Dog Day Afterschool

by Tommy Greenwald

  “Thanks for coming,” said a voice behind us, and we all turned around. Shep was standing there, looking dirty, disheveled, and completely exhausted. His beloved saggy jeans were filthy, and his hair was sticking out all over the place.

  We all ran up to him, saying various things along the lines of, “Shep! We are so sorry! Are you okay? This is terrible! Is everyone safe?”

  “It’s been quite a night,” he said. “I was just getting ready to head down to city hall when I got a call from one of the nighttime security guards that water was rushing in through the back grooming area. It’s pretty much been a blur ever since.”

  “The meeting went great,” I told him, trying desperately to cheer him up. “Mrs. Cragg and Daisy came and everything. The board seemed like they were going to consider blocking the sale!”

  Shep smiled sadly. “I appreciate that so much, you guys. More than you’ll ever know. But I can’t rebuild now. It would take too long and cost too much, even with insurance.” He shook his head slowly from side to side. “It’s over, Jimmy. It’s over.”

  “NO!” I felt tears springing up behind my eyes. “It can’t be!”

  “What are you going to do with all the animals?” Daisy asked, and I could tell by her voice that she was trying not to cry too.

  “Well, I’ve been thinking about that,” Shep said. “I’m going to take a page out of your book, Jimmy, and do it myself. We’re going to have a big adoption party this weekend, right out here on the sidewalk, in front of the shelter.”

  “That’s a great idea,” I said.

  Mr. Miranda looked up from his phone. “Normally, you’d need to apply for a permit for an event like that, but I’m sure I can talk to the mayor about making an exception in this case.”

  Shep nodded. “Thanks a lot,” he said. “I really appreciate that.”

  “Can I help?” I asked.

  “We’d all like to help,” said Mrs. Cragg.

  “You guys are so totally awesome,” Shep said. “I’d love your help. Let’s do this.”

  And in the middle of a soaked sidewalk, with firefighters running around, and dogs and cats pacing in their crates wondering what the heck was going on, and reporters writing stories about a big flood in the middle of the downtown shopping district, seven people let out a big cheer, because all was not lost.

  “HAPPY FRIDAY!” CHIRPED Ms. Owenby, two days later. “This is it! The last math test of the year!”

  The class let out the biggest moan you’ve ever heard.

  “I know, I know, it’s devastating news,” she continued. “But you’ll just have to get over it.” She started passing out the tests. “If you studied, this shouldn’t be a big deal. You guys are so smart! I have faith in you.” She seemed to finally be over the embarrassment of the misplaced answer sheet, and she hummed happily as she moved up and down the aisles.

  FACT: If you think students get excited when the school year is almost over, you should see the teachers.

  I glanced quickly in Baxter’s direction. He looked sweaty. I tried to get his attention so I could give him the thumbs-up sign, but he was staring straight ahead.

  “He’s focusing,” Irwin whispered. Even though Irwin and I were still a little mad at each other, we both wanted Baxter to do well.

  “Good luck,” Ms. Owenby said.

  “Thanks, I’ll need it,” said Kermit Klondike, and everyone laughed. I laughed too, because I knew it wasn’t true—it turned out Kermit wasn’t just good at math, he was Irwin Wonk good.

  We had forty-five minutes to do the test, but I finished in forty. It was hard, but not impossible. Ms. Owenby was right—as long as you studied, you were fine.

  RIIING!!

  The bell rang, and the entire class let out one big sigh of relief. No more math for the entire summer! We spilled out into the hallway, chattering excitedly. I found Baxter and Irwin, and for a minute we forgot about all the craziness that had happened over the last few weeks, and celebrated our survival together.

  “We did it!” Irwin and I yelled.

  “I sure hope so,” said Baxter nervously.

  “Let’s not talk about it anymore until we get the test back on Monday,” Irwin said. “Let’s just enjoy the fact that it’s over.”

  We heard a happy squeal and turned around to see Daisy flying toward us. “SO??? How’d it go?”

  Irwin and I both paused, to let Baxter answer first.

  “It went,” he said.

