Read Online Strays by Jennifer Caloyeras - Free Book Online

on that later. As you know, you all are now members of the most coveted community service gig out there. We like to keep the group small so you get a chance to really bond with your animal.”
    Was this guy for real? I’d rather bond with a snake…a slug…a tarantula.
    â€œI’m Randy, and I hope I don’t fall on my dog because it won’t survive.” The Chihuahua yapped away.
    â€œDo you remember your dog’s name?” asked Kevin.
    â€œTinkerbelle,” he said. “This is so ridiculous.”
    At least I wasn’t the only one who felt this way.
    Next to Randy was a girl with a funky haircut: her brown hair long in front and short in back, with pink highlights. She wore a big army-green shirt that looked like it had gotten into a fight with a pair of scissors and lost. A quote on a patch sewn to her knee read, Property is theft .
    â€œI’m Talbot, and this dog here is Garrett. He’s part Doberman, part retriever.” The dog licked her face, and I could feel myself start to have a panic attack. “And all love.”
    â€œShelley,” said the quiet brunette. “Bruce,” she added as she looked down at the bulldog licking itself at her feet.
    Last but not least was Hoodie Boy. His legs were tangled up in his dog’s leash. “The dog is named Persia. German shepherd, right?”
    Kevin nodded.
    â€œAnd I’m Oak and I really don’t want to be here.”
    For some reason I was taken aback to learn that Hoodie Boy actually had a real name other than what the girls and I had been calling him for so long.
    The girls. I wondered what Ashley and Sierra were doing at this very moment. I was jealous of their freedom to have a summer break.
    â€œNo one wants to be here,” said Randy, as though reading my mind.
    â€œI think it’s fun!” said Talbot, leaning down to kiss her dog.
    So gross.
    The long silence made me fidgety. What were we supposed to do now?
    â€œHello?” said Talbot.
    Was she talking to me?
    â€œIt’s your turn,” said Kevin, gesturing toward me.
    Before I could get my name out, Hoodie Boy said, “That’s Iris.” I couldn’t believe that he knew my name. Then I remembered that Kevin had called it out when I’d first arrived; also, word had probably spread about what I’d done at school. Most likely Oak had already shared my crime with the entire group.
    â€œYeah, I’m Iris, and I don’t have a dog. Which is totally fine by me.”
    â€œOh yes, you do,” said Randy. “You have my sloppy seconds.”
    Everyone laughed but me.
    â€œLet me run and get him,” said Kevin, and he took off toward the community building. He emerged moments later, dog on leash.
    â€œIris, this is Roman. He is a pit bull.”
    My heart raced. The week before, I had watched a show called World’s Most Dangerous Pets . And pit bulls were number one on the list, which, after what happened to my mom, didn’t surprise me in the least. They were killing machines. And when they weren’t killing people, surely they were thinking about killing them.
    The compact brown dog on the other end of Kevin’s leash looked like a bicep with legs and had an expression on his face like he was hungry. For flesh. Kevin extended the leash out toward me, but when I reached for it, my hands shook so badly I had to put them back at my side.
    â€œGimp!” said Randy. The waters swelled inside . I was ready to run away and do time in juvenile hall—anything was better than this.
    â€œYou could name-call,” Kevin said to Randy, “or I could tell you Roman’s story and maybe you’d have a bit more sympathy.”
    I wondered what in the world they were talking about—and then, as I scanned the eighty pounds of pure muscle in front of me, I realized that the dog I was so petrified of was missing his back left leg. The tan fur had grown over where the limb