White Teeth Teens

3. PAWS

The front hall is set up with tables and posters for all the after-school clubs. Motown tunes blast from a boombox and club members try to entice people with candy. There's History Club, Yearbook Committee, UN Club, Debate Club, Gay-Straight Alliance Club, Student Gov, and more.

In a month I won't need to rely on Mom and Dad picking us up. Just one more month...

I see Mr. Russo standing behind a table with students in t-shirts with a big pawprint on them and the letters "P.A.W.S.". I walk closer to the table and take a peek at the sign. It's covered in pictures of sad looking cats and dogs.

"Were you in my last class?" Mr. Russo's head is cocked to one side. I nod and he says, "The triplet with the brother attached to his phone."

My face flushes and he smirks. "You signing up?"

"Um. What's this club about?" I ask, gripping my backpack strap.

"We go to the local animal shelter and help out after school. We raise money with bake sales. Do you bake?"

I shrug. "I usually just use cake mix."

"Perfect! That's perfect!" Mr. Russo nudges the girl with the clipboard. "She's signing up."

The girl grins from ear to ear. "Awesome!" She hands me the clipboard and a pen. I fill in my information and leave the "Yes, I have a car" box unticked.

"Our first meeting is Friday after school," says Mr Russo. "The kids with cars drive the others to the shelter."

I nod. "Looking forward to it."

"See you tomorrow, Miss Myers!"

I see Dani, Marie, and the Kaylas behind the Yearbook Club table handing out flyers. I head over, ready to wave my hand and smile at them but a head of shaggy hair catches my attention. There's Logan at the Film Club table. If there ever was a club for Logan to join, it'd be that one. He used to make funny videos around the house and show them during family birthday parties and holidays, back before he became an angsty teen.

A petite girl with a clipboard is talking to him and Logan looks like he's totally tuned into her every word. Before he notices me, I put my head down and get to the Yearbook table.

"Hi guys, can I sign up?" I say to the girls.

They all smile but stay quiet. Marie holds the clipboard to her stomach, Kayla #1 sucks on another lollipop, and Kayla #2 sifts her fingers through the bowl of candy on their table. Dani asks if I know how to use Photoshop. I don't. They all look at one another, waiting for one to speak up.

"Girl, we'd love for you to join Yearbook but it's kinda full at the moment," says Dani. "We're really looking for people that know how to use Photoshop and InDesign."

"Oh, okay. There's, um, nothing else I can do? Like..." I bite my lip and think. "Take pictures or write captions?"

"All the freshies already offered to take pics," Marie says, pointing at the sign-up sheet full of names.

"Yeah and, we'd love for you to write captions but, like," says Kayla #1, holding the blue lollipop in her fingers, "you're new here and you don't know the school. Know what I mean? Like you wouldn't know what to write for the captions 'cuz you wouldn't understand what like, Deck the Walls, is or stuff like that."

"Deck the Walls?"

"It's a Homecoming thing," "Exactly," Dani and Kayla #1 say at the same time.

"Thank you," in unison and flash me large smiles with closed eyes, suddenly looking like anime characters.

"My, uh, mom should be coming soon," I grab my phone and look at the blank screen as if she's texted me. "I'll see you guys tomorrow." I spin around before they can say goodbye and head out the door.

The soccer field is right next to the school. I head over to the bleachers and sit down on an empty bench to watch the tryouts. There are a few younger girls there, giggling and looking at each other's phones, totally oblivious to me. I watch the boys on the field and see Dean wearing an orange pinny. He's been placed as right forward in the scrimmage. The coach blows the whistle every few seconds and I definitely hear him say "Nice job, Dean!" a few times. Ben, the boy from Drawing Class, plays defense on Dean's team. He doesn't let the ball move past his line once and within twenty minutes, Dean scores two goals. There's no doubt in my mind that Dean has made Varsity. He's a beast out there.

When Mom comes to get us, we have to wait for Logan. He is late for the first time ever. Usually he's in the car with his headphones on the second after Mom arrives.

I take shotgun.

"Well, how was it?" Mom asks.

I shrug. "Pretty okay, I guess."

She's distracted by something out the window. "There he is."

A group of students walk out of the school. Logan walks behind them with his head low and waits from them to pass our car before he speeds up and goes to open the passenger door. He sees me sitting there, makes a face at me, then moves to the backseat beside a sleeping Colin. (Car rides make him sleepy.)

"What clubs did you guys sign up for?" Mom asks as we drive home. I'm too busy staring through the side mirror at the soccer field so she has to repeat the question.

"This animal shelter club," I mumble.

"That sounds perfect for you. What about you, Logan?" Logan ignores us. His headphones are in but I'm almost positive the music's on paused most of the time.

"Film Club," I say.

Logan rips an earbud out of his ear. "Are you stalking me? Focus on your own life. Or is being a triplet the only thing you know how to be?"

My eyes burn. "Screw you!" I shout.

"Why did you have to put Rory in Drawing class with me?" Logan yells at Mom. Colin wakes up and starts to cry but Logan continues, "Is she going to be your little messenger? Make sure I'm drawing circles correctly?"

"Logan, we will discuss this later," Mom says through her teeth. She must be tired, I can see the heaviness of her eyes.

"Whatever."

I hear the smack as Logan throws his back into the seat and folds his arms. Colin's cries turn to pacifier sucking. At least Logan is nice to one of his siblings.

I head to my room and get started on my homework. I wish I could say I had something less pathetic to do, like call my best friend Jess.

I go on Facebook and see that Dean's already made friends with ten people from school. I guess he was accepting friend requests during class... shocker. I've gotten friend requests from Dani and Marie, which makes me smile. I scan through their pictures—many are of the girls in bathing suits by the pool or selfies in a bathroom mirror. I click on the Kaylas' profiles and add them too. They accept my requests in five seconds flat. I smile, thinking about future pictures we might take together.

Later, Dad and Dean come home and Dean runs through the house chanting "VAR-SI-TEE! VAR-SI-TEE!" When I come downstairs to congratulate him, Mom's eyes are welled up with tears and Dad's got a firm arm around her, grinning at their eldest son.

"Duncan Valley won States last year," Dad says. "Their captain plays for Notre Dame now..." Dad lists Duncan Valley's soccer facts proudly as he'd been researching the team all summer. Sometimes I think Dad should just quit his job and become a high school soccer coach.

When Logan comes down, I fight the urge to laugh as he spins his finger around and mouths "Whoop-dee-do", but my efforts catch Dean's attention. In a second, Dean's got Logan in a headlock, forcing his smelly armpit over Logan's nose. I seek solace in my room for the rest of the night.