Free Dog Beach Unleashed by Lisa Greenwald

desk. The carpet has been pulled up, revealing worn wooden floors. And there’s a bay window at the back with a window seat.
    I remember my grandma telling me a few years ago that when she was in her twenties, everyone would come here to the hotel for a fun night out. There’s a picture of her and Grandpa sitting on that window seat. They’re all dressed up, looking into each other’s eyes. It’s one of my favorite photos. They look like movie stars, the most beautiful people I’ve ever seen.
    I wonder if she was friends with Josh’s grandpa. I bet she was.
    â€œIt’s a great space,” I say. “It’s so big, and the high ceilings are amazing, along with the view, of course.”
    â€œYeah, it’s great,” he says. “I’d like to keep it in the family, but I think my mom just wants to move on.”
    Josh goes to find the rest of the troupe, and I walk over to help with the dogs.
    â€œSo we can just hang out here?” Micayla asks me. I tell her the whole story about the hotel and Josh’s grandpa.
    She listens but then changes the subject. “Everything seems crazy today. Claire is crying. Bennett and Calvin keep arguing about what teams are going to make the Super Bowl, even though it’s July! Even the dogs are acting nuts.”
    I look around. Things seem moderately calm to me.
    â€œI don’t get it,” I say. “The dogs are all lounging.”
    â€œThey’re fine right now. But I didn’t even have a chance to tell you what happened with Lester this morning.”
    â€œWhat happened?” I ask.
    â€œHe kept trying to run away when I picked him up, even though I called him to come back a hundred times. Then hehopped onto someone’s lap outside Breakfast on the Boardwalk and took a bite of the woman’s egg and cheese sandwich. And he can’t even have dairy!”
    â€œFor real?”
    â€œYes, Remy. I don’t know what’s gotten into him. He’s clearly struggling with something.” She looks right into my eyes. “And you, you’re struggling with something, too. I can tell. Your mind is in a hundred different places.” She puts her hands on my shoulders and tries to get me to focus.
    She’s right. No matter how hard I try to pretend that I have everything figured out, Micyala can tell when I don’t.
    â€œOkay.” I take a deep breath.
Focus, Remy, focus
. Right now I need to be here, helping with the dogs, helping my friends. Finally I come up with an indoor activity that would be good for the dogs and for relaxation.
    We gather all the dogs together, and we get them to sit more or less in a circle. Maybe it’s possible for us to do some doggie yoga. I try to guide them to breathe in and breathe out and breathe in and breathe out.
    â€œThis is ridiculous!” Claire says, standing up. “Dogs can’t do yoga! And neither can I.”
    â€œClaire, come on,” Calvin groans. “Just sit down.”
    â€œAnd of course dogs can do yoga,” I say defensively. “Hello! Downward-facing dog?”
    No one laughs, and that disappoints me a little bit.
    â€œI need a personal day,” Claire says. She’s been asking for days off more and more lately, but she’s still here.
    â€œClaire,” I say, though I’m a little bit tired of begging her to stick around, “please stay.”
    Even though my begging sounds forced, Claire sits back down. Calvin and I make eye contact, and I feel like I’ve swallowed a brick. And then that brick goes down my throat and into my stomach.
    I don’t understand how anyone can focus on anything when there’s a boy you might really like who might also really like you. And there’s also a boy you thought you really liked, but maybe you were wrong.
    At the end of the day, we take the dogs home. Then Calvin and Bennett go to shoot hoops, and Claire, Micayla, and I walk home slowly,