Star

by Jennifer Li Shotz

  “You can tell how smart she is,” Bryan agreed. “She’s just . . . different.”

  Out of the corner of his eye, Julian saw Star tip her head to the side, almost as if she were following their conversation. He could’ve sworn she’d moved a little closer when he wasn’t paying attention.

  “I get it,” Julian said, looking at the ground and swallowing the lump in his throat. “I’m different, too.” He’d never admitted this to anyone. He glanced self-consciously at the office door and lowered his voice, hoping Ms. Khan wasn’t listening. “I have dyslexia, so school is really hard. Most of the time I feel like I’m not good at anything.”

  Bryan let out a snort of laughter. Julian’s head shot up, and he glared at him. What kind of response was that? Maybe his first impression of Bryan had been right all along. He instantly regretted saying anything—this was why he should just keep to himself.

  “No way!” Bryan blurted out, his face lit up by a giant smile.

  Julian had never seen anyone so excited about his diagnosis. Usually when people heard about it, they looked away and shifted from foot to foot and got all uncomfortable. They never really knew what it meant, but they did understand that it made Julian different. The worst was that when people found out, they treated him like he was stupid. There was basically no good response, which was why Julian had decided long ago to stop talking about it.

  But Bryan’s reaction—that was a new low. No one had ever outright laughed at him.

  Bryan must have seen the shocked look on Julian’s face, because he held up both hands and shook his head. “What I mean is—I have dyslexia too!”

  Julian’s jaw dropped. “You do? Seriously? Or are you messing with me? Because—”

  “I’m serious! Me too!” Bryan was grinning at him again. He almost made it seem like dyslexia was some cool thing they had in common.

  Julian thought about it for a second. He did like the idea of knowing someone else who understood what he was going through. But how could Bryan have dyslexia? He was such a brainiac! “But you do so well at school,” Julian said. “And you’re always reading.”

  “Sure, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy for me. I have to work extra hard,” Bryan said. “I have to read all the time to keep practicing, and I wear headphones to tune out distractions.” He shrugged. “I know other kids think I’m weird. But I did a bunch of research, and I found out that lots of famous people had dyslexia. Even Einstein!”

  “Really? How is that possible?” Julian asked.

  “Our brains function differently from everyone else’s. It’s like a superpower.” Bryan started gesturing as he explained. Star followed his movements with her eyes. “Yes, sure—it’s harder to decode language. But the same thing in our brains that makes reading so hard makes us really good at other stuff. I’m great at art and inventing things. Right now, it’s mostly little things, but maybe one day I’ll work with robots.”

  Julian was shocked. He had never known that being dyslexic could be an actual advantage for some things. He tried to think of what he was really good at, and he could come up with only one thing: maps.

  It had never occurred to him that his dyslexia might be the reason he was so good at remembering landscapes and directions and every corner he turned. It might even explain his love of maps and drawing.

  Maybe, Julian thought, he could even be the Einstein of maps someday! After all those years of struggling and feeling like he was doing everything all wrong all the time, something in his brain clicked. He started to see himself in a different way.

  Julian felt a little guilty for having thought that Bryan was weird. He was actually pretty cool, and they had more in common than he’d ever imagined.

  Bryan’s eyes went wide. “Don’t look now, but someone is really close to you.”

  While they’d been talking, Star had quietly moved close enough to sniff Julian, her cold nose tickling his arm. He held his breath, not wanting to scare her away. She sniffed at the fish-shaped toy in his hand. Julian wondered if dog toys were as unfamiliar to her as the leash.

  He reached toward Star in slow motion, as if he were moving through thick mud. With just the tips of his fingers, he lightly touched one of the gray patches on her back. Her fur was the softest thing he’d ever felt, softer than his mom’s favorite fleece throw blanket. Amazingly, Star let him pet her.

  She inched even closer and stood right next to Julian, then sniffed in Bryan’s direction. Bryan held out his hand, and she nosed his palm.

