Dream Team (Love Puppies #3) by JaNay Brown-Wood

Author:JaNay Brown-Wood
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.

Just as Barkley was about to fly back to his team and deliver the news, he saw one last name under the heading ALTERNATE.

The final name on the list stood out loud and clear: Eliana Contreras Silva, the only third grader to make it through the first round of cuts.

But she’d just barely made it. An alternate was not a guaranteed spot.

Barkley zoomed back to the bushes.

“All the way at the bottom,” he proclaimed. “That’s where her name was.”

“Poodle-sticks! The very bottom?” said Rosie.

“Yep. The very last name, under ALTERNATE, ” Barkley responded.

Even though Eliana had made it to the next round of tryouts, how close she had gotten to being cut felt too close for comfort. The pups had almost failed a mission before they even had a chance to figure out how to help.

And the weight of Eliana’s “almost cut” seemed to weigh heavily on her, too. Once Day 3 of tryouts began, Eliana seemed to run slower, try less, and sulk through the drills.

“If she keeps that up, she’ll be out for sure!” whispered Barkley.

Her sore attitude lasted for the whole practice, which didn’t give the pups much hope.

Once practice was over, the smaller group of girls grabbed their things and began going their separate ways. Eliana did, too, until she was stopped by the loud call of Coach Wong.

“Silva!” he boomed. Eliana froze mid-step. “A word, please.”

She turned around and walked back in his direction but kept her head drooped low.

“Chin up, girl,” he said. She lifted her eyes and peered into his. “You do know that you almost got cut, right?”

She nodded solemnly.

“You’ve got skills, Silva. There’s no doubt about that. But where’s your teamwork? Where’s your sportsmanship?”

He paused as if waiting for her to reply. She dropped her gaze again, instead.

“Marianna had wonderful sportsmanship. She was such a great team player—what’s your excuse?”

Still, no response.

“Look, if you want to make the team, Hampton and I are going to need to see a real improvement. If you don’t adjust your attitude, well, you may have to try again next year.” With that, he turned on his heel and walked away.

The puppies could see tears coming down from Eliana’s eyes. They knew she’d be heading home to an empty house and a room filled with mementos of her sister. She tightened her backpack and ran from the school grounds, wiping her eyes with her sleeves.

“The Doghouse—now!” said Rosie.

Whoosh!

* * *

“Teamwork,” said Rosie. “Sportsmanship. That’s it. That’s where we come in!”

Barkley nodded his head excitedly while the other pups howled. Finally, they’d figured out what could possibly turn this all around for Eliana.

“Teamwork’s easy,” said Clyde. “That’s just being a good teammate. Like when Rosie helps to scratch Barkley’s ears.”

“Or when we all work together to help kids like Eliana. We’re pros at teamwork,” said Noodles. “We Love Puppies are a Dream Team!” she exclaimed. This sent the puppies into happy jumps and yips as they tumbled and tickled one another.

“Dream Team for sure!” added Rosie. They gathered in a puppy huddle.

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