Envious // Leo Howard

•10•

It's Saturday, meaning the day of the adoption festival. Nicole was stomping around the house, eating her usual 20 million muffins. Ok, that's definitely an exaggeration, but you get the idea. "Sasha!" Nicole called.

"Yes, Nicole?" I called back.

"Come downstairs!" she replied. I sighed, walking downstairs to see her with her posse in the living room. "I'm gonna be leaving with the girls for my own girls' day. Don't touch my muffins, chocolate, or any of my food while I'm gone. Let's go girls. Let's leave the loser in loser world." Nicole strutted out of the house with her posse except one.

"Hi! I'm Jenny! I love your work on-"

"-Jenny!" Nicole called angrily.

"Sorry, but I gotta go," Jenny slouched, walking away defeated. Wow.

Anyway, now that Nicole is out of the house, probably to the mall, my escape will be much easier. Once I heard her friend's brother pull out of the driveway, I watched the car disappear down the street. I grabbed all of my stuff, including my mom's credit card, before boarding to the ATM. I grabbed the $150 I wanted from the card before boarding back home to put the card back where I found it.

Around 12:30 I was set to go to the animal shelter. The actual event starts around 2:30, but since I'm boarding there, it'll probably take about an hour to get there. (Just ignore the fact she's literally boarding on a highway)

—•••—

I made it to the shelter an hour early. Since the event starts at 2:30 the shelter needs help organizing the place an hour or 2 earlier. I saw Liv guiding dogs to their assigned location. "Hey Liv!" I waved, putting my board in a nearby storage closet.

"Hey Sasha! They need help with the other dogs in there," she told me, gesturing to inside the shelter. I nodded, signing into the volunteer chart, and helping the dogs get to their assigned locations.

Around 2:45 was when everything started to get a little hectic. There were at least 200 hundred dogs at the beginning, but now there were about 150. To say I'm impressed was an understatement. Most of the people coming to shelter only wanted to take a picture with me and Liv, but at least half of the crowd had adopted a dog afterwards.

"Sasha! Sasha! Over here!" I heard someone call. I looked out in the crowd to see a little girl with red short hair, who looked seven or so, holding onto a beautiful border collie calling me over. I finished signing a hat, yes a hat, before walking up to her.

"Hi. What's your name?" I asked invitingly, getting on my knees so I could be level with her.

"My name is Sasha too! That's why you're my favorite celebrity! We share the same name! And your twisty punchy moves are awesome!" the little girl, Sasha, squealed.

"Thank you. You know, our name is extremely special," I told the girl.

"Really?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes, really. Our name means defender. That means we're warriors who help protect others," I told her. "Being a defender means we have to help others all the time, ok? Like holding a door open for someone, or letting someone borrow your crayons."

"I already do that!" Sasha beamed.

"That's great! High five," I offered her a high five.

"Oh Sasha, there you are!" a middle aged woman with red hair, like Sasha, spoke worriedly. "So this is where you went? Hi, I'm Natalie Wilson, Sasha's mom. She loves your work on Kickin' It."

"Yeah, she was just telling me about that," I nodded, still smiling brightly.

"I know it was indirect, but I really want to thank you. She has been in so much pain lately, undergoing chemo, and such, but whenever she wakes up, she always watches you on the show and it makes her smile and laugh," Natalie gushed.

"I'm glad I could help. I don't mean to be rude, but how come she has to undergo chemo?" I asked as politely as I could.

"She has a brain tumor that comes and goes. Unfortunately it's growing back, so this is our last location we'll be visiting until we have to take her back to the hospital," Natalie answered.

"How long does she normally have to stay?" I asked worriedly. I may have just met her, but she's so precious.

"Two weeks or so normally," Natalie replied, taking Sasha's hand and the border collie's leash. "Vinnie, the border collie, is going to be her mini supporter this time, so hopefully she won't be as miserable."

"It was nice meeting you," I smiled to Sasha.

"It was nice meeting you too!" Sasha beamed. She seems so happy and filled with energy, you wouldn't think for one second that she has health issues.

"Wait here. I have something for you," I told her. She nodded happily as I went to grab something from my bag. It was a bracelet I got from Pandora 7 years ago. I've always worn it for luck, but I think Sasha needs it more than me. I returned to Sasha who was giddily bouncing. "This is my lucky bracelet. I wore it when I auditioned for the role of Quinn. I wore it when I took tests. I wore it for whenever I needed luck. But I think you need it more than me." I handed the bracelet to Sasha.

"Thank you! It's so pretty!" Sasha jumped up and down as she slid it on her wrist. It had a butterfly charm, a Minnie Mouse charm, a dragonfly charm, an 'S' charm, and a small metal plate that read 'Believe in Yourself'. I know, cheesy, but it's meaningful.

"Have a good day. Good luck with your chemo," I hugged Sasha before watching her walk away with her mom. I walked back to Liv who was signing a poster.

"You are great with kids," she muttered to me as I signed some other papers. "I wish I was, but I don't have the patience."

"I've gotten a lot better with my patience," I admitted. "I used to snap at everything and everyone." And that's how the day continued. Me and Liv signing autographs while dogs were being adopted.