The Posh Puppy Pageant

by The Posh Puppy Pageant (retail) (epub)

  The group huddled over the flyer, which was—as expected—absolutely amazing. Across the top it read, Dog wash Saturday! We’ll get your pups squeaky-clean! Immediately followed by a pup pageant. Winner gets a grand prize! Underneath the text were pups of all sizes and shapes prancing across the page—and, best of all, the illustrated dogs were sparkling with glitter!

  “You guys know that glitter is my favorite thing!” JoJo exclaimed.

  “I could have done with a little less pink glitter,” Jacob chimed in. But he was smiling.

  “Lucky for you, Jacob, glitter won’t show up in the copies we make! The original is for you to keep,” Kyra explained.

  “You guys rock,” Miley said. “One thing—would you mind putting a shout-out for No Bones About It at the bottom? They donated all our dog wash supplies.”

  “No prob,” Grace agreed.

  “This is bee-yoo-tiful,” Miley added. “You two are incredible.”

  “I helped sprinkle the glitter,” Kyra said proudly. “But Grace did all the drawing, of course. What’s the grand prize, by the way?”

  “Two tickets to be JoJo’s guests at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards,” said Miley. “Donated by JoJo and approved by the school. But, shhh, don’t tell anyone—it’s a surprise.”

  “That’s awesome,” Kyra said. “I want to be your guest, JoJo! But I don’t have a dog to enter in the puppy pageant.”

  “That’s okay, Kyra. My mom already said all four of you can be my special guests this year.”

  Her friends cheered, and JoJo grinned. “You guys are the best, most supportive friends,” she said. “There’s no way I’d leave you behind!”

  “No—you are,” Jacob told her seriously. “What would we do without you? You’ve already helped us get all these amazing supplies. You’re always supportive of us, JoJo.”

  “But I wouldn’t be where I am without my friends,” JoJo pointed out.

  “Aww,” Miley said. “Come on, guys—you know I’m all about the lovefest, but we have to distribute the flyers before it gets dark! And we still have about a million copies to make!”

  “Yes,” called Jacob’s mom from the kitchen. “Dinner’s on in an hour, kids. We’re having extra-cheesy lasagna. You’re all invited!”

  “And my famous peach shortcake for dessert,” added Jacob.

  “When you’re the star of your own baking show, I want to be your guest, Jacob,” said JoJo.

  “Hear, hear!” chimed in Kyra, Miley, and Grace. Then they were off. They had work to do!

  CHAPTER 3

  “BowBow, are you excted?” JoJo jumped out of bed and danced around her room with BowBow under one arm. Finally, the day of the fund-raiser had arrived. “Think of all the cute dog-friends you’ll meet today!”

  The plan was to meet at Jacob’s at 10 a.m. to prep. People could drop off their dogs starting at noon and come back a few hours later for the pageant. It was foolproof! JoJo couldn’t wait to hang out with a big bunch of doggies all day long, but she worried that too few customers would come, and she knew how much Jacob and Miley wanted the fund-raiser to succeed.

  Which is why she decided to post an extra-special photo on her Instagram.

  “Sit, BowBow!” she said, and her pup obediently sat on the shaggy pink carpet.

  “Hmm … I think we need a finishing touch.” BowBow waited patiently while JoJo went to her closet and rifled through her bow collection. “Perfect!” she exclaimed, pulling out a teeny-tiny, glittery blue bow. She clipped it to BowBow’s fur and took a step back, looking at her dog. “You’re so cute, Bowbow!” In response, BowBow sat on her hind legs and lifted her front paws in the air, sittin’ pretty. JoJo snapped a bunch of shots with her phone. BowBow was a pro!

  Then JoJo uploaded the best photo to her Instagram stories with the caption, BowBow is sittin’ pretty, and soon your dog will be too! Come to the dog wash and pup pageant! Pageant winner gets two tickets to the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards!!!! Then JoJo instructed people to DM her for the address and shared her story with followers she knew lived nearby—which was a lot! But she really, really wanted the fund-raiser to succeed, for Jacob’s sake.

  When JoJo arrived at Jacob’s house an hour later with BowBow in tow, she gasped. “Uh-oh,” she said. “This time I’ve really done it!” There was already a line of customers curving around the block! About two dozen owners and dogs were looking very disgruntled—and it wasn’t even noon yet! JoJo headed for Jacob’s backyard while sending an SOS text to Miley, Kyra, and Grace—they’d need major backup if they were going to pull off this dog wash.