  “YAY!” proclaimed Daisy. I guess she was just relieved that Baxter didn’t add “horrible” to the end of that sentence.

  “Irwin says we shouldn’t talk about it, and I’m with him,” I said. Then I added, “Are you guys coming with me and Daisy to Shep’s adoption party tomorrow?”

  “It’s going to be so much fun,” Daisy said.

  Irwin hesitated for just a split second, then said, “Sure.”

  “How about you?” I asked Baxter.

  “Hold on a sec,” Baxter said. “Before I answer, I have something for you.”

  We all looked at him, confused.

  “It came a few days ago, but with studying for the test and everything, I kept forgetting to give it to you.” He paused before adding, “It’s from my dad.”

  Baxter reached into his backpack, took out a crumpled piece of paper, and handed it to me.

  As I read it, my heart started to pound.

  My eyes got a little watery, which I tried to ignore. “Wow. That’s kind of amazing.”

  “So the answer to your question is yes,” Baxter said. “I’m coming.”

  SATURDAY TURNED OUT to be a beautiful day for an adoption.

  There wasn’t a cloud in the sky as my dad and I helped Shep and Kelsey mount a giant sign outside the shelter that said, PLEASE ADOPT TODAY! EVERY ANIMAL NEEDS A HOME. Tons of people were scurrying around, moving tables and crates and cages into position, and setting up a giant ring where people could visit with the dogs or cats they were interested in. There was a pizza truck, and an ice-cream stand, and Isaac had set up a booth where he could sell his delicious cookies and cakes. All in all, everything would have been totally perfect, if not for the fact that we were doing it because the shelter was closing.

  “Hey, li’l bro,” said Misty, walking up to me. She had Abby, since I was working.

  “Thanks for coming,” I told Misty. “And for watching Abby.”

  “No problem!” She looked around and surveyed the situation. “Quite the doggie day care extravaganza you’re pulling off here,” she added. “You’re turning into a pretty impressive little dude.”

  I stood there, shocked.

  FACT: Big sisters almost never give their little brothers compliments.

  “Wait a second,” I said. “Did you just say something nice about me?”

  Misty punched me in the arm. “Knock it off before I take it back.” She pointed at her boyfriend, who was lifting a guitar case out of his car. “So, I thought Jarrod could entertain the crowd with a little music. Doesn’t that sound totally cool?”

  I cocked my head, which is the international symbol for Are you serious right now? “Jarrod plays guitar?” I asked, apparently a little too loudly, because he heard me.

  “Yeah, I play guitar, what’s so weird about that?” he said, punching me in the other arm. “And I sing too.”

  “Cool,” I said. “But I should make sure it’s okay with Shep.”

  “We’ll find him,” Misty said. Then she pulled on Jarrod’s free hand and they strolled away, leaving me to rub my two sore arms.

  I walked up to my dad. “Dad, what time is it?”

  He looked at his watch. “Eleven forty-five.” It was getting close—the event started at noon.

  We headed over to the main table, where my job was to help check people in before they went to look at the animals. I saw Shep talking to a man in a suit. They looked like they were arguing.

  My dad was watching them too. “Looks like a bank guy, or an insurance guy,” he said. “Poo
r Shep is probably dealing with a lot of paperwork, on top of everything else.”

  “Can we help him, Dad?” I asked. “You work in insurance.”

  “Used to,” my dad said, with a smile. “There’s a reason I got out of that racket.”

  “Let’s just find out what’s going on.”

  My dad rolled his eyes. “Fine.”

  We walked over to Shep, who was saying to the guy, “I’m telling you, I don’t know what you’re talking about, and I don’t know where it is.”

  “Well, that’s going to be a problem,” the guy said.

  My dad stepped forward. “Do you gentlemen mind if I ask what it is you’re discussing?”

  Shep waved disgustedly at the man in the suit. “This guy thinks I did it.”

  My dad furrowed his brow. “Did what?”

  “STARTED THE FLOOD ON PURPOSE!” Shep hollered. “For what, the insurance money?” He threw his hands up. “I don’t even own the building!”

  “Perhaps you had another motive,” the guy in the suit said.

