“Cashew! You smell so fresh!” squealed one woman, who bent over the enclosure to the dog run and scooped up her pet. JoJo turned and smiled, watching the woman bury her face in the pup’s fur. “Cashew definitely wants to be in the pageant,” the woman informed Jacob, who was taking her donation. “My daughter, Carly, would love to be JoJo’s special guest at the Kids’ Choice Awards!”
“Sure thing,” Jacob said brightly. “JoJo and our friend Lila are laying out all the costume options now. Feel free to go pick out a glittery sash for Cashew.”
It went on like this for a while. People were ooohing and aahing over their pets, bringing them over to the paw-dicure station for Lila, Miley, and JoJo to touch up their nails, and swinging by the snack table, which Jacob, Louis, and Jacob’s mom had laid out with all of Louis’s delicious treats. It was like one big party! And best of all, JoJo’s phone pinged with a message from Grace—she and Kyra were done babysitting and were heading over to help judge the pageant!
Everything was falling into place, and JoJo was having a blast with her friends. She and Grace and Kyra and Miley were clearing an area of the lawn for the pageant and bringing the guests cups full of lemonade that Jacob’s mom had made. BowBow and Fig and the rest of the dogs were scampering all over the yard in their costumes—everywhere except the koi pond, which was now off-limits to all the dogs: The friends had learned their lesson! JoJo sampled Louis’s blondies as well as his chocolate cupcakes, and she had to say, Jacob had met his baking match! And BowBow sampled Louis’s rainbow dog cake. Louis and Jacob were getting along great, sharing recipes and trading tips. Best of all, the donations were rolling in. Jacob had had to empty the fund-raiser jar at least twice already.
JoJo was just helping a Chihuahua into a pizza costume when she heard a shriek from the back gate.
“Daisy!” the shrill voice called. “Daisy! It can’t be you!”
The lawn fell silent, aside from the slobbery sounds of a terrier mix lapping up some water from its bowl. JoJo stood and watched Mandi hand over little Daisy, now a pastel shade of blue. She held her breath. Louis and Jacob approached Ms. Rudolph, their eyes downcast. But before either boy could open his mouth to explain, Peppa’s owner stepped in.
“My, what a gorgeous shade of blue,” she remarked, patting Daisy on the head. “If my Peppa weren’t dark brown, I’d certainly have requested this treatment! You’re a lucky dog, Daisy.”
Ms. Rudolph blinked and hugged Daisy closer. “Well …” she began, but then another guest cut in.
“I had no idea custom dyes were available!” said the owner of a sweet little Maltese. “I’d love to request one for next time. Who provided the colors?” The man picked up a flyer from the nearby snack table. “No Bones About It, eh? Well, I’ll definitely be coming in for a grooming session for my Hamloaf.”
“And we’d like to offer you a free grooming session, Ms. Rudolph, since Daisy was our very first model for the new dyes,” said Mandi. “Bring her back anytime, on the house.”
“Well,” JoJo could hear Ms. Rudolph say over the buzzing of the crowd that had gathered around her and Daisy, “I suppose the blue does go nicely with Daisy’s eyes.”
JoJo and Miley looked at one another and exchanged relieved smiles.
“Phew,” said JoJo. “I was afraid we were in for it!”
“Take a look,” Miley said. “Mandi’s giving out her business card!”
It was true: Mandi had run out of cards by then and was jotting down the pet shop’s number on pieces of paper, which she handed out to everyone who asked. JoJo smiled; it looked like No Bones About It would have some steady business for a while.
“You guys sure know how to throw a party,” said Kyra, heading over to JoJo with Grace in tow. Both girls were licking frosting off their fingers.
“And we needed that sugar after a full day of babysitting!” Grace exclaimed. “Great work, everyone.”
“It’s almost like we planned it,” said JoJo, and she and Miley dissolved into giggles. Then she motioned to the others and pointed out a shady spot just in front of the area they’d cleared for the pageant. “You two sit there—you’ll need a good view to judge the show.”
“What about you, JoJo?” asked Grace.
“I’m handling the music!”
Jacob lined up all the pageant beauties while JoJo hooked up her microphone. The guests filed in to watch, and Louis settled himself on the opposite side of the stage from Jacob, with a big Tupperware container of dog treats in hand.
