Star

by Jennifer Li Shotz

  ★ Chapter 24 ★

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  Julian lifted the heavy, dented box out of the hole and set it on the porch between him and Star. He tried to pop the lid open, but it was firmly locked. He didn’t want to break the latch this time. Unlike the box in the woods, this one had belonged to Mrs. Winderhouser, and he wanted to treat it with respect. He turned the box over in his hands and found a combination dial on the front.

  It was almost as if Julian just knew. Without hesitating, he reached into his pocket for the tag from Star’s original collar, which he still carried everywhere. It was the only number the combination could possibly be: Star’s birthday. It was his birthday, too. He squeezed the tag in his palm.

  “Here goes,” he said to Star, spinning the dial clockwise to 11, then the opposite direction to 25, and back the other way to 15.

  Julian took a deep breath. The lid popped open.

  “Lucky Star!” Julian laughed. He scratched Star behind the ear and then reached into the box.

  He pulled out a framed photo of a smiling older woman with short gray hair. She gazed down at a tiny puppy in her arms. The puppy looked at the camera with intelligent blue eyes. Her fur was mostly white, with mottled gray patches on her back, like a map. Even though she was so much smaller in the picture, Julian would know those markings and that expression anywhere.

  It was clear from the way Mrs. Winderhouser looked at Star in the photo that she had loved the dog so much. And Star had seemed happy enough in this house, with her bed and her toys. It must have been so hard for her to lose the only person she’d ever known. Then she’d been taken from a home filled with familiar things to a sterile, empty cage at the shelter. No wonder she was frightened and stressed when Julian first met her.

  Julian swallowed the lump in his throat and gently set the framed photo aside. He lifted a plain white envelope out of the box and gasped out loud.

  Resting under it was a huge stack of cash.

  Julian’s heart raced, but he made himself open the envelope first. It contained a single sheet of lined yellow paper. Julian unfolded the note and squinted at the looping handwriting.

  To Whom It May Concern:

  Star has brought me so much joy these past few years. I love her like she’s my own child, and I want to make sure she’s cared for when I’m gone. I’ve saved up enough money to take care of Star for the rest of her days. I hope you will love this special dog as much as I do.

  Sincerely,

  Rose Winderhouser

  With trembling fingers, Julian refolded the note and put it back into the envelope. He set it aside with the framed photograph and reached into the box one more time. He pulled out a huge brick of hundred-dollar bills.

  Julian and Star ran all the way home. Julian clutched the metal box to his chest, worried that it might evaporate into thin air. Star carried her favorite football toy the whole way.

  They burst into the kitchen, where Julian’s mom had just finished a batch of snickerdoodle cookies for the bake sale. Without thinking, Julian grabbed a cookie and took a big bite out of it, filling his mouth with the warm taste of cinnamon and sugar. This must be what victory tasted like.

  “What are you doing?” his mom said with a laugh, moving the plate to the other side of the kitchen, away from Julian. “Those are for your bake sale!”

  Julian shook his head and started talking, his mouth still full of cookie. “We don’t need a bake sale anymore.” He plunked down the metal box on the counter and pulled out the letter, the photo, and, finally, the wad of cash. “Look—this is Star’s money.”

  His mom picked up the photo and looked from the picture to Star. She read the letter, then read it again, shaking her head in disbelief. “Where did you find this?”

  “At Star’s house,” Julian said. “I mean her old house—the Winderhouser place.”

  “But . . . how?” His mom still hadn’t touched the money. She stared at it as though it might not be real. Julian knew how she felt. He’d finally started to accept that there was no such thing as buried treasure, and then Star had led him right to a hidden stash.

  “Star found it,” Julian said. “We went for a walk, and when we got to the house, she found her bed and all her old toys . . .”

  His dad walked into the kitchen and glanced at Star chewing on her football at Julian’s feet. “Sorry, did I just hear you say you went into Mrs. Winderhouser’s house?” He looked up at Julian, his hands on his hips. “Jules, I can’t believe you did that. That’s private property, and—”

  “Dave.” Julian’s mom cut off his dad’s lecture. His dad looked up and saw the stack of bills on the counter. His mouth fell open.

  Julian looked back and forth from one flabbergasted parent to the other. “The note says it’s Star’s money. So we can use it to take care of her, right?”

  “We’ll take care of her no matter what,” his dad said. “She’s part of the family now.”

  “But—yes, this does seem to be her money,” his mom said. “Let’s see how much it is.”

  They sat down at the dining room table, Star lying at their feet with one paw over her football. They carefully counted out the money, then re-counted it because they couldn’t believe how much was there: $102,700.

  “I can’t believe Mrs. Winderhouser had all this cash just sitting in a box under her porch,” Julian’s dad said with a shake of his head.

  But Julian had no trouble believing it at all. He’d known all along that her house was full of buried treasure.

  “That’ll cover Star’s vet bills, right?” he asked.

  His dad laughed. “That will more than cover it.”

  Julian picked up one of the hundred-dollar bills. “So we can use the rest for something else?”

  His mom set the letter and the photo down on the stacks of cash and looked at him. “What did you have in mind?”

  Julian glanced down at Star. “We want to donate it to the shelter.”

