Sit, Stay, Love

by J. J. Howard

  The cheerleaders started running onto the floor. One of them did some kind of flip, and I held my breath, but she landed perfectly, her smile still in place. The whole group did a cheer and then ran off to the side. Two of the girls held up a big paper banner and the players started running in. The first one to bust through the paper was Eric Chung, and he did it with an energy that had everyone going wild.

  The crowd was already on their feet and cheering him on, even though he hadn’t actually done anything yet, except for breaking paper and waving his arms around some more.

  “That’s … quite an entrance your brother just made,” I told Lily.

  She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, he gets a pretty big head on game days,” she said, smiling.

  Along with the team, Eric started warming up—dribbling and shooting for the basket. But unlike the other players, he smiled up into the adoring crowd and waved.

  Eric Chung could probably be the president of the United States someday, I decided.

  “I mean, my brother is sweet,” Lily was saying, “but sometimes it’s just a tiny bit aggravating how he’s so good at everything.”

  Eric Chung, sweet? I wanted to scoff. Instead, I said calmly, “I can see that.”

  “Being his twin can be tough,” Lily added with a sigh.

  “I can imagine,” I told her, meaning it. I felt like I managed to disappoint my dad on a regular basis even without having a perfect sibling.

  A buzzer sounded, and I jumped a little. I heard Lily giggle beside me. The game started, and Eric threw the ball and made a basket within the first few seconds. Almost everyone stood up (including me, since Lily was pulling me by the sleeve) and cheered loudly.

  Between the loud music and the excitement of the crowd, I started to forget that I hated basketball. Right after Eric scored, a freakishly tall guy on the other team sank his own basket and the points were tied. The supertall kid and Eric seemed pretty evenly matched—the score kept going back to tied. This made the crowd even louder and more prone to stand up every time we scored.

  Then Eric did something and there was a referee involved, and according to the Pearson crowd, what the referee did was wrong.

  “What happened?” I asked Lily.

  “They called Eric for traveling. But he wasn’t!”

  “Well, that stinks,” I said, and Lily smiled at me.

  The very tall visiting-team kid then got to make a free shot, and everyone on our side started making noise to distract him.

  I joined in. Lily gave me a surprised look, then continued booing.

  The kid missed and everyone cheered triumphantly. I didn’t know much about sports, but I had a feeling that if my dad were there he’d have shaken his head and said something about bad sportsmanship. But the referee really had been wrong, so surely we were justified in distracting Tall Kid?

  I sat back down on the bleacher. Wait. What was happening to me? Did I like watching sports now?

  The music started again. “Intermission,” Lily explained, grinning. I laughed.

  The cheerleaders ran out into the middle of the floor and did a perfectly synchronized dance. I wondered then what it must be like to be so good at something everybody could see, that everybody liked. I mean, I gave a mean flea dip, but that would never be cause for applause.

  The players were running back onto the court. Eric again looked into the crowd and waved at a few people. He ran right by us, and stopped when he saw Lily, giving her a big smile and a high five.

  “Hi, Cecilia,” he said, smiling at me, too, before running on.

  Something about Eric saying hi to me made me feel less like an outsider who called halftime intermission. It also gave me a queasy feeling in my stomach that I couldn’t quite interpret.

  The rest of the game went by in a blur, with our team losing by just six points. I was surprised to actually feel disappointed. I watched Eric, along with the rest of the team, walk down the line and shake hands with the boys from the other school, who had won. Some of the guys from my school looked pretty angry, and they didn’t seem very interested in shaking hands. But Eric smiled and gave each guy a firm handshake like he was already running in the election I predicted for him someday.

  Lily and I waited while the gym cleared out. Mrs. Chung was driving the twins and me home after the game.

  When Eric finally emerged from the locker room, freshly showered, Lily gave him a hug. He then turned to me.

  “Thanks for coming, Cecilia,” he said.

  “It was fun! I’m sorry that you … I mean, I’m sorry that the team didn’t win,” I told him, cringing at my sudden inability to use words.

  “It’s okay. It was a close game.”

