Whatever After #4: Dream On

by Mlynowski, Sarah

  Maybe I don’t need to grow up that fast. If Bri can live in the moment, then so can I. Maybe I can wait a few years for a cell phone after all. Also, do I want my brother calling me a million times when I’m at a sleepover? No, I do not.

  “You’re so annoying,” Dalia mutters, and Robin flushes pink.

  And maybe it’s not always so bad to have a younger sibling instead of an older one.

  Robin runs upstairs. She hurries downstairs a minute later, her leather bag over her shoulder.

  I give her a hug. “See you on Monday.”

  She’s still rubbing her elbow. “Yeah, see you on Monday. Thank you for having me. I had a lot of fun. Next time you’ll sleep at my house.”

  “Robin, come on!” Dalia hollers, already halfway to the car.

  As I close the door behind her I take a deep breath. We did it! We got Robin home awake and in one piece!

  Hurray!

  “Breakfast?” Dad asks. “You must be hungry.”

  “Not really,” Jonah says. “I had a lot of tea sandwiches.”

  “What, honey?” Mom asks.

  I nudge my brother. “Nothing,” I answer for him. We’re in the clear. Let’s not mess this up.

  But then I hear it:

  Ruff, ruff!

  Oh. My. Goodness.

  Dad turns toward the basement. “What was that?”

  The puppy pushes open the basement door, scrambles down the hall, and jumps on Jonah’s leg.

  “It’s Prince!” Jonah explains. “Our puppy!”

  Our puppy?

  HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO EXPLAIN THIS ONE?

  “We have a puppy?” Mom looks incredulous.

  “Er, yes,” I say. Think fast! Why do we have a puppy? “We found a puppy. In the … um … backyard. Yes! The backyard! And then we … went to see if any of our neighbors lost a puppy. That’s why we didn’t hear you calling earlier. We were outside.” Yes! That makes sense. Maybe not perfect sense, but a little bit of sense. Right?

  My parents are looking at us suspiciously.

  “Jonah went outside in his pajamas with no shoes?” Mom asks. “And, Abby — what are you wearing? Where did you get that outfit?”

  Oops. I’m still in Bri’s blue dress. “Um, it’s Robin’s. She loaned it to me. I’ll bring it back to her at school on Monday.”

  Mom frowns. I’m not sure she believes me at all. “Okay,” she says finally. “But be careful with it. It looks expensive.”

  Jonah scoops up the puppy and lets it lick his face. “Can we keep the puppy?” Jonah asks. His face is pleading. “Pretty please? We named him Prince. Isn’t he cute?” Jonah hands him to Dad, and Prince licks Dad’s face.

  My dad laughs. “He’s very energetic.”

  “I don’t know about this,” Mom says.

  “Please, please, please?” Jonah asks.

  Mom opens her mouth but then closes it. Is she softening? I think she is. She looks at Dad and shrugs.

  No way. My heart leaps. Is she actually considering letting us keep the puppy?

  “We’ll take care of him!” I squeal. “I’ll walk him every day!”

  Jonah jumps on his toes. “I’ll feed him! Good stuff, too, not just ketchup!”

  Mom and Dad eye each other over the fur.

  “It could be fun….” Mom says.

  “It would teach them responsibility….” Dad adds.

  I hold my breath.

  “All right,” Mom says finally. “We’ll have to try and find the original owners first, but if we can’t …”

  “We can keep him?” Jonah asks.

  “You can keep him,” my mom says. “But honestly, kids, don’t get too attached yet, in case we have to give him back.” She ruffles his fur. “Who’s a cutie?” she asks in baby talk.

  Jonah and I give each other a knowing smile.

  Smithville finally has its own prince.

  * * *

  “I’m going to take a nap,” I announce after lunch. I can barely keep my eyes open. I have major fairy tale jet lag.

  “Good idea,” Mom says. “I bet you girls were up all night chatting.”

  Not exactly. But I nod and head upstairs. Prince follows right behind me. What a sweetie. He’s like a real live teddy bear.

  I’m about to get into bed when I remember to check my jewelry box. I spot the image of Bri right away. Instead of lying asleep on the bed, she’s riding a bicycle … and smiling.

  I smile, too. I climb under my covers. Prince jumps on my bed and smushes his little body against mine.

  I can’t believe we brought a puppy back with us.

  Sure, we’ve brought stuff back before — clothes and shoes and such — but never something LIVING.

  I stroke my fingers over his fur. If Prince can come back — does that mean other characters can come back, too?

  Maybe Bri or one of the other princesses could come visit!

  Although if one of the princesses could come, that means one of the not-so-nice people could come visit, too. Like Carlotta.

  I shudder. I don’t even want to think about what could happen then.

