Natalia Takes the Lead

by Clare Hutton

  Natalia groaned and closed her eyes. “This is not ideal,” she said to the dogs. Ruby yipped happily.

  Opening her eyes again, Natalia frowned at the bay out beyond Seaview House’s gardens. Sunlight gleamed off the water, but long shadows were spreading, too. It was almost dinnertime. There was no way she could take both sets of dogs for good walks separately, have dinner, and get her homework done before bedtime. Not without help.

  I should be able to do this by myself, she thought. But maybe, just this once, it would be more responsible to ask for help.

  Her cell phone was in a zippered pocket on the inside of her jacket. Switching both leashes to her left hand, she pulled it out and stared down at it. Zoe or Emma? Either of them would come help her if she really needed them, she knew.

  She didn’t want to ask Zoe right now. Emma had a rare Friday game after school tomorrow, but at least she hadn’t witnessed Natalia’s humiliation at theater club. Emma didn’t even know about it. Making up her mind, Natalia called Emma.

  It took Emma a couple rings to pick up. “Natalia?” she asked. “I’m at my study group. Do you want to come over?” She dropped her voice so that she was almost whispering. “We could work on your math.”

  Natalia winced. She had been carefully not thinking about the fact that she still didn’t understand what they were doing in math class. Still, she couldn’t worry about that now. I’ll catch up before the test, she thought optimistically.

  “I can’t,” she said. “Emma, can you leave? I kind of need your help.”

  Emma’s study group was meeting at a house less than ten minutes away, and she hurried over. Natalia had known she would; Emma would do anything to help Natalia or Zoe.

  “How come you didn’t tell me that the wedding dogs were coming today?” Emma asked, petting Bandit. “Does Zoe know?”

  Natalia adjusted Ruby’s leash so she didn’t have to look up at her cousin. “Oh, you guys are busy,” she said casually. “And I didn’t think I needed help. I wouldn’t have if Ruby wasn’t being such a weirdo about the other dogs. I’ll tell Zoe tonight.” She led Ruby around the corner and Ruby began to snarl again as soon as Jasper and Daisy came into sight.

  “She’s very fierce, isn’t she?” Emma said.

  “I just don’t understand it,” Natalia said mournfully. “She’s so nice to people.”

  “Oh, well,” Emma said, sounding resigned. “You take her and Bandit this way and down toward the park, and I’ll take Daisy and Jasper toward the water. I’ll grab a ball or something and play catch with them. We’d better hurry before it gets dark.”

  “Okay,” Natalia agreed. With a surge of affection, she reached out and squeezed her cousin’s hand. “Thanks a lot, Emma. I’m really glad you could come.”

  Emma shrugged, smiling. “No problem. We’ll get it done a lot faster with two of us.”

  She headed off toward the screened porch, and Natalia led Ruby and Bandit toward the front of the house. She couldn’t help knowing that they would have gotten it done even faster with three. I don’t want Zoe to know I couldn’t do this alone, she thought. Not right now. Not after the audition.

  That night, Natalia stared down at her math book and sighed. Zoe was already asleep, the covers pulled over her head so that there was only a huddled lump visible in her bed. Once Zoe climbed into bed, that was it. She was practically a champion sleeper.

  Natalia’s eyes felt heavy and dry with sleepiness, and her arms ached from holding Ruby back and tugging Bandit forward for the entire long walk. She had meant to do her homework earlier, but she had been late getting home for dinner. Her mom was still at Seaview House, organizing stuff for the wedding, and her dad had asked if she and Zoe could watch Tomás and Mateo while he graded his high school students’ papers. Natalia had lost track of time while she played with her little brothers.

  She’d sat down to her homework late. She’d read a story and answered questions for English, and she’d done her science and social studies. But she had saved the math for last, and now she was so tired.

  I should have done the math first because it’s hardest, Natalia thought guiltily. I didn’t want to, but that’s not an excuse. And now I just want to sleep.

  She tried to focus on the first problem, but the numbers were fuzzy. Nothing made sense. Find x, find y, she thought, looking at the page with dislike. I’m going to get these all wrong anyway.

  With a sigh, Natalia closed the book and reached for her pajamas.