  A huge smile spread across Bryan’s face. “She’s never gotten this close to me before.”

  Julian was grinning like a little kid too. He felt like he was floating as he ran his fingers through the dog’s silky fur. Star was finally beginning to trust him. She might not be ready for the leash right away—maybe not for a long time—but Julian didn’t care. For the first time he could remember, he felt like he had actually succeeded at something. And along the way, he’d found not one but two new friends.

  ★ Chapter 7 ★

  * * *

  * * *

  Julian kept replaying in his mind his last training session with Star. Well, it couldn’t exactly be called training. He hadn’t taught her to do anything except touch his hand with her nose to get a treat. But she was coming right up to him when he walked into the socialization room, and that was huge. She leaned into him as he petted her, and she took treats right from his hand. She was so gentle, her mouth barely brushing the tips of his fingers before she scarfed down the snacks. Now he just had to figure out how to actually train her. He didn’t know how she’d ever learn commands without being able to hear what he was saying.

  “Julian!” His mom’s voice snapped him out of his daydream. “Come on, we’ve got three more questions. What is the main theme of this chapter?”

  Julian thumbed through the book, searching for clues. He’d actually managed to make it through the whole chapter with his parents, but his mind had been so full of thoughts of Star that he could barely remember what he’d read. A few familiar words jumped out at him—parents, brother, child. He took a wild guess. “Is the theme family?”

  “Try again,” his mom encouraged. “Think about what you read.”

  If only it were that easy. By the time he decoded the words, it was hard to keep track of what they were actually saying.

  “Love?” Julian guessed. Weren’t most books about love in the end?

  His mom sighed. “No. It’s about individuality and choice.”

  Julian let the book fall to the table and covered his face with his hands. If he had a choice, he’d be at the shelter with Star instead of doing homework. At this rate, he’d never manage to get through it all before his parents gave up.

  “Are you sure the theme isn’t time?” Henry said, ruffling the back of Julian’s head as he walked out of the pantry with a box of crackers in his hand. “This is taking forever.”

  Julian swatted his brother’s hand away. Everything was so simple for him.

  “Henry, what are you doing?” their dad said. “We’re going to your grandfather’s house for dinner.”

  “I’m starving. And it’ll be hours before we go if we have to wait for Jules to finish his homework.”

  “Be nice to your brother,” his dad warned.

  Julian’s mom pushed her chair back. “Look at the time! We’re late for Grandpa’s birthday dinner.” She set Julian’s assignment on the table. “We’ll have to finish later, Jules.”

  Julian felt a rush of relief. He jumped up from the table and grabbed the baking dish off the counter, leaving his homework behind.

  When they finally pulled up to Grandpa’s house, an exasperated Aunt Carol opened the door. “There you are! We were about to give up on you.”

  Julian felt his cheeks turn pink. He looked at his mom, dad, and brother, but no one admitted that it was his fault that they were late. They stepped into the house, which was warm and full of food smells and noisy with conversation. Julian looked t
hrough the sliding glass door to the backyard and saw his cousins chasing one another around on the grass. Julian’s mom had three sisters and two brothers, and they’d all brought their families over for Grandpa’s big birthday.

  The entire dining room table was teeming with foil-covered casseroles and serving bowls full of salad. Aunt Sharon shuffled the dishes around so Julian could add his dad’s Mexican lasagna to the spread. His grandpa laid a hand on his shoulder. “You brought my favorite!”

  Julian gave his grandpa a hug, careful not to bump against his cane. “Happy birthday, Grandpa.”

  “Let’s eat,” his grandpa said, picking up a plate and handing it to him. “Fill ’er up for me, would you, kid?” Julian piled the plate high with food and carried it to one of the tables that were set up on the back patio. He got his grandpa settled in a chair, then went back for his own dinner. No one in his family had to be told twice to eat, so Julian had to wait for his cousins, aunts, and uncles to finish getting their food before he could get close to the buffet again.

