Star

by Jennifer Li Shotz

  Bryan closed the window and logged out of the computer. “I haven’t finished mine either. We can do it together.”

  Julian’s spirits lifted a little. He hated getting into trouble, and if the two of them could work together, maybe they would get it done more quickly. He was starting to think they could do anything, even find buried treasure that had stayed hidden for hundreds of years. After all, they’d cracked the code on how to communicate with Star. Julian wrapped his fingers around the dog tag and smiled at his friend.

  ★ Chapter 10 ★

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  Julian and Bryan huddled outside Ms. Khan’s office on Saturday morning. They’d spent the whole lunch period on Friday planning this out. They’d made a lot of progress with Star, but she couldn’t stay in the socialization room forever. It was time to take her outside so she could sniff the trees and grass and run around like a normal dog.

  Ms. Khan opened the door, and Julian was greeted by a chunky tan pit bull mix. The dog’s tail wagged in circles like a helicopter blade, and his tongue hung out of his mouth in a giant smile.

  “Hey, Buster!” Bryan said, patting the dog’s big, square head. Of course he knew the animal by name, Julian thought.

  “I need to do some work with Buster today.” Ms. Khan snapped a leash on the mutt’s collar. His tail spun even faster. “I’m hoping if I wear him out a bit, he’ll stop trying to eat his blankets.”

  Julian’s heart sank. “Does that mean we can’t work with Star?”

  “Of course you can! She really needs you.” Ms. Khan took another leash off a hook and held it out. “How do you feel about getting her out of the kennel yourself?”

  “Sure!” Julian felt like his heart actually skipped a beat. He cleared his throat, trying not to appear as excited as he felt. “I mean, I think I can do that.” He took the black nylon leash from Ms. Khan.

  “Definitely,” Bryan said, turning to Ms. Khan. “Can we take her to the training yard today?”

  “That’s a great idea.” Ms. Khan handed Star’s vibration collar and remote to Bryan. “I’ll be walking Buster, so I can stay close in case you have any problems.”

  Armed with the leash, treats, and his determination to get this right, Julian marched up to Star’s kennel. She watched him approach, her ears tipped forward and her tail swaying uncertainly. The black Lab mix in the kennel next to hers saw the leash and started barking and hopping on his front feet. That set off a barking chain up and down the kennels, and soon it was impossibly loud. Julian looked at Star, hoping she wasn’t scared. But, of course, the noise didn’t bother her.

  “Here goes.” Julian took a deep breath, opened the door of her kennel, and stepped inside. He gave her a thumbs-up and a treat. She leaned against his leg, and he stroked the gray patches on her back.

  “I can’t believe you’re in there with her,” Bryan said as he closed the kennel door behind Julian. “I mean, she’s been doing so well, but I never thought I’d see this!”

  “Now the trick is getting her out of here.” Julian exhaled slowly and snapped the leash on Star’s purple collar. He quickly clasped the vibration collar around her neck and gave her another treat. She didn’t even flinch. As she looked up at him with her bright, curious eyes, Julian let out a relieved sigh. Now he had to get her outside.

  “Just lure her along with treats,” Bryan said. “As long as the leash isn’t pulling on her, I think she’ll be okay.”

  Julian nodded. They’d gone over leash training a dozen times yesterday at lunch, and he’d spent lots of time walking Star in circles around the socialization room to get her used to being on the lead. He knew exactly what he was supposed to do. He just didn’t know if Star would freak out once she got out of her kennel.

  He took a backward step toward the door and held out a treat. Star didn’t move.

  Julian glanced over his shoulder at Bryan with a look of worry. He didn’t want to pull on the leash, but if Star didn’t move on her own, they were going to be out of luck.

  He turned back toward her, the leash still slack between them, and knelt down. He gave Star the hand signal for come that his grandpa had taught him. “It’s okay, girl. I know it’s scary.”

