The Game You Play (Rixon Raiders 2)

“Can I ask why now? Most of our volunteers from high school start with us in junior year.”

“I’ve always loved animals and vet school is something I’ve always had in the back of my mind, but my parents... well, they have a different idea where my future is concerned.”

“Ah,” he smiled. “Say no more. My parents wanted a doctor and got a vet tech instead.”

“How’d they take it?”

“It was a shock at first, but they came around to the idea. In the end, I think all our parents really want is for us to be happy. Shall we get started?”

“I’d love that.”

For the first time since Mya talked me into this whole thing, I felt a seed of hope blossom in my chest. George got it. He’d been where I was now and come out the other side without too many bumps and scrapes if his senior position here was anything to go by.

“First things first. This is Serena, our front of house manager.” He motioned to the pixie-haired woman manning the desk. “Serena, meet Felicity. I’m giving her the grand tour.”

“Hey, doll,” she smiled warmly. “High school junior?”

“Senior, actually,” George corrected. “She’s a bit of a late starter.”

“No time like the present. Don’t let him scare you off, Felicity, was it?” I nodded. “George is all bark and no bite. Excuse the dog pun, you get a lot of those around here.” She gave me a wink and went back to whatever had her attention behind the desk.

“Don’t mind her,” George said, leading me through a door into a long hall. “So out there was what we call, ‘the floor’. And everything beyond this door is what we refer to as ‘the back’.”

“Got it.”

“I figured we’d start with the fun stuff and work backwards.”

“Sounds good to me.” The place had a very distinct smell. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but it was there.

“We have a permanent staff of four. Me,

Serena, Joseph, and Maggie, and a team of five volunteers who help us out on a week-to-week basis depending on how busy we are.” George kept walking, leading me to the far end of the hall. “Serena handles front of house, all customer enquiries, and adoptions. Maggie and I deal with new arrivals; we run full check overs, update vaccination boosters, administer medication and treatment in any cases requiring it. And Joseph is our resident animal whisperer.”

“Animal whisperer?”

“It’s what we like to call him. It’s his job to look after the animals day-to-day, but the guy has a rare gift with them, even the most severe cases we see. In my five years being here, I haven’t seen a case he hasn’t been able to crack.”

“Wow, he sounds wonderful.”

“He’s really something. Unfortunately, he’s taken a rare day off, so you won’t meet him today.”

Disappointment settled in my chest, but I tried to shake it off, remembering Hailee and Mya’s words of encouragement. This was a positive step in the right direction.

“And here we are. This is what we like to call, ‘the zoo’.”

The second George opened the door, I realized why. Assaulted with overzealous barks and wary purrs, I stepped into the room. Even a few growls greeted me.

“Okay, okay, quiet down.” George dragged his keys along the nearest cage. “I brought someone to meet you all, but you have to promise to behave.”

“There are so many.”

“We don’t just take cases from Rixon. We cover the surrounding areas too, so things can get pretty crazy. We’re almost at capacity right now. Twenty-five cats, eighteen dogs, and Earl.”

“Earl?” I asked, my eyes wide as I observed the vast room. It was clearly divided into cats and dogs with an examination table and apparatus set up in the middle. The crates were big and spacious, each equipped with food and water bowls and scratching posts for the cats, a few toys for the dogs.

“Our rabbit. We technically only take cats or dogs, but he was found in the alley behind the building and Serena begged us to take him in.

“Someone just left him there?”