Star

by Jennifer Li Shotz

“Yeah, but that doesn’t always matter,” Bryan said. “Some dogs only like certain people.” He shot Julian a curious look. “And Star seems to really like you.”

  “I don’t think that would’ve happened without you.” As Julian said it, he had a crazy thought, and his next words came out before he could stop himself. “Will you help me train her?”

  Bryan’s face lit up. “Yes!” he said a little too eagerly.

  Julian gulped and smiled back at Bryan weakly. Had he just made a terrible mistake? What was he getting himself into?

  Well, whatever it was, Julian hoped it would be worth it for Star.

  ★ Chapter 6 ★

  * * *

  * * *

  Julian sat at his usual lunch table at school on Monday, eating the usual turkey and cheese sandwich his dad packed for him in the usual lunch bag. But instead of his mind wandering to maps and adventures far from the school cafeteria, he concentrated on the book about dogs that was splayed on the table beside his sandwich. He’d figured the school library wouldn’t have a single book about training a deaf dog, or even any regular dog training books for that matter. The librarian always said she could get books from another school, but Julian couldn’t wait that long. He needed to figure out how to train Star immediately. So before school that morning, he’d ridden his bike to the main library in town and checked out a book on different dog breeds. If he could figure out what type of dog she was, maybe he’d gain some helpful clues.

  He’d flipped through the entire book twice, examining the photos, and determined that Star looked most like an Australian shepherd. The dog in the picture looked just like her, with the same intelligent expression, soft fur, and maplike patches of mottled gray. But the dog in the book didn’t have a tail or Star’s blue eyes.

  The chapter on Australian shepherds was only a few paragraphs long. Julian had hoped to avoid trying to read it in front of other kids, but he couldn’t wait until after school to learn more. He tuned out the noise in the cafeteria and ran his finger beneath the words as he slowly read the chapter. He compared the words he was seeing in the description of the dog to the dog’s appearance in the photo, which helped him put all the information together. When he was done, he read the chapter again.

  The book said that dogs like Star were happiest when they had a job—but what kind of job could a dog have, he wondered. He imagined Star working in an office, like his mom. He chuckled at the thought. She’d be bored enough to eat a computer. He pictured her in nurse’s scrubs like his dad, helping patients. The image was so silly that he laughed out loud. A couple of kids at the next table glanced over at him, but he ignored them.

  A tray slapped onto the table and—without asking if anyone was sitting there—Bryan dropped into the seat across from him. Now Julian could feel the other kids staring at them.

  Bryan leaned over and pulled the dog book toward him. “Hey, that looks just like her,” he said in his loud voice. “But I think Star’s markings are cooler.”

  “Me too,” Julian said quietly, hoping Bryan would catch the hint. No luck.

  “I thought about training her all last night,” Bryan announced, just as loudly as before. “I have a plan.” His voice always carried across the classroom—and now, across the cafeteria.

  Julian could feel the eyes of other kids flitting over them like mosquitoes ready to bite. People already thought he was strange. Being seen with Bryan was not going to help.

  But Julian couldn’t deny that he was curious to hear Bryan’s ideas. He’d been trying to come up with a plan himself, but so far he’d drawn a blank. And the suggestions Bryan had come up with on the fly yesterday had really worked. Julian leaned closer as Bryan pulled a folded sheet of paper out of his bag and opened it on the table. On it was a chart, drawn with ruler-straight lines and boxes, each one filled with all kinds of commands and dates for when they’d work on them.

  “We’ll start with the easy stuff,” Bryan said, tapping a finger on a box at the top left corner of the page. “Like sit and lie down. We’ll need roughly two working days for each command.”

  Julian held back a chuckle at Bryan’s seriousness. It was funny, but it was also kind of . . . helpful.

  “Then we’ll work up to the harder commands,” Bryan went on. “You can teach her to give you a high-five or lay her head on her paws or fetch her own leash when it’s time to go for a walk.”

  “Dogs can do all that?” Julian asked. It hadn’t even occurred to him that he could teach Star tricks.