  Julian’s mom stared at him for a second. He bit his lip, worried that she would tell him to put the money back—or that she had other ideas for how it should be used. But the letter made it clear: this was Star’s money. And even though Star couldn’t talk, Julian was sure this was what she’d want.

  “It’ll help, right?” Julian asked.

  His mom pulled him into a big hug. “It will definitely help. Let’s call Ms. Khan right now. You two have saved the day!”

  ★ Chapter 25 ★

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  Julian had never seen so many people at the shelter. The parking lot was full, and cars were lining up down the road. The tables set up in the grass were sagging with food, including chocolate-caramel turtle cookies that Julian had baked with Henry’s help that morning. Volunteers milled through the crowd, carrying shelter dogs wearing bandanas that said ADOPT ME! A family with two kids chatted with a volunteer who was walking Buster, the kids giggling as Buster licked their hands. Julian crossed his fingers, hoping they’d want to adopt him.

  Julian stood with Bryan by the dessert table. His parents, Henry, and his grandpa sat at one of the picnic tables with Bryan’s parents, brother, and sister. Julian and Bryan watched a man with a giant camera interview people as they arrived at the event. The shelter would be on the local news again that night. Over the last few weeks journalists had come to the house to interview Julian and meet Star, and they’d spent time at the shelter with Ms. Khan. The story of Star’s buried treasure and how close the shelter had come to shutting down had gotten so much attention that donations started pouring in. Ms. Khan said that Star had helped raise enough money for the shelter to stay open for a long, long time.

  “I still can’t believe you and Star found that secret hiding place under the porch,” Bryan said. “Think how many people walked by there for months, or even years, with no idea it was even there!”

  “I wish you’d been there,” Julian said. He’d called Bryan right away to tell him the whole story.
After everything Bryan had done to help him and Star, it felt like his friend should be part of it, too.

  Julian’s grandpa stepped between them, balancing a brownie on a napkin. “How’s that dog of yours doing, Jules?”

  “She’s great!” Julian turned to Bryan. “Grandpa is helping me teach Star a new sign to bring stuff to me. I’m hoping to teach her to bring me books so she can help me with my homework.”

  “I bet we could teach her signs for different books,” Bryan said. “Like to get her to bring you the textbook for math or history.”

  Julian’s grandpa nodded. “I bet you could. Just don’t blame her for eating your homework.”

  “I’m hoping to teach her to do the homework for me someday.” Julian grinned. “Is there a sign for long division, Grandpa?”

  “I only got as far as subtraction with Liberty, so if you figure it out, you’ll have to teach me.” His grandpa winked and went to rejoin the rest of the family at the picnic tables.

  Ms. Khan wended her way through the crowd and stood in front of a microphone, next to a large tarp-draped object near the front door. She tapped the microphone a few times, and by the time the third thump came through the speaker, everyone’s conversation had died down. The cameraman and local journalists moved to the front of the crowd, pointing their notebooks and phones toward Ms. Khan, ready to record her every word.

  “Thank you all for being here today. The shelter and all these amazing—and adoptable!—animals wouldn’t still be here if it weren’t for your incredible support over the past few weeks. And, as I’m sure you all know, we owe special thanks to one person—and his dog—in particular.” Ms. Khan scanned the crowd until she found Julian. His face flamed as he felt the eyes of dozens of people who had turned to look at him. He didn’t think he’d ever get used to being the center of attention.

  Ms. Khan flashed Julian a wide smile, then tugged away the tarp to reveal a brand-new sign. On it was a beautiful hand-painted rendering of a dog that Julian knew very well: Star.

  “Welcome to the Star Shelter!” Ms. Khan cried.

  The crowd cheered and whistled.

  “Yeah, Star!” Henry shouted.

  Julian’s parents gave him a thumbs-up—the whole family was using Star’s hand signals now.

  Bryan high-fived Julian. “That’s so cool!”

  Julian could only nod in shock. Ms. Khan had cried when he and Star delivered the money. She’d assured him it was more than enough to save the shelter and even make it better than ever. For the past few weeks she’d been cooped up in her office, making plans for what to do with Star’s donation. She’d refused to give Julian and Bryan a single hint about what she had in mind.

  “We’ve got a lot more going on than our new name,” Ms. Khan continued, holding the microphone in both hands as she looked around at the smiling crowd. “I’ve been talking with experts across Michigan, and we’re developing special programs to help dogs and children in our community. We’ll be working with therapists and trainers to create a pet care program to help kids learn responsibility and focus.”

  Ms. Khan paused while people clapped. “We’ll have training classes just for deaf dogs. And we’ll develop programs for any dog who needs extra attention. We are going to make sure that every single animal that comes through these doors gets a second chance.” The crowd hooted and hollered, and some of the dogs howled along too. “Finally, Principal Walter and I have been working together to start a reading-to-dogs project, where kids can build confidence in reading while helping to socialize our dogs.”

  This time the crowd went really wild.

  “Did you know about this?” Julian shouted to Bryan over the din.

  Bryan shook his head. “My dad didn’t even mention that he’d been talking to Ms. Khan!”

