The Label Maker

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: THE UNDERDOG

As the next month passed, Gwen's parents' arguing wouldn't stop. Her parents always seemed stressed and upset when they were together. Gwen tried her best to distract herself. She went running... A lot. Almost too much. By the time November arrived it was too cold to run outside. She would have continued on, but she wasn't looking forward to running in her hat, gloves, and winter coat. Gwen was starting to go crazy inside. Homework and school wasn't a big enough distraction. RJ asked how she was every morning. Since he found out that both her parents cheated, he's been more considerate to her feelings. It was almost as if he was treating her like a fragile piece of glass, which was something she wasn't. It bothered her, but she appreciated that he cared. He never said he did, but she knew he did. Otherwise, what was the point of asking every morning?

Most days, Gwen stayed after school for the two clubs she was in, spanish and graphic printings. And even after that, she would stay and help Mrs. Algobram shelf books. But, it wasn't enough. She made sure to keep eating. She didn't want to stop living. She just wanted things to go back to normal. She wanted her parents to love one another again. She wanted Farrell to stop babying her. She wanted her normal life back. But what was normal The past month and a half have been anything but normal for her. She's taken these events and tried to focus on her blog. She took her anger and stress and poured it into her writing. She sure had enough time to write and think about everything with the amount of time she has spent in her room.

She's changed her blog's theme multiple times based on her mood and type of day or week she had. Of course every time her theme changed her readers questioned the action. It was a comment, a new inbox, even a blog about it. And yet it wasn't a strong enough distraction. She didn't know if it ever would be. That's why the week of Thanksgiving, when Leo's mom asked her to watch their new siberian husky puppy, she happily complied. She was to play, feed, and make sure little Apollo didn't make a mess in the house for two weeks while the family was in Minnesota. She was to keep him company twice a day, a little in the morning, and a lot at night. Gwen didn't understand why she couldn't just take him home with her. She guessed that it was just a getting familiar with the house thing.

She was to watch Apollo for two weeks. Already, five days have gone by. In only two it was Thanksgiving. In two short days Gwen and her family, would be feasting on turkey, rolls, salad, jello, and of course homemade cheesecake. Gwen was actually looking forward to the holiday. She hasn't stuffed herself in a while.

She fantasized about the day of thanks as she made her way to Leo's house for the third time that day. She found herself spending more time with Apollo on the weekends than during the actual week for school intervened. She hated going back and forth multiple times a day, but it was a sacrifice she made to not only help out a friend, but to distract herself. She unlocked the front door with the spare key that always left under the flower pot on the table next to the front door. As soon as the door closed, Apollo came running to Gwen's feet. He jumped and yapped and whined and barked until he was satisfied with the amount of affection received.

"Let's go outside Apollo. Let's go potty," Gwen cheers, running to the back door in the kitchen that lead to the backyard. She kept her coat on for she always loved to chase Apollo around the yard. It was a way to tire the pup out. That way he would be too tired to whine and cry when it was time for Gwen to leave. Apollo made a mess in the corner of the yard just like Gwen has taught him, or at least, was trying to do. After praising him for being a good boy the two started to dance around the yard. Ever since she began watching Apollo, she's been wanting a dog of her own. She thought that it would help keep her stress down. But she knew her family would be against the idea for both Farrell and her mom were allergic.

She did laps around the yard making Apollo follow. She threw a small frisbee and watched as the little puppy desperately failed to catch it in its small mouth. After an estimated forty-five minutes, Gwen called it quits and gave up. She and Apollo piled back into the house. For the first few minutes inside she couldn't feel her fingers. She regretted not bringing gloves as well as a hat for her ears were numb as well. In the kitchen she poured Apollo a cup of dog food as instructed. She also made herself a mug of hot cocoa for she always stayed and made sure Apollo ate and went outside once more after. She sat at the island and sipped her cocoa as Apollo ate his food.