

  “Time to eat!” Calvin’s mom called. Chelsea hopped up and so did Pancake. Osito turned to look at me, as though asking me what he should do.

  “Come on, boy,” Calvin said, scooping up Osito and carrying him along with us to the dining room. He set Osito on the floor, and then pulled out a chair for me. Osito gave a sigh and lay down under my chair. Calvin sat beside me and Pancake lay down beside Osito.

  Then Calvin’s dad appeared and said hi, taking a seat at the table. He was bald, with glasses and a friendly smile.

  “Ana, this is my dad. Dad, my friend Ana. From school.”

  “Are you two in
the same grade?” Mr. Palmer asked me as he passed me a basket of bread.

  “Uh-huh. We’re in the same classes for history, coding, and math.”

  “You must be pretty smart, then,” Chelsea said. “Calvin here’s a certified genius.”

  “Stop, Chels,” Calvin said. “Ignore her,” he told me. “She’s always making fun of me and saying my brain’s too big.”

  “No, it’s true—we had him tested and everything!” Chelsea said, earning her pointed looks from both her parents.

  “Well, anyway, I’m just glad Calvin’s got himself a girlfriend,” Chelsea added, and I promptly choked on a big bite of Mrs. Palmer’s delicious veggie lasagna. Calvin patted me on the back and glared at his sister.

  Mrs. Palmer quickly changed the subject, asking me about the coding class at school.

  But even though nobody else brought it up after that, I spent the rest of the meal wondering: Why had Calvin’s sister thought I was his girlfriend?

  Was coming over to his house for dinner a girlfriend thing to do? Had he used Pancake as an excuse? I thought I was probably being silly to even wonder, but what did I know? Sure, I knew about boyfriends from movies, and Tali had had a few boyfriends, but they’d never come over to have dinner with us.

  “Ana?” Calvin’s voice broke through my thoughts, and I looked up to find the Palmers all staring curiously at me.

  “Do you want some more lasagna?” Mrs. Palmer asked me, and I swiftly shook my head and told her no thank you.

  “Should we have dessert yet or do you want to wait a little?” Mr. Palmer. “I got some gelato at a place nearby that a coworker told me about.”

  “Il Laboratorio?” I asked.

  “Yes, that’s the one.”

  “It’s really good,” I said. “They have all kinds of crazy flavors.”

  “Calvin tells us you’re a native New Yorker. Maybe you’ve got some other recommendations?” Mrs. Palmer asked.

  “Sure. I’ll think of some places to tell Calvin.”

  “I vote gelato a little later.” Chelsea patted her stomach. “The food’s not nearly this good in the dining hall, so I’m more stuffed than usual.”

  “Okay with you two?” Mrs. Palmer asked, and both Calvin and I nodded.

  Calvin stood up then, so I did, too, and thanked his parents for the yummy dinner. I started to pick up my plate to take to the kitchen, but Mrs. Palmer said not to. “You’re our guest. You don’t need to clean up.”

  “So I guess we can go to my room?” Calvin asked, and then we both stared at each other for a few awkward seconds until Chelsea saved us.

  “Ana, I’m so glad you brought your dog over. Pancake has been moping since I’ve been home. Look at this.” She held out her phone to show me a picture of Pancake sitting inside a furry boot, looking up at the camera with huge eyes. “See? She’s been hiding. In my Ugg boots!”

  I looked over at Calvin. “You don’t mean …”

  “Don’t say it …”

  “I have to! I mean it’s a pug. In an Ugg.”

  “And it’s on a rug!”

  Chelsea rolled her eyes at us. “You two are a perfect pair. Ana, it was great to meet you. I’ve got to do some studying. You guys be good.” Chelsea disappeared into her room. I caught a glimpse of it—she had a patterned bedspread, with brightly colored throw pillows and a swath of fabric hanging on the wall.

  I followed Calvin down the hall and into his room. It was bigger than the one I shared with Tali.

  “Pancake had been hiding in my closet most of the time, until Chels got back with her boot collection. She likes to hide right there.” Calvin pointed to the floor of his small closet. “Pancake, not Chelsea, that is. Sorry about the misplaced modifier.”

  “It’s okay, I think,” I said with a laugh. “I’m not sure I know what that is.”

  “Our teacher last year was really strict about grammar,” Calvin said. He looked a little embarrassed, so I decided not to ask him anything else about that. I knew how it felt when you nerded out in front of someone and then they made fun of you for it.

  I looked around Calvin’s room. Unlike his sister’s room, which already looked like she lived there, Calvin’s was almost completely blank. A row of boxes lined one wall—some were opened, but still had stuff in them. Some looked like they hadn’t even been opened yet.

  “I haven’t really finished unpacking,” Calvin said as he saw me looking at the boxes.

  I felt sad for Calvin suddenly. His sister didn’t even really live here—she had a dorm at college—but she’d still put her things into her room in this apartment. Why wouldn’t Calvin unpack? Did he not like it here? Maybe it was more that he missed his home so much.

  “How come?” I asked him, sitting down on a small stuffed chair beside his bed.

