After I get my lunch, I look around for a place to sit. Never in all my years on God’s green earth have I seen so many kids in one place. And it’s so loud! It’s like there’s a million of Dylan and his friends yelling inside my head. I close my eyes.

“Hey.” Someone touches my arm. I open my eyes. It’s Noah, the kid from the bus this morning.

“Hey,” I say.

He nods. “Yeah, I know. Come sit over here with us.”

I follow him over to a table in the corner. Sitting there is Jerome, Karina, Luz, and a couple of other kids I don’t know. I am so relieved to see them I almost cry.

But I don’t. Instead, I sit down next to Karina.

“First few days are hard,” she says. “But it gets better.”

“I hope so,” I say.

“We got your back,” Jerome says. He leans in and says, “The secret is to just blend in.”

Luz rolls her eyes. “When have you ever blended in?”

Noah and Jerome laugh, trade insults. I relax. Maybe it will get better.

But as the day goes on, it doesn’t. It only gets worse.

I kick leaves off the sidewalk as I walk back to Hope House. After the day of stares and snickers and under-the-breath names I got called today at school, I decide Karina has the right idea: don’t be caught dead riding the Homeless Bus. I guess I’m not as brave as Fire, even though she’s younger than me.

I need to see Baby in the worst way. I need to feel like there’s some good in this world. Plus, I saved him half of my cheese sandwich from lunch.

Baby yips when he sees me. He even comes running across the grass. I scoop him up. He covers my face with kisses. I hold him close and kiss the top of his head, right on that white snowflake.

“You don’t care that I live in a shelter, do you, Baby boy?” I ask as we walk back over to the bathroom.

Baby lays back his ears and looks at me like he’s hugging me with his eyes. All the bad stuff from the day starts to melt away.

I pull the sandwich from my pack and feed it to him one bite at a time. I smile for the first time all day. I feel like I matter, even if it’s just to this little dog.

I hear dogs bark. There, sauntering across the park, is Ree and two dogs. The dogs are having a big time chasing each other through piles of red and yellow leaves.

Ree holds up one hand. “Hey,” she calls.

The dogs stop their chase and look over at me.

Baby wiggles all over and pulls his lips back in a big ol’ smile.

“You got a new dog?” I ask.