  All of Julian’s cousins were either little kids or off at college, so he never had anyone his own age to talk to at family gatherings. Well, he did have Henry, but Julian tried to steer clear of him. He wasn’t in the mood for any more teasing.

  While he waited for the buffet line to move, Julian glanced at the picture frames crowding the mantel. Among all the old wedding and school photos was a black-and-white picture of Grandpa, young and trim in his army uniform, with a German shepherd sitting proudly by his side. This had always been Julian’s favorite photo. He loved the stories of all the adventures his grandfather had with his dog, Liberty. Finally it was his turn to get dinner, and as he loaded his plate with food, he imagined himself and Star having their own adventures.

  It was getting dark by the time the family sang “Happy Birthday.” Julian’s mom cut the cake, and dinner plates were stacked and carried into the kitchen to be replaced by dessert plates. Someone turned on the lights that were strung above the patio and lit the vanilla-scented candles on the table. The little kids had taken their cake inside to play with Grandpa’s old board games. Julian was getting restless. He still had to finish his homework, and he wanted to watch more dog training videos before going back to the shelter tomorrow. But he knew it would be a while before the party wound down.

  Grandpa set down a plate heavy with chocolate cake and strawberry ice cream next to Julian at the end of the table. “You’ve been quiet tonight. What are you making there, kid?”

  Julian had been drawing designs in his frosting with the tip of his fork. He suddenly realized that he’d been drawing Star. “It’s a dog I’ve been trying to help at the shelter. Her name is Star. But she’s deaf, so I don’t know how to talk to her.”

  Grandpa took a bite of cake. “You know, I had a dog once. Back in the military.”

  “Liberty, right?” Julian thought of the photo on the mantel.

  “That was my girl.” Grandpa smiled sadly.

  “I bet she was a really good dog,” Julian said.

  “She was the best.” Grandpa leaned closer and lowered his voice. “And I’ll let you in on a secret. You don’t need words to talk to your dog. We trained our dogs using hand signals.”

  Julian perked up. “You did?”

  Grandpa nodded. “It was a good way to bond with them. But more importantly, we had to be able to give them commands without speaking, in case we were ever in a dangerous situation and couldn’t make a sound.”

  Julian imagined his grandpa signing to Liberty to stay still while enemy soldiers patrolled nearby—and the dog knowing exactly what he wanted. It made sense. Dogs had to learn English, so why not hand signals?

  “Can you teach me?” he asked eagerly.

  “Sure. Soon as we’re done with our cake.” Grandpa winked at Julian as he shoved a big forkful of dessert into his mouth. Julian knew that his mom was trying to get Grandpa to eat healthier, but she had to give in to his sweet tooth on his birthday. Julian smiled and took a bite of his own cake.

  “Did I ever tell you about the first time I met Liberty?” Grandpa asked. Julian shook his head. He’d heard about the time Grandpa carried Liberty across a swamp on his shoulders and the time Liberty stole a candy bar for him from a friend’s bunk. But he never knew how they first met.

  “Well, I knew from the beginning that I wanted to be part of a K-9 team. I did everything possible to get into the program. I must have washed a thousand dog bowls before they finally put me in training. I trained with a dog named Bear. Took care of him day and night, learned all the commands he knew. But at the end of training, Bear was up for retirement. After all that work, I was left without a dog.” Grandpa paused to take another bite. “Then, two days later, I saw the kennel master out with the prettiest shepherd I’d ever seen. Beautiful, but stubborn.”

  “Liberty?” Julian guessed.

  Grandpa nodded. “She was supposed be climbing over a wall. But when I walked up to the training yard, she ignored the wall and came straight for the fence. She climbed right over and into my arms. The kennel master had just about had it with her and was ready to ship her off to civilian life. But I saw something in her. I knew she was special. He gave me three days to get her through the whole obstacle course, and we did it.”

  “How?” Julian asked.

