Alone in His Teacher's House (3 page)

“No, it isn’t,” said Marvin. It was silly.
No wonder Mrs. North asked me to take care of Waldo
, he thought.

“You think you’re so great,” whispered Casey. “Just because you went to the bathroom in Mrs. North’s house!”

Gina sneezed. Heather sneezed.

“My, there must be a terrible cold going around,” said Miss Hillway.

Everyone—except Marvin—laughed.

Kenny sneezed.

Then, Miss Hillway sneezed!

A whole bunch of kids blessed her.

“Okay, that’s enough,” Miss Hillway said. “I hope we all got our sneezes out. Now, let’s get back to work.”

Clarence sneezed.

Miss Hillway didn’t smile. “I’m serious now. I don’t want to hear another sneeze,” she warned.

“But what if you really have to?” asked Melanie.

“You can’t punish someone for sneezing,” said Nick.

“It’s dangerous to hold back a sneeze,” said Stuart. “My dad’s a doctor. He knows.”

“It could explode out your ears,” said Casey. “You could die!”

Miss Hillway raised her eyebrows.

Marvin felt a tickle in his nose.

It was a small tickle at first. But it slowly grew, bigger and bigger inside his little nose.

He tried to hold it back, but it felt like it would explode out his ears.

He sneezed.

Miss Hillway stared at him as she slowly shook her head. “You never know when to quit, do you, Marvin?”

Nothing In—Nothing Out

It did not get any better for Marvin. No matter what he said or did, Miss Hillway took it the wrong way. On Friday, she called him a “hooligan.”

“I don’t even know what a hooligan is,” Marvin said after school.

“Don’t worry about it,” said Stuart. “Mrs. North won’t get mad at you. You’re taking care of her dog.”

“You can do
anything!
” said Nick. “You’re so lucky. You’re the luckiest kid in the whole world!”

Marvin shrugged.

That was another problem. He wasn’t doing such a good job of taking care of Mrs. North’s dog. Waldo hadn’t eaten anything since Mrs. North left. His bowl was still full of the same old dog food.

He unlocked his bicycle.

“Can I come with you to Mrs. North’s house?” asked Stuart.

Marvin looked at Stuart. Then at Nick.

Mrs. North didn’t exactly
say
he couldn’t bring his friends over.

“Sorry,” he said.

“Why not?” asked Stuart. “I’m not going to wreck anything.”

Marvin wasn’t worried about Stuart. But if he said yes to Stuart, then Nick would want to come too.

“Mrs. North said she doesn’t want anyone else in her house,” he lied.

“I just want to sit in her chair,” said Nick.

“She won’t find out,” said Stuart.

“I just want to turn her lights on and off,” said Nick.

“Sorry,” said Marvin. “It’s her rule. Not mine.” He got on his bike. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

His friends stared at him.

He rode off. He felt bad lying to his two best friends. But he just didn’t want to take any chances.

He glanced back. Nick and Stuart were on their bikes, a half a block behind him.

He turned a corner and stopped.

Nick and Stuart came around the corner, then stopped when they saw him.

“You can’t come to her house!” said Marvin.

“We’re just riding our bikes,” Stuart said.

“Mrs. North doesn’t own the streets,” said Nick.

“Well, quit following me.”

“We’re not following you!” said Nick. “He thinks we’re following him.”

“Just a coincidence,” Stuart explained.

Marvin got back on his bike. Stuart and Nick followed.

He stopped in front of Mrs. North’s house. Stuart and Nick stopped too.

“Just taking a rest,” said Stuart. He stretched his arms and yawned.

Marvin went into his teacher’s house and locked the door behind him.

Waldo’s bowl was still full.

“Oh, Wa-wa-wa-Waldo,” said Marvin, petting him.

Waldo’s tail swept the floor.

“You really have to eat,” he told the old dog.

Waldo whined and nuzzled Marvin.

Marvin petted him. “Nick and Stuart are so immature,” he said. “You’re lucky I’m taking care of you, and not them.”

He hooked on the leash, grabbed the pooper-scooper, and led Waldo outside.

“That’s the ugliest dog I’ve ever seen,” laughed Nick.

“It looks like a walrus!” said Stuart.

“C’mon, Waldo,” said Marvin.

“
Waldo
?” Nick and Stuart said together.

“Where’s Waldo?” said Nick.

They laughed again.

Marvin tugged on the leash, but Waldo didn’t seem to want to take a walk. He just took two steps and sat down. He looked back at the house.

Nick and Stuart laughed again.

“Let’s go, Waldo,” said Marvin, tugging on the leash.

Waldo slowly got up, took a few more steps, then sat down again.

“He really knows how to walk a dog!” said Stuart. “No wonder Mrs. North chose him.”

“And what would you do different?” asked Marvin.

“Did you hear something?” Stuart asked.

“No, I didn’t hear anything,” said Nick.

“I thought I heard someone talking to me,” said Stuart. “It must have been the wind.”

Instead of going around the block, Marvin only managed to go to the corner and back. At least he didn’t have to use the pooper-scooper in front of Nick and Stuart. But Waldo hadn’t eaten in two days. And if nothing goes in, nothing comes out.

He put Waldo back in the house.

“I’ll be out in a second,” he told his friends. “Then we can do something. Okay?”

He put the leash and pooper-scooper away.

Waldo lay on the floor, watching him with sad eyes.

“See you later, Waldo,” said Marvin. “
Eat something.
”

He checked to make sure he still had the key, then went outside, locking the door behind him.

Nick and Stuart were gone.

Some Dog Food Is Eaten

On Sunday, Waldo’s bowl was still full of food.

Maybe the food had gone bad. It had been in his bowl since Wednesday night.

Marvin took the bowl into the garage and dumped it into Mrs. North’s garbage can.

He returned to the kitchen. He found some green dish soap under the sink. He washed Waldo’s bowl. Then he rinsed it a long time so it wouldn’t taste like soap. He dried it with a dish towel, which he found in the drawer next to the sink.

Waldo watched him.

He filled the bowl with fresh dog food.

“Here you go,” he said, setting it down in front of the old whisker-faced dog.

Waldo didn’t even look at it.

Marvin picked out a piece of dog food and held it in front of Waldo’s nose. “Yum, yum,” he said.

Waldo turned his head away. He whined.

Marvin sat on the kitchen floor and stroked his back. “I tell you what,” he said. “If I eat it, will you?”

The bit of dog food was still in his hand.

Marvin opened his mouth wide so Waldo could see. He took the bit of dog food between his thumb and forefinger and held it inside his mouth.

He was careful not to let it touch his tongue.

He quickly pulled out his hand, closed his mouth, and swallowed.

“Yum, delicious!” he said.

The dog food was hidden in his fist.

Waldo wasn’t fooled.

“Okay,” said Marvin. “I’ll really eat it this time. But then you have to, too.”

Waldo watched him.

Marvin touched the dog food with his tongue. It wasn’t horrible. It tasted a little like cereal.

He bit into it.

It was chewier than cereal. And a little bit gritty, like it had tiny seeds in it.

He chewed and swallowed.

It wasn’t gross. It wasn’t something he’d ask his mom to get for an after-school
snack. But it really wasn’t too bad.

“Okay, your turn,” he said.

Waldo whined.

“Like this,” said Marvin. He crawled to Waldo’s bowl and picked out a piece of
dog food with his teeth.

He chewed it up and swallowed. He smiled at Waldo. “Delicious!” he said.

Waldo lay his whiskered face against the floor.

Liver