After supper, Johnny walked down the hallway. He walked past the dining room, where Sarah had replaced his report with words that didn’t make sense. He walked past his bedroom, where she had put a mousetrap on his snooze button. He walked inside the bathroom and locked the door, so he could be safe from her while he brushed his teeth.
Except his toothbrush was not in his glass beside the sink. He had put it there in the morning, before leaving for his hockey game.
Johnny looked under the sink. He looked in the cupboard. He looked behind the mirror. He could not find his toothbrush anywhere.
He remembered Tom and Stu had been at his house in the morning, to pick him up for their hockey game. Before, he might have blamed Tom and Stu for taking his toothbrush. They liked playing tricks on him. But now he had to be very careful, thanks to a six-year-old girl with red hair, freckles and a couple of missing teeth.
Johnny went to find Sarah and ask her if she knew where his toothbrush was.
He found her on the back steps of the house. She was with the family dog. His name was Marvin. He was old and did not move very fast. He also had very bad breath.
Sarah was brushing Marvin’s teeth with Johnny’s toothbrush.
“Hi, Johnny,” Sarah said. “Marvin has horrible breath. Someone needs to brush his teeth. Look at how brown and dirty his teeth are.”
“Sure,” Johnny said. “Why didn’t I ever think of that? Especially with my toothbrush.”
“I’m glad you’re not mad I’m using your toothbrush,” Sarah said. “I’m just trying to help.”
“No problem,” Johnny said. He planned to throw the toothbrush away and never use it again. Never ever.
“Do you think Marvin’s breath smells better?” Sarah asked. “I brushed his teeth five times yesterday while you were at school.”
“With my toothbrush?” Johnny asked. “The one I used this morning?”
“Yes,” Sarah said, “I made sure to put it back where I found it, so you wouldn’t get mad at me. I like to help.”
Johnny screamed again. But this time he covered his mouth with both hands, so he wouldn’t sound like a little girl.