Alone in His Teacher's House (Marvin Redpost 4)

“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.

Chapter 10

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.

Marvin started to write his name at the top. He wrote: Ma. That was as far as he got.

He tried not to think about Waldo—the way he always wanted to be petted, his white whiskers, his whining that sounded like singing.

He took a deep breath.

And what about Mrs. North? What was she going to do when she came home? Tomorrow night!

Marvin imagined her opening her front door. She’d be surprised because Waldo wasn’t there to greet her.

In his mind, Marvin saw her going through the house with her suitcase still in her hand. She was calling, “Waldo? Waldo? Wa-wa-wa-Waldo?” And then he saw her picking up the telephone.

He imagined himself alone in his room as the phone downstairs was ringing.

Miss Hillway came around and collected the worksheets.