Read Online Acting Out by Laurie Halse Anderson - Free Book Online Page A

launch, will we start another pass?” David looks at me.
    I nod.
    But it turns out we don’t have to make a second pass, because as we near the boat launch we see two things. One: a big black dog. Two: the big, shiny neon-green puddle he’s sniffing.

Chapter Eight

    D on’t shout, whatever you do!” David says in a low voice. “We don’t want to scare him. If he’s a stray, we might lose him.”
    He’s right, but it’s so hard not to run right at the dog. What if he drinks the antifreeze? Mr. Darrow motions that he will go around the boat launch on the shore side. Jules follows and quickly peels off to move to the far side of the dog. David and I are coming up in front of the dog. Hopefully this won’t give him any opportunity to get past us.
    We all approach the dog quickly but quietly. The puddle is fluorescent green and so bright that it almost glows. Then I hear a voice coming from right beside me.
    “Hey, boy, sit!”
    The dog sits.
    “Come!”
    What? It’s David, calling the dog. David, who told us not to shout!
    I stare at David, but his eyes are trained on the dog, who doesn’t move. He cocks his big black head to the side and stays sitting. He opens his mouth and his big red tongue hangs out.
    David kneels down and slaps his thighs. “Hey, boy, come,” he repeats.
    The dog looks back at the antifreeze but trots right over to David.
    “Good boy, good fella,” David coos, scratching the dog’s neck.
    Yes! We’ve got him. “How did you know he wouldn’t get scared?” I wonder.
    “I noticed that he has tags on, so he must be somebody’s pet. I figured he would know commands, so I took a chance,” is all David says. Jules and Mr. Darrow hurry over to us.
    “Well done, David,” Mr. Darrow says.
    “I wonder if his owner is anywhere around?” Jules asks, scanning the lakeshore.
    “More importantly, has he licked up any of that antifreeze?” I ask.
    We look closely at the dog. He’s wet allover—from the lake, no doubt—so it’s hard to tell if his muzzle is wet from the antifreeze or from water. His dark coloring makes it especially difficult.
    “I think we’d better let Dr. Mac take a look, just to be safe,” Mr. Darrow says. David turns around and whistles for the other group.
    As soon as everyone else arrives, we fill them in on what happened. Maggie immediately bends down to pet the dog.
    “Oh, boy, good, good, boy, you don’t mind if I take a look, do you?” Maggie croons to the dog. I’m not sure what she’s thinking when she takes a tissue from her pocket. She quickly wipes his muzzle and shows us the damp tissue. Uh-oh. It’s stained a yellowish green.
    Maggie straightens up. “I don’t know if he ingested any of this, but he definitely sniffed it and touched it with his mouth.”
    “Great thinking, Maggie,” Mr. Darrow says.
    “Your experience shows,” Mr. Lake adds.
    Maggie and David both knew what to do with the dog. I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t. But, I did figure out this plan in the first place. And I just know everyone will be excited about the PSAs. I can feel it.
    Maggie reaches down and checks the dog’s tags.“His name is Jet,” she informs us. “You’re a good boy, Jet!” She ruffles the fur around his collar.
    Mr. Darrow takes a look at the phone number on the tags and calls Jet’s owner. He explains what happened. Apparently Jet got away when his owner, Mr. Jenkins, took his leash off to let Jet roam. He’s on the other side of the park, so Mr. Darrow gets permission to bring Jet in to Gran, and Mr. Jenkins will meet us there. And it turns out that Jet is a patient at Dr. Mac’s Place anyway.
    Once Mr. Darrow gets off the phone, he turns to the group.
    “While I’m with Jet at Dr. Mac’s, the rest of you kids can help by cleaning up that antifreeze spill. I have rubber gloves in the van and you’ll all need to wear them and be very careful. Antifreeze can be absorbed through the skin.”
    Mr. Lake nods his head in agreement.