“Before we begin,” JoJo announced, “we thought we’d get the party started with a song!” Everyone cheered—most of them were already fans of JoJo’s music. “Kids are welcome to come dance with me up here,” JoJo said, motioning for Lila, who was sitting cross-legged on the lawn, to join her. Lila hopped up and stood beside JoJo, and a few other kids who’d come with their parents joined them as well. Then JoJo queued up the music to “High Top Shoes.” Everyone who knew the words started singing along, and soon it was a full-on dance party! JoJo always had a blast performing for friends and family but especially when kids who loved her music could sing and dance alongside her.
When the song wrapped up, everyone cheered, and JoJo handed off the mic to Jacob.
“Welcome to the first-ever Posh Puppy Pageant!” Jacob said into the mic, and everyone cheered again. “Our judges are Miley, Kyra, and Grace. We hope you all have fun watching these posh pups strut their stuff! First up, let’s hear it for Cashew!”
The little pug’s owner led her across the stage, where she accepted a treat from Louis. “Cashew is wearing a stunning glittery pink sash and sparkly blue nails,” Jacob narrated, “but above all, she is an adorable fluff-ball with a dazzling smile!” The crowd roared.
Next came the pastel blue Daisy. Then an English cocker spaniel named Mochi, wearing tiny, rainbow-hued tutus on each paw. Then Fig and Hamloaf and Peppa and Winslow, as well as three other sweet mutts, a doxie, and a pair of min pins wearing T-shirts and tiaras. When it was all over, Grace, Kyra, and Miley put their heads together to confer. A minute later, they motioned JoJo over.
“We can’t decide,” Kyra said. “All the dogs are just so cute! And they all did a great job.”
“I agree,” JoJo said. “I wish we had a prize for everyone.” Then she felt a tug on her shirt. Lila had crept up next to the older girls while they were talking.
“What about those tennis balls you brought from your garage?” she asked JoJo. “We never even needed to get them out for the pups to play with.”
“Great idea, Lila! Tennis balls are perfect—and maybe goodie bags of leftover homemade dog treats, if there are any.”
“We’ve got at least a few dozen,” Megan said, joining them. “Louis really outdid himself! We already sold maybe two hundred of his pastries and dog treats. People bought entire bags of them! Apparently they freeze well.”
“Two hundred?” JoJo said in disbelief. “That’s incredible! We only had about twenty dogs here today.”
“Yep.” Grace smiled up at her sister. “It seems like all of our fund-raisers were a huge hit.”
“I’ll stall everyone with another song while you guys prep the goodie bags and write down all the names for a random drawing,” said JoJo. “That seems like the fairest way to award the grand prize.”
The others nodded and got to work. Then JoJo took the stage and began singing her classic hit, “Boomerang.” The crowd went wild.
“We’ve come to a tough decision, folks,” Jacob said into the microphone a few minutes later. “All of your dogs were just too darned adorable to decide on a winner, so we opted for a random drawing instead. All of your pooches’ names are in this basket.” Jacob gestured to the wicker plant-holder Kyra and Grace had brought him. “I’m going to shake it up, then choose a random name.” Jacob paused, shook the basket a few times, then moved his hand around, pretending to draw out first one folded slip of paper, then another, teasing the crowd. Finally he pulled one slip of paper all th
e way out, unfolded it, and looked out at the audience.
“And the winner is …”
He cleared his throat then peered at the paper and squinted, as though having trouble making out the name. JoJo giggled to herself. She loved Jacob’s hijinks.
“The winner is Fig!” he cried out. The whole lawn erupted into applause, and JoJo couldn’t help but feel thrilled for her new friends. “Fig, Lila, and Mandi, please join me at the mic. You too, JoJo!” Jacob instructed.
JoJo rushed over to Jacob. She gave Lila and Mandi giant hugs, then accepted the mic.
“I’m so happy to present two tickets to the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards to Lila, to use for herself and a parent. Or another relative,” she added, winking at Mandi. “Without Mandi’s and Lila’s help today, we never could have pulled off the dog wash and pup pageant! Did everyone have fun today?” Everyone cheered in response. “Would everyone like to hear another song?” The crowd went wild. “Okay, then!” said JoJo. “But I want to see you guys dance it out!”
