by Cynthia Lord
She closed her eyes. Allie played with Gigi, but I was happy to just let Paloma rest in my lap. She slept there a long time, but then Paloma shuddered. Her paws were twitching, as if she was running in her sleep. She whimpered.
“Ms. Kim!” I said.
“What is it?” Watching Paloma, her face relaxed. “It’s okay, Suzannah. She’s just dreaming.”
Paloma whimpered again. She didn’t sound okay. She sounded scared. Was she remembering being caught? Or missing her brothers and sisters? “I think she’s having a bad dream,” I said.
“Speak to her gently,” Ms. Kim said. “It’ll wake her up slowly.”
What should I say? When I had a nightmare, I always went to Mom and Dad’s room and climbed into their bed. What did they say to me as I snuggled in with them? “It’s okay, sweetie. You’re safe here with me,” I said softly to Paloma. “It’s just a dream.”
Paloma twitched and then her eyes opened a little. “You can go back to sleep,” I said. “I’ll stay right here until you wake up.”
Her eyelids dropped again and she curled herself tighter between my legs. I let her sleep there until Ms. Kim put down a bowl of puppy food. That woke her right up.
Paloma stretched and then trotted over to eat beside Gigi. I’d been sitting still so long that my legs were all tingly when I tried to stand up.
“If all goes well, next Saturday will be adoption day for the puppies,” Ms. Kim told us. “Our veterinarian will want to give them another checkup and their next round of shots first.”
I watched Paloma crunching puppy kibble with her tiny teeth. She was so small and perfect. We probably wouldn’t have her at the shelter very long. Everyone would want her.
But until then, she was mine.
Every Monday during circle time at school, my teacher lets us tell one piece of good news that happened over the weekend. Most Mondays, I have some good news, but this time I had great news! I couldn’t wait to tell my whole second-grade class about Paloma and the other Sato puppies.
All weekend, I couldn’t stop thinking about how fun it had been to play with Paloma. I also kept remembering her bad dream, and how I’d made her feel safe. She had needed me and I had been there for her. Maybe this was how it felt to have a real pet?
As Ms. Cole called us to circle time, I wondered what Paloma was doing right now. Was she playing tug-of-war and wrestling with Gigi? Or sleeping? Or maybe Ms. Kim was giving her a snack?
“Good morning, everyone!” Ms. Cole said. “Does anyone have some —?”
I put my hand up so fast I bumped my friend Claire next to me. Sorry, I mouthed.
“— good news to share?” Ms. Cole finished. “Dylan?”
I put my hand down. Ms. Cole doesn’t let us keep our hands up while other people are talking. I paid close attention so I could try again the minute Dylan was done.
“My soccer team won its game,” he said. “Three to two! It went into overtime. I didn’t think we’d win, but then Jordan kicked the ball, and the goalie tried to grab it. It went right by him!”
I tapped my fingers on my knee, waiting for my turn.
“That’s good and exciting news!” Ms. Cole said. “It must’ve been thrilling for your team! Did you celebrate?”
Dylan nodded. “We went out for pizza!”
“How fun!” Ms. Cole said. “Who else had something good happen?”
My hand flew up, higher than last time.
“Rosa?” Ms. Cole said.
I sighed and put my hand down.
“My dad and I baked banana bread,” said Rosa. “I used a masher to smush up the bananas.”
“That’s good and delicious news. I love banana bread,” Ms. Cole said. “Claire, I saw your hand up. Do you have good news?”
Argh! When would it be my turn?
“My grandma came to visit and we went to a restaurant for lunch. Then we went shopping. I got new socks because I keep losing them.” Claire lifted her pant leg to show off her neon-green socks. “Grandma said it’d be hard to lose these!”
“That’s good and bright news,” Ms. Cole said. “Who’s next?”
My hand was up so high I was lifting myself off the floor.
“Suzannah?”
Finally! “On Saturday, we got some Sato puppies at the shelter where I volunteer. Satos are stray dogs from Puerto Rico. That’s a long way, so these puppies had to fly on a plane to get here! They aren’t used to living in a home, so they’ll need extra love and training. Paloma is my favorite. The rescuers found her living in a tire.”