  Calvin sat down on the floor across from me. First Pancake and then Osito sat down beside him, each pug resting a head on one of his legs.

  Calvin sighed. “I guess Pancake’s not the only one who’s having trouble adjusting.” He patted his pug. “Everything’s just so different in New York. It’s not that I don’t like it, exactly, but sometimes it seems like I’ve … lost everything I had before. For one thing, I’ve always been so excited to get my driver’s permit in high school, and eventually get a car. I love cars. But the other day my dad said that since we live in the city now, we won’t need to bother with all that.”

  Calvin had been looking down at the dogs, petting each one, but now he looked up at me. “Maybe that sounds dumb …”

  “No—not at all!” I said. “But you know, you could still get a car eventually. Lots of New Yorkers drive.”

  “Yeah, but it seems a lot scarier to learn up here than it did back home, that’s for sure. All those swerving taxicabs and people crossing the street without waiting for the light to change!”

  “That’s true,” I agreed. I didn’t really know what to tell him. I realized at that moment that I’d never really considered a life outside New York—and I hadn’t ever thought about whether or not I’d learn to drive. But my ultimate dream job was working for Google, and I knew their headquarters were in California. That idea, though, seemed a lifetime away. “Do you still have friends or relatives you could visit back in Florida? You could still learn there, at least at first,” I suggested.

  “Yeah, my grandparents on my dad’s side are there. I guess you’re right.”

  “You know, New York’s not so bad,” I told him. “In fact, a lot of people think it’s the greatest city on earth. Maybe give it some more time? You can still explore the neighborhood on foot.”

  Calvin met my eyes and nodded. “I’m sure you’re right. It also helps when Pancake’s not so glum and wants to go out for walks instead of hiding in a closet or a boot. Hey, that reminds me, I saw a flyer in our building lobby about a dog Easter egg hunt next Friday. We have off school, I checked. I thought maybe we could take P and O.”

  My mind started racing for a way out. Even though I really wanted to go. A dog Easter egg hunt? How fun did that sound? But there was no way Mrs. R would understand why I was taking her dog for the whole day.

  Unless I’d be taking Osito to the same event with Phoebe’s imaginary dog.

  “That sounds fun. I’ll ask my parents,” I heard myself saying.

  “Great!”

  I checked the time on my phone. “Hey, it’s getting late. I should get going.”

  “Okay.” Calvin moved and both dogs grumbled at being displaced. “Pancake and I will walk you guys.”

  “Thanks,” I said.

  “I’m going to walk Ana home,” Calvin told his parents, who were watching TV in the living room.

  “Not alone you’re not,” his mom said, and I wondered if maybe Calvin being worried about New York was coming from his mom, or maybe both his parents. “Dan, will you go … ?” she started asking his dad.

  But then Chelsea appeared in the kitchen and rescued us again. “I’ll go, Daddy. Felt like a walk anyway.”

>   Mr. Palmer gave me some gelato in a little cup with a lid to take home, and he and Mrs. Palmer waved good-bye as Calvin and Chelsea and I got in the elevator with the dogs in tow.

  “Mom and Dad aren’t quite used to the city yet,” Chelsea told me. “I’m probably the only one who thinks life here is normal, since I’ve been living in DC for two years.”

  “Is Tampa a really small city, then?” I asked them.

  “We’re rounding up when we say we’re from Tampa,” Chelsea said. “We lived in the suburbs, in Westchase.”

  Ah, I thought. Calvin was a suburban guy. Maybe I could help turn him into more of a city guy, though.

  “Thanks for walking home with us,” I told Chelsea as we strolled east on Ninth Street, Pancake and Osito happily sniffing the sidewalk. “I mean, it would’ve been sort of awkward if we’d had to walk with …”

  “My dad,” Calvin finished. “Yep, sometimes it’s not so bad having a sister.”

  “I totally agree,” I said. “Even though I have to share a room with mine.”

  “How old is she?” Chelsea asked.

  “She’s turning fifteen in three weeks. It’s a huge birthday. Well, it is if you’re Puerto Rican, like we are.”

  “Oh, she’s having a quinceañera?” Chelsea asked. “Did I say that right?”

  “You did, and yeah, she’s having one. A massive one. It’s like taking over our lives.”

  Chelsea grinned. “This girl in my high school had one, but I didn’t get invited. I was jealous—she had the biggest party.”

  “Mom and Dad rented out an entire dance club for your sweet sixteen,” Calvin reminded her.

  “Yeah, but I had to wait a whole extra year!” Chelsea said with a laugh.

  “Okay, this is my building right here,” I said as we reached my front stoop. “Thanks again.”

  “It was great to meet you, Ana!” Chelsea said. “Hope to see you around again real soon.” It didn’t surprise me much when she wrapped me in another big hug.

  Then it seemed weird, I guess, if Calvin didn’t hug me, too, especially since I’d just met his sister, and he was my actual friend.

  Calvin stepped forward and I did, too, and then we knocked our foreheads together with a loud thwack, and I stepped back, seeing spots and rubbing my forehead.