  Star hesitated for a second, then timidly trotted forward. She gently took the treat from Julian’s outstretched palm. He did it two more times, and they made it to the kennel door.

  Bryan slowly opened the door. Star’s gaze whipped from Julian to the doorway, her eyes going wide. Julian stepped into the aisle. Star stayed frozen in her kennel. Julian held out a treat, and Star cautiously inched forward until she reached him. He gave her a thumbs-up and petted her, hoping to reassure her. She trembled beside him. “You’ll love it outside, Star,” he said softly. “There’s grass and dirt and fresh air. You can’t stay in here forever.”

  She may not have been able to hear him, but she calmed down a little. Julian stepped backwards like he had in the kennel and gave her a treat when she came along with him. It was hard to stay focused on her with the other dogs barking and jumping around in their kennels. Even Star got distracted. She walked in a low crouch and sneaked glances at the other dogs between treats.

  They inched down the kennel aisle two steps at a time. Bryan stayed ten feet behind them, so Star wouldn’t feel crowded. Julian had never walked this slowly in his life. He glanced up. The door was only twenty-five feet away and then they’d be outside. They could do this.

  Julian took another step, but Star must’ve been distracted, because the leash was now stretched between them.

  Star started to panic.

  She made that horrible screaming sound and jerked back and forth the way she had on the first day. Her body was writhing in circular movements, like a corkscrew, and the sounds of her high-pitched shrieks echoed through the air. It was like she was shaking off all the progress they’d made.

  Bryan stood behind Star like a statue, his eyes as wide as hers. Julian wondered if Bryan was afraid that getting involved would only make Star more scared. Or maybe Bryan was just as freaked out as he was.

  Julian didn’t know what to do. Now that they weren’t in the socialization room or her kennel, he couldn’t drop her leash the way he had the last time. He reached into his pocket for the remote to her vibration collar and realized that it was still in Bryan’s hand.

  Julian dropped to his knees and waved his free hand to get her attention. Star stopped flailing around and looked at him, as if she were surprised to find him there. She ran up to him, nearly bowling him over, and leaned against his side for comfort. Julian stroked her fur as she trembled, and they sat like that for a moment, together.

  He got to his feet and took a tentative step toward the door, bracing himself for Star to panic again. But she stayed by his side. She looked up at him, her eyes full of trust, pleading to get her out of there. So he did.

  Julian started walking, then quickly picked up speed. Star kept pace with him, and soon he was racing to the door, the dog running alongside him. They burst outside into the sunshine and kept running until they’d reached the shade beneath a huge tree. Bryan joined them, and the three of them breathed in the fresh air. Star’s tongue hung out of her mouth, and her nose twitched as she looked around for the first time. The sun painted shadows of branches over the grass. It had rained that morning, and the ground was soft and damp. The air smelled like wet leaves.

  Julian saw Ms. Khan working with Buster on the walking path. She glanced up at them, and he waved to let her know everything was okay. But Julian wasn’t a hundred percent sure that it was. Even though the leash dangled loosely between them, he could see the tension in Star’s muscles as she took everything in.

  “Let’s take her to the yard,” Bryan suggested. “It’s fenced in, so she can run around.”

  Julian wasn’t sure that either of them was ready to move from the spot under the tree, but he liked the idea of giving Star more freedom. Maybe she wouldn’t be so scared if she didn’t have to worry ab
out the leash tugging on her collar while she got used to the sights and scents of the outdoors.

  Bryan led the way to the yard. Star stayed close to Julian, her eyes darting all around. Once the gates were safely latched behind them, Julian dropped the leash so she could run and play. But she didn’t do either of those things. She stuck like glue to Julian’s side, her eyes as big as golf balls and her nostrils flaring in and out. Her muscles twitched as she looked one way, then the other, and she hid behind Julian’s legs as if she were facing invisible monsters.