Henry laughed. “A tire?”
I gave him a serious look, like Ms. Cole does when someone isn’t being a good listener. “It’s not funny.”
“Yeah,” Claire said. “It’s sad.”
I smiled at Claire. One of the best parts of having a good friend is always having someone on your side.
“The puppies had a hard start, but tell us the good news part of your story,” Ms. Cole said.
“The puppies will get homes,” I said.
Ms. Cole smiled. “That is good and wonderful news.”
“My dog, Sparky, came from an animal shelter,” said Tony. “But I think he just came from here, not Puerto Rico. Sparky needed training, too. He used to chew up my dad’s sneakers — even when they were stinky!”
“My dog’s name is Peaches,” said Wesley. “She’s a beagle.”
“Remember to raise your hand to talk,” Ms. Cole said. Just about everyone’s hand went in the air. Estrella told Ms. Cole about her cat, Midnight.
“She sleeps with me every night,” said Estrella. “Sometimes she sleeps wrapped around my head like she’s a cat hat!”
“I have a rabbit named Leo,” said Kennedy. “His whole name is Leo Funny Bunny.”
“Pets are a wonderful thing to write about,” said Ms. Cole. “During writing time today, you could write stories about your pets.”
“Oh-oh-oh! I have a great idea!” Tony said. “After we write about our pets, we could bring them to school!”
“Well —” Ms. Cole started.
“Yeah! We could have a Pet Day!” said Henry. “Everyone could bring in their pets and read their stories!”
“I don’t know if that would be allowed,” Ms. Cole said. “Some people have allergies to animals.”
And some people don’t even have animals to bring, I thought.
“Does anyone have an allergy to pets?” Henry asked the class.
No hands went up. “See, Ms. Cole?” he said. “No allergies. Can we? Please? Please?”
“We’ll see,” said Ms. Cole.
With Ms. Cole, that usually means “no.” Part of me was glad. It would have been fun to meet everyone’s pet, but it wouldn’t be fun to be the only person without a pet to bring.
Everybody else looked disappointed.
“How about this?” Ms. Cole asked. “I’ll see what Principal Viera thinks.”
“Principal Viera has to say yes!” said Claire. “It wouldn’t be fair for him to say no when Mr. Griffin’s room has a class lizard. The lizard lives in his classroom!”
“And Ms. Janis’s room has a bunny!” Mallory added.
“All right.” Ms. Cole held up her hand, just like the crossing guard does for “stop.” “I’ll talk to Mr. Viera. If he says yes to Pet Day, your parents would need to bring your pet to school and then take it home again after a few minutes. We’d have to set up a schedule so the animals aren’t here at the same time. Not all animals get along. Some animals might be afraid, too. So please consider if your pet would be happy coming to school.”
Wait a minute. “We’ll see” was starting to sound like “maybe,” not “no,” this time.
“What if your mom and dad are working and can’t come?” asked Beth.
“You can bring in a photo of your pet,” said Henry. He had all the answers.
“What if you don’t have a pet?” asked Jemma quietly.
I glanced at Jemma. I was a little relieved I wasn’t the o
nly one.
“Then you could write about a pet you know,” said Ms. Cole. “Maybe your grandparents have a pet? Or your neighbors have a pet? You could even pick an animal that you see in your yard.”
“We have lots of chipmunks in our backyard,” said Jemma. “Sometimes I put bits of bread down inside their holes. My dad says I’m like the pizza-delivery person, only instead of pizza, I’m delivering bread!”
“Fabulous! I can already see a great story there!” said Ms. Cole. “Everyone get out your writers’ notebooks and start brainstorming ideas. This is a good day for writing about animals. Remember that stories need an interesting beginning, a strong middle, and a satisfying ending.”
I went to my desk and opened my notebook. I did love to write about animals, but all I had at home were stuffed animals. I could write about Whiskers. I had already imagined lots of funny and exciting stories about him.
But when it was time to share, everyone would see he wasn’t a real pet. I didn’t want anyone to laugh at me, but I really didn’t want anyone to laugh at Whiskers!
