Brady stood very still, his eyes riveted on the swaying, shimmering grass.
He caught a glimpse of golden fur.
Two eyes glinted in the sun.
Brady’s heart gave a sudden lurch in his chest. “Look out!” he yelled.
WHOOSH! Something big and furry and heavy crashed against his stomach.
Brady fell over backwards. He lay sprawled on the hard ground. A wet tongue slopped across his arm. A dog!
“Cool It, come here!” shouted Abra. She was laughing. She grabbed the dog’s collar and looked at Brady, who stood up, wiping his hands across his face. “He always sneaks up on people. Sorry.”
Brady glared at Abra. “You never said you had a dog.” He brushed dirt off his jeans. His legs felt like porridge.
“You never asked.”
Brady licked his lips. He couldn’t stop staring at Cool It. His thick fur was golden in the sun. His eyes danced. He slapped his long plumed tail back and forth against Abra’s legs.
“I was actually going to walk to Reptile Rage,” said Abra. “Then I saw you on the roof. Cool It needs a new collar. Do you want to come?”
Reptile Rage was only three blocks away. It was the best pet store Brady had ever seen. The owner, Dextra, let kids hold the snakes and pet the iguanas. Once Brady had cleaned the boa constrictor’s cage all by himself.
“Are you taking Cool It?” asked Brady.
“Sure.”
“Are you wearing that witch’s hat?”
Abra gave him a hard look.
Brady sighed. This is what happened when you were desperate. You agreed to go for a walk with a girl with a huge, out-of-control dog. “I’ll come. Just wait a sec while I tell Mom.”
He looked at Abra’s face. He didn’t want her to get the wrong idea. “But after that, I’m going to be busy.”
A blue awning stretched over the door of the pet store. A sleepy-eyed tortoise blinked in the wide front window. A bunch of kids huddled around a poster stuck on the brick wall. Brady recognized two of the guys from the park. They were talking in loud voices.
“Hi, Abra. Hi, Cool It,” said a girl.
She had masses of skinny brown braids and a row of earrings in each ear.
“Hi, Julia. Hi, guys. This is Brady. He just moved here a while ago.”
A few of the kids glanced at Brady. The rest kept staring at the poster.
DOG SHOW
Where? Reptile Rage parking lot
When? Friday morning, July 26
!!!!!!!!RIBBONS!!!!!!!!
Best-behaved dog, funniest dog,
biggest dog and more.
“That only gives me four days to train Cool It,” said Abra. She chewed her bottom lip.
“I’m definitely bringing my dog,” said Julia. “She’s a Lhasa Apso. She’ll definitely win rarest dog.”
“I’m bringing Butch,” said a boy with spiky blond hair. He smirked. “He’s been to obedience classes.”
Brady’s chest tightened.
Is that all anyone thought about in this stupid town? Dogs?
Brady’s cheeks burned. He was probably the only kid in the whole town without a dog. In the whole world.
“Are you going in the show?” said Julia.
“What?” Brady blinked. She was talking to him. And now everyone was looking.
Julia tossed her braids. “Do you have a dog?”
“Uh…sort of,” Brady mumbled. He took a big breath. “My grandfather and I...uh...share a dog.”
“Grit,” said Abra. “He was a Frisbee-catching champion.”
Everyone looked interested now. For the first time, they were really noticing Brady. Brady licked his lips.
“Six times,” he said weakly.
“Neat,” said a boy.
For one whole second Brady felt great. Then panic flooded him. What was he doing? He had said he shared Gramp’s dog! He opened his mouth to take it back, but it was too late. The kids were wandering away, talking loudly about the show.
“We could train together,” said Abra.
“I don’t think so,” said Brady quickly. His stomach felt hollow. His lips were dry.
Maybe the kids would forget.
Fat chance.
They thought he was the owner of a six-time Frisbee-champion wonder dog.
Brady groaned. He knew they should have moved to Jupiter.