  “Of course they can,” Bryan said matter-of-factly. “The sky’s the limit.”

  Julian held back another laugh. He studied the chart, the boxes like a grid. If he could get through each one, his parents would have to trust him—and let him adopt Star. But it seemed impossible, not only because he’d never trained a dog, but because Star wasn’t exactly the perfect student. “Um—Bryan?”

  “Yes, Julian?” Bryan said, like a teacher calling on a student.

  “How do we teach her all of this when she won’t even let us touch her?”

  “Not to worry.” Bryan took a big bite of greasy pepperoni pizza. “I’ve helped train lots of dogs. I’ll show you how it’s done.”

  Talking with his mouth full and gesturing wildly, Bryan started to explain how he used treats to get certain dogs to learn commands, but other dogs liked toys better than treats. Julian glanced around the cafeteria, worried that everyone was watching Bryan’s enthusiastic hand movements as he described different training methods. At one point he stood up and imitated a dog learning to move from a down position up to a sitting position.

  “Maybe we should talk about this later,” Julian said, beckoning Bryan back to his seat.

  “Why?” Bryan said from a half squat.

  “People are staring.” Julian picked at the crust of his sandwich, embarrassed that Bryan didn’t even seem to notice how much of a scene he was making.

  With a shake of his head, Bryan sat down again. He leaned in and lowered his voice. “You care about Star, right?”

  “Of course!” Julian said. “All I’ve been able to think about is how to help her.”

  “When something is this important, I tune everyone out,” Bryan said. “I know they might be judging me, but I can’t let that distract me from what really matters.”

  He said it as though it was the simplest thing in the world, but Julian wasn’t so sure it would be that easy for him. He couldn’t imagine just tuning out what other people thought of him. Still, for Star’s sake, he was willing to try. He stole a glance toward the tables around them. All the other students had turned back to their own lunches and conversations.

  Julian took a bite of his sandwich. “Tell me more about what kind of treats you use.”

  * * *

  When Julian and Bryan arrived at the shelter after school, Ms. Khan continued the training that they’d started the day before. They worked with Star for a while, and then she brought a puppy named Bumble outside to demonstrate some basic dog-handling techniques. Bumble was a friendly, happy six-month-old who loved attention and already knew the sit command. Julian couldn’t believe how much easier it was to work with her than with Star.

  They worked with a few different dogs as Ms. Khan showed them how to approach a dog in the kennel, clip on the leash, and walk outside. Julian loved learning how to handle the different animals and getting to pet them, but he couldn’t wait until it was time to work with Star.

  Finally Ms. Khan sent the boys to the socialization room while she got Star. Julian and Bryan sat in the chairs to wait. A couple minutes later Star pulled Ms. Khan through the door. The dog’s ears were pinned back and her eyes darted around the room, but she didn’t seem quite as freaked out as she had been the day before. Maybe she was even starting to like being out of her kennel, Julian thought.

  Julian and Bryan sat quietly while Ms. Khan let Star sniff around the room. Once Star had settled down enough to stop pacing and panting, Ms. Khan said, “Come take the leas
h from me, Julian. Let’s see how she does when it’s just the two of you.”

  “You’re leaving?” Julian’s heart jumped into his throat. As excited as he was about working with Star, he wasn’t sure he was ready to do it on his own. The squares of Bryan’s training chart swam around in his head.

  “Nope. I’m just handing over the reins.” Ms. Khan passed the loop handle of the leash to Julian, then sat down in one of the chairs. He held tight to the faded red strip of nylon connecting him to Star. Star tilted her head, as if asking him what they should do now. Julian swallowed hard. He had absolutely no idea.

  “Hey, Star,” he said, before remembering that she couldn’t hear him say hello and giving her a small wave. He felt silly waving at a dog, but she watched his hand, then looked at his face. He crouched down. She waited a second, then slunk toward him. She stopped a few feet away, but she was close enough that Julian could reach out and pet her if he wanted to. He did want to, but he knew he had to take it slow. It had never worked when people tried to rush him, so he made a silent promise to let Star set her own pace.

