Free Bailey by Susan Hughes Page A

friend.
    â€œSeriously? And you won’t tell me what it is until recess? You are horrible!” Maya put on her grumpy look, but she couldn’t hold it for long. Kat started to laugh, and Maya did too.
    â€œSee you!” Kat teased. She ran to the back of her own line that had just disappeared into the school.

“So?” Maya asked, running up to Kat at recess. “What does a mother dog call her pups when they come in from playing in the snow?”
    Kat grinned. “The answer? Drumroll, please… Slush puppies!”
    â€œAgh!” Maya groaned. She pretended to throw a tennis ball at Kat. “Take that!”
    Kat caught the ball easily and laughed out loud. She loved telling jokes to Maya. Her friend always responded dramatically, either loving the joke or hating it. She tossed the ball back to Maya. They threw it back and forth a few more times.
    â€œOkay, next—the puppy news. What is it?” Maya called.
    Kat threw the ball back to her, but her aim was wide. “Oops!”
    The ball flew past Maya and onto the field. It landed right in the middle of some boys who were tossing a football around.
    â€œUh-oh,” Kat said. She went to stand beside Maya.
    Then Kat saw Megan and Cora, two girls in her class, pointing at her. They were giggling.
    â€œNice, Kat,” Megan called. “Did you do that on purpose?”
    â€œDo you want to play with your boyfriend?” teased Cora.
    â€œOh, great,” moaned Kat.
    â€œIt’s your own fault, klutz,” said Maya, poking her elbow into Kat’s side. “You’d better go get it.”
    â€œNo way.” Kat shook her head. “Not alone.”
    â€œCome on. We’ll ask your boyfriend to give it back to us,” said Maya, grabbing Kat’s arm and heading toward the field.
    â€œVery funny,” said Kat. She didn’t have a boyfriend, and Maya knew it. But for some reason, Owen, one of the boys, seemed to get all tongue-tied when Kat was around. Sometimes he chased her when the class played tag.
    Maya was certain this meant Owen liked Kat.
    It seemed like Megan and Cora thought so too.
    But it was Matthew, a boy from Maya’s class, who picked up their tennis ball.
    As Maya marched Kat toward him, he tossed the ball up and down in his hand.
    â€œThanks, Matthew,” Maya said. “Can you throw it back to us?”
    Matthew grinned. He threw it to his buddy Sunjit.
    â€œSunjit,” Kat said. She held out her hands. “Over here. Please?”
    â€œSure thing,” Sunjit said. He tossed the ball to Owen.
    Maya and Kat stopped. They both frowned.
    â€œFunny,” Maya said.
    â€œSo hilarious,” Kat added. Owen blushed. He froze looking at them.
    Maya nudged Kat again. “Basset hound,” she whispered.

    This was one of the girls’ favorite games. They would name a dog breed that a person reminded them of. For example, Kat thought Maya was like an English setter. Elegant. Graceful. Loyal.
    Kat looked at Owen. A basset hound? Yes, she could see it. She began to giggle. Until Maya softly cooed, “Oh, look at that face. Those lovey-dovey eyes!”

    Ugh. No!
    â€œCome on, Owen,” yelled Matthew. “Over here. What are you waiting for?”
    Owen shrugged and threw the ball to Kat.
    â€œNot back to them ,” Sunjit groaned, smacking his forehead with the palm of his hand.
    Maya and Kat laughed and ran back to where they’d been tossing the ball back and forth.
    Cora and Megan were still giggling and whispering, but Kat tried to ignore them.
    â€œOkay, finally. The puppy news,” Maya said. “Spill it. I need to know now!”
    And just then, the bell rang.
    â€œLine up, please, students!” called the teacher on yard duty. “No dawdling! To your lines!”
    With a moan, Maya grabbed her hair and pulled at it. “I live a life of torment!” she exclaimed.
    Kat giggled. Maya would make a great actress! The