Maybe Paloma? I could ask Ms. Kim to take some photos of me with Paloma on Saturday before she got adopted. It wouldn’t be the same as bringing in a live animal — an animal that was mine and loved me best, like Peaches loved Wesley or Sparky loved Tony or Leo loved Kennedy or Midnight loved Estrella.
I was Paloma’s in-between person. I was the “middle” of her story. Someone to comfort her and love her until she had a family of her own.
Still, that would be better than sharing a stuffed animal.
Or a chipmunk.
Mr. Viera said that we could have Pet Day in our classroom as long as an adult was in charge of each pet, and the pet stayed in our room. All week during writing time, I worked on my story about Paloma. Ms. Cole set the date for Pet Day two Fridays away so everyone would have plenty of time to finish their stories and to make arrangements for their pets to come. It was very exciting! Even though I couldn’t bring Paloma, I planned to ask Ms. Kim to take a photo of Paloma and me together when I came for Shelter Pet Squad on Saturday. I’d show the photo while I read my story to the class.
Looking at my story, I thought I had an interesting beginning. I liked my strong middle. But I didn’t have a satisfying ending yet.
Paloma
I don’t have any real pets, but I’m surrounded by animals. At home, I have lots of stuffed animals. Every Saturday morning, I also volunteer at the Maplewood Animal Shelter and help the real animals there. Since I started volunteering, I have helped a guinea pig named Jelly Bean find a new home in a classroom full of kids. I helped a ferret named Merlin find a home with a lady who needed a ferret.
Now we have six Sato puppies at the shelter. Their names are: Osito, Paz, Isabella, Maya, Gigi, and Paloma. They came all the way from Puerto Rico. My favorite puppy is named Paloma. The rescuers found her living in a tire with her brothers and sisters. They could only catch her, though. They took Paloma to a veterinarian. Then she flew on a plane and rode in a van to get here. I don’t know if that was exciting or scary or fun for her. Probably it was all three things!
After I played with Paloma, she climbed into my lap and went to sleep. I was patting her and she had a bad dream. At first, I didn’t know what to do! Then I talked to her and told her it would all be okay. I made her feel better.
On the day she was ready to be adopted …
(To be continued)
What would my satisfying ending be? I wouldn’t know until Saturday. Maybe Paloma would be adopted by a family full of kids.
Or maybe a lonely person who needed someone to love would adopt her.
Or maybe someone would adopt Gigi and Paloma together.
I wanted Paloma to have a new home, but I’d miss her. What if she had a nightmare? I wouldn’t be there to comfort her.
* * *
On Saturday, I asked Mom to take me to the shelter early. I brought Mom’s camera with me. “Ms. Kim, would you take a photo of me with Paloma?” I asked as soon as I arrived. “We have Pet Day in my class and I wrote a story about her.”
“Sure,” Ms. Kim said. “Come down to the kennel. Maybe you could go in Paloma’s pen and sit down? Then I’ll take your photo holding her.”
As soon as Paloma and Gigi saw me, they both stood on their hind legs with their paws on the pen door, trying to reach us. Yip! Yip! Yip!
“Good thing you didn’t want a video instead of a photo,” Ms. Kim said, laughing. “It would be a loud one!”
Gigi and Paloma pushed each other, trying to fit into the space where the pen door would open.
“Back up,” Ms. Kim told them. When she opened the door, Paloma and Gigi squeezed through the space and got out! Ms. Kim caught Gigi, but Paloma ran right between my legs.
Oh, no! “I’ll get her!” I took off running after her down the line of pens. Dogs started jumping and barking in their pens as Paloma and I ran past, as if they were cheering us on!
Lucky for me, Paloma stopped to sniff a broom just long enough for me to grab her. “Where did you think you were going?” I asked, scooping her up into my arms.
She licked my face, her tail wagging.
“She looks great in your arms,” Ms. Kim said, putting Gigi back in the pen. “Let’s take the photo right here.”
Ms. Kim had to take several photos before we had one where Paloma was looking forward. She handed me the camera so I could see. In the photo, Paloma’s mouth was open a little, like she was smiling. Her tail was a little blurry because it was wagging.
