New Beginnings (6 page)

Chapter Ten

I
avoid Maggie on the bus ride to school and watch out for her in the halls. She must be watching out for me, too, because I don't see her. The best part of the morning is when I see Chewie in science class. I rush to class early and give the note to Mr. Hart.

“Cuddles?” he says, raising his eyebrows as he reads the permission note with Mom's one-week trial-period proclamation. I hold my breath, hoping he won't change his mind. He walks over to Chewie's cage. “You hear that, Cuddles?” he asks. “You'd better behave for a week, at least.”

Chewie sits on her hind paws, puts her front paws on the cage, and sniffs Mr. Hart's fingers. Her little nose and whiskers wiggle. She is so cute. Mr. Hart turns to me. “Your mom is coming today, right?”

“Yes,” I say.

“I'll have two of my eighth-period students take Cuddles here down to the office after school.”

“Thank you!” I say. I open the top of the cage and pet Chewie. It's hard to think of her as Cuddles.

“Now, be sure to make an appointment with Dr. MacKenzie,” Mr. Hart says. “Cuddles is six months old already, so it's time to have her spayed.”

“Okay, I'll make an appointment,” I say. But I don't say I'll make it with Dr. MacKenzie.

The morning goes by quickly, and at lunch I tell Sunita that Mom is picking Josh and me up after school. “And Chewie, too,” I say.

“That's great,” Sunita says. “I've got to be quick at lunch today. Hope you don't mind finishing up alone. I promised Brenna, another Vet Volunteer, that I'd help her get ready for her Save Our Streams meeting on Thursday.”

“Sure, that's fine,” I say.

“And remember to come to the library at lunchtime on Thursday. Brenna is going to be speaking at both lunch periods about Stream Cleanup Day. Everyone is helping out.”

“Okay,” I say. “Sounds fun.”

“Great,” Sunita says, packing up her lunch. “I'll see you in gym later today. Don't forget we're on Tuesday-Thursday block scheduling this afternoon.”

“Right,” I say. “See you later.”

It's hard sitting there alone for the rest of lunch, and even worse when I remember that Maggie has the same block gym schedule as Sunita and me. The overcooked cafeteria spaghetti suddenly feels like a big lump in my belly. I see Josh back at his locker right after my math class.

“I'm worried, Josh. I'm going to be in the same gym class as Maggie,” I tell him. “What if it's dodgeball? You know how much I hate dodgeball. What if Maggie throws the ball at me?”

Josh grabs his books. “I'm sure it won't be dodgeball, and even if it is, Maggie can't be that bad,” he says.

“You have no idea what it's like when someone hates you,” I say. “You should have seen the way she looked at me in the hall yesterday. Can you walk to the office with me and help me convince them I need to transfer into a different gym class?”

“No,” Josh says. “Just deal with it, Jules. Stay on the other side of the gym. Give Maggie plenty of space until things cool down. But eventually you might try talking to her and, you know, being friendly.”

“Some help you are.”

“Look,” Josh says, “after seeing David and those kittens at Dr. Mac's yesterday, I want to hang out with the Vet Volunteers. The office is right down the street, and David and Sunita are really nice. Plus, Dr. Mac seems great, too. So if you want to keep avoiding Maggie, fine. But I'm not going to let you stop me from making friends or doing cool stuff.”

“But, Josh—”

He slams his locker shut. “It's your problem, Jules, not mine,” he says. “I have to get to class. I'll see you at the end of the day to get Chewie.”

“Cuddles,” I say.

“Right, Cuddles.” Josh walks away, down the hall.

Josh usually knows how to make me feel better, but today he makes me feel worse.

Luckily, as soon as Josh leaves, I see Sunita walking toward me. I'm happy to see her. I know it hasn't even been two days, but I feel like Sunita and I could be friends.

“Hi, Jules!” she calls out as she waves to me. “Come on, I'll show you the best way to get to the gym.”

Ugh. It's not just Maggie I'm worried about. I hate gym. It's the only subject in school I don't do well in. I'm not athletic at all, and I'd much rather be reading a book than running around the track out of breath. But off we go to the gymnasium, where Sunita shows me to the locker room so we can put away our book bags and get changed.