  I’ll catch up tomorrow.

  “Go, Emma!” Natalia and Zoe whooped and cheered as Emma dodged one of her opponents and kicked a long pass to her teammate Vivian. “Good job!” Natalia shouted as Emma dropped back, waiting for the ball to travel back to her side of the field. Emma heard, and shot her a quick smile before returning her attention to the field, poised to leap back into action.

  “Why isn’t she running after the ball?” Natalia asked, leaning against their dad, who was watching the game intently.

  “Because she has to stay in her position,” her dad said, tugging at the end of her ponytail. “They can’t just dash all over the field.”

  Natalia shrugged. “That’s how we play it at recess.”

  “Who cares, anyway?” Zoe said, inspecting her fingernails. “We only come to watch Emma.”

  Their dad shook his head, but he was smiling. “It’s shameful,” he said. “If only my dad, your abuelo, could hear you. He loved fútbol. When I was a little kid, he’d take me to games and put me up on his shoulders so I could watch. Sometimes we’d hang out after and get the players’ autographs.”

  “It sounds like fun,” Natalia said, trying to picture her dad as a little kid, perched on his dad’s shoulders above the crowd. It was hard to imagine: Her dad was solid and tall, built like a wall. Natalia had heard from friends of hers with older siblings that some of the high school students he taught were intimidated by him, until they got to know him and realized how kind he was. It was typical of him that he came straight to Emma’s after-school game after a long day of teaching.

  Someone kicked the ball back toward Emma and she sprang into action, dribbling quickly down the field. One of the other players tried to take the ball from her, but she dodged her neatly. Zoe stuck two fingers in her mouth and whistled, loud and shrill.

  “Em-MA! Em-MA!” Natalia chanted, and added, “Go, sports!” Her dad snorted and rolled his eyes, grinning.

  When Emma had passed the ball again and the action moved downfield, Natalia returned to the subject of her grandfather. “I guess Abuelo would have liked Emma, huh?” she asked. “Even though she isn’t his granddaughter, he would have been proud that she was so good at soccer.”

  Her dad wrapped his arms around her and Zoe’s shoulders, pulling them close. “Of course Abuelo would have liked Emma,” he said. “Who wouldn’t like Emma? But he would have been so proud of you girls, too.”

  “Yeah?” Natalia nestled closer, feeling warm inside.

  “Absolutely. You girls are kind and funny and talented and smart, and you both do well in school. He would have spent half his time bragging about you to all the other old men at the fútbol games.”

  Her dad squeezed them both, one in each arm, before he let them go, but Natalia didn’t feel warm and cozy anymore. At the mention of doing well in school, a chill filled her stomach and began to spread through her body. I forgot to do my math homework, she thought. Again.

  She’d left yesterday’s homework undone and, feeling hot with embarrassment and uncomfortably guilty, had lied to Ms. Patel, telling her it was finished, just forgotten at home. She’d felt Zoe’s surprised gaze on her back the whole time—Zoe knew Natalia hadn’t done her homework, and she would never expect her to lie about it—and she wasn’t sure if Ms. Patel had believed her, either. Natalia had promised to bring the assignment in on Monday, but there had been tight lines around her teacher’s mouth that made her think she was rapidly running out Ms. Patel’s patience.

  And now she
had two math assignments to do over the weekend.

  She’d meant to get as much as she could done in the time between when school ended and when Emma’s game began, but instead she’d daydreamed about the wedding, imagining Ruby and Bandit walking together down the aisle, heads held high, perfectly behaved, bearing the rings tied to giant golden bows around their necks.

  Now that she thought about it again, the “perfectly behaved” part seemed a little unlikely.

  She’d make sure Emma and Zoe came with her to walk the dogs today so that she could get done in plenty of time to concentrate on her homework, she decided.

  A whistle blew, and the teams scattered, gathering in their own groups. Emma and her teammates were hugging and high-fiving.

  “Is it over?” Zoe asked, watching them line up to shake hands with the other team.

  “Emma’s team won, right?” Natalia checked, and her dad nodded.

  “Hey!” Emma ran off the field and over to them.

  “Emma!” Natalia said, hugging her. “Great game!”