  “Why don’t you see if she’ll follow you a few steps,” Bryan suggested. “Maybe you can get her used to the leash.”

  Ms. Khan nodded. “Good idea.”

  “Okay.” Julian slowly stood and took a step back. Star didn’t freak out, but she didn’t follow him either. He tried to encourage her. “Come on, Star.”

  She didn’t move.

  Julian took another step, the leash stretching taut between them. As soon as there was no more slack, Star felt the light tug of the leash on her collar and panicked. She jerked backwards and started whipping her head back and forth, trying to get away from the leash. But her frantic movements only made it pull harder on her collar, which tightened around her throat. She leaped into the air and pawed and snapped at the nylon, letting out a high-pitched scream unlike any noise Julian had ever heard.

  Star’s terrified energy filled the room. Julian could practically feel the weight of her fear. His eyes went wide as her desperate movements yanked his arm back and forth. “What do I do?”

  “Drop the leash!” Ms. Khan said.

  Julian let go. As soon as the leash was no longer pulling on her, Star retreated to a corner of the room, panting hard. Ms. Khan was on her feet, standing between Star and the boys. “Is everyone okay?”

  “We’re fine,” Bryan said. “Star just got scared.”

  Julian felt out of breath, too. “She acted like it was attacking her.”

  “Before she got here, she didn’t know what a leash was,” Ms. Khan said, studying Julian carefully. Star shook out her whole body, from her ears to her tail, as if she could shake off her fear.

  Julian tried to imagine what Star thought of the leash snaking from her collar. If he was in a strange place and someone tried to lead him around with no explanation, he’d probably freak out, too. But the concern on Ms. Khan’s face made him scared that he’d messed up and he wouldn’t be allowed to work with Star anymore. “Can I still train her?”

  Ms. Khan looked from Star to the boys and back again, as if she were trying to make a difficult decision. Julian held his breath. The dog sat in the corner, watching them, her breathing slowing to a normal pace. “Tell you what,” Ms. Khan said after a long moment. “Let’s try some things without touching the leash. Just let her drag it on the floor.”

  Julian exhaled with relief. “What kind of things—”

  “The training plan,” Bryan interrupted. “We can still use it.”

  “Training plan, huh, Bryan?” Ms. Khan grinned. She didn’t sound surprised, and Julian guessed this wasn’t the first time Bryan had shared one of his highly detailed ideas with her. Bryan took the paper out of his pocket. He unfolded the sheet and started to explain every step to Ms. Khan.

  Since Julian had already heard the whole thing at lunch, he turned to Star. He took a half step closer to her. She pressed her back into the corner, her fur against the wall. But she wasn’t trembling, Julian noticed. He tossed her a treat. She stretched out her snout and sniffed it, hesitating for a second. Then she gently nipped at it with her front teeth, pulled it into her mouth, and chomped it down. Licking her chops, she looked up at him expectantly, which made Julian feel better. Maybe she’d forgiven him for the leash.

  “That’s a pretty good plan,” Ms. Khan said when Bryan had finished his speech. Just then, the phone started ringing in her office, making them all jump.

  “I better get that.” Ms. Khan hesitated, then looked from Star to the boys. “You good?”

  Julian and Bryan nodded.

  “I’ll be right in there if you need me.” She hurried into the office and closed the door partway behind her as she answered the phone.

  Julian glanced at Star, hoping she wouldn’t freak out again. She was looking pretty calm, but she was still pressed into the corner like she was glued to it. “Okay, Bryan. Where do we start?”

  Bryan tapped the paper in his hand. “At the beginning. The first command is sit.”

  “How do I teach her to sit when she’s already sitting?” Julian asked.

  “Simple. Put a treat by her nose to get her to stand up, then when she’s standing, slowly move the treat over her head so she has to look up.” Bryan demonstrated the move as if there were an invisible dog in front him. “She’ll automatically put her rump down as her head comes up, and you’ll tell her to sit, so she learns the command.”

  “Buuuuut . . .” Bryan sounded so confident that Julian hated having to ask the question. “How exactly will she know what I’m saying?” he asked.

