20

When Margot saw Oliver standing in front of the car for the Volunteer Society, she immediately wondered, do they always travel in stretched limos? It seemed as though they did, at least.

Upon entering the limo, the first thing she noticed was the only other person there.

"Kalea?" Margot stared in shock at her roommate.

"Hey, roomie. I heard you were joining us today. Finally sick of the constant stream of prissy pincesses?" Kalea grinned, scratching her blue pet behind the ears.

"I wouldn't exactly word it that way, just wanted to see the kingdom a bit more, I guess." Margot shrugged, taking a seat near the tanned surfer girl. "I didn't think you'd be the type to join the Volunteer Society."

Kalea shrugged. "I only come on Wednesdays. Crick likes playing with the dogs, and it gives me an excuse to leave. Besides, I don't hate helping people or anything, even if I don't pretend to be a perfect person the way the princesses do."

"What exactly is Crick?" Margot finally wondered, observing the strange blue creature with extra arms.

"He's some sort of alien, but he just acts like a dog most of the time." Kalea said nonchalantly, but Margot could see the warmth in her eyes as she spoke of her pet. She didn't really think the two of them would ever be close friends, but she really did respect the surfer girl, and was glad she'd gotten someone honest like her as a roommate rather than someone fake.

Oliver was waiting outside, checking his clock annoyedly. Finally pulling out his phone, he texted his roommate.

Oliver: Dude, where are you?

Ben: read

Oliver: You fucking coward. You better fucking come tomorrow or else I'm dragging you here myself.

Two other students Margot hadn't really met joined them, and soon the five of them were on their way, with Margot staring out the window in awe. On the way into Auradon, she'd been too uncomfortable to admire the scenery, but now, she was taking in every sight.

The buildings were all made in different colours and styles. Some were red-brick Tudor-style houses, others were colourful stucco, and others were made of wood. Each somehow matched the quaint, clean style of the town while having its own bit of personality. It wasn't completely unlike how on the Isle, everything fit the same grungy, broken-down style, but each had its own taste of danger to it. Margot decided she much preferred the Auradon neighbourhoods to her own.

They quickly arrived at the dog shelter, a cute, two-story wooden house painted a light brown with a painted sign hanging from the door. Roger and Anita's Dog Rescue, it read.

Upon entering, Margot could only focus on the horde of puppies and dogs playing together outside through the window. Despite it being such a small building, the backyard was more than big enough for the dogs to play happily, and Margot practically swooned at the sight of them. From the corner of her eye, she saw Kalea doing the same.

Since she had made such a fuss about coming, Margot was determined to do as good a job as possible, so, while her classmates immediately went to play with the dogs, Margot helped Anita fill the bowls with food and water, and even gave some of the dogs a bath, before finally joining the others outside.

Immediately, she was tackled to the ground by a pile of pups, letting out a fit of giggles as some of the smaller ones walked across her body and others licked her face mercilessly. Eventually, she managed to sit up, but her lap was covered in the puppies. Looking around, Margot noticed that all her other classmates were in similar positions, and even Crick was surrounded by dogs.

Roger, Anita's husband, then came out into the backyard. "We've just got a call about a new puppy being brought in. Sounds like he's injured. Anyone wanna help out?"

After a second's hesitation, Margot lifted her hand. "I'd be happy to, sir."

"Great! And, just Roger is fine."

Margot somehow managed to get the dogs off of her, cooing at their adorable faces, then joined Roger back inside.

Soon enough, a man had brought a blanket in with a tiny puppy, barely newborn by the looks of it, with blood splattering the blanket.

Roger took the bundle gingerly, then led Margot to their medicine room, where he placed the pup on the table. Its ear was mangled, and there was blood dripping down its leg.

"Here, I'll need you to hold him still, very gently, while I apply some alcohol to clean his wounds." Roger said in a quiet voice. Margot quickly did as he said, frowning as she felt the dog's body quivering under her touch. She flinched in sync with him every time the alcohol touched his wounds, while Roger kept a careful eye and steady hand.

Once the wounds had been cleaned, Roger worked on setting the puppy's broken leg, applying a cast on it, then wrapping the damaged ear in gauze after suturing what he could.

"The poor guy's left ear will probably never be the right shape, but he may be able to hear out of it since he's so young it might heal. His leg will be fine, too."

Margot sighed in relief, petting the good side of the puppy's face gently. "I'm glad. How could something like this happen?"

Roger frowned distastefully. "Some people refuse to get their dogs neutered, then when the dogs have babies, they throw them into the streets, where they may or may not survive. We try to rescue as many as we can, but still, there are too many dogs roaming the streets to take them all in."

"That's awful. On the Isle, all we have is rats and bugs, I can't imagine anyone even thinking of throwing away a pet when they're so lucky to have one." Margot said softly.

"You're one of the Isle girls?" Roger wondered, surprisedly.

Margot winced. "Yes, I am. Should I have not said that? I understand it can be uncomfortable."

"No, not at all. You're just not what I expected. I was expecting someone..."

"Meaner?" Margot wondered.

"Less gentle, let's say. You seem kinder than many of the Auradon people I know." Roger corrected, still surprised.

"I'm not sure that's true, I may just be quieter."

"No, you're definitely kind. Lots of people here fake it, and get away with stuff like throwing puppies away cuz they act all good. There are probably people in Auradon who are just as nasty as some of those on the Isle."

Internally, Margot compared Audrey and her mother, both having hit her and blamed her for things that weren't her fault, and having treated her with manipulative kindness when they were in good moods. Now, Margot didn't think Audrey was as bad as her mother, rather thinking of her as a hurt, entitled girl who'd just had her world crash down around her. It wasn't impossible to see Audrey's motivation, whereas Mother Gothel was cruel just for the sake of it sometimes.

"I think in general, people here have been very kind. It's worth a few bad eggs to live in such a nice place as Auradon." Margot commented, still petting the tiny puppy on the table.

"I guess I shouldn't complain about this place. It is pretty nice, overall." Roger said as he opened a fridge and pulled out a bottle of milk. He handed it to Margot. "Feel like taking care of him a bit longer?"

"Of course."

Roger helped Margot pick up the pup in a way that wouldn't aggravate his wounds, then showed her how to feed him, holding the bottle to his mouth.

Margot nodded once she was used to the feeling and sat in one of the chairs near the door to the yard, watching the pup suckle on the bottle's nipple.

"You're a cute little guy, aren't you? You know, I think you're really strong." Margot whispered to the puppy, unknowing that one of her classmates was hearing every word as he had been about to go to the bathroom.

With a small smile, Oliver snapped a picture of the curly-haired girl nursing the pup, her serene smile emanating with warmth even in the photo.

"Seems like you're getting along well with that guy." He commented as he walked past her.

Margot glanced her, a slight dimple being seen on her cheeks. "Yeah, he's a good boy."

When it came time to leave, it took Margot a while to be able to give the puppy back to Roger, who chuckled. "You know, you can come back anytime."

Margot whirled around to Oliver. "Can I?"

"Of course. If you wanna go between classes tomorrow, I'll show you how to order the school car. Or, you could borrow a bike and I can give you a map. Up to you." Oliver shrugged, though a small grin could be seen on his face.

"The bike will be more than enough, I don't wanna bother the driver." Margot replied.

"Sounds good."

As they were in the limo on the way home, Oliver pulled out his phone.

Oliver: You better not lose this girl cuz you're scared of Audrey.

Oliver: I'll beat you to shit if you do.

Oliver: *Photo attached*