  When the applause died down, Ms. Khan continued. “I’m so excited, because these programs will help our community and our animals. But we’re going to need lots of help to pull it off. Please visit the information table to learn how you can be a part of our meaningful work. Thank you all again for your support. I hope you enjoy the food, and don’t forget to visit the animals. We have lots of great dogs and cats waiting for their forever homes.”

  Before she’d even turned off the mic, people began to crowd around the information table. Others were standing in line to take a photo with the new sign. Julian was still trying to take it all in when Ms. Khan approached him. “So what do you think, Jules?”

  “It’s amazing!” Julian said. “I can’t believe all this is happening.”

  “We couldn’t have done it without you and Star. The reporters want a picture of Star with her new sign, but I told them they’d have to wait until after the party. You have quite a celebrity on your hands!” Ms. Khan laughed.

  “I’m trying not to let it go to her head,” Julian joked. But he was proud of how well Star had been doing with all the attention. She was still shy around new people, but as long as Julian made sure that everyone knew to take it slow and use her hand signals, she didn’t get overwhelmed.

  Ms. Khan’s voice dropped into a more serious tone. “I could really use your help for the next phase.”

  “My help?” Julian asked. “What do you mean?”

  “I’d like you and Star to help out with the deaf dog training classes. You can show everyone how you taught her hand signals.”

  “Sure!” Julian couldn’t wait to show off how smart Star was and how much fun it was to train deaf dogs. He would’ve agreed to anything in that moment, though. He was just happy the shelter was still around for him and Bryan and all the animals.

  Ms. Khan turned to Bryan. “I’d like your help setting up the reading-to-dogs program. You’re already an expert, so you can show other kids how it’s done.”

  “I’ll make a plan!” Bryan said quickly. “And a chart with a schedule, so all the dogs who need extra attention get reading time.”

  “I thought you’d have a plan,” Ms. Khan said with a wink. “And I’m hoping both of you will help me out by being a mentor in the pet care program. I think other kids who are struggling in school could really learn from your experience.”

  “Wow,” Julian said, shaking his head in disbelief. He’d never even dreamed that Ms. Khan would forgive him and Bryan for taking Star out of the shelter. And now she was asking for their help to help more animals—and kids? It didn’t even seem real. “That would be amazing.”

  Someone called out to Ms. Khan, and she gave a wave at a person behind Julian. “I have to go, but we’ll talk more about this soon. Thanks for everything!”

  Trying to sort out his thoughts, Julian stared at the grass as Ms. Khan hurried off. He wasn’t used to being the one setting a good example. It had been easy for him to focus when he was with Star and doing the things he was good at, but he wasn’t sure how he could teach anything to other kids about staying focused in school. He still had to work so hard at it every day.

  But he thought about all the work he’d done at the shelter, and how his dedication to Star had helped build his confidence. By being patient with her training, he’d learned to be more patient with himself and with the way his brain worked. He still made mistakes. He’d been so caught up in all the attention on him and Star that he’d forgotten an assignment for school, and he’d needed extra help from his parents to get caught up. And sometimes Star got scared around new people, like when she barked at Henry’s friend who came over for dinner. It would never be as easy for Julian or Star as it was for other people and dogs. They needed patience and people who were willing to learn how to communicate with them. It took a while for people to appreciate all the incredible, unique ways their minds worked. But they had each other. They were perfectly imperfect together.

  “I’m so excited we’re both going to be mentors,” Bryan said. “We can come up with a plan for that too. And Star! She’ll be like a mentor for the other dogs.”

  “It’ll be fun,” Julian said. As long as they were working together, they could
do anything.

  Bryan ran a hand through his hair. “It might be tough to get other kids as excited about it as we are.”

  Julian looked his friend in the eye. “We’ll be great at it. All three of us.”

  Julian had never been so proud of himself. Not only had he not messed things up this time, he had actually made them better. And he’d done it by being himself instead of trying to be someone he wasn’t. In the end, he hadn’t needed a map to find his way. All he’d needed was to trust himself and his two best friends: Star and Bryan.

  ★ Chapter 26 ★

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  Every day after school, Julian and Bryan headed straight to Julian’s house to walk Star. Then they spread out their books on the dining room table and did their homework. Star brought her favorite football toy into the living room and played with it under the table while the boys studied. Most days they finished their assignments before Julian’s parents got home. When their homework was done, they worked on ideas for the new programs they’d be helping Ms. Khan launch in the spring. She had so many new volunteers at the shelter that she’d told the boys to take some time off to work on their plans. Julian and Bryan were also drawing a detailed map of the shelter that Ms. Khan would start giving out to all the new people.

  As they walked home, Julian squinted at the flat gray sky. “I wonder if Star ever went outside in the snow,” he said. The air was getting colder, and most of the leaves had fallen from the trees. Pretty soon it would start snowing. “I hope she likes playing in it.”

  “I bet she will, since her fur is so thick,” Bryan said. “And we can come up with all kinds of new games for her. We can teach her to catch snowballs and how to ride a sled.”

  Julian smiled. He was never bored with Bryan and Star around. It was just another average day. Except it wasn’t average at all—because Julian had just gotten his very first A on a test.