  Julian waggled his fingers at her, but she ignored him. He looked at Bryan nervously. “What’s up with her?” He knew that Star couldn’t hear the dogs barking or other sounds from inside the shelter. There wasn’t much activity on this stretch of road. With leaves drifting from the trees in the autumn sunshine, the yard seemed peaceful to Julian. But Star’s tail stayed tucked between her legs.

  Bryan shook his head and furrowed his brow. “She’s probably just jumpy from being outside for the first time. Try giving her a command. It might help her calm down.”

  Julian tried waving at Star again, but she wouldn’t look at him. He took the remote from Bryan and gave her collar a quick buzz. She did a little jump-spin to face him, but she kept her head lowered, like she was in trouble.

  “It’s okay, girl. It’s just me.” Julian squatted down to her level and stretched out his hand. She gave his knuckles a tentative lick but kept her tail tucked. Julian held out a treat. His palms were so sweaty he thought he might drop it on the ground. Star’s anxiety was making him nervous. She sniffed the treat but didn’t take it, almost as if she’d forgotten all the training and trust they’d built up.

  “She’s really scared,” Julian said. “I think this is too much for her.”

  “She needs time to get used to it,” Bryan said. “Too bad my mom didn’t make chicken last night.”

  Julian was pretty sure that all the chicken in the world wouldn’t be enough to make Star feel better about being outdoors. She just wasn’t ready.

  “We should take her back inside.” He stood up slowly, wiping his palms on his jeans, picked up the leash, and headed for the gate. Star stayed close to his legs, and he had to be careful not to trip over her. He wished he could be happy that she wanted to be near him and wasn’t freaking out about the leash anymore, but he hated seeing her so terrified.

  Julian walked quickly back into the shelter while Bryan went to tell Ms. Khan how it went. When they reached the kennels, Star bolted into her cage, practically dragging Julian with her.

  He closed her kennel door behind them and sat on the floor, his heart racing. Star backed into a corner of the kennel, as far away from him as she could get. It seemed that they’d gone in reverse, all the way back to the first day they’d met. At least she wasn’t shaking anymore.

  Julian pulled his knees up to his chest and laid his forehead on his arms. He felt terrible for letting Star get so scared. He just wanted to protect her and help her feel safe, but he’d only made things worse. But just then, as a wave of doubt washed over him, he felt something cold and wet nudging his elbow. He looked up to find her beside him, pressing her nose to his arm. She looked worried about him. Julian smiled down at the sweet dog by his side.

  “We’re okay,” he said, straightening his legs and unfolding his arms. He rubbed her silky ears. She tilted her head into his hand. He unclipped the leash from her collar and set it by the door. Star yawned and lay down next to him, her front legs stretched alongside his. They sat together for a long time.

  ★ Chapter 11 ★

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  When their volunteer shift was over, Julian and Bryan rode their bikes back to Julian’s house, where a mountain of homework waited for them. It was Bryan’s idea that they study together. Even though working together in social studies had gone well, getting through this amount of work was going to be tough. Julian was nervous.

  They had the house to themselves. Julian’s dad was at work, his mom was at Grandpa’s house, and Henry was out with his friends. Julian was glad that no one would be looking over their shoulders while they muddled through their homework. He had a hard enough time doing it on his own, and he wasn’t sure how it would work with a study partner.

  Julian wasn’t in a big hurry to hit the books. He took his time grabbing cheese sticks and a box of crackers. He brought the snack out to the dining room table, where Bryan was pulling textbooks and notebooks out of his backpack.

  “I like to start with English,” Bryan said. “That way I can get the hard stuff out of the way and save math for last.”

  “Sure.” Julian tried to sound like it didn’t matter either way. But he was the opposite. He usually started with the easier subjects to put off reading as long as he could. Sometimes he put it off forever, which was what kept landing him in detention.

  His stomach knotted with worry as he took out the novel they were reading that unit. They were supposed to read two chapters over the weekend and answer a bunch of questions. Even though he knew Bryan had dyslexia, too, he was still nervous. What if Bryan thought Julian was slowing him down? What if he ended up judging him, just like everyone else did?

