Kimberly groaned as something slimy, ran up her face. She gagged at the stench and gently shoved the furry creature off of her.
"Huh," Tommy said, with a little laugh as the little dog turned around and jumped back up next to Kimberly, "I think he likes you."
"You think so?" Kim asked scratching the dog behind his ears.
"Yeah," Tommy said.
"Maybe we can keep him?" Kimberly suggested, "I mean, we can't just leave him on his own, can we?"
"No, but we should probably go to the nearest town and see if anyone has lost a dog," Tommy insisted.
"But if nobody claims him, can we?"
"Well, we're going to have to get him some proper dog food, can soup isn't the best for dogs and a collar. I wasn't really planning on getting a dog, so we'll have to find some way to earn some cash."
...
Breaking camp had been easy as they hadn't got anything out really and just had to put the bedding away and stowing the beds in the proper traveling position. It wasn't long before they were on the road again, heading down the highway, looking for the nearest town.
As they drove Tommy was thinking about what to do when they got to the next town. They were both minors, living on their own. That would raise questions of their own. Questions that he didn't really want to answer.
Soon they pulled off the highway into a town that had lights on every tree they drove past and plastic Santas in every front yard.
"With everything happening, I totally forgot that it was so close to Christmas," Kimberly muttered, staring out of the window.
"Yeah," Tommy muttered, during the summer it would have been easy enough to pass off looking for a summer job, but during the winter, that was different.
"What's wrong?" Kimberly asked, "You're worried about something."
"It's nothing, really," Tommy insisted, "I just think that it would be in our best interest if nobody knows how old we really are. We should claim to be older, already out of high school. Might as well claim to be married as well. Think about it, your uncle is looking for two high school students from wealthy families, not some broke college newlyweds."
Tommy squinted as the bright light shined in his eyes. His sun glasses were no where in sight, so he found a parking spot next to an animal shelter.
"Let's go see if anyone has reported a dog missing," he suggested as Kimberly picked up the dog.
"It looks like someone is just going in," Tommy said as he watched someone unlock the door. " Excuse me, have you had any dogs reported missing?"
"No I haven't," answered a man with blonde hair. "The secretary may know. Hey, Shawna, were any dogs reported missing last night?"
"No," replied a woman with long blonde hair. "We usually get notifications sent to us."
"We found this dog last night at our campsite last night," Tommy explained. " He was roaming around last night. It looked like had been there for a long time."
"I'm afraid that the dog might be abandoned," Shawna sighed we as she walked over and petted the dog.
"If no one claims him, My girl friend and I would like to keep him," Tommy stated.
" If no one claims him by the end of the week, he is yours," Shawna answered. " we also want to help find abandoned dogs homes too."
A few days later, Tommy decided that it would really be helpful, if they had some money to spend. The refrigerator was eventually be empty. And no one would give them food for free. He saw an ad that help was wanted for hanging up lights around the town. It sounded really easy and that would be the perfect way to earn cash. He spent his whole Saturday helping decorate. He arrived at a big house and helped a man decorate.
"So, tell me about yourself," said the man.
"My name is Tommy Oliver and I have moved here with my best friend Kimberly," he started. "Our parents work at the same business and we get moved around a lot."
He knew the man would believe it than the truth. He didn't look like no prince and he had no idea about his real family.
"What are you interested in?" asked the man.
"Dinosaurs," Tommy quickly answered. "I have wanted to learn everything about them since I was little."
"I have been looking for someone with an interest with dinosaurs," replied the man. "My name is Anton Mercer and I own a dig site here in Reefside. Would you like a job?"
"Yes, I would!" Tommy gasped.
Authors note from SpecialK92:
What will happen now that Tommy has a job? Find out in the next chapter!