“What do you think we'll be doing in class today?” I ask Sunita.

I guess I must sound anxious because she smiles and says, “Don't worry, I'm not great in gym, either. It's not too bad here. Before spring break, we were doing a unit on basketball skills. Dribbling, shooting, layups. It wasn't too hard.”

Basketball. Great. The perfect sport for a short, uncoordinated seventh-grader. We walk into the gym, and Sunita introduces me to the teacher, Ms. Donnelly, who puts me into a line based on my last name. As she takes attendance, I look around. The gym is huge, with hardwood floors and championship banners in the rafters. There are volleyball nets tucked into a corner and racks of basketballs toward the front.

And then there's Maggie. She's sitting two rows away from me, twirling a basketball on her finger and chatting with a male teacher. He's wearing a jacket that says
COACH WILLIAMS
on the back.

“Okay, kids!” Ms. Donnelly yells. “I hope you all got a chance to practice your layups over the break. We've already reviewed the rules of basketball, so we're going to get to the exciting part: playing the game. Coach Williams from the girls' basketball team is here to observe and give tips.”

Coach Williams waves. He looks friendly enough.

Ms. Donnelly points to Maggie and another girl. “Maggie and Darla, as two of Ambler's basketball stars, I'd like you each to be captains and choose teams. Then we'll play five on five and switch players from the bleachers every ten minutes. All right, let's get started!”

Maggie and Darla step onto the court. I'm sure I'll be chosen last. I always am. That's okay with me—I prefer to be as invisible as possible in gym class. With any luck, I can make it through the whole class without having to play. But what if Darla chooses me and I have to play against Maggie? I slump as low as possible and wish Sunita and I had sat farther back in the bleachers.

Darla and Maggie start calling out names. To my surprise, after six girls are called, Maggie turns to me, smiles, and says, “Jules.”

I get up slowly and walk down to stand with her team. This is so confusing. Why'd she pick me? Before I even have time to wonder, Maggie and Darla are finishing choosing their teams, and I'm on the court with nine other girls.

Okay,
I think.
What would Josh do?
Deal with it. Be friendly. How awful could it be? Josh said Maggie can't be all that bad. She chose me, after all. Maybe Maggie's trying to be friendly, too? At least it's not dodgeball, right? We've probably used up three minutes already. So just seven minutes left?

I look up to the bleachers, and Sunita gives me a thumbs-up. Sunita said yesterday that Maggie is great at sports, so if the ball comes to me, I'll just pass it to Maggie. That's friendly, right? I can do this.

Coach Williams blows his whistle, and Maggie starts out with the ball. I hang back, away from the basket, not really sure what to do. Luckily, Sunita was right. Maggie is awesome at basketball. A tough-looking girl on the other team tries to steal the ball from her, but Maggie fakes a pass, moves quickly to her right, and in a split second she is under the basket, laying it in. Score!

The other girls on our team cheer and high-five Maggie. I can't help but feel a little excited, too. I clap twice, and then look to where I should go next. Now we are on defense, which is usually what I like, because it means I can make a show of playing without actually doing much. But it doesn't look like that's going to work on Maggie's team.

“Jules, guard Sarah! Right next to you!” Maggie yells to me.

I look to my right and see the tough girl with the ball. She's taller and stronger than me, and I really don't know how to guard someone, anyway. But maybe this is my chance to make things up to Maggie. My heart races and I run toward Sarah, trying to get between her and the basket. But she's way faster than I am, and she's already raising the basketball, ready to shoot. I lunge with my hand out, trying to block it. The only thing that gets blocked is my nose, with Sarah's elbow.

“Ow!” I yell as I hit the ground with a clumsy thud. My nose burns with pain, and my eyes smart with tears.

Maggie runs over to me. “Are you okay?” she pants.

I reach for my nose and touch it carefully. It's not bleeding and I don't think it's broken, but it hurts like crazy and the whole gym class saw me get knocked down. How embarrassing is that? I'm a terrible athlete, and now I'm lying on the floor with everyone looking down at me. Maggie made me look so stupid—all because she told me to guard Sarah.

