Bending the Rules

Chapter 8 : T.Steinmetz (Part 1)

>>> Chapter 8, Part 1 <<<

Upstairs, Bagel very, very happy to be let out of Tori's room. He hadn't messed anything up ─ just twisted Tori's parka into a ball trying to make a nest in it.

She took the puppy into the kitchen right away. "You must be so thirsty!" she said to him as she filled his bowl. She'd have to feed him, too. She only had the one can of dog food left; she'd have to stop off and but some more tomorrow. She could see where all the money she had saved fom her after-school job in Australia was going to: right into Bagel's little stomach.

Opening the cupboard where she'd stashed the can of dog food, she immediately noticed something new on the bottom shelf. It was a great green bag of dry dog food. Twenty pounds of it. And not the cheap supermarket stuff, either, but the good stuff from the pet store.

Tori sat down on the floor in front of the cupboard, tears welling in her eyes. She was overwhelmed.

Bagel was not overwhelmed, though. He was just hungry, and he could smell what was in the bag from across the kitchen. He raced to Tori's side, licked her face once, and then began poking at the bag with his nose.

Tori stood up and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "You're a lucky little bloke," she said to him as she poured out a bowlful of food for him. "Look what your Aunt Tessa bought you. Guess she likes you. I guess maybe she likes both of us."

"She does, just a bit," said Aunt Tessa from the doorway. "But don't get a swelled head about it."

"Aunt Tessa!" cried Tori. She flew to her aunt and threw her arms around her. Her aunt was no hugger, though. She disengaged herself as quickly as possible.

"Bagel seemed very lonely in your room while you were gone," she said, "so I let him putter around the apartment with me for a while. He was rather a good company. Waldo took to him, I think."

"Thank you, Aunt Tess!"

"Don't thank me too much. I don't want you to think you needn't keep looking for a home for him."

"I mean . . ." Tori looked down, anywhere but at her aunt. "Thanks for everything."

There was a moment of awkward silence.

"Well," said Aunt Tessa. And that was all.

They were startled by a banging sound that was being produced by Bagel, who was whacking his tail insistently against the kitchen garbage can nearby. He was looking intently at the countertop where Tori, in her surprise at seeing her aunt, haf left the bowl of dog food.

Both of them laughed, and then Tori put the bowl down on the floor, much to Bagel's joy. He tore into the food as if there were no tomorrow.

Tori and her aunt stood and watched this little dog eating dog food from a garbage can outside.

"Bagel is not very popular with the board of this building," said Aunt Tessa.

Tori said nothing. She didnt want her aunt to know she'd been eavesdropping.

"And neither are you," Aunt Tessa added in a dry tone.

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A/N:

Sorry for the short chapter. I've finished writing the whole story of this chapter but when I've already updated it, the other part of the story was lost. Ugh. Idk. I'll update the part 2 of this chapter in a day or two!! I promise. Sorry. :)