Before the Carriers Leave

Before the Carriers Leave

1On my third Saturday volunteering at the animal rescue, I arrived with a stopwatch clipped to my backpack. My name, Dalia, appeared beside “transfer supplies” on the assignment board. Last week, sorting the blankets had taken me nearly an hour. Today, I wanted the coordinator, Ms. Chen, to see that I could finish without reminders. I started the stopwatch before removing my jacket.

2Two cats were leaving for separate foster homes that morning. Adults would handle the cats; my job was to pack the supplies beside their carriers. Each carrier had a clipped destination card and a cloth bag tied to its handle. A note above the worktable read, “Keep each animal’s belongings together.” I lined up the food containers, determined to make the table look orderly before anyone arrived.

3Ms. Chen asked me to wipe the worktable while she answered the office phone. I unfastened both cloth bags and placed them on a shelf. Then I moved the empty carriers aside and wiped beneath them. When the phone stopped ringing, I put everything back. The matching bags looked much neater hanging at exactly the same height. My stopwatch showed twelve minutes.

4One bag held a faded green blanket with a crooked patch. I had packed it for Finch last Saturday and remembered tracing the patch with my finger. Now it hung from the carrier labeled “Juniper—West Foster.” I checked the other bag. Inside was the striped towel Juniper had used during my previous shift. That bag hung beneath Finch’s card.

5The drivers arrived early. Ms. Chen reached for the first carrier, and I pictured her praising the cleared table. Then I stepped between the table and the doorway. “Please wait. I took the bags off, and I think I switched them.” My stopwatch kept counting while everyone stood still. Ms. Chen set the carrier down without looking at the clock.

6Together we checked the written supply lists and returned each bag to the correct carrier. “Good catch,” Ms. Chen said. I admitted that I had wanted to beat last week’s time. She handed me two blank tags. “What would help the next person check your work?” I wrote each cat’s name on a tag and tied it to the matching bag. Ms. Chen added checking those tags to the transfer checklist.

7After the drivers left, I stopped the watch. Twenty-eight minutes: slower than I had hoped. Beside my name on the assignment board, Ms. Chen had written, “Design bag tags for next Saturday.” I unclipped the stopwatch from my backpack and put it inside. Before leaving, I checked that the unused tags and a marker were together in the supply drawer.