Rules of a Rebel

Chapter 15: Don't be a Doormat

Archer turns to look at me. I turn my head towards the window.

"What'd you do to your tail?" Irene gasps as soon as I step out of the car.

"People kept yanking on it," I explain, blushing at the memory. "So I just cut it off."

"But I was going to modify it for Wenesday," Irene sputters, holding the tail as if it's her dead pet or something. "I can't do that if you cut of the most important part."

"I already have a costume for Wenesday."

"You do? What is it?" Irene puts her hand down. We ignore the boys, who share a knowing look between themselves.

"I'm going as my Halloween costume of the Salmon-Crested Cocktail. Unfortunately, I couldn't teach about it enough to children on Halloween and most of them just cared about the candy. So I'm taking my lectures to a bigger and better audience."

"Peyton, you can't do that! All of my hard work will have gone to waste!"

"It's too late. I've already made the flyers."

Irene cries out exasperatedly.

"You can make my homecoming dress."

This seems to brighten her mood. "I can?"

"You can."

"Okay!" She chirps and claps her hands together. Her bad mood is completely gone. "Now that's settled, let's go get tattoos. Archer, Jake and Andrew, follow me. I already have a design. It's not really a set thing, but rather an idea..."

Her voice fades away as Jake and Andrew drag her in the distance. Archer, still standing by me, puts his hands in his pockets. Once my friends are out of hearing range, Archer steps in front of me. There's a coy smile to his face that makes me want to blush.

"What?"

"Animal day?"

"Yeah." This time I do blush.

"Whose idea was that?"

"Mine," My heart is thudding in my chest and I don't know why. "So what?"

"Nothing. I'm just starting to see why you joined the club, that's all. Now you can tell everybody how about how six hundred Salman-Colored Cocktails die each year," He shrugs, walking backwards, hands still in his pockets.

I stare at him, dumbfounded. "You remembered?"

"Why wouldn't I?" He smiles at my expression. "Later, Peyton."

A surge of warmth fills me up as I watch him walk away. Still in disbelief, I stumble into my pet shop. Nobody remembers my facts or my lectures. Irene, Jake and Andrew try to but they forgot half of the stuff I say. Even my parents don't care to listen, even though they're the ones I lecture to the most.

I have a sudden urge to hug something.

I smash that feeling when I sign up. My smile is completely gone by the time I put on my nametag. I look around for other people. Besides, a couple of teenagers, nobody else is here. In the office, Peter and my other coworker, Leonardo, talk to each other. Once Peter spots me, he waves me over. I nod and walk over.

"Going somewhere?" I ask, eyeing their rain jackets.

"Leonardo and I are going out to check out a call from a man who claims he found a litter of homeless puppies by the zoo," Peter tells me. "I just wanted to warn you that a man named Susan Smith is going to come in to pick up Harper, who he adopted last week. You watched me fill out enough forms to know the process works, yes?"