Fight for Life
Chapter Ten
Gran heats up some lasagna and a can of corn for dinner. Zoe begins to make a face when she sees what’s on her plate, but she claims lasagna is her favorite food. Maggie can tell she hates it. She eats the corn one kernel at a time and mashes the lasagna into paste. Zoe says her private school in New York has the worst uniform, but they went on a field trip to Switzerland once to go skiing.
Maggie looks across the table. Who ever went to Switzerland on a field trip?! Zoe continues that when she goes to the studio, she can get so many autographs. Everyone on the set knows her. When Maggie asks her if she ever had a pet, Zoe shakes her head and said their penthouse didn’t allow pets. They’re kind of messy.
It seems Zoe hasn’t changed much since Maggie last saw her. She’s bubbly, perky, and too dramatic. Her clothes look like they came from a magazine cover. That evening, Maggie overhears Gran laughing with Zoe in the room next to Maggie’s. This is the perfect opportunity to sneak down to the clinic to check on the puppies.
Shelby and Inky are fast asleep in their pen. The puppies’ tummies are rounder. But Dinky is back on an I.V. drip. According to his chart, he still isn’t eating or drinking. Maggie can hear Mitzy barking, and a collie wakes up and licks Maggie’s hand. He gives a big yawn and blinks his eyes. He’s the puppy who had diarrhea. Maggie decides he should be called Beans. Maggie falls in love with him immediately, which makes her angry to think about the guy out there harming the helpless pups. Maggie has got to track him down.
Just then, Gran and Zoe walk in. Zoe squeals in a high-pitched voice and runs over to Beans, picking him up without supporting his bottom. Before anyone can say anything, Beans has another accident all over her fashionable skirt. Maggie bursts into laughter. Zoe drops the dog and runs out of the room, with Gran running after her.
A few minutes later, Gran comes back into the room to see Maggie cleaning up the mess. Gran snaps that she needs to finish her homework. And it’s not nice to laugh at Zoe. Zoe has a lot to get used to. Gran is very disappointed in Maggie.
Maggie doesn’t get it. Gran usually doesn’t have any patience with people who turn their noses up at puppy poop. But now, she has no patience with Maggie.
Later that night, Maggie is sitting trying to find a way to add basketball into her report on legislature and laws, but she can’t figure it out. When she looks at the clock, she realizes Gran has been in the clinic a long time. Maybe something is wrong. Maggie goes downstairs to see if her help is needed.