"Hey! Cut it out, Wolf," laughed Sully, as the puppy eagerly licked his cheek.
"He's not a wolf," corrected Michaela, glancing over from her computer, "he's an Alaskan Malamute. It says so on this dog breeding website."
"Well, he definitely answers to Wolf, not Alaskan malamute," chuckled Sully as the puppy barked once before proceeding to paw at his new owner's hair.
"I think he's probably just hungry," continued Michaela sceptically, turning back to the screen and clicking on a link about feeding regimens, "no dog would ever want to be called Wolf."
"This one does," maintained Sully as the puppy barked gleefully again and ploughed his head into Sully's armpit.
"Though I do think he's hungry, maybe we should…"
Michaela turned around, her half smile suddenly freezing in place as the unmistakable sound of a door opening filtered up the stairs.
"My dad's back," she whispered, eyes widening in fear, "you've got to get him out of here."
"I can't take him!" hissed Sully, "my mom's allergic to dogs!"
"What!" exclaimed Michaela furiously, "then why on earth did you bring him back with us?"
"Well I couldn't just leave him out there," retorted Sully, "he would've died! Look, just keep him with you tonight. I'll decide what to do with him tomorrow."
"Please," he pleaded, noting Michaela's suddenly torn expression, "as a really early birthday present?"
"Shut up, shut up, shut up," moaned Michaela, rolling over in bed and dragging a pillow over her head. The low growling however continued and scowling, she opened one eye to glance at the clock on her nightstand.
3am.
"Don't you ever sleep?" she grumbled as she stumbled sleepily towards the closet. With Sully's help, she'd created a makeshift den on the floor by her shoes where they could safely house the puppy overnight. The plan was to move him into the garden shed early next morning and decide what to do with him when they got back from school. She had protested that as plans went, this one pretty much sucked but despite Sully's open challenge to come up with a better one, she'd been unable to think of anything and had had to accept defeat. The puppy, perhaps sensing the gravity of the situation, had remained quietly hidden whilst they'd gone down to dinner and after a meal of scraps they'd managed to sneak into their pockets, had settled down on the heap of old clothes and promptly fallen asleep. Since Sully's departure however, he had grown restless. What had been an occasional murmur of discontent from the direction of the closet had now turned into a full blown tantrum and Michaela's patience was running out.
"Quiet!" she whispered angrily, as she eased open the door and peered inside. She caught a brief glimpse of the puppy's eyes glittering in the darkness before it bounded into her arms and burrowed into her chest. Michaela smiled in spite of herself.
"Ok, ok," she murmured, as the puppy yawned widely, "you can sleep with me tonight. Just keep the snoring to a minimum."
"You look terrible," commented Sully as they set off towards the Quinn residence, Michaela visibly dragging her feet.
"Well what do you expect, your stupid dog kept me up all night," retorted Michaela acidly, scowling malignantly.
"Why? Is he ok?" asked Sully, suddenly worried, "Maybe we should get him checked over by a vet?"
"He's fine," grumbled Michaela, rolling her eyes, "he eats, sleeps and pees perfectly."
"What?" exclaimed Sully, choking back a laugh.
"It's not funny," growled Michaela, "I woke up this morning to a nasty damp surprise on my duvet. I managed to get it into the washing machine without my dad noticing, but I don't know how I'm going to explain the need to dry it outside."
"Seriously," she continued, pausing suddenly and turning to Sully, "we can't keep him at mine for much longer without my dad finding out. We've got to think of something."
"I know," sighed Sully, his smile fading into a frown, "maybe we could ask Matthew to look after him for us?"
"We can call and ask him tonight," agreed Michaela, unlocking the side gate and squeezing through, "but in the meantime, I found some more information about what to feed a new puppy. And I think we should give him a bath too, he's starting to smell."
"When did you find time to research dog care?" wondered Sully, as he slipped in after Michaela.
"It's amazing what you can get done if you get up at 5am," explained Michaela dryly, heading across the yard to the shed.
"What?" asked Sully, as Michaela stopped abruptly and gasped in horror. Following her gaze, his mouth fell open.
"You did…?"
"Of course I closed it," snapped Michaela, dashing up to the shed door that now stood half open, "but the latch's old. Maybe he managed to slip it open or something."
"Well he's definitely not in here," said Sully, peering into the dark but obviously empty shed.
"Let's check the house," suggested Michaela anxiously, "he can't have gone far. Maybe he made his way back to my room."
"Hey kids," came an all too familiar voice from behind them, "I didn't hear you come in. What are you doing down here? You lose something?"
"No, Dad," replied Michaela, turning slowly to face her father, "we were just…."
"I see," said Joseph sedately, as Michaela's explanation trailed off into an uncomfortable silence, "Well, if I had been foolish enough to smuggle a dog into the house and then hide it in the shed all day, I'd seriously reconsider lying about it to my dad when he asked me about it."
"You know?" breathed Michaela just as Sully exclaimed, "You found him! Is he ok?"
"Yes, I know," replied Joseph, crossing his arms across his chest, "and yes, he's ok. Would you care to explain yourselves?"
"I'm sorry, Dad," whispered Michaela to the ground, unable to face the mingled fury and disappointment in her father's eyes, "We just didn't know what to do."
"Then you should have come and told me what was going on," said Joseph angrily, "we could have come up with a solution together. Do you realise how serious this is? The neighbours heard barking coming from the shed and rang me up at work, threatening to call the animal shelter. I had to leave early to come and sort out your mess."
"It wasn't her fault," began Sully bravely, "I asked…"
"I'm not interested in whose fault it was," cut in Joseph, "you are both equally to blame. Now, as neither of you seem to be able to act like responsible adults, I'm taking away all your privileges for two weeks. You're both grounded, starting now. You are not to go out except to go to school. Michaela, you'll be at Mrs Baker's every evening til I come and get you. Sully, you'll be at Charlotte's. No ballet, no music class. Do I make myself clear?"
Michaela, who knew better than to challenge her father when he was upset and felt that she had earned her punishment, nodded mutely. Sully however, was furious.
"That's not fair!" he interjected, "you're not my Dad, you can't tell me what to do!"
"No, I'm not," replied Joseph sedately, fixing Sully with a piercing glance, "but I've always treated you as a member of this family. And if you want to continue being treated like that then you've got to accept the responsibilities that go with it. It's your choice."
Sully opened his mouth as though to argue back but then a curious expression crossed his face and his gaze dropped to his sneakers.
"Both of you, inside now and start your homework," finished Joseph grimly as the silence remained unbroken, "and I don't want to hear a word out of either of you til dinner."