  “Yes, really terrific,” Zoe added. “Good job!”

  Emma looked at them for a long moment, the corners of her mouth tilting up knowingly. “Uh-huh. What was your favorite part?” she asked.

  Natalia and Zoe looked at each other. “When you kicked the ball?” Natalia said at last.

  “Thanks for coming, you guys,” Emma said, grinning at them affectionately. “I really appreciate you showing up.” She turned to Natalia and Zoe’s dad. “What did you think, Uncle Luis?”

  “You played very well,” he told her, patting her shoulder. “You’re getting a lot of control over the ball, and a lot of strength in your kick. You’ll be a shoo-in for the high school team in a couple years.”

  Emma blushed. “You think so? Thanks,” she said, looking suddenly shy. Then she cleared her throat and turned to Natalia and Zoe. “Let me change out of my uniform and we’ll go walk the dogs.”

  “Great!” Natalia said, clapping her hands. “Let’s see some hustle, soccer star! We’ve got things to do!”

  Natalia rubbed her left hand over the one holding Ruby’s leash. The temperature had dipped lower since Emma’s soccer game. All the leaves on the beech tree in front of the house were bright gold now—she’d heard her mom say they’d look nice in the wedding pictures—and the leaves rattled drily together as the brisk wind blew through them. Something about the coldness of the air and knowing the other girls were just around the corner with the other dogs made her feel lonely.

  “It’ll be more fun to walk dogs together instead of splitting up,” she called. “Let’s see how close we can get before Ruby freaks out.”

  Zoe peeked around the corner. “I have trouble believing she’s as bad as you say. She’s such a nice dog.”

  “Nice with people.” Emma’s voice came from out of sight. “Wait until you see.”

  Slowly, Zoe led Daisy into sight. The transformation in Ruby was immediate. Her ears went back and she charged forward, growling.

  “Yikes!” Zoe said, and disappeared back around the corner, a frightened Daisy leading the way.

  “Told you,” Emma said. “We’d better split up like we did yesterday.”

  “Nooooo,” Natalia complained, making her voice extra-whiny. “I want to hang out with you guys.” Walking Ruby and Bandit by herself yesterday while Emma walked Daisy and Jasper in the opposite direction had been a lot less fun than it would have been to walk the dogs together. “Tell you what,” she suggested. “I’ll put Ruby on the porch and walk the other dogs with you guys, and then I’ll walk her by herself later.” It would take longer, but spending the extra time with Zoe and Emma would be worth it.

  She led Ruby to the porch and shut her in. Ruby whined, her head cocked to one side as if she were saying, What’s going on? That wasn’t much of a walk!

  “It’s your own fault,” Natalia told her. “You need to learn to play well with others.” Ruby whined again, putting her nose against the screen of the porch, and Natalia patted her through the screen. “Don’t worry. You’ll get your turn soon.” Ruby barked as Natalia walked away, turning the corner of the house to find the others.

  “I can take Ruby out later,” Emma offered, handing her Jasper’s leash. “It’ll be easier for me because I live here, and I don’t have anything else I have to do tonight.” They walked down toward the water, skirting around the gardens, which were taking on their fall shades of brown and yellow, since only fall flowers and a few roses were left.

  “It’s my responsibility,” Natalia argued, feeling vaguely guilty. “I’m the one who said we’d take care of the dogs.”

  “I don’t mind,” Emma said. “I like Ruby.”

  “Okay,” Natalia said. “Thanks!” She felt lighter suddenly: She hadn’t wanted to ask the others to help with the dogs, but it was a relief that she didn’t have to stay all afternoon. She wanted to get her math homework done before the weekend started so she wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore. “Let’s race,” she suggested. “Jasper, you’re the fastest, aren’t you, my good boy?”

  “Hey, no fair,” Zoe objected. “You’ve got the fastest dog.”

  “No excuses!” Natalia said, laughing. “Last one to the beach is a rotten egg!” Jasper began to trot alongside her, and she sped up more, encouraging him to run.

  They reached the beach well before the others. Daisy’s legs were too short to keep up, and Bandit dawdled. Natalia ran back and forth at the water’s edge, her sneakers getting wet and Jasper dashing along beside her, snapping at the waves and giving deep, happy barks.

