Free How to Outfox Your Friends When You Don't Have a Clue by Jess Keating Page A

it was also seriously fascinating , seeing how they did everything and how animals looked up close like this. Before today, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to be when I grew up. Maybe a filmmaker like Grandpa?
    But now I was wondering if maybe I could be a veterinarian.
    Or both?
    I imagined myself in green scrubs, bustling around a clinic like this. Saving animals, giving injections, getting to touch such amazing creatures. Hopefully not getting my head ripped off.
    My fingernails dug into my palm as I watched Mom and Alex, stitching the raw pink skin of the fox’s leg together. What started out looking horrific and dangerous turned into something neat, tidy, and clean.
    Bad to good.
    Sick to healthy.
    Just like that.
    When they finally wrapped the final strip of bright-blue dressing around his paw, I relaxed.
    â€œWow.” I breathed. “That was amazing .” I took another step closer.
    Mom grinned, but there was a thin line of sweat that had started beading down her temple. “Do you want to touch him?” she asked. “He’s out like a light.”
    â€œThey feel really cool,” Alex said, persuading me.
    I didn’t need much coaxing.
    â€œHeck yes, I do,” I said.
    I approached the table, feeling a well of heat build up inside of my chest. Even with Mom working with the lions at the zoo, I’d never been able to touch any of them, mainly because they’re all adults and would likely tear my face off. And sure, I’d touched crocodiles, but they’re so scaly. This was different. This was wild .
    I leaned closer to the fox’s face. His eyes were still half-open in his sleepy daze, and the warm, rusty-orange color looked like it was lined perfectly with black eyeliner. His nose was surrounded by a smattering of wiry, black whiskers.
    â€œHe’s so beautiful,” I said, petting him lightly on the shoulder. His fur was thick and soft, warm against my skin. “Is he going to be okay?”
    Alex nodded. “We were lucky they only clipped him with their car. It could have been a lot worse. Now that he’s been examined and stitched up, we can take him to the rehabilitation center to heal. Then when they’re sure he’s okay”—she stroked his paw gently as she talked—“they’ll release him.”
    I sucked in a breath. “He’ll be nearby! Mom, can I come and visit him? And can I go with them when he gets released?” I begged.
    Beside me, Eli snickered. “Oh, she’s your daughter all right,” he said.
    Mom stretched her arms above her head, then bent down to touch her wriggling fingers to the floor. “I think we can figure all that out when it’s not…” She paused, looking at her watch. Her eyes widened. “Two twenty-five in the morning,” she said. “You have to be in school soon, kiddo!”
    Now, normally when I was stuck heading to school after a long night without sleep, I’d be pretty upset. But this time, I couldn’t even pretend. Some nights are worth looking like a zombie the next morning, even though I knew Ashley wouldn’t let me hear the end of it about the dark circles under my eyes.
    But tonight? It was definitely a zombie-worthy night.

    On the way home, I couldn’t keep the smile from my face. Rolling down the window to feel the cold air on my face, I leaned against the side of my seat.
    â€œWhat are you so giggly about over there?” Mom asked. It wasn’t just me who was feeling extra jazzed—she was now tapping the steering wheel to the beat in her head when she asked.
    â€œWhat you guys did with that fox,” I said. “It was amazing. I think it might be neat to do that…as a job, I mean.” I trailed my fingertips out of the window, letting the wind’s cold chill start to numb them.
    â€œYou want to be a veterinarian?” she asked. Her eyes flicked over to me as she drove. “I think you’d be a