Guinea Dog by Patrick Jennings

Author:Patrick Jennings [Jennings, Patrick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Ages 8 and up
ISBN: 9781606840535
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Published: 2010-04-13T07:00:00+00:00

14. I guess I forgot to zip it up again.

“So it is your guinea pig,” Lurena said, looking down at Fido, who had joined us in the front yard. She was standing next to my laceless left shoe, up on her hind legs, looking up at us, her tongue hanging out. She had escaped the backpack yet again.

“You can’t bring her to the rec center,” Lurena said. “No pets allowed. It’s the rules.”

“She’s not my pet, Lurena,” I said. “She…” Once again the lie wouldn’t come.

“Followed you home?” Lurena said.

“Right.”

“What are you calling her?”

“Why do you think she’s a girl?”

Lurena set her hand on her hip and rolled her eyes at me. This was supposed to mean something, I’m sure, but I had no idea what.

“Okay, her name is Fido,” I said, “and she’s mine, but please don’t tell anyone, or the guys at school will kill me with jokes. Besides, we’re not keeping her. My dad hates her. We’re taking her back to the pet store…as soon as we find it. It was all my mom’s idea. I wanted a dog.”

Lurena crouched down and put her hand out. The million bangles she always wears on her wrist bangled. Fido sniffed her fingers, then licked them. Lurena giggled.

“Maybe I’ll take her,” she said. “One of my hamsters died last month.”

“What’s that mean?”

“It means my chinchilla needs a playmate.”

I was getting real nervous standing in my front yard talking to her, and doing so with Fido, all in broad daylight. So I asked, “Can we go out back? I don’t want anyone to—”

“See you with the G-U-I-N-E-A P-I-G?”

She actually spelled out the whole word. It took an eon.

“Or see you with a G-I-R-L?”

“Just come on.”

I set Fido down in the backyard. She warmed up to Lurena pretty fast. It was probably the smell of chinchilla on her.

“How’d your hamster die?” I asked.

“Natural causes.”

“Like lightning or something?”

She laughed so hard I about had a heart attack.

“No-wuh! He died of ‘old age,’” She made quotes with her fingers. “So you don’t want this guinea pig?”

“I told you. I want a dog.”

“So then I can have Fido?”

Strangely, I hesitated. I mean, I should have jumped all over that offer. But I said, “I better check with my mom. I think she wants the refund.”

Lurena rolled her eyes again. “I will pay you for her. Duh.”

“Are you rich or something?”

“No, but I have been saving some money for a replacement since Amherst died.”

“Amherst is the hamster?”

“Gee, I don’t know. Why don’t you anagram it, Mr. Scrabble Expert!”

“Oh. I get it. Good one.”

“So do we have a deal? Your mom gets her money. I get Fido. I don’t need the cage, though. I have cages. Your mom could get a refund on the cage. What do you say we go talk to your dad about it? He can call your mom. Or does she work at home, too?”

She was so weird. She and Fido belonged together.

“My mom works at Try Your Best Hardware. She’ll be home about five thirty or so.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.