Hoot

Rain pours for three days, making it easy for Roy to keep his promise not to go looking for Mullet Fingers. His mother announces that she talked the vice principal into lifting Roy’s suspension from the school bus. Roy is not pleased, but he “couldn’t depend on his parents forever” (86).

Curly gets a call from Chuck Muckle, a vice president of Mother Paula’s corporation. Muckle criticizes him for the construction delays and the recent bad publicity about the spray-painted police car. He threatens to fire Curly if he does not fix things. An upcoming groundbreaking ceremony, which includes the actress who portrays Mother Paula on TV, requires that things be squared away. Muckle orders Curly to obtain guard dogs.

Curly gets cyclone fencing installed. Late in the day, the dogs, all rottweilers, arrive in a small truck driven by their trainer, a “beefy” man named Kalo with a thick German accent. Curly steps off the lot and the dogs are released. They quickly tour the perimeter, arrive at the gate, and snarl at Curly. Kalo silences them. The trainer will pick up the dogs in the morning.

Roy gets on the bus for school.