Alone in His Teacher's House (4 page)

“Have you tried liver?” asked Dr. Charles.

“Yes, my mom made it once. But I didn’t like it,” said Marvin.

“I mean, for Waldo,” said the doctor.

“Oh.”

It was Monday afternoon. Waldo still hadn’t eaten, so Marvin called the vet on the telephone. Mrs. North had left the number.

Dr. Charles said that Waldo probably just missed Mrs. North.

He told Marvin what to do. Go to the
store and buy a quarter pound of liver. Boil it in water for ten minutes. Then cut it up in little pieces.

“And serve it to him on a real plate,” Dr. Charles added. “Instead of his doggie bowl.”

That made Marvin smile. “Okay,” he said. “Thank you.”

“Waldo’s a funny dog,” said Dr. Charles. “He’s not sick. Just love-sick. Let me know what happens.”

Marvin hung up the phone, feeling a little bit better.

He sat on the floor next to Waldo and petted him. “We’ll both be glad when Mrs. North gets back,” he said.

He’d had a rough day at school. “Miss Hillway treats me like I’m a criminal!” he told the love-sick dog.

Waldo pushed his head under Marvin’s hand.

Marvin petted him. “Nick and Stuart hate me,” he said. “They say I think I’m better than everyone. I don’t think I’m better than everyone. I just have a job to do.”

Waldo licked Marvin across the face with his big tongue.

Marvin petted him some more, then stood up. He checked to make sure the key was in his pocket. “I’ll be back after dinner,” he promised. “
With liver!
”

He tried his best to sound enthusiastic.

His mother said she’d take him to the store after dinner to buy the liver. And then drive him to Mrs. North’s house.

“Can I come?” asked Jacob. “I’ve never seen the inside of a real teacher’s house.”

“Sure,” said Marvin, glad to impress his older brother.

“Me too,” said Linzy. “I want to meet Waldo.”

Marvin’s father went along too. “I don’t want to be a party pooper,” he said.

Marvin smiled. After all his troubles, it felt good to have his family with him.

He paid for the liver out of his own money. A quarter pound only cost 37¢. Less than a candy bar.

Inside Mrs. North’s house, Marvin found a pot and filled it with water. He turned on the stove. His mother offered to cook the liver for him, but Marvin said, “No, it’s part of my job.”

He dropped the slimy meat into the boiling water.

Jacob was walking around the house. “Cool,” he said as he went from one room to another.

Linzy hugged and petted and rolled around on the floor with Waldo. “I wuv you, Waldo,” she said.

The liver was stinking up the kitchen.

Marvin let it boil for ten minutes, like Dr. Charles said. Then he plucked it out of the water with a fork and cut it up into bite-size pieces.

He really didn’t think it would work. He had tasted liver. And he had tasted dog food.

He liked dog food better.

He put the liver on a regular plate and set it on the floor.

His family gathered around to watch.

“Look, Waldo,
liver!
” said Marvin.

Waldo didn’t move.

“
Please
, Waldo,” begged Linzy. She pushed the plate to him.

Waldo sniffed at it.

Then he stood up, stuck his head over the plate, and ate a piece of liver.

Marvin and his family cheered.

Waldo ate another piece, then another. He didn’t stop until the plate was empty.

Then he waddled over to his dog food bowl and ate all his dog food too.

“All he needed was an appetizer,” said Marvin’s mother.

Marvin was so happy he almost cried.

He washed and dried the pot, knife, fork, and plate.

Linzy had to use the potty.

Of course!
thought Marvin. She
couldn’t go anywhere without needing to go to the bathroom. He smiled. He knew the kids in his class would be glad.

Where’s Waldo?

Tuesday morning Marvin woke up with a start. He couldn’t remember if he had locked Mrs. North’s front door!

He remembered his family getting ready to leave. Then Linzy had to go to the bathroom. And Jacob was in a hurry because there was a TV show he wanted to watch. And Linzy had to hug Waldo three more times.

He got dressed quickly and rushed through breakfast.

He just couldn’t remember.

As he rode his bike to Mrs. North’s, he felt a knot in the pit of his stomach.