“Why did you tell me to go after Sarah?” I ask, trying to stand. “You knew there was no way I could stop her from making a basket. I'm sorry I ruined your project and said that thing about the tutor, but you didn't have to do this to me!”

“Do what? What are you talking about?” Maggie shakes her head. “It's just a basketball game. I had no idea you were going to get hurt.”

Coach Williams runs over. “Okay, ladies, break it up. Jules, are you okay?” He leans over and looks at my nose. “It seems fine, but take a break for the rest of class. You can go get changed.”

I head back to the locker room, my eyes burning, my nose throbbing. I can't look at Maggie, Sunita, or anyone else. I just want this day to be over.

• • • • •

At the end of the day, Mom is parked in front of the school, just as planned. At least that's one good thing. Josh and I carry Chewie in her cage across the lawn to the car and put her on the backseat. Mom and Sophie help carry the extra food and a backup water bottle.

“So this is Cuddles?” Mom asks.

I try to calm the rabbit down. She's hopping back and forth in the cage one minute, then cowering in the corner the next. I don't think she likes all the jostling around.

“Isn't she cute?” I say.

Mom and Sophie nod.

I can't wait to get Chewie—I mean Cuddles—home. I have to start thinking of her and calling her Cuddles.

Cuddles, Cuddles, Cuddles. Her name is Cuddles.

But the minute we get home, Cuddles is anything but cuddly. Sophie wants me to take her out of the cage so she can hold her.

“Okay,” I say, “but just for a few minutes. Rabbits do not like to be held that much.”

I make Sophie sit on the floor and put a pillow on her lap. Josh closes the door to the bedroom, then holds the cage door open while I lift Cuddles out. I try to hold her close to my body, but Cuddles thumps her back feet. She nearly leaps out of my arms, and her nails scratch me. But I hold her and get her safely to Sophie's lap. Cuddles seems nervous. Maybe the car ride agitated her.

Josh and I sit on the floor on both sides of Sophie and Cuddles. We pet the rabbit until she calms down a little. But she is curious, her nose and whiskers twitching. She wants to explore. She sniffs and hops, sniffs and stops, tentatively at first, then she's hopping all over. She goes under Sophie's bed with Sophie giggling like crazy.

“Look, look.” Sophie is over-the-top excited, her voice screechy and fast. She's practically hopping as much as Cuddles. “She's under the bed. There she is!” Sophie shouts. “She's hopping again!” Sophie bounces on the mattress on her knees, then leans over upside down to watch Cuddles.

Cuddles hops out again and begins to chew on the cord to my desk lamp.

“No, no, Cuddles,” I say. I quickly unplug the lamp and move the cord up where she can't reach it. Then she starts pulling the books off our lower shelf with her front paws and chewing on them.

“My book!” Sophie howls. “She's ruining my favorite book!”

I grab the book and shoo Cuddles away from the shelf.

“I see why your teacher named her Chewie,” Josh says.

“Okay, Cuddles goes back in her cage until we can bunny proof our room,” I say. I put her back in her cage and latch the lid. Cuddles immediately puts her front paws on the cage and sits up on her hind feet, sniffing at the air as if she wants out again.

“Look, look!” Sophie laughs. “Cuddles pooped under my bed. I'm not cleaning that up. You have to, Jules!”

“Fine,” I say. “Josh, could you please bring me a paper towel? But don't tell Mom why, okay?”

“Sure,” Josh says. He leaves the room, closing the door behind him again.

Sophie jumps around the room, chanting, “We have a bunny, we have a bunny!” Cuddles starts to chew on the wire of her cage. Then she chews on the plastic edge of her water bottle, instead of drinking from the little metal pipe.

“Sophie, quit jumping around. You're making her nervous,” I say.

Sophie finally calms down but wants to be right next to the cage. She sits on the carpet in front of Cuddles. Sophie pulls out her homework and a book she brought home from school. Just then, Cuddles chews a big hole through the bottom edge of her water bottle. Water gushes out in spurts right on Sophie's book, her homework, the carpet, and of course on Sophie.