  “It was,” I agreed. An awkward silence fell between us. “How’s Potato?” I asked. Lily and Mrs. Chung had already updated me, but I needed something to make conversation.

  “He’s good,” Eric replied. He left it at that, but his tone suggested he wanted to say more.

  But before either of us could say another word, Lily interrupted, checking her phone. “Mom’s waiting. We should go.”

  I followed the twins out to the parking lot and climbed into the backseat with Lily.

  As Mrs. Chung drove, Lily told her about the game, with Eric adding a few details. I looked out the window at the dark and quiet town. Lily’s words came back to me. She’d told me to give the game a chance, that it might not be as bad as I thought. And it wasn’t. In fact, I think I actually had fun.

  Was the same true for her brother? Maybe Eric wasn’t as bad as I thought, I wondered as Mrs. Chung pulled up in front of Aunt Pam’s house. Maybe I’d been wrong about more than just basketball.

  If Eric was kind of a nice guy, all the better, I told myself as I waved good-bye to the twins and shut the car door. I didn’t mind being wrong if it meant things were better for Potato. That was the only reason I cared anyway, wasn’t it?

  “Hey! Cecilia! Wait up!”

  I turned around when I heard my name. It was the next day, after school, and I was walking toward the doors, ready to head to Orphan Paws. I was sort of getting used to the ache of Potato not being there, but all those terrible feelings surged back as I saw Eric Chung jogging down the hall toward me.

  “What’s up?” I asked, watching as Eric put his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. “How long have you been following me?”

  “A while,” he panted, smiling. “I’ve been calling your name, but you didn’t seem to hear me.”

  “Sorry.” I looked down. Here I go again with my chelonian ways, I thought. Now with an added dose of obliviousness!

  “Don’t worry about it,” Eric said, an unfamiliar shakiness in his voice. I was so used to his presidential charm and confidence that it disarmed me to see him so uncertain. “I—I have something I wanted to ask you.” He bit his lip. “Can I walk you to wherever you’re going?”

  “Sure.” We stepped out of the school together. “I’m headed that way,” I said, pointing in the direction of Orphan Paws. We both started walking. “Is everything okay?” I added. My stomach dropped. Had something happened to Potato?

  “Yeah.” Eric nodded and ran a hand through his straight black hair. “It’s just … well, as you know, I want to train Potato to be a show dog.”

  I nodded, biting back my tongue. I didn’t want to argue with him again.

  “And, well, Potato’s proving to be”—Eric paused, as if searching for the right words—“a bit difficult to work with.”

  “Difficult how?” I asked, stopping dead in my tracks. Even though I knew it was none of my business, I felt protective of Potato and was ready to defend him against all snobby dog show trainers.

  “For starters, he’s very skittish,” Eric explained, stopping next to me. “He won’t really listen to anything I say. And I can barely make eye contact with him the few times that he comes out of his crate.” There was a frustration in Eric’s voice that I didn’t recognize. “He just doesn’t seem to like being around
people, even though I’ve tried every single training technique in the book. So … so that’s where I’d like for you to come in.”

  I looked at him silently, waiting for him to continue.

  “I saw you playing with him at Orphan Paws. He listens to you more than anybody. And I was wondering …” His words trailed off.

  “Yes?” I asked, my heart pounding.

  “I was wondering if you’d be willing to help me train Potato,” Eric finally blurted out. “And I know you don’t like dog shows, and you probably don’t even like me. But I really want to prove to my parents that rescued dogs are just as good as the expensive ones we buy from breeders. Potato is the key to my success.” He paused to take a breath. “And you’re the key to Potato.”

  My head spun. I desperately wanted to see Potato again, but the idea of “training” him for a dog show felt so wrong to me. I was about to explain just that to Eric, when he spoke again.

  “Dog shows don’t normally give huge cash prizes, but the regional one that’s coming up is offering one hundred dollars to the first-place winner.” Eric’s eyes met mine. “If you help me, and if Potato wins, the money’s yours.” Eric’s presidential charm seemed to have returned, but I could still see a little uncertainty behind his confident, hopeful smile.

