Maxi's Secrets

by Lynn Plourde

  I also checked out videos of blind people walking with canes and with guide dogs, which led me to the MIRA Foundation. Oh man, MIRA could be Abby’s MIRAcle answer—they let kids Abby’s age get guide dogs. I needed to research it more before telling Abby. Didn’t want to get her hopes up for nothing. But if it worked out, and she got a guide dog sooner, I’d be her best friend for life!

  I bookmarked the pages about the collars and MIRA to read later, since I really should have been doing my homework.

  Why was reading about dogs on the internet so much more interesting than reading about acids and bases and writing a report on Harry “Handcuff” Houdini?

  I’d much rather learn about the stuff I could really use in my life.

  “We’re back!” Mom yelled.

  I hurried downstairs to see how Maxi made out with her first class. Hopefully she didn’t get kicked out of school already.

  I sat on the floor, rubbing Maxi’s belly, as Mom filled Dad and me in. Mom was excited. Maxi just burped.

  “What’s that smell?” I asked.

  “Horseradish cheese. They used what motivated each dog. For Maxi it’s food.”

  Dad and I looked at each other. “Duh!”

  Then Dad asked, “So we’ve gotta buy stock in a horseradish cheese factory?”

  Mom rolled her eyes. “No, Kenneth. And we’re not using horseradish cheese when we train her at home. If we use cheese all the time, Maxi will gain too much weight. They have bite-size training treats that come in different flavors. We can pick some up at the pet shop.”

  It sounded like Mom had things figured out. Way to take charge!

  Dad and I listened and Maxi burped a few more stinky burps as Mom told us they’d first had the puppies socialize with each other. Sounded like a puppy playdate to me.

  Then they encouraged puppies to watch their humans as they focused on two commands: “sit” and “stay.” There was a hand signal for each command. Mom showed us. For sit, we had to move our open palm down by our leg and then raise it up to our shoulders. For stay, it was common sense—an open hand in front of her snout like a traffic cop would do (the same as the FedEx driver had done with Maxi).

  Mom said, “The key is consistency.” She made us practice each gesture a couple of times and then we all agreed to focus on those two commands with Maxi until she learned something new at next week’s class.

  “You’re going to be a star student, girl. I know it.” I kissed Maxi’s snout as she belched another horseradish cheese burp right in my face.

  • • •

  SECRET #23

  Learning is a lot more fun when it’s stuff you care about.

  CHAPTER 24

  FIRST THING MONDAY morning, Ms. Sanborn said, “Sorry, Timminy, but I’ve decided I’m kicking you out to wait with the other students until the homeroom bell rings.”

  “Why? What’d I do wrong?”

  She smiled. “Nothing. And I’ve enjoyed getting to know you these past two weeks, but I realized I haven’t been doing you any favors letting you hang out in homeroom for such a long time every morning.”

  “That’s not true, Ms. Sanborn. I’m glad you’ve let me stay in here. I know it’s been a few years since you went to middle school, but it’s a scary world out there.”

  “My point exactly, Timminy. When I was a kid growing up, my dad was career army. I changed schools more often than some people change the oil in their cars. It was easier to hang out with teachers than to always be the new kid and face the other students. I turned out mostly normal, but I still have a fear of new situations. I don’t want to be responsible for any of your future phobias.”

  “What about my present phobias?” I asked.

  “Very funny, Timminy. Now out with you. I’ll see you again when the homeroom bell rings and we can say good morning all over again.”

  Why did everyone think I was joking when I wasn’t?

  As soon as I stepped outside, it started.

  The buzz, the whispers, the stares.

  And it wasn’t just the usual short digs. I kept overhearing conversations about lunch on Friday …

  “Dumped the whole tray.”

  “Passed a note …”

  “How could he not know …”

  “… dumb, dumber, dumbest!”

  I felt like I was inside a pinball machine as I ricocheted away from conversation after conversation, but there was no place to escape.