  Bryan blinked at him, then smacked his palm against his forehead. “Oh, right. Of course. Um, well, she’ll follow the treat. It’ll still make sense to her.”

  For the first time Julian could remember, Bryan sounded slightly unsure of himself.

  “Okay, I’ll give it a try.” Julian stepped toward Star with the treat in his outstretched hand. But she wasn’t looking at him. She had turned her attention to the leash that hung over her shoulder and lay in a pile by her feet. She startled when Julian got too close, and she scuttled sideways along the wall.

  “Try putting the treat right by her nose so she knows you have it,” Bryan suggested.

  Julian crouched down and stretched his arm until the treat was within a couple inches of Star’s face. Her nose twitched, but she didn’t take it.

  “What now?” Frustration was building inside him like a volcano. His palms started to sweat and his heart was beating faster. He should just give up now. This was one more thing he wasn’t going to be able to do. His parents could just tell him he wasn’t responsible enough. And Bryan and Ms. Khan could be disappointed in him, like everyone else.

  “Maybe she’d like a toy,” Bryan suggested. He dug through the basket of toys in search of the perfect one. Julian wasn’t sure why the knotted ropes and rubber bones Bryan rejected weren’t good enough, but he turned his attention back to Star. Her gaze flicked from him to Bryan to the half-open door of the office. Ms. Khan had hung up the phone, but she stayed in the office, tapping at her keyboard. Star looked worried, but at least she wasn’t panicking anymore.

  Julian couldn’t let Star down. If treats and toys weren’t going to work, he had to find a different way to gain her trust. He took a deep breath and forced himself to think about how he’d gotten through to her before. He’d just . . . sat still in front of her cage. That was it! Maybe he needed to spend time with her without asking her to do anything, so she knew she could trust him.

  Julian sank to his knees. He sneaked glances at Star, careful not to stare at her. He tossed her another treat, but she ignored it.

  Bryan finally looked up from the basket with a triumphant expression on his face and a stuffed dog toy that looked like a trout in his hand. He nodded when he saw Julian on the floor. “Great thinking. She needs to get used to us.”

  Bryan got down on all fours, crawled toward Julian and Star, stopped a few feet away, and slid the s
tuffed fish the rest of the way. Then he plopped down cross-legged on the floor. Julian watched Star watching Bryan and almost burst out laughing. She had a confused expression on her face, as if Bryan were the strangest dog she’d ever seen.

  But Bryan didn’t seem to mind. He was too busy formulating a new plan. “Sometimes it helps just to sit and pretend the dog isn’t even there,” he said without looking at Star. “We should just talk and let her come to us.”

  “Um, okay.” Julian shifted so he was sitting cross-legged on the floor, too, facing Bryan. “So, how do you know so much about dogs?”

  Bryan rubbed at a spot of dirt on the side of his shoe. He kept his eyes down while he spoke. “I had a hard time at my last school. I . . . I didn’t really have a lot of friends. My dad started taking me to the shelter in my old town to volunteer because I love being around dogs. Dogs are the best. They don’t judge you or tease you. So I decided to learn as much about them as I could, and when we moved here, I started coming to this shelter.”

  Something in Bryan’s voice felt familiar to Julian. He certainly knew what it was like to have a hard time at school, and he felt bad that it had taken him so long to give Bryan a chance. “That’s really cool.”

  “Thanks.” Bryan shot Star a sideways glance. “I like being able to help them.”

  “Does the shelter get a lot of dogs like Star?” Julian asked.

  “No way!” Bryan looked up at Julian. “I mean, sometimes we get dogs who are a little scared, like Pip, but I haven’t seen any other deaf dogs since I moved here. Ms. Khan says they come in sometimes. But no one else is like Star.”

  “You mean because she’s so difficult?” Julian knew he was supposed to be ignoring Star, but he tossed her a treat just in case she somehow understood what he was saying.

  Bryan shook his head. “Because she’s so special.”

  Julian grinned. “I thought it was just me, because I haven’t spent a lot of time around dogs. There’s something about her, right?”