Author's Note: I'm sorry this one is so short. I haven't had time to write very much lately, so I thought it's probably better to put up what I've got than to make you wait for me to get any further, because it might be awhile. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Chapter 3

Riiiiiiiiing!

I glance up at the door, and then back at the others. They're staring at me wide-eyed. Please, please don't let me be right about this. Slowly, I stand up and open the door. Sure enough, there's Annie, held by the scruff of her neck by a policeman. There's this mangy mutt on the doorstep too. Wonder how she picked him up.

I turn around to holler into the house. "Miss Hannigan! Miss Hannigan!"

"What?" she snarls in my face, and I flinch. Then she sees her. "Annie!" Ooh, is she mad. This ain't gonna be good.

She remembers the policeman when he speaks. "Look what I found under a paving stone, Miss Hannigan."

She's still seething, but she can't very well tear into the kid now, not with a seducible man standing right there. Dear old Miss Hannigan and her priorities. So she scoops Annie up into a hug, practically squishing her, and starts cooing about how worried she was.

Annie pays no attention, just points earnestly at the mutt. Damn kid ain't even scared! It's just like her, getting into more trouble when she ain't even been punished yet. Duffy and Molly grab the dog and slip him inside.

Miss Hannigan lets Annie go and shoves her through the door. She sprints in after the dog, but I stay in the doorway. I wanna see how this goes.

Miss Hannigan starts towards the policeman. "How can I ever thank you enough?"

He smiles. "I'm sure we can think of something if we… get our heads together." I can't resist. I lean forward and taunt, "Kissy, kissy, kissy!"

"Kill…" she mutters. Then she rounds on me. "KILL!"

I jump and race through the door to get out of her reach. I take the stairs two at a time and slide into the sewing room, where some of the girls are trying to shove the mutt under a sheet. "Hurry, she's right behind me, she'll be in any second!" I drop into the chair before an empty sewing machine and get to work.

Annie tucks the last corner under the dog and the girls run back to places. Seconds later, Miss Hannigan appears in the doorway and blows her whistle.

We jump to our feet. "We love you, Miss Hannigan."

She just rolls her eyes. "Sure."

Duffy leans around the doorframe as Miss Hannigan heads for her office. As soon as the door closes, she grins at us and everybody rushes for the dog, chattering and exclaiming over how adorable he is.

I roll my eyes and spin in my seat towards them. "He smells."

As usual, nobody pays attention. "What's his name, Annie?" Molly asks.

Annie grins. "Guess!"

We make a game out of it, trying to come up with a name for him. We decide on Rover, which suits fine, but Annie says it's Sandy. I gotta admit, that's better. He might smell a bit, but he's all right. I dunno how they all think we're gonna keep him more'n a few days without her finding out, but that's the thing about living in a place like this. You stop thinkin' long-term and start making whatever you've got work, even if you know it ain't gonna last.

"She's coming!" Katie hisses from the doorway, and the scramble starts again. They've barely covered the mutt when she bursts through the curtains.

She's drunk, but that doesn't mean she ain't still scary, especially with the dog in the room. We hold our breaths as she makes her way slowly up the rows of tables, smacking her whistle in her hand. She catches sight of Annie, the one she's really after, still scrambling to pile sheets on Sandy. Annie gulps, trying to shield the dog with her body.

"I love you, Miss Hannigan?" she stammers.

Miss Hannigan only smiles viciously, grabbing her by the front of her dress. "And you will love the paddle closet, Annie." The mound of sheets moves beside her, and she whips the covers off the dog. "And this? Will love the sausage factory." She grabs him too and pulls him off the chair. We all moan. "What?" she snaps.

The room goes dead silent. It ain't ever been so hard to say it as it is now. Finally, we chorus, "We love you, Miss Hannigan."

"Shut up." She drags her two captives from the room.

We all head back to our sewing machines, dejected.

"So much for the dog," July says.

Molly turns to Kate. "You think she's really gonna send him to the sausage factory?"

I spin around to face her. "Of course she is. What did you think she was gonna build 'im a doghouse and let us keep 'im as a pet?"

Molly just glares at me and marches away. Fine, let her have her little fantasies. She'll grow up quick enough here. As I start back on the dress I'm workin' on, my thoughts turn to Annie. She's probably in the closet right now, but we'll hear it soon enough. Annie gets paddled more'n any other kid here. The thing is, she doesn't even seem to care that much. Getting hit just doesn't scare her like it does the rest of us. Like me, I'm no coward, but I make sure a fight's really worth it if I know I might get bruised up. Annie just runs in, fists flailing. I think that's one reason Miss Hannigan's always got it in for her, nothing she does has any effect on that carrot stick. She just grits her teeth and takes it, and then she goes back to what she's doing.

I turn the dress and start stitching on the last sleeve, waiting. But the first sound I hear isn't the one I expect.