  “Look at that,” she said when Zoe and Emma and the other dogs caught up. “Jasper loves the water.”

  “Let’s find some driftwood for him to chase,” Zoe said, unfastening Daisy’s leash and letting her loose to dash off after seagulls.

  “Not actually into the water, though,” Emma said worriedly. “It’s too cold.”

  “Don’t worry,” Natalia said, feeling lighthearted. Emma was such a worrier. Natalia spotted a likely-looking piece of wood down near the waterline and ran to grab it before the waves washed it out again. “Come on, boy,” she called to Jasper, and threw the stick to Zoe. “Can you get it?”

  Jasper barked and ran after it, making a U-turn when Zoe threw the stick to Emma. Daisy abandoned the seagull chase to dart after him, her short legs churning up the sand so that it tangled in the fur on her belly.

  I’ll have to brush that out before I can start on my homework, Natalia thought, then shook off the thought. She could save that problem for later and just have fun now.

  Daisy yipped and rolled on the sand. Jasper leaped into the air and finally caught the driftwood, and Zoe ran after him, trying to get it back. Bandit, flat on his belly on the beach, sighed and shut his eyes.

  After they’d worn themselves out playing keep-away with Jasper, the girls clipped the dogs’ leashes back on. “Come on, sleepy boy,” Emma said, tugging on Bandit’s leash. “I’ve got to take your sister out before it gets dark. You can come, too. A second walk! What a lucky boy!”

  “I … really don’t think that will be a treat for him,” Natalia said, watching Bandit reluctantly pad along. She looked up and caught Zoe eyeing her. “What? Is there sand on my face?”

  “No,” Zoe replied. “I was just wondering what you’re going to do when we get home.”

  “I don’t know,” Natalia told her. “Have a snack, do my homework. Maybe watch some TV. What do you want to do?”

  “I think you should really concentrate on your homework,” Zoe said, frowning. “Especially math.”

  “I said I was going to do homework, didn’t I?” Natalia said. Why was Zoe nagging her about this? She was her sister, not her mom.

  “Are you really okay in math?” Zoe asked abruptly. “Like, once you have time to do your missing homework, you won’t have any more problems? You understand what you’re doing?”

  “Of course I do,” Natalia snapped. She was starting to feel
hot and aggravated. Why did Zoe have to ruin their nice afternoon by talking about this?

  “Oh, yeah?” Zoe said. She looked mad now, too, her nose scrunched with annoyance. “How about this? If 6x - 4 = 8, then what does x equal?”

  “I don’t care,” Natalia said, glaring at her sister.

  Zoe ran in front of Natalia to block her way, yanking Daisy along with her. “I care,” she said. “If Mom and Dad find out you’re flunking math, they’ll make you quit the theater club. And it won’t be anywhere near as much fun without you.”

  “I’m not flunking math,” Natalia nearly shouted. There was a hot feeling burning in the middle of her chest.

  “It’s a pretty easy problem once you understand it,” Emma said quietly behind them. “See, if you add the four to both sides—”

  Natalia whirled on her. “I don’t need your help!” she said through gritted teeth. Emma’s face fell, and Natalia immediately felt bad.

  Before she could apologize for snapping at Emma, who had only been trying to help, Zoe broke in, her face red with frustration and anger. “You don’t need help? That’s a laugh!” she said. “You needed Emma’s help yesterday to walk the dogs. You need her help again today, because it’s too much for you, even though you’re the one who promised we’d take care of them. You should have asked for my help for the audition, and obviously you need our help with math.”

  Natalia felt like she was going to cry, but instead she glared at her sister. “Fine,” she said. “Fine. If that’s the way you feel about me, you don’t have to do anything. I don’t remember asking for your help with anything. And you guys agreed to take care of the dogs, too.”

  “After you’d already promised for us,” Zoe muttered.

  “Stop it, you guys,” Emma said loudly. Zoe and Natalia both turned to look at her in surprise. Emma usually didn’t raise her voice. Bandit, Daisy, Jasper, and Emma were all staring at them, Natalia saw, and they all wore the same expression of alert anxiety.