She launched into “Hold the Drama,” grabbing Lila’s hand and dancing with her around the lawn. Soon everyone—including the dogs—was bouncing around the yard to the beat of JoJo’s music. No one could deny that the dog-wash-turned-puppy-pageant-turned-bake-sale-turned-dance-party was a huge success—maybe even the most fun fund-raiser ever!
CHAPTER 8
“Now for the good part,” Jacob’s mom said, handing each of the kids a garbage bag.
Jacob groaned. “Ugh. Do we have to?” he asked, plopping down in the grass. “I’m tired. And my stomach hurts!” By then, the crowd had tapered off, and the group of friends had even said goodbye to Mandi, Lila, Megan, Grace, and Kyra. Only Jacob, Louis, Miley, and JoJo remained. Jacob had invited them all to stick around for pizza, and, in turn, they’d offered to help clean up.
“Too many sweets?” his mom asked, giving him a stern look.
“It’s the first time I’ve overdosed on cookies that I didn’t bake myself!” Jacob said. “I’m pretty picky,” he said, turning to Louis. “I usually only trust my own baking.”
“It’s true,” JoJo said, laughing. “Louis, you should feel flattered!”
“All I feel right now is grateful to you guys for including me, after what I did,” Louis said, sitting on the grass next to Jacob and pulling Winslow into his lap.
“That’s what Siwanatorz are for,” replied JoJo. “And it’s why we started the group to begin with. Usually if there’s a problem, it just takes trying to understand one another in order to work it out.”
“Well I, for one, am glad we did,” Miley added. “This was such a fun day! How much money do you think we brought in?”
“I’m not sure,” Jacob said. “I gave it all to my mom to keep safe. I really, really hope it’s enough for a cooking lab.”
“A special oven has your names written all over it,” JoJo assured Jacob and Louis. “How cool, though? I can’t believe I know two great chefs!”
“I guess we’ll find out for sure at school next week,” Louis said, looking worried.
“Cleanup time!” shouted Jacob’s mom through the screen door. “Enough chitchat. Pizza will be here in fifteen minutes.”
JoJo shooed Winslow and BowBow inside with the permission of Jacob’s mom, so the two dogs wouldn’t get in the way of cleanup. Then the kids put all the plastic lemonade cups in a recycling bag and gathered the pet-wash supplies they could still use. Then they folded up the card table that had held Louis’s treats, swept bits of cookies and cakes from the patio, folded all the pageant costumes neatly back into their box, and brought the baby gates inside.
Once inside, JoJo stretched, worn out from the day’s activities.
“Everything looks great,” Jacob’s mom told them. “You kids must be starving. At least, those of you who didn’t eat a dozen cookies!” She gave Jacob a look and shook her head but smiled.
JoJo dug into a giant slice of pepperoni pizza. They were seated on the floor of Jacob’s TV room, watching a cooking show the boys had chosen. BowBow was curled up in JoJo’s lap. It was nearly 7 p.m. by then, and JoJo was pooped. She giggled at the thought.
“Jacob, what did you do with your smelly sneakers?” she asked. “I still can’t believe that poop was rainbow-colored!”
“I hosed them off when we got back, then put them in the wash,” Jacob told her. “I wonder if BowBow will have rainbow poop after all those treats she ate.”
“Ruh-roh,” said JoJo to her sleeping pup, whose belly was looking awfully large. “I’ll have to keep you posted.”
“You guys,” said Miley, “I’m really going to miss nights like these when we go back to school on Monday. Spring break has been a blast.”
“It really has,” JoJo agreed. “But time will fly. I’ll be traveling during the week, and you guys will be in school and doing sports, and we’ll still have our weekends. And the Kids’ Choice Awards show is coming up!”
“I just really, really love our friendship,” Miley said.
“Awww,” said JoJo, leaning over to give her friend a hug.
“You guys are such saps,” Jacob called out from where he sat in front of the TV.
“Don’t think you’re getting out of this,” JoJo said, motioning him and Louis over. “Group hug!”
Jacob rolled his eyes, but Louis smiled, and both boys scooted closer to the girls and wrapped their arms around their shoulders. “I don’t have a ton of friends,” Louis told them, looking suddenly shy. “And I sure am glad today happened. I’m even glad I was kind of a jerk about things. Because I got to meet all of you!”
