001Hello boys and girls. This is Miss C, director of student services for the schools. I'll be reading chapters 76 through 79 of Dog Town. I hope you enjoy. Chapter 76, the trunk. We waited and waited until we were sure she was not coming back. Then Mouse popped the trunk again, crawled out the window, hopped onto the door handle, and slid the rest of the way down. I jumped up, resting my one front paw on the bumper and peered inside. The trunk was a tornado of tents, tarps, tennis rackets, and teddy bears. And there, in the middle of the mess, was a box marked donation with metal heads hind sticking out. Mouse scrambled up my leg to my back, then up my neck to my head. From there, he leapt into the trunk and dug around
002until he found metal head switch. He flipped it on and Metal Head's lights flashed blue then yellow. Metalhead, I barked. He didn't answer, didn't move, didn't say a word. Had he been damaged by the toss into the donation box? Hey, Metalhead. Hello, I said. Still nothing except his lights flickering blue and yellow. Chapter 77. E-waste. I doubted I could jump into the trunk. Don't get me wrong, if I was in a three-legged race, I'd win. Pulse down. My back legs are strong, and that's what propels a leap like that. But there wasn't room in the garage for me to get a running start. I would have to pull myself up by one leg. I squirmed up, then slid back down. Then I tried again, pushing off of my back legs, twisting myself forward. It wasn't
003pretty, but I somehow managed to wiggle into the trunk. I was panting hard as I crawled through the trunk, jumped to Metalhead. Mouse was there already. He was waving his arms all around trying to get Metalhead's attention. Hey buddy. I looked Metalhead in the eye. Mouse tapped him on the ear. You don't want to be donated, I said. They'll put you in e-waste. He didn't answer, but his eyelids flickered. Robot dogs are afraid of e-waste. Nobody wants to be recycled. And then suddenly I understood what was going on. Metal Head had a heart and it was broken. Chapter 78. The Boohoo speech. At least I knew what to do about a dog with a broken heart. I launched into my Boohoo speech, which I had pretty much perfected after nearly a year in Dogtown. "Just
004because a human doesn't want you doesn't mean you aren't lovable," I said. "Save your breath," he whispered. So, he couldn't talk. "That was good. You have to get out of here, Metalhead." Mouse nodded vigorously. He pointed to the garage door. "Just turn me off," Metalhead said. You'll get over this. I have my heart broken. I had my heart broken and I survived. You will, too. Jimmy and I did everything together. His voice broke. Yeah, but Jimmy's growing up. Why would you upgrade when the kid model is flawless? Metalhead asked. I don't know, I said thinking how perfect my Jesse was. It hurts. He tapped his chest right here. That's your heart. I said, "What is the point of having one? It's an inferior design." Mehead said, "Love is complicated," I explained. "Your boy loves you,
005but right now he's trying so hard to grow up. He has to pretend he doesn't." Metal Head nodded miserably. "I embarrassed him. He called me a toy. I'm sorry. You're always telling dogs to get over their boohhoos. You have no real understanding of what it feels like. I swallowed past the knot in my throat. That's not true, I said. I didn't want to tell him my story, especially with Mouse jabbing my sides with his tiny finger. Mouse wanted us out of there. Any second, Jimmy's mom could come out and drive us away. I saw his point, but what could I do? Metalhead wasn't going to budge until I made him understand that he would have a life after Jimmy. So, I took a deep breath and began. Chapter 79. Back when I had four legs.
006My life was wonderful back when I had four legs and I lived with Jesse and Professor Besser. I didn't know there were dogs in the world who weren't loved like I was. I never even heard of a dog shelter. A bad day back then was no dogs at the dog park. I went right from the tinder paws of my mama to the Besser's home on Sycamore Avenue. Jesse was six then and had wanted a dog her whole life. She was overjoyed from the first moment she saw me. She dressed me in dolly outfits. She shared her snacks with me and she let me hide my bones under her pillow. When Jesse went to school, I'd wait by the door until she came home. I'd get so excited when I heard the squeak of the bus
007brakes, the slap of the bus door, and Jesse's feet skipping down the steps. Jesse threw the ball for me. We played milk bone hide and seek and watched our favorite TV programs cuddled together on the couch. We never grew tired of playing with each other. Jesse smelled of pencils and baby powder and blueberry pancakes, which is the best smell in the entire world. Hope you enjoy.