“I’ve been thinking about something,” Hannah started.
“Really? I hope it didn’t hurt,” Harry joked before turning serious. “What’s on your mind?”
“You know how I’ve wanted to be a microbiologist for, like, ever?” She waited until he nodded, glad he was paying attention all those times she’d gone on and on about her future career. “I think I’ve changed my mind. I want to be a veterinarian. I’ve been thinking about it long and hard and it just makes sense. I want to help animals, I want to be their voice when they don’t have one, I want to make their lives better.”
Harry was quiet for so long that she wondered whether she was just being stupid. Finally, he replied. “I think that’s a great idea. You will be an awesome vet.”
Hannah’s heart swelled. “Do you really think so?”
“I know you will.” He leaned over and gave her a kiss, one that convinced her she wasn’t doing something stupid. She never wanted it to end, cupping his cheek with her hand to make sure it didn’t.
“Oh, my,” Coco muttered under her breath. They quickly parted.
Hannah thought she might die of embarrassment, her cheeks flaming red. One look at Harry and his rosy cheeks made her forget all about it. They burst into laughter as Coco left the cold drinks for them and retreated back inside.
Harry took a sip, to cool his cheeks just as much as quenching his thirst. “You know, as a future vet, I think you’re going to need to spend more time at the animal shelter.”
“I think I couldn’t agree more,” Hannah replied.
She moved closer, letting his arm snake around her back. The sun with shining high in the sky as a cool breeze whispered through the trees. Summer may have been half over, but Hannah felt like her life was only just beginning.
They sat there together, laughing as Billy started to chase a butterfly. He would never catch it but he had a whole lot of fun trying. They were like proud parents as they watched Billy start his new life too.
The End
A Hairy
Tail 3
Dedication
For Max.
Chapter 1
Racing through the streets of Mapleton, Hannah felt like she was flying. If she wasn’t scared of falling off her bicycle, she would have thrown her arms into the air and let the wind take her along.
She felt better than she had in her entire life. Summer may have been half over, but she had gained a dog, a boyfriend, and more confidence than she had ever had before. It was a perfect summer, one she never wanted to end.
Arriving at the animal shelter, Hannah couldn’t believe how happy she was. It was like everything was falling into place and promising a wonderful year ahead. She thought nothing could damage her mood.
The familiar sound of dogs barking and cats meowing filled her ears as she headed towards the back of the Mapleton Animal Shelter. But there was something else too, voices – two of them. One belonged to Harry and another to a female.
Hannah stopped in the doorway, taking in what she was seeing. Harry was talking to a girl, she couldn’t have been older than either of them. She was giggling with every word he said. Instantly, Hannah’s good mood flitted completely out the window.
“Oh, Hannah, hey,” Harry said, taking a step away from the girl. The little movement didn’t go unnoticed. “Jessie, meet Hannah.”
The girl waved, curling her hair around her other hand. “Hi.”
Hannah couldn’t speak, she just gave a half-hearted smile back.
“Jessie is volunteering here with us for a while,” Harry explained. “She loves animals too, she was just telling me a really funny story about her horses.”
“You have horses?” Hannah asked, unable to stop herself. What kind of a person was lucky enough to have not one but multiple horses?
“Just three,” Jessie said, like it wasn’t a big deal.
“They’re all named after Disney princesses,” Harry continued, his voice suppressing a laugh. “There’s Belle, Aurora, and Snow. Cheesy, huh?”
Jessie playfully pouted. “Don’t tease me, I was ten when I named them.”
Hannah didn’t care if she was ten or five, she didn’t like the girl on sight. There was something about her. Or perhaps it was the way she was standing so close to Harry that irked her. Either way, she wished she was dreaming and could just pinch herself to wake up. She tried it, just in case. It only hurt.
“Kids, come in here,” Cory called from her office. She sounded distressed. Hannah was just glad of the interruption. Any longer and she may have said something she didn’t mean to.
The trio shuffled into Cory’s office, seeing it strewn with paperwork. They had never seen it so messy before. Normally Cory was a stickler for organization.
“I’ve got some bad news,” she started. “I thought I could get around it but it has become clear that I can’t. Our funding has been cut. The city is making cutbacks across the board to save money. It seems they will no longer be supporting the shelter.”
“What? How can they do that?” Hannah asked, instantly outraged. Yet greater than the anger, was her fear. “What’s going to happen to the shelter?”
Sadness swept over Cory’s face. “We’re going to have to close down.”
Harry stepped forward. “We can’t close, what’s going to happen to all the animals?”
“If we don’t find them homes…” Cory couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence.
Hannah wasn’t going to let anything happen, not if she had something to do with it. “What do we have to do to keep the shelter open? How can we fix this?”
Cory shook her head. “There’s nothing we can do, the council won’t budge. I’ve done everything in my power to beg, plead, and negotiate with them. Without money, we don’t have a choice.”
“Then we find the money,” Hannah declared resolutely. “How much do we need?”
“Twenty thousand dollars in the next two weeks or they will force us to close. We can’t get that kind of money anywhere.”