JoJo laughed. “Well, it worked out this time, but try not to be a jerk too often! You’re officially a Siwanator now, and Siwanatorz believe in kindness.” Then she yawned again—a big yawn.
“I’ve got to call it a night, guys. But this has been one of my favorite days ever,” she told them. “All because of you.”
JoJo thanked Jacob’s mom for the pizza and walked BowBow home, savoring the cool spring air and the afterglow of a day well spent. JoJo unhooked BowBow’s leash at their front yard, letting the pup run around a bit while JoJo checked the mail. She grabbed a stack of letters, including some fan mail for her and BowBow—yay!—they loved getting fan mail.
“Come on, BowBow,” she called to the pup a minute later, as she headed toward the house. BowBow barked twice and ran ahead of JoJo, turning circles on the grass. They were nearly to the front door when she felt something squish beneath her high-tops. She froze.
“BowBow …” she said, looking down at the pup. Sure enough, BowBow was looking up at her with a guilty expression. JoJo held up her foot and shone her phone’s flashlight at the sole of her sneaker.
“Yep. Rainbow all the way. Well, glad you got it out of you, at least!” JoJo slipped off her shoes and left them outside, giggling a little as she went into her house, hugged her mom, and started getting ready for bed.
CHAPTER 9
“Mom! BowBow’s almost out of food,” JoJo shouted up the stairs. It was a week and a half later, and JoJo had just finished her rehearsal for a concert she was performing at the end of the month.
“Okay,” Jess called down. “We’ll head over to the shopping center and pick some up. Maybe a little ice cream, while we’re at it.”
Although ice cream was a tempting offer, JoJo had another plan in mind. “Actually,” she said as her mom came downstairs and joined her in the kitchen, “why don’t we go to No Bones About It? I wouldn’t mind saying hi to Mandi and seeing how business is going over there after the fund-raiser.”
“Sounds good to me!” Jess said. “I love that you’re supporting your new friend.”
They piled into the car and made their way to the pet shop. JoJo made a short Instagram story as she went, keeping her fans posted on everything she’d been up to that day. Ten minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot in front of No Bones About It.
“Mom,” JoJo said, carefully unbuckling her seat belt, �
�why are the windows dark? And why are there no cars in the lot? It’s a Wednesday at three in the afternoon! Where are all the customers?”
“JoJo,” Jess said, placing a hand on JoJo’s arm, “please don’t take it to heart if they closed. You did your very best to drum up business for the store.”
“I’m going to go check it out.” Before her mom could do anything to stop her, JoJo hopped out of the car and walked over to the shop. Sure enough, there was a closed sign in the window. JoJo was about to turn back, when she saw movement behind the glass. She knocked on the door. “Hello?” she shouted. She was going to get to the bottom of this, one way or another! JoJo knocked again, harder, until she finally heard the latch click. The door opened to reveal a smiling Mandi behind it.
“Mandi!” JoJo exclaimed. “What happened? Did the store close? Are you okay? What’s going to happen?”
Mandi laughed. “JoJo, calm down!” she said. “Nothing bad happened. Quite the opposite, actually! We shut down the store for a week so we could expand. I was just working in the back—we’re turning our old storeroom into an additional space for grooming. Business has boomed since the fund-raiser. Everything is going great.”
“That’s amazing!” JoJo threw her arms around Mandi and gave her a huge hug. “I’m so happy to hear that!”
“It’s great news,” Mandi agreed. “But wait—are you here just to say hi, or were you trying to buy something?”
“BowBow’s out of kibble,” JoJo said, “but don’t even worry about it. We can go somewhere else.”
“Don’t you be silly,” Mandi protested. “What kind does BowBow like?” JoJo told her, and Mandi ran to the back of the store, emerging with a jumbo bag. “On the house,” she said, handing it to JoJo. “I can’t ever repay you for everything you did for us.”
“What are friends for?” JoJo asked, waving goodbye. “See you and Lila Saturday for the awards!” Lila had opted to bring Mandi rather than her mom or dad, since Mandi was more like a big sister than an aunt to her. JoJo was glad.
The Posh Puppy Pageant Page 4