Daphne Maple - Roxbury Park Dog Club #3: Top Dog

See you tomorrow, Taylor, my friend Rachel said as we passed in the hall after the final bell. People streamed by as I waved to her and then turned toward my locker alcove and began to twirl my lock.

In some ways I was still getting used to Roxbury Park Middle School. Well, everyone in my class was, really, since it was our first year of middle school. But it was also my first year living in Roxbury Park and it still amazed me how fast it had become home. Id lived my whole life in Greensboro, North Carolina, and when my dad announced we were moving to Illinois so he could work with an old law school friend at her firm, I cried for days. I was sure my life was over. But fast-forward two months and I had a whole new life that I loved just as much as my old one, maybe even more. Roxbury Park was a pretty, friendly town; I had two fabulous best friends; and I was a proud founding member of the Roxbury Park Dog Club. What more could a girl ask for?

Nice shirt, someone sneered behind me. I didnt have to turn around to know it was Brianna Chen mocking what I thought was just a basic pink T-shirt.

Okay, so there was one thing I could ask for in my new life: for Brianna Chen to stop bothering me. It had started a few weeks ago: a snippy remark here, a put-down there. I kept thinking shed get over it and find someone else to bug, but so far no luck. If anything, it was getting worse.

I sucked in my breath and turned to face her. Brianna was Asian, with long hair, tanned skin, and a perfect fashion sense. Today she was wearing jean capris, a shimmery black shirt, and delicate silver sandals that would have given me blisters after ten minutes.

I guess girls still wear pink where youre from, New Girl? Brianna asked airily. She made New Girl sound like a gross skin disease.

Um, yeah, I said. I never knew how to respond to Briannas insults. I mean, how do you defend the color pink when you dont even know whats wrong with it in the first place?

Brianna raised an eyebrow, her upper lip crinkling as though just being near my pink shirt was enough to give her hives. You might want to get rid of it now that you live here, Brianna said, smoothing a lock of sleek black hair behind one ear. Maybe give it to a first grader or something.

I didnt know what to say but it didnt matter because Brianna had turned on her heel and was marching away, a small smile on her face.

I looked down at my shirt, which was the cheerful color of bubble gum, and tried to promise myself that Id still wear it, that I wouldnt let Briannas words ruin it for me. But deep down I knew they already had and that my shirt would be staying home from now on. Which was a drag because I really liked itmy sister Jasmine gave it to me because she said this color looked good with my brown skin and black hair. But I had a lot of other shirts, and it would probably be getting too cold for T-shirts soon anyway.

Ready to go?

This time the voice behind me made me smile. Sure am, I said, shutting my locker and hoisting my backpack over my shoulder. Sasha, my best friend, her brown curls popping out of her ponytail, was grinning at me as she played with a strap on her backpack.

Lets go get Kim, she said. She wanted to talk to Mr. Martin about the test tomorrow, so I said wed meet her at her locker.

Is everything okay? I asked as we headed down the hall. Kim was our other best friend, and sometimes she struggled with school. She was one of the smartest people I knew, and a total genius with dogs, but school stuff like homework and tests took her extra long and made her really anxious. Her parents tried to help and so did her older brother, Matt, but sometimes their help turned into added pressure.

Yeah, I think she just wanted to double-check exactly what to study, Sasha said. Her steps were light and graceful as we walked; you could tell she was a dancer just by looking at her.

Thats smart, I said as we rounded the corner and found Kim stacking books into her backpack.

You need them all? Sasha asked playfully.

Kim smiled, but her green eyes were serious. Last night I forgot my science book, so Im not taking any chances today, she said, zipping up her bag and then nearly falling over when she picked it up. Okay, maybe I can leave a couple of things here, she said, opening it back up and putting two books in her locker. Are we running late?

Since school was officially over, I figured it was okay to get out my cell phone. Were okay, I said after I looked at it. We dont have to be at the shelter for another twenty minutes.

Thats plenty of time for our pickups, Sasha said as we walked out of the building into the sunny day. The air smelled crisp, like falling leaves and freshly mowed grass.

Im getting Humphrey and Popsicle, right? Kim confirmed.

Sasha, who was in charge of our Dog Club scheduling, as well as managing our client list and handling calls from new customers, nodded. Yes, and Taylors getting Gus, and Im picking up Coco and Mr. S. She was beaming as she said the last name, and who could blame her? Mr. Smashmouth had been one of the dogs at the Roxbury Park Shelter where Sasha, Kim, and I were doing our year-long volunteer assignments, a requirement of seventh grade. We loved the shelter and all the dogs there, but Sasha had made a special connection to Mr. S, a fluffy white Cavachon who was nearly blindnot that youd know it from the way he played fetch and could sniff out a dog treat from a mile away! We were all thrilled when Sashas mom, who is a total neat freak, finally gave in and made Sashas dream come true by adopting Mr. S. And of course he still came to Dog Club every week, to play with all his buddies at the shelter.

See you guys in five, Kim said. Wed reached the corner of Market Street and were separating to pick up our dogs. Kim headed down Market, Sasha turned on Grove, and I went the opposite way, toward Guss house.

Walking the dogs to club meetings was one of the services wed come up with after Kim had the amazing idea to start the club in the first place. The shelter was having money problems, and Kims neighbors, the Cronins, couldnt find an affordable dog walker for their sweet basset hound, Humphrey, who needed an afternoon walk when they were at work. Two very different problems, but Kim came up with a single solution to both: the Roxbury Park Dog Club. Owners could drop their dogs off for two hours of fun and exercise at the shelter, or for an extra fee wed pick up the dogs and walk them over ourselves. The dogs got to play, the shelter got the money it needed, and we got to hang out with dogs two days a week. It was a total win for everyone!

I slipped the key into the lock at Guss house and heard him pad into the entry hall, panting happily.

Hi there, sweet pea, I cooed, rubbing his soft head once I was in. Gus was a chocolate brown Lab with a face that looked like he was always smiling. I snapped his leash onto his collar and headed out.

There was a slight wind that rustled through my braids as we walked. Id just gotten them done last weekend, with gold and silver beads at the ends. Good thing I hadnt gotten pink since I only had my hair done every few months.

Gus pranced happily at my side, clearly pleased to be out. There was a time when we picked up our dogs and then met at the town dog park so the dogs could play a bit before going to the shelter. It made for a calmer start to the afternoon, especially when wed had Sierra, a big German shepherd mix who was super high energy. Unfortunately nothing we did helped her settle down enough to play well with the other dogs and wed finally realized that she wasnt a good fit for our club. Her owners had been understanding, and the whole thing taught us a lot about what kinds of dogs we could handle.