Harry rubbed his chin, deep in thought, before he spoke. “We can try to raise it. Twenty thousand isn’t an impossible amount.”
“It sounds like a lot to me,” Jessie commented. Hannah shot her a glare, they did not need any negativity in that room. It was full up already.
“We can do fundraising for the money,” Hannah continued, unwavering. “If people could see how much good work we do here, they wouldn’t want the place to close down. They’ll donate, I know they will.”
Cory stood, leaning against the desk. “I don’t know, guys, it’s a lot of money and we only have two weeks. That’s not long enough.”
“We have to try.” Hannah looked at Harry, silently begging for him to agree. “We can’t walk away and do nothing. The animals need us. If we don’t do this, then who else will? We can’t abandon them.”
“It’s going to be a lot of hard work and we still might not be able to save it,” Cory warned them. “Are you sure you’re prepared for that?”
“We can do this.”
Harry nodded. “Hannah’s right, we can do this. Two weeks, twenty thousand dollars, easy. I’m in.”
“Me too,” Jessie added happily, stealing a glance at Harry.
“Please, Cory, we have to try,” Hannah begged. She watched Cory carefully, trying to see her make the right decision.
Finally, she nodded. “Okay. Two weeks, twenty thousand, let’s go. Fundraising ideas, I need them now. Throw them at me.”
“A bake sale,” Hannah offered.
“An open day so people can come and see what we do,” Harry added. “They’ll have to donate then. We might even get a few adoptions.”
“How about a concert? We could get someone famous to come and sing for us,” Jessie suggested. “My dad knows lots of famous people.”
Hannah rolled her eyes, of course her father knew famous people. He was probably the king of a small country somewhere too.
Cory jumped on the idea. “That wou
ld be fantastic, Jessie, can you ask him?”
“Of course I can.”
Chapter 2
Of course Jessie could get her dad to call some famous people. She could get anyone to do anything she liked, Hannah thought to herself as she walked the dogs in the yard. For the first time in weeks, she was doing it by herself. Harry had to teach Jessie how to feed the other animals. Like it was difficult or something.
With each step she took, Hannah grew even more annoyed. Who was Jessie anyway? Just showing up in the middle of summer and taking over the entire shelter, who gave her the right to do that? She was so mad she didn’t know how she was going to be able to stand being around her.
She briefly considered leaving the shelter and never coming back. Then she wouldn’t have to see Jessie and watch the way Harry looked at her. She wouldn’t have to see everyone fawn all over the girl. That would be nice.
But why should she have to? She was there first. Hannah knew if she left, then Jessie would win. And the last thing she wanted was for Jessie to win. A steely determination filtered through her.
“Come on, pups, we should be getting back,” Hannah called to the dogs. They paid her no attention, continuing to run around like wild animals while they were out of their cages. She didn’t have the heart to make them hurry back. It wasn’t their fault stupid Jessie had turned up at the shelter.
“Who died and made her queen anyway?” Hannah muttered. The dogs just gave her a sympathetic look. She sighed. Being able to cope with Jessie was going to be harder than it sounded. She kept walking.
“My dad knows lots of famous people,” Hannah mimicked the girl. She knew she was being petty but really didn’t care. “I’m so wonderful and everybody loves me. I’m going to save the shelter single handedly.”
“You’re going to do what?” Harry asked, sneaking up behind her. She spun around, her face ablaze and red. She didn’t know how much he had overheard. Judging by the way his eyes were sparkling with amusement, she guessed quite a bit.
“I, uh, I’m going to round up the dogs and take them back inside,” she said, trying to cover her embarrassment. “Are all the others fed?”
“Yeah, they all gave compliments to the chef.”
Hannah went to walk past, not wanting to have a conversation with him at the moment. She was too angry and a little of that anger was directed at him too.
He caught her hand, gently stopping her from going any further. “I really liked your bake sale idea. It’s traditional, I think it could work.”
He was just saying that to make her feel better, she just knew it. She wasn’t going to fall for it. “I know you like the concert idea better, you don’t have to pretend.”
“If the concert could be put together in two weeks, then it would raise a lot of money in one go,” Harry explained. “But that’s a pretty big if. I’m not entirely convinced we would be able to do something that big. It would be like putting all our eggs in one basket and crossing our fingers.”
Hannah relaxed a little, starting to come around. Perhaps Jessie wasn’t as beguiling as she had thought. “You thought it was such a great idea before in the meeting.”
He took both of her hands in his, definitively making sure she wasn’t going anywhere. “Jessie needs a lot of encouragement to do anything. Her dad is a big shot, if there is any chance he might be able to help, we have to try.”
So Harry and Jessie knew each other before that morning, Hannah thought to herself. She couldn’t help but wonder just how well they were acquainted. She should have known they were. Everything about Jessie screamed that she was from the hills part of town – just like Harry. The only difference was that Harry was unaffected by his money. She couldn’t say the same about Jessie.
Harry continued when she remained silent. “But we also have to try other things too. Just like your bake sale or my open day. We have to do everything we can to keep this place open.”