Sophie jumps up screaming, “Look what she did!”

“Shh!” I say, moving Sophie away from Cuddles and the wet mess.

Josh comes back in. “What's going on?” he asks.

“We're going to need more paper towels,” I whisper.

Chapter Eleven

W
ednesday morning before school, I clean out Cuddles's cage and give her fresh food and fresh water in the water bottle I replaced the night before, then Sophie, Josh, and I all take turns petting her. She is so sweet and funny. But I need a backup water bottle or two for now if her chewing continues. I get to science class early so I can ask Mr. Hart where I can buy more.

“Did she chew through another one already?” he asks.

“Yes,” I say. “Does she do that often?”

Mr. Hart nods. “Give her plenty of chew toys. And get her spayed soon.”

“Right,” I say, “but there's no rush, is there? Getting her spayed, I mean. If I don't have any male rabbits around her, she can't get pregnant, right?”

“Getting her spayed isn't just for preventing overpopulation of rabbits. Getting her spayed will keep her calmer. She'll live a longer, happier, healthier life, too. You still have the coupon for Dr. Mac's, right?”

“Yes.” I say. But I'm careful not to promise to use it. Instead, I'm wondering how many weeks' allowance it will cost me to have her spayed somewhere else. I'd rather not run into Maggie.

After school, Josh goes to Wrenches & Roses to help Dad, and Sophie and I take Cuddles out of her cage to let her hop around the room.

We pet her and feed her some carrots and try to keep her from chewing all the wrong things—the bedposts, more books, the comforter hanging from the bed, Sophie's doll. You name it, Cuddles wants to chew it. I put her back in her cage, then check her new water bottle. Sure enough, she's chewed a small hole in the new one, too. Water is dribbling out, soaking the clean newspapers I just added to the bottom of her cage.

“Sophie, can you please go ask Mom if she has any extra newspaper?” I ask.

“Okay,” Sophie says. She runs out of the room.

That's two bottles she's ruined in less than twenty-four hours. I'll need to buy a glass water bottle at the pet store. She won't be able to chew through that. I hope they're not too expensive.

“Cuddles,” I tell her, “you'd better behave. We're not rich, you know.”

Cuddles tilts her head and twitches her nose, looking cuter than ever.

“Fine, you're worth it,” I say. “But no more chewing stuff you're not supposed to, okay?”

The shelter is not too far past the pet store. I'll drop in there today, too, and show them my recommendation letter and ask about volunteering. And I'll make an appointment for getting Cuddles spayed at the shelter so I can avoid Maggie and her grandmother's clinic. Sure, it'd be free at Dr. Mac's and more convenient. And of course it'd be great to be a Vet Volunteer with Sunita and David and Josh, but I don't think that'd ever be possible after I've messed up so much with Maggie. Besides, I don't need to be a Vet Volunteer to be around lots of animals. I have Cuddles. There are tons of animals in Mr. Hart's science class, and I can volunteer at the shelter. It's kind of a long walk to get there, but exercise is good for people and pets.

I go sit in the back alley, planning my walk and reading over the bunny facts again to see if there is anything else I need to buy at the pet store. I watch and wait, too, to see if the gray tabby is around.

Sophie sits down next to me with a pile of newspapers.

“If you sit quietly,” I say, “we can see if the tabby cat will come for a visit.”

After a few moments Sophie is fidgety and bored, so I read her the bunny facts pamphlet. That quiets her down.

“Remember, most rabbits do not like to be picked up or held in your lap,” I say.

“Why not?” Sophie asks.

“They just don't,” I say. “And that's what the pamphlet says.”

“Oh.”

“Next, rabbits can be easily litter-box trained.”

“Like Cuddles,” Sophie says, “except when she poops under the bed.”

“They are good at grooming themselves,” I say, “but rabbits need to be brushed often and have their nails clipped periodically.”

“I can brush her,” Sophie says.

“Okay, great. Let's see, what else? Their teeth are always growing so they need hard things to chew.”

I don't think Sophie will understand the next part so I don't read it out loud:

Neutering and spaying prevents or reduces undesirable behavior and increases female rabbits' life spans.