  When JoJo unlatched the gate to the backyard, she found Jacob in a panic.

  “JoJo, did you see how many people are out there? It’s crazy! How will we wash all those dogs?!” Jacob’s face was turning red, like it always did when he got upset. “My mom is going to kill me!”

  JoJo’s phone was pinging with texts from her friends. “Hang on,” she said to Jacob. “I asked Kyra and Grace for help and texted Miley to see if she’s almost here.”

  “Kyra and Grace have their own fund-raiser to run,” Jacob said, moaning. “I don’t understand—how did so many people find out about it? What will we do?”

  “Well, for starters, we don’t have to wait until noon,” JoJo told him. “We can start now if your mom is okay with it. I think we’re pretty well set up.” She gestured at the buckets, dog brushes, and shampoos. “Secondly, Miley just said she’s two minutes away. And Kyra and Grace are sending over Grace’s big sister to give us a hand. According to Grace, Megan loves dogs and is excited to help.”

  “Okay,” Jacob said. “But we only have one hose!”

  “We’ll do an assembly line,” JoJo assured him. “Someone will lather, someone will rinse, someone will dry, someone will brush. You’ll see, it’ll all work out.”

  Jacob nodded, seeming reassured. “Okay. I’ll clear it with my mom.” JoJo watched as Jacob jogged over to the screen door, then disappeared inside the house. While he was gone, JoJo began filling up the basin from the hose. It was a hot day, even for California, and the cold water felt refreshing against her fingertips. A couple of minutes later Jacob was back, and JoJo turned the nozzle to the off position, then turned to him for the verdict.

  “Mom says it’s okay—let’s do it.” He took a deep breath and walked out of the backyard through the gate and toward the driveway. “Let the dog wash begin!” JoJo heard him shout. And then there was a wild pitter-patter of paws on the driveway as dozens of dogs scampered for the backyard.

  “Uh-oh, BowBow,” JoJo whispered to her pup. “What have I gotten us into?”

  JoJo was covered in suds and lathering up a cute, wrinkly pug puppy when Mandi and Miley walked into the yard.

  “I would hug you, but I can’t let go of this squirmy puppy!” JoJo called out in Miley’s direction. “Plus I don’t want to—she’s so cute! Mandi, how did you know where to find us?”

  “Miley told me,” Mandi said, beaming. “It’s my day off, and I wouldn’t miss a chance to help. Plus, I brought Lila and Fig.” A little girl stepped from behind Mandi, looking shy. She cradled a scruffy little mutt to her chest.

  “Hi, Lila,” said JoJo warmly. “Thanks for joining us. Does Fig need a bath?”

  Lila nodded and smiled, stepping tentatively forward. “But we can wait until you’re done with your other customers,” she told JoJo, blushing. “For now, I’m here to help.”

  “We could use it! Fig can run around with the other pups while we’re working,” JoJo suggested. “The backyard is fenced in.”

  Just then, they heard a yell.

  “Muddy dog alert!” shouted Jacob. “We forgot to fence off the koi pond!”

  “Oh, no!” Mandi exclaimed. “I’ll take care of that. Lila, you’ve helped me plenty at the shop—you know what to do.” The smaller girl nodded and got right to work, filling up a tub with soapy water and motioning for the next customer to step forward—unfortunately, with a Saint Bernard! A S
aint Bernard with an even greater leash—it was adorned with sparkly rhinestones.

  “You sure you can handle that one, Lila?” JoJo was worried. Lila was so small, and the dog was so big.

  “I’m an old pro,” Lila assured her with a grin. Then she got right to work, and soon the Saint Bernard was covered in mounds of thick white suds.

  When JoJo handed off Cashew, the pug puppy, to Jacob to be toweled off, she took a minute to survey the operation. She waved at Megan, who must have shown up when JoJo was busy. Mandi appeared to be keeping things in order—handing supplies to Miley, Megan, Jacob, and Lila and lending an expert hand where needed. Jacob’s mom had fenced off a portion of the backyard with baby gates from Oscar to form a mini dog run away from the commotion, and the clean pups were playing there. The line had shrunk to fewer than a half dozen people waiting to drop off their dogs. Everything seemed to be under control.

