Friends Like These by Yamile Saied Méndez

Author:Yamile Saied Méndez [Saied Méndez, Yamile]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2022-03-16T00:00:00+00:00

On the ride to school, Carolina almost fell asleep. This had never happened before.

“Do you need me to drive you back home?” Heather asked, sounding concerned as she glanced in the rearview mirror.

Chelsie placed a hand on Carolina’s forehead, but her temperature must have been fine because she didn’t say anything.

Carolina knew she didn’t have a fever. She was just sleep deprived.

“It’s okay, Heather. Thank you though,” she replied.

But maybe she should’ve accepted the offer to go back home. The whole morning was like a bizarre dream. Vida had to talk to one of her teachers during lunchtime, and Carolina wasn’t able to speak with Gisella either. She’d seen a glimpse of her on her way back from lunch, but everyone had inside recess, so she couldn’t talk to her after all.

Carolina came home to find her mom had gone shopping and had brought home supplies for the new dog. Most importantly, a crate.

“I don’t want to leave him here all day, Mom,” Carolina whined. “He must be lonely.”

Boo had been quiet the whole time Carolina had been back home, but she didn’t need to hear him whimpering to know he was scared. His whole body language said fear.

Papi, home for a break, overheard her and came into the kitchen. “Now, Caro,” he said. “Think about how a horse would feel if you left him roaming free in a barn. No stalls. No little room for him to retreat to when he needs some peace and quiet. Or left him out in the pasture with no refuge from the weather or place to collect his thoughts. How would he feel?”

Carolina rolled her eyes. “But Boo isn’t a horse, Papi. He’s a dog, little reminder.”

Papi ruffled her hair and said, “Horses and dogs are not that different.”

“Horses are prey and dogs are predators,” Carolina countered. “They’re worlds apart.”

Papi insisted, “That’s true, but their behavior is very similar. At least, the way you train them is very similar. They all need structure, just like children. So now help me put this gate together to keep your Boo out of the kitchen.”

Carolina wasn’t happy to add another boundary for her puppy, but she complied. Mainly because she always loved building things with her dad. At the end, she was happy with how the gate turned out, although like always, they ended up with a lot of extra pieces.

“Are we missing something?” she asked, perplexed. They’d followed all the instructions.

“It’s better that we have leftovers instead of going without,” Mom said.

There she was, always seeing the bright side of things. Carolina made an effort to be more grateful with her parents. Boo wasn’t a horse, but he was the first animal that was solely hers. And she needed help.

That night at her lesson, she asked to ride Pepino, but Kimber insisted she take Shadow instead.

“Just because things are hard, it doesn’t mean you have to give up,” the trainer said.

Maybe Shadow was tired of fighting too, because even though he still refused to give

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