  Prince buries his nose in the mattress and closes his eyes.

  “Tired?” I ask between yawns.

  He yawns back. Yawns really are contagious.

  “Should we take a little nap?”

  I’ll worry about Carlotta or other evil characters coming to Smithville later. Now, I close my eyes, lay my hand on Prince’s back, and murmur, “Sweet dreams.”

  Thank you, thank you, thank you to: Laura Dail, Tamar Rydzinski, Aimee Friedman (world’s fastest and most responsive editor!), Abby McAden, David Levithan, Becky Shapiro, Becky Amsel, Bess Braswell, Allison Singer, Janet Robbins, Lizette Serrano, Emily Sharpe, Emily Heddleson, Candace Greene, AnnMarie Anderson, Courtney Sheinmel, Emily Bender, Anne Heltzel, Lauren Myracle, E. Lockhart (double thanks for your awesome notes!), Tori, Carly and Carol Adams, Targia Alphonse, Shaznay Calixte (who has a great name!), Jess Braun, Lauren Kisilevsky, Bonnie Altro, Susan Finkelberg-Sohmer, Corinne and Michael Bilerman, Jess Rothenberg, Adele Griffin, Leslie Margolis, Robin Wasserman, Maryrose Wood, Tara Altebrando, Sara Zarr, Ally Carter, Jennifer Barnes, Alan Gratz, Penny Fransblow, Maggie Marr, and Farrin Jacobs.

  Love and thanks to my family: Aviva, Dad, Louisa, Mom, Robert, Gary, Lori, Sloane, Isaac, Vickie, John, Gary, Darren, Ryan, Jack, Jen, Teri, Briana, Michael, David, Patsy, Murray, Maggie, and Jenny.

  Extra love and thanks to my husband, Todd.

  Hello, Chloe Michelle Swidler. I love you. I know you want to see your full name in a book, so here it is! To avoid sibling rivalry: Anabelle Morgan Swidler, I love you, too. Thank you both for being so smart and sweet even though you didn’t have a wiftical party. Or maybe you did….

  Don’t miss Abby and Jonah’s next adventure, where they meet Rapunzel!

  Look for

  Whatever After #5: BAD HAIR DAY

  Each time Abby and Jonah get sucked into their magic mirror, they wind up in a different fairy tale — and find new adventures!

  Turn the page to read all about the Whatever After series!

  Whatever After #1: FAIREST of ALL

  In their first adventure, Abby and Jonah wind up in the story of Snow White. But when they stop Snow from eating the poisoned apple, they realize they’ve messed up the whole story! Can they fix it — and still find Snow her happy ending?

  Whatever After #2: IF the SHOE FITS

  This time, Abby and Jonah find themselves in Cinderella’s story. When Cinderella breaks her foot, the glass slipper won’t fit! With a little bit of magic, quick thinking, and luck, can Abby and her brother save the day?

  Whatever After #3: SINK or SWIM

  Abby and Jonah are pulled into the tale of the Little Mermaid — a story with an ending that is not happy. So Abby and Jonah mess it up on purpose! Can they convince the mermaid to keep her tail before it’s too late?

  … And more stories to come!

  Sarah Mlynowski is the author of the M
agic in Manhattan series, Gimme a Call, and a bunch of other books for tweens and teens. Originally from Montreal, Sarah now lives in the kingdom of Manhattan with her very own prince charming and their fairy-tale-loving daughters. Visit Sarah online at www.sarahm.com.

  Copyright © 2014 by Sarah Mlynowski

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Press, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., Publishers since 1920. SCHOLASTIC, SCHOLASTIC PRESS, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Mlynowski, Sarah, author.

  Dream on / Sarah Mlynowski. — First edition.

  pages cm. — (Whatever after)

  Summary: In this third adventure, Abby, her brother Jonah, and her friend Robin get sucked into the magic mirror and end up in the story of Sleeping Beauty, but when Robin pricks her finger and uses up the sleeping spell, Abby has to come up with a clever solution and a new happily-ever-after.

  ISBN 978-0-545-41571-2

  1. Sleeping Beauty (Tale) — Juvenile fiction. 2. Fairy tales. 3. Magic mirrors — Juvenile fiction. 4. Brothers and sisters — Juvenile fiction. [1. Fairy tales — Fiction. 2. Characters in literature — Fiction. 3. Magic — Fiction. 4. Brothers and sisters — Fiction.] I. Title. II. Series: Mlynowski, Sarah. Whatever after.

  PZ7.M7135Dre 2014

  813.6 — dc23

  2013014463

  First edition, January 2014

  Cover design by Elizabeth B. Parisi

  Cover illustration © 2013 by Helen Huang

  e-ISBN 978-0-545-63365-9

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.