  I put my head down and hurried to the cafeteria to wait for the homeroom bell. But as I stepped through the door, I heard a sudden burst of laughter. Not a good idea to return to the scene of the crime. I did a U-turn and slipped into the bathroom, locked myself in a stall, and stood on the toilet seat so my feet wouldn’t show below if anyone looked—and fortunately, in my case, I was so short my head wouldn’t show above the stall. The only thing I had to worry about was keeping my balance and not falling into the toilet.

  I finally heard the homeroom bell and listened to make certain there was no one else still in the bathroom. I didn’t want to be so late I’d have to get a pass from the office to get back into homeroom, so I quickly stopped at my locker to grab a couple of books. I’d almost made it, when …

  BAM!

  Shoved inside!

  SLAM!

  Everything dark!

  I listened. Heard big feet running away, and then nothing—no voices, no footsteps, no other lockers slamming.

  Everyone was in homeroom, except me.

  Now what?

  I had no clue how to open a locker from the inside. (Heck, I’d had a hard enough time opening my locker from the outside.)

  I’d wanted to hide and now I got my wish. Maybe I should stay put and they’d find me in a week or two after my body started to smell. Oh man, I sounded grosser than Abby and her poking-her-eyeballs-out talk.

  Abby! If I didn’t make it out of this locker, I’d miss lunch with her and her friends. I wasn’t sure how many more mess-ups I’d get before she ditched me as a friend, put me in a box, and mailed me back to Portland.

  How could I get out? Maybe I should have worked harder on my Harry Houdini report and learned some of his escape tricks. I shook the back side of the lock to see if it’d give. No luck. I used the zipper on my jacket to try to pick the lock. Still no luck. When all else fails …

  SCREAM!

  Maybe Kassy would be on her way back from a student council meeting. Or magic-touch boy would appear instead of disappear. Or Ms. Sanborn would miss me in homeroom and come looking for me and apologize for sending me out into this dangerous world.

  I paused. Didn’t hear anything so I screamed again.

  The door started shaking and opened. Phew!

  “Thanks.”

  But I looked up and changed it to “no thanks.”

  It was the Beast Roary.

  “Want me to shut you back inside?” he asked.

  “Like you did before?”

  “Wasn’t me.”

  “Yeah, right,” I said.

  “I heard you scream when I walked by. But I can jam you back inside if that’s what you want, Minny.”

  He started to shove me.

  “Stop!” I wanted to say more, but didn’t. I wasn’t ready to move back into my locker tomb.

  I slammed my locker, started down the hall, then spun around, and yelled to Rory. “Wait! How’d you know my locker combination?”

  He turned back and laughed. “I don’t. I can jimmy open any locker. Learned it back when I was a fifth-grade pipsqueak like you.”

  I walked up to him and looked up, way up. “You were never a pipsqueak. More like the Beast of the East.”

  “You’re right. Not a pipsqueak like you, Minny. You win the pipsqueak prize.” He snorted and added, “Hey! What’d you call me?”

  Uh-oh, why had I pushed my luck? I mumbled, “Beast of the East.”

  Rory snorted a bigger snort. I dodged sideways in case any flying debris came out of his nose.

  “I like that,�
� he said. “Maine’s east. I’m a beast. Think that’s what I’m gonna start calling myself.”

  “Go for it,” I said, forcing a laugh. Who calls themselves a nickname? Weird. But since he liked it, I said, “See you around, Beast of the East.”

  Rory slapped me on the back—almost knocked the wind out of me—and said, “Thanks. I owe you. For the name. I’ll show you how to jimmy open a locker tomorrow before school, in case anyone shoves you inside again. Meet me at your locker when the buses get here.”

  Brrrrrrng!

  The bell. Homeroom period was already over, and I never even made it to homeroom.

  “Ugh,” I said. “Now I’ve gotta go get a pass from the office to get into my first-period class.”

  “Me too—and I just came from your dad’s office. Why does everyone always blame us big guys for trouble on the bus?”

  “Yeah, you’re the innocent Beast of the East.” I smirked.

  “That’s right! Come on, let’s go.”

  Just the way to make my dad’s day. Rory and I skipping into his office together for class passes.

  • • •

  SECRET #24

  Just when you think you’ve got people figured out, they surprise you and you have to go back to the drawing, er … “figuring out” board.

