sixteen

After pizza, they all watched a movie in the den. The girls got ready for bedtime in Grace’s room. Grace’s mom helped them pull out and make the rollaway bed.

After Mrs. Galapagos left the room, April looked at her phone.

“Yessssss!” April put the phone on Grace’s computer desk.

“What?” Grace asked.

“My mom said Eve can come over tomorrow morning.” They high-fived.

April opened the closet door. The little white dog was curled up on the closet floor, sleeping.

“Night, night Austin. This was a long day for you, too.” She pulled out a small piece of pizza from her pocket in her jeans that she had wrapped in a napkin at dinner. She placed it on the ground next to him.

“I promise to fix this tomorrow. I love you,” April whispered. She closed the closet door and climbed into the rollaway bed. She fell fast asleep.

The next thing she heard was, “Arf. Arf. Arrrr . . .”

April jumped up. She could see through the window that the sun was starting to come out. Austin was quietly barking and whining in the closet. She opened the closet door.

“What?”

The little white dog jumped up and down.

“What is wrong with you?” April whispered.

He ran across Grace’s shoes. “Arrr . . .”

He ran in circles in the closet. “Arr . . .”

April put her hands on her hips. She tipped her head to the side. “Why are you whining?”

“He has to go to the ba . . .” Grace mumbled with her face in the pillow.

“He has to what?” April asked, throwing her arms in the air. Austin started jumping up and down again.

Grace lifted her head. “He has to go to the bathroom.” Her hair was stuck to the side of her face, and her eyes were still closed. Flop! She dropped her head back onto the pillow.

The little dog ran over to Grace, jumped on the bed, and gave her a big lick. “Ewww,” she said and wiped her face. She rolled over to the other side of the bed and knocked the dog onto the floor.

He grunted.

April chuckled.

“Not funny,” Grace muttered.

April took off the pajamas she had borrowed from Grace, and put on the jeans and shirt she had worn on Friday. April unzipped the backpack. Austin jumped right in. She zipped it up. She wrinkled her nose. “Geez, Austin, you even smell like a dog.”

“Grrrr . . .”

She put the backpack on her back, and pushed the cell phone into her pocket. Austin kept wiggling from side to side in the bag.

Move faster, move faster. The last thing I need is dog pee in my backpack. Ewww! Or even worse, leaking through the backpack
onto me.

She poked Grace’s shoulder. “Grace. Grace, wake up.”

“I haven’t gone back to sleep,” Grace croaked.

“Ha, you sound like Michael. Hello, I’m Grace, but I sound like a boy,” April said, making her voice deep to mock Grace.

Grace glared at her. Still smiling, April said, “I’m taking Austin outside to go to the bathroom. Meet me at my house in a few minutes.”

“Yep.”

“See you in a little bit.” As April slowly opened the bedroom door, she saw Michael’s door was still closed. Sunlight filled the hallway. She walked down the stairs. Creak, creak, creak. She got to the bottom and looked back up the stairs.

Whew, I didn’t wake anyone.

Austin’s movements were becoming faster in the bag.

“Stay still, Austin,” she said over her shoulder to the backpack.

“April, who are you talking to?” said a voice from the den.

April’s heart started to race as she saw Grace’s dad in the den reading the newspaper. She swallowed. “Oh, uh, no one,” she laughed.

Austin kept wiggling and moving in the backpack. She turned to face Mr. Galapagos so he could not see the moving bag. “I was just thinking about the chores I have to do when I get home. I want to go get them done so . . . um . . . that’s right, so Eve—a new friend of Grace’s and mine—can come over to hang out.”

He raised an eyebrow. April gave a broad smile.

“Ok. I’ll message your dad that you are coming back home,” he said, reaching for his cell phone. He started texting.

Get outta here. Move quickly, but don’t let him see the bag.

“Arrr . . .”

Austin whined and wiggled some more.

Austin is going to burst . . . all over my back.

“Ok. Thanks, Mr. Galapagos.” April scurried sideways out the front door. She closed it behind her, and took off running up the street, away from her house.