  I frowned. One hundred dollars? That changed things. I was torn. I did hate the idea of dog shows and everything they stood for. And one hundred dollars was far from enough to help my dad with our big financial concerns. But it might be enough to prove a point. This could still be my chance to help out my dad, even if in the form of a small dog-show prize. More important, I’d get to spend time with my Potato. And who knew? Maybe over the course of these training sessions, I could convince Eric that Potato just wasn’t show dog material.

  “So what do you think?” Eric’s voice broke through my thoughts. “Do we have a deal?” He stuck out his hand.

  I hesitated only a moment before I reached out and shook his hand. “Deal.”

  Potato’s training sessions were to begin on Saturday morning. Lily asked me to sleep over the night before. Dad gave me the okay. I was excited both by the prospect of escaping Aunt Pam’s house for a night and seeing Potato even sooner. Also, since Mel had left, I hadn’t experienced a single sleepover, so I was really looking forward to that.

  Mr. Chung picked up me, Lily, and Eric after school in a shiny black car. He was wearing a fancy black suit and sunglasses. He kind of looked like a movie star.

  “Hello, Cecilia,” he said to me, and shook my hand like I was a grown-up. I tried not to stammer when I said hello back to him.

  Eric got in the passenger seat, and I climbed into the backseat with Lily.

  “I bet you can’t wait to see Potato,” Lily said.

  I nodded. I didn’t want Lily to think that I only wanted to hang out or come over to their house because I’d get to see Potato. It was a great bonus, but I’d want to be friends with Lily anyway.

  As we drove away from the school, I felt a rush of nervousness. What if it was weird seeing Potato after all this time? What if he didn’t remember me? And what if I then got so upset that I started crying, totally embarrassing myself in front of the Chungs?

  I tried to push down my worries as we arrived at the Chung mansion. It seriously was a mansion—a huge white house surrounded by tall hedges. I tried not to gape.

  Eric opened the front door, and a whole pack of dogs came rushing at us, barking happily. There were two chow chows, three corgis, and a chocolate Lab. Eric grabbed the collar of the biggest chow chow while Lily skirted out of the way.

  I stood still, my heart pounding, as I finally spotted him in the pack, the tiniest of the bunch—Potato.

  I shouldn’t have worried. As soon as Potato spotted me, he bounded over, barking like crazy and jumping up to my knees. I felt a wave of relief and joy.

  “Hey, buddy,” I whispered. I sat down right there in the fancy foyer and held my arms out. But the chocolate Lab tried to fight his way onto my lap first.

  “Sneakers!” Mr. Chung laughed. He grabbed the dog and pulled him away.

  “Thank you!” I told Mr. Chung.

  Then I gave Potato a huge hug. The little pup stood up on my legs and kissed my face very thoroughly.

  “Guess he must have missed you,” Eric said, looking down at us. If I didn’t know better, I’d think Eric sounded jealous.

  Potato crawled up into my lap just like we used to sit at Orphan Paws, and I kissed his soft ears. He turned around three or four times, making my lap into a bed, then let out a humungous puppy sigh and settled in.

  I sighed happily as well and finally looked around. The foyer led into a huge living room with expensive-looking rugs and plush couches. Lily was now flopped on one of the couches, watching the dogs from a safe distance.

  The two chow chows came up and sniffed me—one at each ear, but at Eric’s whistle they sat down. The three corgis and the Lab now hung back politely. (Can dogs be called polite? I wondered). At Eric’s whistle, they, too, sat at attention.

  “What are their names?” I wondered out loud, rubbing Potato’s head while he dozed in my lap.

  “The corgis are Loki, Luna, and Baxter, and this little guy is Sneakers,” Eric explained, patting the Lab on the head. “The chow chows are Scotty and Sulu.” I wondered who the Star Trek fan in the family was.

  “Nice to meet you guys,” I said to the dogs, who were all still sitting. And I wouldn’t have been surprised if they’d solemnly nodded in agreement.

  Potato let out a loud snore, and I grinned down at him.

  “Well,” Lily said to me, springing off the couch and trotting over. “Now that you’ve been introduced to the canine members of the Chung family, do you want a tour of the house?”