  JoJo breathed a huge sigh of relief. For a minute, she’d thought her plan had backfired. But now she saw that it was the same in dog washing as it was in performing: If she put her head down and gave it her all, things tended to work out.

  JoJo walked over to the gate to the backyard, BowBow at her heels, then opened it up and motioned for two more customers to come on in. “You can come back in three hours for the pup pageant,” she instructed one woman with long blond hair, whose fluffy white bichon was walking her into Jacob’s backyard.

  “Daisy likes hypoallergenic, vanilla-scented shampoo,” the woman said, “and hates other dogs.”

  “No problem,” Mandi said, stepping up behind JoJo. “We’ve got this under control.” The woman sniffed and cast a doubtful look around the yard, but handed over Daisy’s leash.

  “I’ll be back after my manicure,” she informed them. “And Daisy would like one too.”

  “Thank goodness for you,” JoJo told Mandi after waving goodbye to the blond lady. “New friends are the best! How did you get interested in working with animals, anyway?”

  “In college I’m studying to be a veterinarian,” Mandi replied. “And I’ve been working at the pet shop every summer and on school breaks for years. But that might be coming to an end. We haven’t had a lot of customers since that big chain pet store opened over on Elm, and I’m worried our little shop might close.” She gave JoJo a worried frown, then led Daisy over to the suds station.

  “Not if I have anything to do with it.” JoJo looked down at BowBow and winked at her pup, then knelt down and held up her right palm. BowBow gave her a high five with one little paw, then barked and began running around in circles. BowBow was as determined as JoJo was to make this day a success—for everyone.

  CHAPTER 4

  “Hi, Louis,” JoJo heard Miley say as she let in a new customer. “What are you doing here?”

  “Miley!” JoJo exclaimed from the suds station, where she’d taken over while Lila was in the bathroom. She shot Miley a stern look. Miley glanced back at JoJo and rolled her big dark eyes in the direction of the bespectacled boy who was waiting with what looked like a poodle–Chihuahua–basset hound mix. It was an adorable mash-up of curly and small, with giant floppy ears as big as its body and a long, old-man face.

  “Come on in,” Miley told the boy without enthusiasm. JoJo shot a smile his way and motioned him in, to make up for Miley’s tone. JoJo was a firm believer in being kind no matter who the customer was.

  “What’s going on?” she whispered to Miley as Miley moved closer. “Be nice!”

  “Well, he isn’t nice,” Miley whispered back with a shake of her curly brown hair. “He calls me ‘Popsicle Stick’ and ‘Nerd Girl’ at school just because I’m skinny and like to read!”

  “That isn’t nice,” JoJo agreed. “But you’re a Siwanator, Miley. Siwanatorz are kind, even to bullies. Being kind is practically the motto for our group! We band together against bullies—we don’t stoop to their level.”

  Miley sighed. “Fine,” she said, speaking up now. “You can leave your dog with us, Louis. Feel free to come back at four for the pageant.”

  “I don’t leave Winslow unattended,” Louis told them, frowning over the collar of his crisp blue button-down. “I’ll just sit over on that bench and watch.”

  “So you’re not doing a fund-raiser of your own?” Miley wanted to know. “Are you just here because you’re a fan of JoJo?”

  “Don’t be silly!” Louis colored. “I hardly even know who JoJo is. No offense,” he said to JoJo, and she smiled and shrugged. “I don’t believe in lots of screen time. But my little cousin is into dancing and loves your YouTube videos, so that’s how I’ve heard of you. As for my bake sale …” He looked down at the ground. “It’s doing great. It’s doing so great that it’s practically running itself.”

  “You’re welcome to hang out in the garden,” JoJo told him, ignoring Miley’s frown.

  “Unless you want to lend a hand,” Miley suggested.

  “No thanks,” Louis said. “I’d hate to get my nice clothes dirty.” He handed Miley Winslow’s leash and walked over to a bench on the opposite side of the lawn.

  “And I’m the nerd?” Miley asked JoJo, who giggled.

  “He just seems shy,” JoJo said. “I bet he’s nice once you get to know him.”

  “Maybe.” Miley was doubtful. “His dog is super cute, anyway. I’ll get Winslow started!”

