Defiance

Chapter 2-Chicken Joe

She finally stopped at a place a couple blocks down from her apartment. It was a pound. She sighed, she hated places like these. She hated the way people treated animals here. She sighed and pushed the door open. The pound reeked, but April could not tell what of, and she probably didn't want to know. It was a very rundown pound and a fat man with grease stains on his shirt, sat at the desk. When he finally looked up and saw her, his eyes started assessing her. His face lit up.

"Well, huller there. Welcome. We haven't had many pretty ladies 'round here for a while. Ow!" he had tripped on his own feet while he walked up to her. She just ignored him and walked down the corridors of animals. Kittens and puppies yipped and squeaked for her. She wanted to help them all but there was nothing she could do. For the first time, in a long time, she thought she felt the urge of tears.

She finally stopped at a cage of a puppy staring at her like it had been waiting for her. It wasn't a regular breed of dog, it was more like a mutt. It had reddish, brownish fur, which had dirt stuck on it. It's eyes had a sort of spark to them even though they should have been a dull brown. The dog seemed to smile at her like it was happy to see her. She knew right away this was the animal she wanted.

"Oh, ya don't want that shabby mutt." the clerk said behind her, making her jump. He tried to lead her off but as if in a trance she unlatched the door and cradled the puppy in her arms.

"This is the dog I want." she concluded. The clerk sighed and led her to the desk. He shuffled around the desk looking for the puppy's papers. While he did that, April stared into the puppy's eyes and it seemed like they connected in a way. Finally the clerk stopped and scratched his head.

"Huh. I don't remember getting this dog and there's no papers. I guess you can take him home." he said. She nodded and walked out of the pound. She let out a breath she had been holding the entire time in the pound.

The puppy just sat there, he didn't bark or try to get to the ground. He just stayed content in the safety of April's arms. She walked home and thought of ways how to tell Emma she got a puppy. She went by the kitchen counter and dropped her keys on it, then headed towards the bathroom. She needed to give the puppy a bath.

While she was scrubbing the puppy clean, the dog just sat still letting the water rinse over his coat. When April was finished the water was brown but at least the puppy was sparkling like a diamond. She emptied the water and dried the pup off. Then she flipped open her cell phone and called her sister.

"Where are you?" were the first words that exited April's mouth as Emma picked up.

"Huh? Oh, I'm at this cafe, but it's about to close. I'll be home in...a couple minutes. April, chill." but April did not chill. She always worried about her sister.

April was pacing when Emma finally came home. By that time the puppy had dried, so Emma had stayed out longer than a couple minutes. April scowled at Emma when she came through the door.

"What?! I was a little late! Geez." Emma rummaged through the fridge. Beside April the puppy yipped. Emma froze and then looked at the animal.

"You got a dog!...You got a dog." Emma face contorted with confusion then happiness. A smile spread from ear to ear on her face. Emma ran over and picked up the puppy and started kissing it on the nose. Then she started to sniff the dog while he squirmed in her tight grip.

"What are you doing?!" April asked alarmed as the animal struggled. Emma glanced at her sister, her smile gone.

"Is this my shampoo?" Emma asked it seriously but April was caught off guard by the question that she dissolved into a fit of giggles. The dog started to yip like he was laughing too.

"It's not funny, that was my favorite shampoo. It smelled like strawberries, now the dog smells like strawberries!" Emma said as she set the pup back on the ground. He immediately ran to April. When April finally stopped laughing and stroked the dog between his ears. Emma disappeared into the hall, which was where her bedroom was located.

"Hey, we still haven't named him!" April called to her sister. The apartment was silent for a minute.

"What about Hercules?" Emma yelled from her room. April shook her head then said:

"Nope too common."

"Uhh...Oh! I've got it! Chicken Joe!" Emma yelled then burst into laughter. April rolled her eyes.

"No Emma! That doesn't even make any sense!"

Emma finally emerged from her room in her pajamas. She opened a miscellaneous box and took out her laptop. She sat on the couch, with the computer on her lap, and started to type away.

"Uhh, hey April, how are we going to get food and a bed for this puppy?" Emma asked looking up. April shrugged her shoulders then said her famous line-

"Don't worry about it." Emma rolled her eyes once she heard this. April told her she'd take care of it.

Emma was still typing away once April went to sleep. Usually Emma stayed up way past her bedtime, which bugged her protective sister. Once April had felt comfortable in her bed, the puppy snuggled in next to her. She still hadn't thought of a name for the dog yet. She had a thought for a name. Pound Puppy, because I found him at the pound and he's a puppy, she thought. She finally fell asleep knowing she had to get up to go to work tomorrow.