  CHAPTER 25

  I ARRIVED IN the cafeteria and saw there was an empty spot on either side of Abby. It looked like she was saving me a place.

  Should I or shouldn’t I?

  I’d survived the day so far—sort of. I hadn’t died from everyone talking about me before school. I wasn’t still a prisoner inside my locker. And Dad had given me a pass to class, simply saying, “We’ll talk … later.” I wasn’t sure I’d survive later.

  Sooooo I took a deep breath and said, “Hi, Abby. Okay if I sit down?”

  Abby smiled and nodded, but didn’t say anything.

  I guessed she wasn’t going to make this any easier, so it was up to me.

  “Hi, everyone. I’m Timminy, your lunchtime entertainment.”

  Abby’s friends looked at one another and burst out laughing. Abby, loudest of all.

  “Hi, I’m Brian. Oh man, Timminy, that was so funny on Friday. Made me bust a gut.”

  “Did you see Mrs. Russell’s face when you dumped the food on her?” one wide-eyed girl asked softly.

  “I didn’t mean to …”

  The girl blushed. “My name is Devon. I’m sure you didn’t, but—”

  Before anyone could say anything else, Mrs. Russell herself sat down on the other side of Abby and stared.

  At me.

  “I’m Timminy Harris, Abby’s new neighbor,” I said.

  “I know who you are.” She turned her attention to Abby. “Let me help you butter your roll, dear.”

  Abby put her hand over Mrs. Russell’s. “I’ve been buttering my own bread since I was three years old. Might have been a little messy, but—”

  “We don’t need messy at school.” Mrs. Russell snatched Abby’s roll and buttered it.

  We all looked at one another.

  A-W-K-W-A-R-D!

  Leave it to Abby to break the silence.

  “Hey, did I tell you guys Timminy and I were introduced to each other by his puppy, Maxi—who is the cutest thing evah! Don’t take my word for it though—I’m blind.”

  Everyone laughed, except Mrs. Russell.

  I followed her lead. “Yeah, wanna see? She’s a Great Pyrenees.” Like a proud parent I always carried a photo of Maxi, so I pulled it out and passed it around the table. They all ooh-ed and aww-ed. Even Mrs. Russell’s face thawed a tiny bit.

  But when I told them Maxi was deaf, they gasped.

  “You’re kidding.” A girl named Becca shook her head.

  “Poor thing.” Mrs. Russell clicked her tongue.

  “How’s she survive?” asked Brian, scratching his head.

  Abby cleared her throat. “The same way I survive. We disabled creatures make do somehow.”

  “True,” Becca said softly as she glanced down.

  “Yes, somehow we manage.” Abby lifted her hand up to her forehead as if she were a damsel in distress. So dramatic. We all cracked up.

  I smiled at Maxi’s photo before putting it away. Thanks, girl, for helping me fit in. Maybe you’ll get to meet Abby’s friends. Sounds like they’d like to meet you.

  “And you, Timminy?”

  Ugh. I got caught with my mind wandering and had no idea what Mrs. Russell was talking about. I was surprised she was even talking to me.

  Might as well ’fess up. “Sorry, I was still thinking about Maxi.”

  Mrs. Russell repeated her question. “What do you want to be when you grow up? An assistant principal like your father?”

  “Let me think …” Why’d she have to bring up my dad? It was hard enough fitting in without having his shadow join us for lunch.

  Mrs. Russell said, “Never mind. It is a hard qu—”

  “Got it,” I interrupted her. “What do I want to be when I grow up?” I paused until everyone was looking at me, plus to drive Mrs. Russell crazy. “Tall. I want to be tall.”

  Everyone laughed. Devon even shot milk out her nose as she laughed, then hid her face in her hands.

  “Gross!”

  “Yuck!”

  Abby sighed. “What happened? What’d I miss?”

  Mrs. Russell said, “Nothing, Abby.”

  I said, “Mrs. Russell, I know you’re new working with Abby, but it’s time you learned blind talk. Abby couldn’t see what happened that made us laugh, so could you describe it to her? ’Cause it really was something.”