I liked that, though. It showed that she was happy.
It was hard for me to put her in the pen. Paloma whined and jumped against the door. She didn’t understand why I was leaving.
“She’s fine,” Ms. Kim said. “It’s only for a little while and then maybe she’ll find a home today.”
I wanted to be happy about that, but I really wished she could be mine. Paloma’s brown eyes looked right at me, as if she wished that, too. “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” I told her.
When the other kids arrived, they were surprised that I was there first, because I usually get there last.
“We have Pet Day at school. I don’t have a pet to bring, so I’m writing a story about Paloma to show my class,” I explained. “I came early so Ms. Kim could take my picture with her.”
“Don’t you have a pet mouse?” asked Jada.
My heart jumped. Uh-oh! I wasn’t expecting that.
“Yeah, what happened to Whiskers?” asked Allie. “I thought that was the cutest name.”
I tried to swallow, but my mouth was dry. “Um, he —”
“Did he die?” Matt asked.
I reached into my pocket and touched Whisker’s nose. I needed his extra bravery right now. “Whiskers isn’t real,” I said quietly. “He’s a toy.”
“What?” Allie stared at me. “Why’d you lie and tell us that he was real?”
“I didn’t lie!” I said. “I never said he was real. I just didn’t say he wasn’t.”
“That’s practically lying,” Allie said.
I looked down. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to be the only kid here without a pet. Pets aren’t allowed in my apartment. So stuffed animals are all I can have.” I pulled Whiskers out of my pocket. “This is Whiskers.”
Everyone was quiet. I bit my lip so it wouldn’t tremble.
“He’s cute,” I heard Jada say.
I looked up slowly. She was smiling.
“I have a stuffed bear called Benny,” she said. “He used to be white, but now he’s gray because he’s been washed so many times.”
“I have a stuffed porcupine named Prickles,” Matt said. “His prickles are soft, though. Otherwise he wouldn’t be very squeezable.”
“Mr. Hugglesworth has been my favorite since I was a baby,” Levi said. “He’s a teddy bear.”
Everyone looked at Allie. She sighed. “My favorite is Caramel the Camel. She even has her own blanket that I made her.”
; I smiled shyly. My stomach felt like when I’m swinging: up-down, flip-floppy. I’d been keeping Whiskers a secret for so long. I thought it would be a huge deal if the other kids found out that he wasn’t real. Maybe they wouldn’t even like me anymore — but they did.
Ms. Kim smiled. “I think Whiskers would love to meet the little animals that came into the shelter this week. Come, let’s introduce them.”
As Ms. Kim opened the door to the small-animal room, I wondered, Could the little pets be hamsters? Gerbils? Rabbits?
Inside the room, I saw a gray bunny in a pen. Two pretty blue parakeets were perched on a wooden rod in a cage. Ms. Kim led us to two glass tanks with screen lids.
Each tank held a few mice. Real ones!
The mice were so busy! They were racing around or exploring, and then suddenly they’d stop to scratch or sniff the air. Then they were off again!
I held Whiskers up so he could see.
“The boy who brought in these mice started with two,” Ms. Kim said. “A boy mouse and a girl mouse.”
“Uh-oh,” Matt said.
Ms. Kim nodded. “The mice had babies. Before long, there were more mice than the boy could take care of. He gave some away, but he couldn’t find homes for these five. Two boys are in this tank,” she said, showing us. “Three girls are over here.”
A brown-and-white mouse picked up a sunflower seed in his tiny paws, nibbling it all around. A white mouse was rubbing her paws over her face to clean herself. A black-and-white mouse had climbed to the top of the water bottle. She looked around, choosing where to climb next.
“They’re so funny!” Allie said.
“They don’t have names,” said Ms. Kim. “Would you each like to name one?”
We all grinned. “Yes!” Naming animals was a fun part of being in Shelter Pet Squad.
“Can the boys choose the boy mouse names and the girls choose the girl mouse names?” Levi asked.
“Good idea,” Ms. Kim said.