  My dad and Shep stared at each other in disbelief.

  “Here’s the deal,” the insurance guy said. “It wasn’t a burst pipe after all. It turns out there’s a piece of pipe missing and unaccounted for. A theory has emerged that would seem to indicate the pipe was removed intentionally, which caused flooding of the premises.”

  “Intentionally?” I repeated, not quite able to believe what I’d heard.

  “That’s insane,” said my dad. “Completely impossible.” Then he looked at Shep. “Right?”

  “OF COURSE!” Shep threw up his hands. “You think I would do something like this for revenge, just because I’m getting tossed out of here? What kind of jerk do you think I am?”

  The insurance guy just stood there, looking like he’d heard it all before, which he probably had. “I’m not saying you did or didn’t do anything. My job is to follow the evidence, and the evidence is telling me that someone flooded this place on purpose.”

  Shep looked at his watch. “Well, we’ll have to continue this later, because right now we need to find some homes for these animals.”

  He walked away, leaving me and my dad standing there next to the insurance guy. The guy shrugged. “Well, if not him, then who?” Then he walked away too.

  My dad and I looked at each other.

  “Yikes,” he said, which is exactly what I was thinking too.

  AS SOON AS we opened for business, there was a steady stream of customers. There were families, young couples, old couples, people of every shape and size, all looking for a pet to brighten their lives.

  Irwin and Baxter were hanging out by the food trucks, of course, stuffing their faces with pizza and ice cream. I waved and they came walking over.

  “Looks like it’s going great,” Irwin said, in between bites.

  “It is,” I said. I watched Baxter try to figure out a way to balance two slices of pizza and a chocolate cone. “Are you going to eat all that?”

  “Why else would I be holding it?” he asked, which was a logical answer and a logical question, all in one.

  I decided to be more direct. “I’m starving. Can you guys get me a slice?”

  “Sure,” Irwin said. “Do you have any money?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Can one of you just lend it to me? What is it, a dollar?”

  They looked at each other, but didn’t say a word.

  FACT: Best friends will do anything for you, except give you money.

  “Are you guys serious right now?” I said.

  Judging by Baxter’s face, the answer was yes. “How do we know you’ll pay us back?” he asked.

  “Just forget it! My dad will get it for me!” I sat back down. “Unbelievable,” I muttered, just so they knew where I stood.

  “Hey, look who Daisy brought!” Irwin said, pointing and grinning.

  I turned around and saw Daisy walking toward us, smiling and waving. But my eyes immediately zeroed in on what was in her hands.

  Oh boy.

  I was immediately reminded of the day at the Boathouse a few weeks earlier, when I also couldn’t take my eyes off what was in her hands.

  Because it was the same thing.

  Purrkins.

  “She brought the cat?” I said.

  Irwin giggled. “Can’t put anything past you, Mr. Detective.”

  I heard the sound of a man clearing his throat. I tore myself away from staring at Purrkins and noticed a man standing there with his young son. “Excuse me,” he said, “may I sign in?”

  “Can you give me just a second?” I asked him. “My friend just got here with her cat, and I need to say a quick hi.”

  The boy made a whiney face. “Come ooooonnnn!” he said. “We want to go look at the doggies! I want a doggy!”

  The father made an apologetic face. “What can I say? He’s been begging me for a dog for two years, and when I heard that the shelter was closing, I finally gave in and said we’d take a look and maybe get a dog.”

  The son looked crushed. “One? But what if we see five cute ones we want?”

  The dad shook his head. “You know the drill. One dog. Maybe.”

  Listening to this, I smiled. It reminded me a lot of someone else who’d also come here with his dad, hoping to go home with a dog that would change his life. And that turned out to be exactly what happened.

  Want to guess who that someone was?

  Me.

  “My friend can wait,” I said. “I’ll sign you in now.”

  I started to do the paperwork, but I was immediately distracted by the sight of Misty and Abby, heading straight for Daisy and Purrkins.

  Yikes.

  My heart started to beat a little louder. “Last name?” I said to the guy, hoping for a short one, so this would go faster.

