Chương 19: Volunteering

"Stacy, can you get me some more litter? We have a situation here!" I hollered.

I would've done it myself but I was too busy cleaning up cat diarrhea that had somehow missed the box. Disgusting. I saw the guilty party meowing miserably, head pressed against the floor.

My savior stood in the doorway and wrinkled her nose at the smell. "Here. I'll go get the vet tech to take a look at poor Mr. Whiskers before things get worse."

She set down the canister of litter and speed walked away with a hand over her nose. By the time the vet tech arrived, I had finally completed my scrubbing and disinfected the offending patch of floor.

"I heard we have a bad case of diarrhea," he said. "Who's the unlucky kitty?"

I pointed at the black and white cat still meowing painfully on the floor. "We call him Mr. Whiskers because they're so curly."

"I hope it's not something super contagious." The tech gnawed his lip in worry. "I don't want to have to quarantine this whole room."

"Possibly more than this room," Stacy contributed miserably. "I…forgot to wash my hands between delivering food trays this morning."

The vet tech pinched the bridge of his nose as if warding off a headache. "It happens. Let's hope for the best though. Come on Mr. Whiskers," he wheedled. "Into the carrier." The poor cat was so sick its only protest was a croaky meow.

The tech shut the gate and looked pointedly at Stacy and me. "Don't let anyone else into this room and go home and wash up so if there is something else it won't spread."

I saluted. "Aye aye, captain."

The tech rolled his eyes at me before walking away. Stacy turned to me with tears in her chocolate-brown eyes. "Do you think he's really mad at me?"

"I think he's just a grouch," I said honestly. "The whole time I've volunteered here he's always been the first to assign blame where it doesn't belong."

She sniffed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "Thanks, Lori. I just really can't afford to get in trouble here. I need the volunteer hours for college applications."

I put a hand on the dark-skinned girl's shoulder. "I understand. I doubt he'll put up a fuss, but if he does I'll vouch for you. Of all the volunteers, only two have been here longer than I have. They'll listen to me."

Wonder shone in her eyes. "You'd do that for me?"

"Of course! Girls have to watch each other's backs," I said firmly.

Stacy was bright, if a little overeager, and a mistake as simple as not washing her hands shouldn't prevent her from getting into a good college.

"When are your applications due?"

She looked down, embarrassed. "I'm actually a sophomore. I still have a year before I can even start applying but I want to make sure my resume is well-rounded. I mean, I play volleyball, sing in choir, and speak fluent Spanish but I'm aiming for Ivy League. You need tons of volunteer hours for that."

Ambitious. I was impressed. "Where do you want to go?"

"Brown," Stacy said, her voice gaining enthusiasm. "My dad was a guest professor there once when I was a kid and he couldn't stop talking about how amazing it was. He's taking me on a campus tour this summer and I can't wait!"

The girl was a go-getter. Like Cindy. Both of them would do anything to reach their goals.

"That's awesome, Stacy! I'm sure you'll get plenty of volunteer hours. Ivy League schools typically look for a variety of volunteer programs though. Tell you what, I can get you a spot volunteering at a women's shelter my job coordinates with. You can alternate getting your hours here and there. That would look really good on your resume."

"That would be so cool! Are you sure?"

I waved a hand dismissively. "We're always looking for more volunteers. You'll have to go through an extensive training process but you can count that towards your hours."

Tears of gratitude sparked in the corners of her eyes. "Thank you so much, Lori! You're the best!"

She surprised me by throwing her arms around me. I returned the hug, thinking how happy she was by such a small gesture. It was gratifying.

Abused and neglected kids may have been my primary focus, but I was always happy to help any kid in need. Even for something as small as college applications.

A honk sounded outside and Stacy pulled back. "That's my mom. See you next week!"

I waved goodbye and grabbed my purse off its hook in the employee's lounge. The shelter lot had been unusually full when I arrived so I had to walk across the street to reach my car.

A van screeched around the corner illegally, sirens wailing not too far in the distance. I did a back handspring to get out of the way, heart pounding so fast the world around me blurred. Cop cars whooshed by, tailing the van that could have turned me into a pancake.

Gripping my keys so hard it left dents in my hand, I unlocked my car and climbed in. I was so shaky from my near death experience that my reflexes weren't as sharp as usual.

Pulling out from the side of the road, a second van was coming right at me. I barely had time to yank the steering wheel to the right and step on the gas before everything went black.