He dropped his bike in front of her house and ran to her front door.

He tried the knob.

It was locked.

But that didn’t mean anything, he realized. The robbers could have locked it after they left.

He unlocked the door and stepped inside.

Everything seemed to be in order.

Except Waldo wasn’t there to greet him.

“Waldo!” called Marvin. “Oh, Wal-do!”

The TV was still there. The VCR. There were no open drawers. Nothing seemed to be missing, except—

“Waldo!” Marvin called again.

He looked around the kitchen and the living room, then entered Mrs. North’s bedroom. Something smelled funny.

Waldo had thrown up on the floor.

Marvin just missed stepping in it.

He could see pieces of liver and dog food. It looked like Waldo had thrown up everything he had eaten.

“Waldo!” Marvin called.

He looked under the bed.

Waldo lay there.

“There you are! You old whisker-faced dog!”

Waldo didn’t move.

“Waldo!” he shouted. “Wake up, Waldo! Wake up, you stupid dog!”

But already he knew that Waldo would never wake up.

Do Something!

He didn’t know what to do.

Waldo was dead. He threw up the liver and died.

Do something!

Should he call 911?

Do something!
The words kept repeating inside his head.
Waldo is dead. Do something!

Should he get him out from under the bed? How would he even do that? Pull him by the tail? And even if he could get him out from under the bed, then what?

He called home.

It rang eleven times. His parents had already left for work.

Do something!

“
I
never should have given him liver,” he said.

He couldn’t just leave Waldo there. Could he? Just go to school as if nothing happened?

He walked around the house. He looked at himself in the bathroom mirror and noticed for the first time that he was crying.

He wiped his eyes on his shirt sleeve.

He walked quickly back to the phone. He called the vet.

There was a recording. The office was closed until 10:00. But it gave another number to call in case of an emergency.

Marvin didn’t know if it was an emergency.
Waldo was already dead.

He dialed the emergency number anyway. Dr. Charles had said, “Let me know what happens.”

A woman answered the phone. “Hello.”

“Hello,” said Marvin. “This is Marvin Redpost. I’m taking care of Mrs. North’s dog, Waldo. I mean, I was. Dr. Charles said to let him know what happened. Well, he died. And I don’t know what to do! I can’t take him to a cemetery because—”

“I’ll get my husband,” said the woman.

Dr. Charles came on the line.

“Waldo is under the bed,” Marvin told him, trying not to cry. “He won’t move. He threw up all his liver and dog food. I’m just here by myself.”

“I’ll be right over,” said Dr. Charles. “Try to calm down. What’s the address?”

Marvin thought a moment. “I don’t
know,” he said. “I know how to get here, but I don’t know the address.”

“Okay, then just tell me how to get there.”

Marvin tried to think. “I don’t know how to tell it,” he said. He got an idea. “Wait, I’ll go outside and check the street sign.”

He set down the phone and started out the door.

Then he got a better idea. He had been bringing in Mrs. North’s mail. He took an envelope back to the phone and read the address to Dr. Charles.

“You’re doing just fine,” said Dr. Charles. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

“He’s in there. Under the bed,” said Marvin, pointing to Mrs. North’s bedroom.

He waited in another room until Dr. Charles was finished. He didn’t look until after Waldo’s body was inside Dr. Charles’s van.

“Did the liver kill him?” Marvin asked. “Maybe I didn’t cook it right?”

Dr. Charles smiled. “It wasn’t because of anything you did, Marvin. Waldo was just a very old dog,” he said. “His time had come.”

Marvin watched the van drive away.

He cleaned up Waldo’s throw-up and flushed it down the toilet. As Dr. Charles suggested, he poured a little vinegar over the spot to get rid of the smell.

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

He rode his bike to school.

Ma

“Nice of you to show up, Marvin,” said Miss Hillway as Marvin entered the classroom. He was twenty minutes late.

“Sorry,” he said.

“Just waltz on in,” said Miss Hillway. “We’ll wait.”

He quickly took his seat.

Miss Hillway handed out a worksheet.