Fight for Life
Chapter Nine
The next day, Maggie gets a 57% on her social studies test… a D-. She did study… honest! Now, Maggie has to go home and tell Gran. She’ll explode when she sees it.
David sits next to Maggie on the bus after school. He asks all kinds of questions about the puppies, and Maggie tries to answer, though her mind keeps drifting back to the test. As they exit the bus, everyone holds their bags over their heads to keep dry from the steady, cold drizzle.
When Maggie opens the back door of the clinic, the dogs are yipping and scrambling against their pens. Maggie hangs her dripping jacket on a hook and goes straight to the recovery room. The collies and mutt are out of their oxygen cage, which means they’re breathing better on their own. Shelby and Inky look stronger, their coats a little shinier than the day before. But the smallest Lab, Dinky, has lost weight and seems weaker than the rest. On her way out, Maggie carefully puts all the dogs back in the pens and closes the door behind her.
Gran is in the Dolittle Room with a messy dog named Brigitte. She looks like a Yorkshire terrier, though her fur is matted into clumps. The hair inside her ears is caked with dried earwax and dirt. She smells like she hasn’t had a bath in weeks. She asks how Maggie’s test went. Maggie pulls it out and hands it over, bracing herself. Her teacher, Mrs. Griffith, wrote her phone number on the top for Gran to call her. Gran tells Maggie to dial the phone and put it on speakerphone.
Mrs. Griffith answers on the first ring. Gran introduces herself and starts to trim the matted hair in Brigitte’s ears while she talks. Mrs. Griffith explains that Maggie pays attention in class and seems to understand the material when they discuss it out loud. But when it comes to written work or tests, it’s like she’s never heard of the material at all. Perhaps Maggie needs a tutor, as well as more time spent on her studies. If Maggie fails the class, she’ll have to repeat it in summer school. Maggie shrinks lower in her seat as she listens.
After the phone call, Gran finishes tending to Brigitte’s ears, wiping away the last of the grime. Maggie takes out a comb and begins to work through the tangles on Brigitte’s back. But then Gran demands she stops. Maggie is double-dog grounded. She can’t help out at the clinic at all until she writes the agreed-upon extra-credit report and gets a good grade on it. And she’s getting a tutor.
Maggie insists she can get the grades up without getting a tutor. She just needs to work harder. Gran looks carefully at Maggie over her reading glasses and agrees to put a hold on the tutor. But Maggie needs to get a B or better. And she can’t come into the clinic at all until she proves herself.
Maggie argues that she’s needed around the clinic, that there’s too much work for everyone else. Gran explains that she already decided that she changed her mind about the volunteers. David, Sunita, and Brenna can help with Maggie’s jobs in the clinic. And it’ll be good for Zoe to have more kids around so she can make friends.
Brenna follows a sullen Maggie to the boarding kennels, where she’s shown the food bowls and the giant bags of dry food stacked against the wall. Maggie explains that each dog gets fresh water, and older dogs get special feed. Regular-size dogs like Mitzy get less food than a big dog would. Brenna stops Maggie—she’s going too fast for Brenna to follow. Brenna can tell Maggie is irritable, so she asks what’s wrong.
Maggie explodes, saying that Gran banned her from the clinic until her grades come up. And she has to write a stupid report for social studies on top of everything else. There’s a guy running a puppy mill somewhere, and it makes her sick to think about. And her starstruck cousin from New York is coming to stay with them. With a sigh, she admits that even when she works hard, she still gets Ds and Fs. School is what she sits through just so she can come back home. Maggie’s just not a good student.
Both Maggie and Brenna stare at the floor for a minute, neither one sure what to say next. Then, Maggie apologizes, and grabs a piece of paper to write down some notes. Before Brenna can say anything, David and Sunita come through the door. They each are carrying a “to do” list. It’s time for everyone to get to work. From the look in Gran’s eye, Maggie knows better than to argue. She turns to leave without saying a word, her cheeks still hot with embarrassment.
Maggie sets up her homework at the kitchen table, but takes the next two hours doing anything but homework. She turns on ESPN, tries half-heartedly to play ball with Sherlock, and thinks about the sick pups in the clinic. The puppy mill is keeping her eyes wide open, and she can’t stop picturing the dogs still trapped there. And finally, just as Maggie is ready to settle down to study, the front doorbell rings. Behind it is a girl with long blond hair standing on the doorstep. It’s Zoe.