Elmer and the Talent Show by Danny Robertshaw & Ron Danta & Crystal Velasquez

Author:Danny Robertshaw & Ron Danta & Crystal Velasquez
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Aladdin
Published: 2022-02-02T00:00:00+00:00

When they caught sight of Benny approaching, A. J. gave him a head nod and said, “Hey.”

“Hey,” Benny said in return. Elmer could tell by the way his voice quivered that he was nervous, even though he was trying not to show it.

“Is this the dog you told us about, A. J.?” asked Martin, closing his sketchbook to stare at Elmer with wonder.

A. J. nodded as he came to a stop and stepped on the tail end of his skateboard so that it stuck up at an angle. “That’s the one!” he said as he shook his blond hair out of his face.

For a moment, Benny smiled. “Did he tell you about the tricks Elmer can do? Because he’s been working hard on his jumps and pole weaving. There’s going to be a big talent show at the training gym and—”

“Whoa! You were right,” Kyle interrupted. “His dog is missing, like, half his face!”

“Ew. Really?” said Daisy.

The other kids laughed as Kyle hopped off of his bike and moved closer. “Awesome!” he said, bending down to look at Elmer.

Quickly, Elmer scooted behind Benny’s legs, his tail stiff.

“Stop,” Renee said. “I think you’re scaring him.”

“Yeah, leave him alone,” Benny added.

Kyle held up his hands and backed off. “Sorry.”

But Benny shifted uncomfortably on his feet, as if he were worried that he had overreacted and insulted his new friends. “S-sorry,” Benny stammered. “It’s just that—”

He never got to finish his sentence because Kyle interrupted with a whisper. “Nobody look up. It’s that weird girl from school.”

Daisy tsked. “You guys are so mean.” But she said it with a giggle in her voice, like she thought “mean” might be the same thing as “funny.”

“She brings it on herself,” Kyle reasoned. “Her clothes have so many colors it hurts my eyes.”

“And she is way too happy about everything,” A. J. piled on. “Even homework.” The others laughed as A. J. went on to do a quiet impression of Kitts begging the teacher to give her more work to do.

But not one of the things they said about Kitts sounded bad to Elmer. He couldn’t understand why they were making fun of her. And he really couldn’t understand why Benny wasn’t coming to her defense. Elmer peeked out from behind Benny’s legs and spotted Kitts, skipping and whistling to herself as she walked Coda through the park. Elmer’s tail immediately started wagging, but Benny didn’t seem glad to see her at all. In fact, he sort of bent his head and turned away. But not before Kitts had spotted him, too.

She stopped in her tracks, lifted her right arm, and waved it wildly. “Hi, Benny! Hi, Elmer!” she cried.

“You know that girl?” A. J. asked Benny, his eyes widening.

“Uh… not really,” Benny answered. “We just got our dogs from the same place, that’s all.”

He fell quiet and waited for Kitts to move on. Seeing the hurt in Kitts’s eyes as she pulled Coda away, Elmer felt confused. Why did Benny ignore her and Coda? Weren’t they his friends? It seemed like Benny had pretended not to know Kitts just because A.

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