  Mrs. Russell shifted in her seat and began to get up. “Um, er …” She’d seen the milk snot—almost got sprayed by it. “I have some paperwork to do before your next class, Abby. I’ll be back to get you when the bell rings.”

  Abby spoke up. “Never mind, Mrs. Russell. Timminy will lead me to class.”

  “That’s not allowed. It’s my job,” said Mrs. Russell.

  “Sure it’s allowed,” said Abby. “Timminy has guided me before. Are you saying you don’t trust the assistant principal’s son?”

  Mrs. Russell stammered, “It-it’s not that. It’s j-just … oh, never mind.” She walked off—couldn’t escape fast enough.

  When Mrs. Russell was gone, Abby held up her hand and said, “High-five, Timminy.”

  Then we all jumped into blind talk, trying to describe to Abby the milk-out-the-nose trick she’d missed and trying to one-up one another, except for Devon—she blushed and didn’t say a word.

  “It was like a glue gun squirting from a face.”

  “More like a zit being popped without even having to be squeezed.”

  “A slimy grub—that white wormy thing—being shot like a cannon from your nostril.”

  “A juicy fart escaping from your nose, instead of your butt.”

  We laughed like crazy. Good thing the bell rang before the teacher on cafeteria duty had to give us a warning.

  I hadn’t realized how complicated lunch was at Abby’s table. They were already sitting down when I got there, but now that everyone was getting up to leave, I realized this didn’t all magically happen.

  “You lead Abby to class,” Becca said to me. “And I’ll bring her lunch tray back.”

  “And I’ve got your tray and Devon’s,” said Brian as he picked one up in each hand while balancing his own tray on top of them.

  Then I saw Devon stand awkwardly and grab a couple of short metal crutches for walking. They had parts that hooked to her lower arms. I tried not to stare, but I hadn’t even noticed Devon had a problem with her legs. Man, I still had a lot to learn about Abby’s friends. But first thing first. I turned toward Abby and offered her my arm. “My elbow is in front of your left hand.” I told her.

  We set off down the hall. I wasn’t sure where Abby’s classroom was, so she had to tell me. I’d hoped we could talk on the way, but I found I had to really concentrate on leading her throu
gh the hallway, with kids darting and dodging every which way without warning. It was much trickier than leading her in my wide-open backyard.

  Mrs. Russell was tapping her foot when we got there. “You made it,” she said.

  “Of course,” said Abby. “Timminy’s a good guide.” Then she turned to me. “You really are. Thanks for the escort. Talk to you later.”

  I had so much to talk about with Abby, but I simply said, “Later.”

  “Yes, later,” a deeper voice echoed. “Be ready.”

  I turned. It was that Kevin oaf that Rory was friends with, staring right at me.

  • • •

  SECRET #25

  Later can be something you dread or look forward to. Depends what you’re waiting for.

  CHAPTER 26

  I SURVIVED MY “LATER” with Dad.

  “Ms. Sanborn told me she didn’t let you stay in her room this morning and sent you out with the other students.”

  I nodded and could see where this conversation was headed. (Anything happen, Timminy? Anyone give you a hard time?) I didn’t need pity and I didn’t want the assistant principal part of him to take over, so I steered the conversation. “She did. It was good to see some other kids before school. Rory and I even had a long chat. Guess we lost track of time.”

  Dad’s face twisted until it looked like a mixed-up Picasso painting. One side grinned, like he was happy his little boy was fitting in at his new school. The other side frowned, like he didn’t believe me, or I’d said something that upset him. That side must have won out, because he cleared his throat and said, “There are other kids besides Rory to hang out with at school.”

  I nodded. That’s one thing Dad and I agreed on.

  • • •

  Next, I had to figure out how to make “later” happen with Abby. After getting my teeth cleaned at our new dentist’s office, doing my homework, and helping get supper ready—nachos supreme casserole, my favorite—it was eight o’clock before I had a chance to call her.

  “Abby, can you talk now?”

  “Sure,” she said.

  “Good, then hang up, and I’ll call you on Skype or FaceTime.”

  Abby laughed. “I’ve never used them. I’m blind. Did you forget that again already?”