I look out over the back parking lot, thinking,
Okay, so maybe Cuddles needs to be spayed sooner rather than later to cut down on her chewing.
I'll make an appointment at the shelter right away.

“Is your tabby cat ever going to come back?” Sophie asks.

“I don't know,” I say. I'm worried about him, but I don't want to worry Sophie. “He must have found his way home.”

When I tell Mom I'm going for a walk to the pet store, she insists I take Sophie along and stop at the park for a while, too, so she can play.

Sophie is all smiles.

“All right,” I say, “but you have to walk fast and keep up.”

“I will.”

When we start walking, I tell Sophie that after the pet store we're going someplace better than the park.

“Where?” she asks.

“To look at the cute dogs and cats at the shelter.”

“Can we pet them?”

“I don't know. Sometimes you can pet them. Sometimes you're only allowed to look. We'll see when we get there.”

It's a long walk to the shelter, but Sophie is a trouper, keeping up with my pace the whole way. The weather is warm, and I should have brought some human water bottles along for us. Luckily, there is a water fountain at the shelter.

Sophie and I look through the windows at the cats and dogs before I approach anyone at the counter. Even though we can't pet them unless we are with our parents, it relaxes me to be here and to see all the animals.

I work up my courage to approach the man behind the counter. I wonder what I should ask him about first. Volunteering or getting Cuddles spayed? I can't decide which, and then Sophie distracts me.

“Look, Jules,” she says. “There's another room with rabbits and birds and a rat just like Ratty. Let's go look.”

I peek through the window. Sophie is right. There are cages of rabbits, some birds, a snake, a lizard, a few hamsters, and a rat. I check the door, but it is locked. I wonder if all the rabbits waiting to be adopted chew on things, too. A teenager with a blue streak in her hair approaches and unlocks the door.

“Would you like to come in and see the small pets?” she asks.

“Yes,” Sophie says, turning and giving me her biggest grin.

Sophie and I enter the room as the girl holds the door open for us. “Thanks,” I say. As we pass, I read her name tag. It says
LEAH
, and underneath her name it says
VOLUNTEER.

“So, what kind of small animal are you looking for?” Leah asks as she pulls out some portable fencing and begins to set it up.

“We already have a rabbit,” Sophie says, peeking her nose close to every cage. “Her name is Cuddles.”

“Cute name,” says Leah. “Just one rabbit, though? Rabbits are very social creatures. They like companionship. I have three rabbits at home.”

“What are their names?” Sophie asks.

“Marshmallow, Bert, and Cupcake. They love playing with each other,” Leah says as she opens up the fencing to make a little corral on the floor about four feet wide. She adds a ball, some hard plastic baby toys, an open paper bag, a couple of cardboard boxes, and a cardboard tube.

“Are you going to play with the rabbits?” Sophie asks.

“Yes, they need more space than their cages for exercise, and they need to exercise every day. Plus, rabbits are very curious. They love to explore, burrow, shred stuff, and chew.”

Leah opens one of the smaller cages and carries a bunny that she calls Lolli to the enclosure she made. Lolli makes a couple of excited leaps the moment she has room to play. She sniffs at one of the boxes, gnaws on the corner, then hops on top of it and looks around. Sophie laughs, but Lolli has just gotten started. When Leah adds another rabbit named Sunshine, the two sniff at each other, then chase the ball, each other, and hide out in the paper bag and cardboard tunnel.

“Our rabbit chews a lot of stuff,” Sophie says. “Her name used to be Chewie.”

Leah laughs. “That's a perfect name for a rabbit.” She sits down inside the enclosure and closes it behind her. “Don't mind me,” she says. “I'm just getting Lolli and Sunshine used to being friendly around people. It increases their chances of being adopted.”

“You know a lot about rabbits,” I say. “What do you do if your rabbits chew too much? Or if they chew stuff they're not supposed to?”

“Well, first off, give them plenty of nontoxic things to chew. Cardboard boxes like this one, an untreated wicker basket, carrots and veggies, of course, gobs of timothy hay, nontoxic wood or baby toys, willow balls, you name it. And believe me, if your bunny is bored, she'll find something to chew.”

