10

On Monday evening I headed to the animal shelter for a volunteering session. We'd adopted our family pitbull, Pebbles, from the animal shelter a few years before, and I was hoping going to the shelter would make me miss her less.

I started walking past the kennels, looking for a couple I could take outside in the yard.

"Hey there," a voice came from behind me. I turned around to see Luisa standing in the doorway. "I'm glad to see someone I know here."

Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she was wearing makeup. It was a much different look from the one I'd seen at the floor mixer.

"Luisa, hey!"

We opened the kennel that had a golden retriever and lab pair. We put leashes on them and took them outside together.

"It's nice and quiet out here," Luisa joked, locking the kennel door behind us.

"And it smells better," I laughed.

She threw the ball for the dogs and they started chasing each other around the yard.

"Are you from November Falls?" Luisa asked me.

The retriever dropped the ball at her feet, and she bent down to pick it up and throw it again. She made a face as she wiped the dog slobber from the ball onto her jeans.

"Blue Haven. But yeah, I'm a local girl. What about you?"

The dogs took a break from running and laid down in the shade of one of the trees.

"Minnesota. It's the first time I've ever been this far from home," she said quietly, looking down at her joined hands.

I sat down at the picnic table, and she followed me, setting the leashes on the table.

"Well, what do you think so far? Do you really miss home?"

"I like it better than I thought I would. The physical therapy program here is better than anything back home. And I definitely don't miss the humidity."

"Yeah, I've heard it can be brutal. I think I'll keep my dry heat. Physical therapy, huh? Sounds almost as intense as my sister studying biomedical engineering."

"That definitely sounds more intimidating than physical therapy. I eventually want to get my certification in aquatic therapy. I can't wait to start lifeguarding at the city pool next week."

"Isn't it almost time for the pool to close for the year? I thought most of them closed after Labor Day."

"Oh, no, it's an indoor pool. It's open year round, and students can use it for free."

I took my glasses off and cleaned them on the hem of my shirt. "Why are these always so dirty?" I mumbled, putting them back on.

"I am definitely not a swimmer," I chuckled. "My sister is the athlete in the family, not me."

Luisa nodded to the dogs, still sprawled out in the grass. "I think they're done playing outside." She stood and grabbed the leashes.

"Does your sister go to school here too?" Luisa asked.

I shook my head, hooking the leash to the golden retriever's collar as she attached the other leash to the lab. "She's a senior at Lavender Springs."

"I've always wanted a sister," Luisa said, holding the kennel door open for me and the retriever. "Being an only child is lonely sometimes."

"Well, you have an entire floor of sisters now," I smiled, and we headed inside.

Just over the sounds of the dogs barking, I heard a guitar. Neither of us had heard it earlier. Luisa shrugged at my questioning look and we took the husky into the kennel room. Sitting on a stool in the middle of the room was Tyler, guitar propped on his knee.

"He didn't strike me as the animal type," I said under my breath.

Luisa looked from me to Tyler and back again. Tyler briefly glanced up at me and then looked back down to his guitar.

"You know him?" She asked, locking the kennel and handing me the leash.

I shook my head, leading us back to the front office and away from Tyler.

"Not really. He's in my History class, and he just keeps to himself."

"You want to get to know him though," she raised her eyebrows at me

I rolled my eyes. "I don't see that happening."

"I don't know. You seem interested." She gently nudged me in the side.

I shook my head. "I'm definitely not interested. Just…intrigued, I guess. He's really quiet and secretive, and it unnerves me a little bit."

"Because you don't understand him?"

"Because he won't let me."