Free The Invisible Harry by Marthe Jocelyn

you, Hubert?”
    The room went black. We were all invisible. There was a pencil line of light coming from under the door, and that was it. Black night.
    I held Harry close, feeling it was the last moment that he was really mine.
    Suddenly there was a pounding on the door.I clutched Harry so hard he yelped. Hubert gasped in alarm.
    “Open up!” I didn’t recognize the husky voice.
    “Just a second!” I called out.
    “What are we going to do?” hissed Hubert.
    “Who do you think it is?” I hissed back.
    The door handle moved. We had forgotten to turn the lock! Light from the hall fell into the room as someone pushed open the door.
    “Hey, what are you doing in here with the lights off?” The voice that started out deep and gruff turned into boy laughter as Charley found more than he’d expected.
    “Just tell me what you’re doing with the gum!” He was choking on his own joke. Hubert about fainted with mortification, but I was just mad.
    “Charley, you get out of here right now. We are having a private conference, and it’s none of your nosy-parker business.” Harry was struggling to get out of my hold.
    “Oh, I’ve got to get a witness to this!” Charley exclaimed as he headed for the cafeteria.
    I locked the door behind him, darkening the room back into a coal mine.
    Feeling desperate, I plunged Harry into the toilet with no mercy.
    He went crazy, barking and flapping and even snarling.
    “I’m sorry, honey,” I kept saying. “I’m sorry. We’ve got about twelve seconds before they knock down the door. You’re going to feel better, I promise. Hubert! Help me! I’m getting soaked!”
    Harry thrashed and yipped while I tried to get the sludge on his head and over his ears and around the tail.
    I rubbed it deep into his fur, pretending to give him a shampoo.
    “How long do we have to keep him in here?” asked Hubert.
    “Let’s check now. Hit the switch.”

    The room
buzzed
with light.
    I blinked, feeling like a bat in sunshine.
    And then I saw Harry.
    “He’s here!”
    Harry was sodden and miserable but all here.
    I lifted him out of the toilet and rubbed him all over with paper towels, until his fur stood up and most of the bath lumps were gone. He was even cuter than I remembered.
    “Wow,” whispered Hubert in awe. “We really did it!”
    “We did it!” I hollered, loud and happy. We jumped up and down, punching each other with glee. Harry, of course, began to bark.
    “Okay, stop.” I took a deep breath. “We have to hurry. We’ve got to clean up this mess and, oh my God, look at you!”
    Hubert’s T-shirt was wet through, and his arms were coated in crud.
    “You should talk, Billie. Your hair looks like it’s full of vomit.”
    I checked the mirror and groaned.
    “Do you think it’s safe to flush the toilet?” asked Hubert. We stood shoulder to shoulder examining the porcelain bowl full of slops.
    I skimmed a couple of handfuls off the top and delivered them to the garbage can.
    “We can only try,” I said, pushing on the lever.
    Harry lifted his front paws onto the rim and watched with curiosity as the soup swirled and the pipes gagged and choked. Finally, thankfully, everything was sucked down.
    We mopped the floor with more paper towels. Hubert splashed off his arms and squeezed what he could out of his shirt.
    I twisted my head upside down in the sink, trying to rinse my hair, but mostly I sprayed water on the wall.
    Harry suddenly shook himself, showering our knees and ankles, as if he’d just learned to be a real dog. From head to foot, I was various stages from damp to saturated.
    The doorknob jiggled, and there was another knock.
    “Billie! Charley said you were in there. Come out right now.” It was my little sister.

21 • Dénouement
    C ome on!” Jane called. “Daddy is waiting outside, and so is that Jody girl.”
    I flicked the lock and opened the door. Jane stared.
    Harry greeted her with two happy barks.
    “He’s real!” she exclaimed, crouching to