  “Most people think dog training is about getting the dog to listen to you. But most of the time it’s about listening to your dog. Liberty just needed someone who understood her.” Grandpa scraped the last bit of frosting off his plate, licked his fork clean, and stood up. “Come on. I’ll show you some of her hand signals.”

  Julian helped Grandpa down the three steps from the patio to the lawn. It was a cool fall night, and Uncle Daniel had started a fire in the fire pit. Julian saw Henry and his dad among the small cluster of adults huddled around the crackling flames. Most of the family had gone inside, so the yard was pretty quiet.

  Grandpa led Julian across the grass, away from the others. “You have to remember that dogs notice everything. So you don’t have to wave your arms around like you’re signaling an airplane. Your signals can be small, but keep them consistent. Especially with your dog—she may not be able to hear, but you can be sure she’s watching you.”

  “Got it.” Julian liked the way Grandpa referred to Star as his dog.

  Grandpa nodded, satisfied that Julian was taking in the lesson. Then he stood tall and proud, as if he were back in uniform, his arms hanging at his sides. Then he raised his right arm and held it straight out in front of him, parallel to the ground, with his open palm facing the sky. “That means sit. Give it a try.”

  Julian straightened his back, trying to stand like a soldier. He swept his arm forward from his side, with his palm up.

  “Good,” Grandpa said. “Now, to get your dog to lie down, point your hand toward the ground.” He turned his palm face-down. Keeping his arm straight and his hand flat, he lowered his arm until his fingers pointed at the grass. Julian copied his movement. They repeated the two commands over and over as Grandpa told Julian more stories about Liberty.

  Julian could picture Star responding to the commands, like they had their own secret language. An idea popped into his head. “If I can teach her hand signals for all these different commands, can I teach her one for her name? That way she’ll know when I’m talking to her?”

  “Sure can. You said her name was Star, right?”

  Julian nodded.

  Grandpa thought about it for a moment. Then he spread out his fingers and waggled them gently, making a small wave motion. “How about this? Like a glimmering star.”

  Julian remembered how Star had watched his hand when he’d waved at her, as if she’d known it was just for her. He brightened. “That’s perfect. Thanks, Grandpa!”

  Julian’s mom stepped out onto the patio. “What are you two up to out here?”

  “Grandpa’s teaching me how to train dogs,” Julian said. “So I can work with them at the shelter.�
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  His mom seemed a little surprised. “You’re really dedicated to those dogs, aren’t you?” she said.

  “He sure is,” Grandpa said. Julian nodded in agreement. He wanted to prove to both of them that he could do this.

  To Julian’s astonishment, his mom smiled. “I’ll leave you to it, then.” And without another word, she turned back toward the house.

  “There’s one more you need to know,” Grandpa said.

  “What’s that?” Julian’s mind was whirring as he tried to soak up everything his grandpa had told him.

  Grandpa flashed him a thumbs-up.

  “Okay,” Julian said. “What’s the last command?”

  “That’s it.” Grandpa gave him another thumbs-up. “You can’t tell her with words that she’s a good dog, so you need a sign to tell her she got it right.”

  Julian stuck his own thumb in the air uncertainly. Then he dropped his hands to his sides. “This will really work?”

  “Of course it will.” Grandpa put his arm around Julian’s shoulder. “Training will help you build trust so she knows you’re part of the same pack. But the most important thing is that you’re there for her and you care. Once she knows she can rely on you, she’ll come around.”

  Julian squared his shoulders as he stood beside his grandpa. He was starting to understand his purpose now. He was going to communicate with Star. And he knew exactly how.

  ★ Chapter 8 ★

  * * *

  * * *

  Julian and Bryan headed to the shelter together after school. When they got there, Bryan pulled a sandwich bag full of shredded chicken out of his backpack. “I thought we should give Star something really special for her training. This should get her attention.”

  “She’ll like that. I brought something, too.” Julian handed Bryan a folded stack of paper.

  “What is this?” Bryan asked, unfolding the pages.