Free Bailey by Susan Hughes

Puppies were running across the grass. Dozens of puppies.
    Some were black, some were brown, and some were white with black spots. Some puppies were red and shaggy, and some were gray with white muzzles. All the puppies had smiling faces and wagging tails.
    Kat was sitting on her front steps. Her eyes were closed. She was having her favorite puppy daydream. And it always ended the same…
    The puppies jump around, begging for her attention. Her mother and father smile at her.

    â€œOf course you can have a puppy, Katherine,” her mom says.
    Her dad sweeps out his arm. “Pick any one you want!”
    Kat smiles too. She looks at all the puppies, and she tries to choose. The little toffee-colored Irish terrier that jumps into her lap? The shy gray schnauzer looking at her, his head cocked to one side? The black pug so tiny that—
    Aidan’s running shoe nudged her leg, and Kat opened her eyes. As usual, her brother was listening to music. He pulled out one of his earbuds. “Come on, Kat,” he said. “Let’s go! We’re going to be late for school.”
    Kat sighed. The daydream was over. She sent a mental message to the puppies: I’ll come back and visit soon!
    She ran to catch up with Aidan. The sun was shining. A squirrel chattered at her from the branch of a chestnut tree.
    â€œDo you think Mom and Dad will ever let me get a dog?” Kat asked her brother as they walked.
    Aidan shrugged. “You’ve asked them a million times. They always say no.”
    â€œThat’s because they travel so much for work. But I don’t!” Kat protested. “And I’d be the one looking after the dog.”
    Aidan bounced his basketball as he walked. “I don’t know, Kat. I think you should forget about it for now.”
    Kat sighed. She knew he would say that. He didn’t care if they got a dog or not. Her parents both liked dogs, but she was the only one who was truly dog crazy.
    Kat and Aidan reached school just as the bell rang.
    â€œLater, alligator,” Aidan said to Kat. He hurried over to the seventh- and eighth-grade entrance.
    â€œSee you soon, baboon!” Kat called after him.
    She rushed across the playground. But she didn’t get in her line. Instead, Kat went over to the other fourth-grade line.
    â€œMaya!” she called. Her best friend hung back as her class made its way into the school.
    â€œThere you are, Kat-Nip! Late again!” Maya said with a grin.
    Kat made a funny face back at her. Maya had called her “Kat-Nip” for as long as she could remember. “You love dogs, but your name is Kat? How goofy!” she’d say. Maya often teased her, and Kat teased her back.
    It was all in fun, since they had been best friends forever. Even though they lived on opposite sides of town, they had known each other since nursery school. They played soccer on the same team. They took swimming lessons together. Most of all, they talked about dogs together. Maya was probably the only person in the world who loved dogs as much as Kat.
    Until this year, Maya and Kat had always been in the same class. But a few children had moved away over the summer. So Maya was put in the other fourth-grade class.
    The girls didn’t like it. Not one bit.
    School had started last week. The first few days had been tough. Kat hoped it would be better this week, but it didn’t seem likely.
    â€œJoke of the day: what does a mother dog call her pups when they come in from playing in the snow?” Kat asked.

    Maya thought for a moment. “I don’t know. What?”
    â€œI’ll tell you at recess!” Kat said, waggling her fingertips at her friend. She turned to run toward her lineup.
    â€œHey, not fair! Tell me now!” called Maya. “That’s torture!”
    â€œNope! Oh, and I have some really awesome news to tell you,” Kat called over her shoulder. “Puppy news!” she added, taunting her