  “R-o-s-e-n-h-e-i-m-e-r,” the guy said, so slowly it was like he thought I didn’t know the alphabet. “Should you also put my wife’s last name? It’s different.”

  “We only need one,” I said, so quickly it came out more like Weonlyneedone. I handed the sheet of paper to Mr. Rosenheimer. “Please put your phone number here, and address, and—”

  I stopped talking because Misty had reached Daisy. Abby and Purrkins didn’t notice each other at first, but once they did, all they did was sniff each other and check each other out. I felt a huge rush of relief.

  “Where was I?” I said to the guy. “Oh yeah. Please fill this information out, and leave it right here on the table. You’re all set. I hope you find the perfect dog! Thanks.”

  I quickly darted out from behind the table before he could think of another question, and hustled over to where Daisy and Misty were talking. Just behind them, Irwin and Baxter were finishing up their feasts.

  “Hey,” I said to Daisy. “I wasn’t sure where you were.”

  “Oh!” she said. “It was a funny thing. I was halfway here before I realized that I really wanted to bring Purrkins. I mean, she came from this shelter! I wanted her to see it one last time.”

  “Cool,” I said, even though I was pretty sure Purrkins wouldn’t get much out of it. “It looks like she and Abby are getting along pretty well.”

  Daisy grinned. “I know! Isn’t it great?”

  “So great.”

  She turned and noticed Baxter standing there, working his way through his pizza and ice cream. “Oh man, that looks good. Where’d you get it?”

  Baxter pointed toward the food trucks. “Over there.”

  FACT: It’s a bad idea to use your hand to point, when you’re holding two slices of pizza, a soda, and an ice-cream cone.

  “NOOO!” Baxter hollered, as one of the pizza slices slipped out of his hand. He flailed at it, but it was no use: the slice fell to the ground, cheese side down.

  “Ew, gross,” said Irwin.

  Abby and Purrkins stopped sniffing each other and immediately turned their attention to the fallen pizza.

  I could immediately sense the growing tension in the air. “Baxte
r, can you pick that up before Abby gets it?” I asked. “Like, now?”

  Okay, that was a bad move.

  SIMILAR FACT: It’s a bad idea to ask someone to pick something up if they’re holding one slice of pizza, a soda, and an ice-cream cone.

  As Baxter leaned down to pick up the slice, his ice cream slid off the cone and fell to the ground with a sad, wet plop!

  “NOOOOOOOO!” Baxter hollered again, longer and louder.

  Now there was a slice of pizza and a large scoop of ice cream up for grabs on the ground. Naturally, Abby and Purrkins both made their moves.

  A WHOLE NEW FACT: Cats are quicker than dogs.

  They both dashed for the ice cream, but Purrkins got there first. As she started lapping away at the melting treat, Abby turned toward the pizza, more than satisfied with cheese, sausage, and dough as a consolation prize.

  The only problem was that by then, Baxter was picking up the fallen slice of pizza and depositing it in a garbage can.

  Abby’s eyes went cold.

  She turned back to the ice cream that Purrkins was still working away on.

  RELATED FACT: Cats eat a lot slower than dogs.

  Abby decided she wanted Purrkins to share the ice cream.

  Purrkins decided she wasn’t interested in sharing the ice cream.

  “GRRRRRR!” said Abby.

  “HSSSSSSS!” said Purrkins.

  “Misty, make sure you’re holding the leash tightly,” I said.

  “HSSSSSSS,” said Misty.

  “Hi, everyone!” said Mrs. Cragg, who had just arrived with Thor and Tuco. She obviously had no idea that she’d walked right into a tense situation, but she found out soon enough, when she bent down to pet Abby and got a soft growl in return.

  “Uh-oh,” she said. “What’s going on?”

  Thor was straining at his leash, trying to get at the ice cream. Tuco started yapping away but didn’t seem particularly interested in the ice cream, maybe because he weighed approximately eight ounces and wasn’t hungry. I think he just thought they were all playing a game.

  But it wasn’t a game, it was serious business. And it was on.

  After circling each other for about three seconds, Purrkins decided enough was enough, and she bravely jumped in front of Abby and started in on the ice cream again.