  “Sure,” I said, although I was reluctant to let go of Potato.

  Eric must have noticed my expression because he said, “Potato can come, too.”

  “Okay,” I said, bouncing to my feet, with Potato still nestled in my arms. “So,” I added, following Lily and Eric through the living room, “where is the bowling alley?”

  “Bowling alley?” Lily burst out laughing. “We don’t have a bowling alley.” She led me through a large study, where Mr. and Mrs. Chung were each seated in front of sleek-looking computers. Mrs. Chung waved and called hello to me.

  I frowned. “Really?” I asked, glancing from Lily to Eric. “I definitely heard a rumor that you had one. A private movie theater, too.”

  “I wish!” Eric laughed. “We do have a pool, though,” he said, pointing out the large windows to a swimming pool in the backyard.

  I sighed, thinking that I’d be glad just to have my plain old house back, even though it didn’t definitely have a pool or a bowling alley. But it had been my home.

  We walked by a cozy little room with a love seat, a big armchair, and a whole bunch of fluffy dog beds. Most of the other dogs were in there now, running around.

  “That’s the dogs’ room,” Eric explained. “They have the run of the house, but that’s where they mostly hang out, especially when we’re not here. That bed’s Potato’s,” he said, pointing to a new-looking little tan-and-brown bed. It was oval shaped, and I swear it almost looked like a potato.

  Potato had awakened, and he was squirming toward his bed. So I kissed the top of his head and reluctantly let him go, watching him trot off into the room. His tail wagged and his tongue hung out of one side of his mouth. I knew I’d come find him later.

  “He looks really good,” I said. I was really relieved but also kind of crushed that Potato seemed so comfortable here at the Chungs’.

  “Yeah, he’s been resting a lot,” Eric said. “Mom got him a bunch of special food that’s good for his stomach and everything. But he was obviously happy to see you.”

  “I’m happy, too. Though it’ll be hard to leave,” I said, a sadness tinting my voice.

  Eric looked uncomfortable. “Hey, I’m sorry—”

  “Nothing to be
sorry for!” I quickly said, turning around to follow Lily up the grand staircase. My interactions with Eric needed to be strictly professional, I decided. If we started discussing what had happened with him taking away Potato, I’d get too upset.

  Lily showed me the upstairs—her room was bright and decorated with floral wallpaper and pink rugs. She slept in a luxurious canopy bed, but the room was so big that there was an additional bed, a comfy-looking twin, in the corner.

  “That’s where you’ll be sleeping, C,” Lily explained, pointing. I dropped my bag on the twin bed, and then Lily suggested we go downstairs and grab some snacks before dinner.

  “See you at dinner,” she told Eric as we passed by his room—which was next door to Lily’s and just as big, but covered in posters of basketball stars. His shelves were lined with sports trophies, as well as—I swallowed hard—trophies from dog shows.

  Eric paused outside his door and ran a hand through his hair. “Oh—um, I thought, maybe, well, I could go down and get snacks with you guys? And maybe we could play Uno or something?”

  Lily groaned. “Seriously? You want to hang out with us? You always leave me and my friends alone!”

  It might have been my imagination but Eric’s cheeks seemed to turn red. “I was just offering to hang. But if you want me to hide in my room or something …”

  “Okay, okay,” Lily broke in. “Come on!” She started skipping down the stairs. Eric followed and I trailed behind, wondering why my stomach felt so funny.

  In the gleaming kitchen, Eric and Lily greeted the cook, who was stirring a velvety-looking soup on the stove. Fancy. But I was glad when Lily pulled a jar of queso from the fridge and Eric grabbed chips from the pantry. At least their snacks weren’t fancy. Just my style.

  We ate the snacks in the den and played a few rounds of Uno, which was fun, even with Eric there. Then we had dinner in the formal dining room with Mr. and Mrs. Chung—tomato soup, roasted salmon with mashed potatoes, and mango sorbet for dessert, all of which was super yummy. Afterward, Mr. and Mrs. Chung went back to the study, and Lily, Eric, and I went to visit the dogs in the dog room.