  JoJo was so busy that the minutes whizzed by. She nearly forgot all about Louis hanging out in the yard. She only hoped they’d finish up in time for the pup pageant. She’d brought over a box of costume supplies from her own years in dance recitals—there were sparkly scarves and tiaras and tutus for the dogs, from the times BowBow had been part of her act. It was going to be so cute!

  There were only three dogs left to go when JoJo heard Megan let out a yell.

  “Oh, no!” she shouted. “Daisy is blue!” JoJo whirled around to see Grace’s big sister holding the formerly white bichon in the air. Sure enough, Daisy was a bright shade of turquoise. She looked like a giant, colorful marshmallow!

  “How did that happen?” Jacob’s face was reddening. “Mandi? Was there something in the soap?”

  “Nothing that would turn her blue,” Mandi said, looking stunned. “That’s the hypoallergenic soap Daisy’s owner requested. Ms. Rudolph will be so upset.”

  “Don’t worry,” JoJo said, patting Mandi’s shoulder. “It isn’t your fault. We used it on that little chow-chow mix over there, and he did just fine. Jacob, who was last with the soap?”

  Jacob didn’t have a chance to answer, because just then, Lila rushed over.

  “You guys,” she said, near tears, “one of the dogs is missing from the dog run!”

  “What? How? Which one?” Miley had joined them, her hands on her hips.

  “The Saint Bernard!” Lila gasped.

  “How on earth did we lose a Saint Bernard?” Mandi looked confused. “Peppa was the biggest dog here!”

  “And my mom’s garden is half crushed,” Jacob wailed, noticing a patch of trampled flowers near where they stood. “This is terrible.”

  “None of the owners will want to donate to our cause if there’s a lost dog and a blue dog,” Miley said. “What will we do? ‘Best day ever,’ huh, JoJo?”

  “Everyone, just calm down,” JoJo said. “We’ll fix this. And yes, Miley. Sometimes even the best days experience curveballs. We need a minute to think. And we need everyone to pitch in. Maybe Louis can help.” They all glanced toward the garden, and that was when they realized that Louis was no longer sitting on the bench.

  “So much for watching Winslow,” Miley muttered.

  “Unless …” Jacob looked very, very upset, his face now a deep shade of purple. “You don’t think …”

  “Let’s not jump to conclusions,” JoJo said. “It was probably just an accident. Everyone, branch out. Peppa can’t have gone far!”

  A few minutes later, Megan came rushing over to where JoJo stood by the makeshift dog run.

  “You guys,” she said,
“I hate to say this, but I found this bottle of blue dye next to the bench where Louis was sitting.”

  “And the side door to the house is open,” said Jacob, huffing, as he joined them. “And there are muddy paw prints inside. Peppa must have run through the garden! My mom is going to be so mad.”

  “There are crumbs and rainbow-colored frosting everywhere,” Mandi informed them. “Almost like Peppa got into a giant birthday cake before she broke free.”

  “A cake from a bake sale?” Miley asked. “Louis’s bake sale?”

  “Peppa and Louis are nowhere to be found,” Jacob said, miserable. “The paw prints led to the front door.”

  “I think Louis is trying to sabotage our fund-raiser,” Miley said.

  “I don’t think he’s trying. I think he’s already done it,” Jacob replied.

  “And if word gets out that one of the store’s shampoos made Daisy blue, Ms. Rudolph won’t stop until everyone in town knows,” Mandi put in.

  “Everyone. Take a deep breath,” JoJo said. “We will find Peppa. We will get this under control.”

  But despite her confident words, JoJo wondered if their brilliant idea had turned into a paws-itive disaster.

  CHAPTER 5

  “I don’t understand,” Jacob said. “Why would Louis do something like this?”

  “Are you sure it was purposeful?” Jacob’s mom asked. They were all standing in the kitchen while the kids explained the situation. “Don’t jump to conclusions before you have all the information. Right now, let’s just worry about finding that lost dog! Why don’t you kids search the neighborhood with Megan? Mandi, Lila, and I will stay here to finish washing the remaining dogs, play with the others, and clean up this mess.” She gestured at the trail of muddy paw prints and colorful crumbs that led from the back porch, through the kitchen, and straight to the front door. “If only I hadn’t been upstairs when all of this happened!”

  “I’m sorry about the mess,” Jacob said.