Bending the Rules

Chapter 6 : Bagel Makes A Friend, Sort Of

★ Another update! Sorry for updating late. I'm busy. It took me weeks to update this. Well, here you go!!

Um, but don't forget to "Vomment" :) Toodles 😘 ★

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Uh-oh.

Aunt Tessa was standing just outside the bathroom door, carrying a pile of books from the library. She was silent, just taking in the whole scene.

"Oh! Aunt Tessa!" said Tori, who couldn't think of anything else to say but state the obvious.

"Good afternoon," said Aunt Tessa.

*Tori's POV*

I wiped the suds off my face with a wet towel.

"Aunt Tessa, I can explain all of this," I said, feeling a bit nervous.

"Please do," Aunt Tessa said.

Could I be imagining it, or was there just the tiniest hint of a smile at the left corner of Aunt Tessa's mouth?

"Um ── first, I'd better introduce Nichelle," I said, mostly to myself.

"Aunt Tessa, this is my friend Nichelle, from school."

"How do you do, ma'am," Nichelle said, in a polite way.

WAAAAAY TO GO NICHELLE!

"And would you like to introduce me to your other friend?" asked Aunt Tessa.

*No one's POV*

When Bagel saw that Aunt Tessa had her eyes on him, he began to wag his tail, hard, spattering even more lather.

"This is, um, Bagel," said Tori.

Suddenly the name sounded a little ridiculous to her.

"I found him on the street. I-I couldn't just let him get run over by a car, could I?"

Aunt Tessa sighed. "No, I suppose you couldn't." She put her stacks of books carefully down on the small table in the hallway outside the bathroom. Then she came into the room, crossed over to the bathtub, leaned down, and put out her hands for Bagel's paw, which he eagerly offered.

She shook his paw solemnly.

"How do you do, Bagel," she said. "If you chew my belongings or pee on my rugs, I will murder you, and your young mistress too." Bagel wagged as if his life depended on it, which it probably did.

Tori couldn't believe her ears. "Does that mean I can keep the little bloke?" she said eagerly. "I mean, just until I can find him a home, that is."

"I suppose so," said Aunt Tessa, wiping her hands. "You can't very well put him out on the street again. And the dog pound . . ." She shuddered. "But listen to me very clearly. This dog is your responsibility. You will walk him. And if he chews anything up, I will hold you responsible, and it will probably take until you're as old as I am now to pay for one of these rugs. Understood?"

"Understood," said Tori. She couldn't quite tell if she felt more relieved or scared. "He seems to be a very good dog. Really. He's housebroken and everything."

"That's a very good start," said Aunt Tessa.

"He'll stay in your room when you're out of the house. I suggest you roll the rug up, if you don't want to spend your adult years in the poorhouse."

"I will," Tori promised. "I'll take such good care of him."

"Good," said Aunt Tessa. She nodded to Nichelle and left the room.