  Julian had only done homework with his parents, so he wasn’t sure where to start with Bryan. “Should we read it out loud? Or read a couple pages to ourselves and check in? I’m really slow.”

  “I’m no speed reader either.” Bryan took out his phone and set it on the table. “But I’ve got the audiobook. We can listen together.”

  “You mean listen to other people read the book?” Julian asked. Was Bryan doing that when he had his headphones on in the cafeteria?

  “It’s really cool.” Bryan’s eyes lit up. “They do voices and everything. And listening makes it easier for me to follow the text and understand the story. It’s helped my reading a lot. I think you’ll like it.”

  Julian was doubtful that he’d like anything that had to do with reading, but he was willing to give it a try.

  “Okay, let’s do it.” Julian opened his book and got out a ruler.

  Bryan paused, his finger hovering over his phone. “What’s that for?”

  “It’s something I learned at st—” Julian stopped himself from saying stupid kids’ camp. He and Bryan weren’t dumb; they just learned differently. He needed to start thinking of these tools as . . . signals. They were reading signals, just like Star’s hand signals. “It’s a trick from reading camp. The ruler makes it easier to focus on just one line at a time.”

  “Can I try?” Bryan asked. Julian gave him his silver ruler and found an old blue plastic one in the kitchen junk drawer for himself. When Julian sat back down at the table, Bryan looked at him. “Ready?”

  Julian nodded. They lined up their rulers at the start of the chapter. Bryan hit play.

  For once, Julian got into the story. Between the audiobook and the ruler, he was able to follow along. As he listened to the reader do different voices, he felt like he understood the characters. It still took all his concentration to keep up, but hearing the words made it easier. It also helped to know that Bryan was following along at the same pace. Before Julian knew it, the first chapter was over.

  Bryan hit pause. “Need a break?”

  Julian rubbed his eyes. “I can’t believe we already read the whole chapter. I kind of want to know what happens next.”

  “Me too.” Bryan grinned and hit play. By the time they got to the end of their assigned reading, Julian knew that he had to download the audiobook. The main character had just started his training to take over the most important role in his society. The more he learned, the more the character realized that he was seeing the world differently than his friends and family saw it, and that was going to change everything. Julian could relate. He even wanted to listen to the earlier chapters of the book that he’d skipped or struggled through with his parents.

  Julian and Bryan helped each other answer the questions about the chapters. When they fi
nished, Julian felt lighter. They still had science and math homework, but his worst subject hadn’t been so bad for once—and it was done.

  Bryan slid his science textbook from the pile of books. “Sorry, no audiobook for this one.”

  “I’ve got something that might help.” Julian ran to his room and got his laptop. He typed the chapter topic into the search engine. “There are usually vlogs and other videos about everything we’re learning in science. Some of them are really funny. I usually watch a couple, so at least I know a little bit before trying to read the chapter.”

  “I never thought of that,” Bryan said. “That’s really smart.”

  Julian flushed with pride as he pulled up a video. The best student in his grade had just called him smart!

  By the time they got to their math homework, the cheese and crackers were gone and Julian and Bryan were joking around. Julian heard the garage door rumble, and a minute later his dad came through the door.

  Julian’s dad sat down at the head of the table in his scrubs. He’d been on a double shift at the hospital, and he looked like he needed to crawl into bed. “You must be Bryan,” he said.

  Bryan nodded. “That’s me.”

  “It’s nice to finally meet you.” Julian’s dad surveyed the cheese wrappers, the books scattered all over the table, the laptop, Bryan’s phone, and the boys’ smiles. “But Julian needs to get his homework done. Do you need a ride home?”

  “Dad!” Julian protested. “Can’t he stay for dinner?”

  “Jules, we’ve talked about this.” His dad looked at Bryan. “Sorry, but—”

  “—​my homework is done!” Julian interrupted.

  “All of it?” His dad sounded skeptical.

  “We just finished up math,” Bryan said.