Sophie and I squat down to watch Lolli and Sunshine hop around.

“Jules,” Sophie whispers too loudly in my ear. “Let's take Lolli home to play with instead of Cuddles.” I shake my head and tell her to shush.

“My rabbit Bert loves to shred phone books,” Leah says. “Give him a phone book and he's a happy camper, shredding it like it's his job. Rabbits are full of curiosity, so keep giving your rabbit new toys. I'm always making new agility activities like ramps and cardboard boxes or tubes full of paper for Bert and Cupcake to dig through. They love to chase each other and burrow and toss paper around. Cupcake likes to fetch things and rearrange and bunch up and push her own towel like a home decorator. And Marshmallow? He likes to sit and watch all the antics like a big, sweet lump. Each rabbit has its own personality and temperament. And if they have another rabbit or friendly pet to bond with, they'll have someone furry to snuggle and play with. Isn't that right, Lollipop?”

Lolli rubs her neck and chin against Leah's hand.

Sophie leans into my ear again. “We could bring Lolli home to play with Cuddles,” she says. “Two rabbits are better, right?”

“Of course if you get two or more rabbits,” Leah says, “be sure that they are all spayed or neutered before you put them together, or you'll have too many bunnies in no time. I've read that rabbits can reproduce about once every month with up to ten kits in each litter.”

“We plan to get Cuddles spayed soon,” I say. “Do you know how much it costs to do it here at the shelter?” I hold my breath, wondering if I can get Mom to pay me for babysitting Sophie. Or how many weeks of my saved allowances this will cost me.

“They only spay and neuter dogs and cats here. The best place to go for rabbits is Dr. MacKenzie on Main Street,” Leah says.

“Are there any other vets in town?”

“Not that I know of,” Leah says, petting Lolli and then Sunshine as she hops by. “Besides, not every vet knows how to care for rabbits. Dr. Mac is the greatest. You really should take your rabbit there.”

This is not what I was hoping to hear. I start to unzip my backpack pocket, where I put my recommendation letter.

“How long have you been volunteering at the shelter?” I ask.

“For about a year—ever since I turned sixteen.”

“Sixteen?”

“Yes,” Leah says. “You have to be sixteen or older to volunteer here.”

“What if you have experience,” I say, “but you're not sixteen yet?”

“Then you have to wait. How old are you?”

“Twelve,” I say, and zip my backpack pocket closed again.

“Bummer,” Leah says. “That's a long time to wait.”

“Yeah,” I say.

Sophie and I thank Leah and let ourselves out of the room because Leah is still inside the enclosure, petting the rabbits. Sophie presses her nose against the window to the small animal room.

“Bye, Leah. Bye, Lolli. Bye, Sunshine,” she says.

Leah waves and smiles.

“Are you sure we can't take Lolli home?” Sophie asks. “Cuddles would like her.”

“No, Sophie. One rabbit is expensive enough for now,” I say. Gee, I'm starting to sound like Mom.

Sophie is disappointed we can't bring Lolli home, and I'm so disappointed about not being able to volunteer there until I'm sixteen that I almost forget to stop at the pet store.

“Hey,” Sophie says. “Don't forget, we need a new water bottle for Cuddles.”

“Right,” I say.

The glass water bottles at the pet store cost twice as much as the plastic ones, so I buy just one instead of the two I had planned on. Cuddles better not break this one.

We look at the rabbit toys and chew sticks, but since I'm spending so much on the water bottle, I decide to try some of Leah's strategies to entertain Cuddles instead. Maybe Cuddles will like a phone book.

It's a long walk back. We stop briefly at the park to rest. Sophie's so tired that we just sit on a bench, watching other kids play. I don't know what Sophie is thinking, but I'm thinking I have to get Josh to go with me to make an appointment for Cuddles to get spayed at Dr. Mac's. I'll ask him as soon as we get home. With any luck Maggie will still be at basketball practice like she was yesterday afternoon.

“Come on, Sophie,” I say. “Time to go home and set up Cuddles's new water bottle and get her some new things to play with.”