Finally, something Hannah could agree with. “We can’t let it close down. All the animals will have nowhere to go.”
He nodded, finally letting her hands go as one of the dogs stood at his feet demanding attention. He knelt down, giving the fluffy little thing a good rub behind the ears. She closed her eyes, enjoying the cuddle.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Harry started. “My parents are having a party on the weekend at our place. Would you like to come? You would be saving me from hours of repeating the same conversation over and over again with different people.”
Hannah’s first reaction was to say no. Meeting Harry’s parents, a party, in the rich neighborhood, nothing sounded appealing. The only good part of it all was that she would be there with Harry. Perhaps she could handle it, perhaps she wouldn’t shrivel up and die of embarrassment and discomfort.
“Are you sure you want me to come?” She asked, answering a question with a question to buy herself some more time.
“Of course I want you to come. Everything is better when you’re around.” He said the words so quietly, Hannah wasn’t sure she had heard correctly. Still, they brought a smile to her face.
“I’d like to attend, then. Thank you for inviting me,” she replied. The beginnings of a knot were already starting to form in her stomach but she pushed it aside for the time being. She had bigger things on her mind to deal with. Like a girl named Jessie.
After putting the dogs back into their cages and finishing her shift, Hannah rode her bicycle home. It wasn’t as much fun as the ride to the shelter, but thoughts of Harry still made her happy. She was already trying to think of something to wear to his parent’s party. She was going to have to call in expert advice – she would need to ask Veronica for help.
Once inside her front door, bounding feet ran at her. She giggled uncontrollably as Billy welcomed her with endless kisses and tail wags. She collapsed to the ground, surrendering to him. Which only encouraged Billy even further.
“You’ll give the poor thing a heart attack,” Coco commented, leaning against the wall while she watched the dog go crazy.
“I can’t help it,” Hannah managed to get out. She grabbed the dog by both hands, pulling him off her so she could stand again. He settled down in her arms.
“Come through, I’ve made you some cookies for afternoon tea,” her mother said as she turned for the kitchen. Hannah followed, letting Billy down when he could control himself. “How was the shelter today?”
“A new girl started.”
“That’s good, you have another set of hands to help. What’s she like? Does she go to your school?”
Hannah didn’t even know where to begin. “Her name is Jessie and she’s just perfect. She knows Harry.” She slumped onto a stool, hunching over the cookies. She figured she could probably eat the entire batch and still not feel better.
Coco could tell Jessie wasn’t exactly a welcome addition. “I take it you don’t like her?”
“Harry likes her.”
“Oh, Honey, Harry’s a nice kid. I’m sure he’s not the kind of boy to hurt you like that.”
Hannah wasn’t so sure. She had never had a boyfriend before, she didn’t know what they could do to hurt you yet. “What do I do, Mom? She’s going to ruin everything. I don’t even want to go back there again.”
“You know what really bugs girls like that?” Coco asked, waiting for her daughter’s full attention before going on. “Become their best friend. Be as nice to this Jessie as you can be. She’ll wonder what on Earth is going on. She’ll be too confused to do anything to you.”
“You really think that will work? What about Harry? I don’t want to lose him.”
“He’ll see that you’re making an effort to be nice to his friend and he’ll love you all the more for it. It’s a win-win situation.”
Hannah shoved an entire cookie into her mouth and chewed. Perhaps her mother wasn’t as clueless as she thought.
Chapter 3
“They look like they’re ready,” Veronica said, peering into the oven. “Hand me the oven m
itt.” Hannah picked up the glove and did as she was told, making space on the kitchen bench for the trays.
Carefully, Veronica pulled the four trays from the oven and placed them on the bench. Four dozen cupcakes stared at them, begging to be iced when they were cooled. “Do you think this is enough?”
Veronica shrugged. “It’s a start. If these sell, we can make more and increase the price.” Hannah giggled, she was going to make an excellent businesswoman one day. “How many would we need to save the shelter?”
“Let’s see, at two dollars a cupcake, less the cost of ingredients, about thirteen thousand,” Hannah said, doing the math in her head. “But every dollar counts so I still think it’s worth doing.”
“And you want to prove Jessie wrong.”
“That too,” she agreed. They said the bake sale wouldn’t be a good way to raise funds, but Hannah was certain neither was relying on a single concert to save them. She had to try to fundraise in her own way, every dollar contributed to keeping the shelter doors open. Do enough small things and they always added up to something big.
They iced the cupcakes in pink as soon as they were cool enough and packed them into plastic tubs – careful not to damage the stock.
Coco dropped them off at the supermarket and they set up a stall outside. Hannah surveyed the table, with the cupcakes and posters she made, it looked professional enough. She just hoped people were hungry and in a generous mood. The stall wasn’t just about selling the cupcakes, she was asking for donations too.
Her and Veronica stood at the stall, trying to lure people over for a tasty treat. “It’s to keep the Mapleton Animal Shelter open. They have lost their funding and we need help to look after all the homeless animals,” she called out repeatedly anytime someone walked past.
Hairy Tail Collection Page 9
