Girl's Best Friend

Chapter Nine: Contest

In class, Mr. Jones announces that we'll have a pet show in class next Monday. We'll all bring our pets. The person who either has the most interesting pet, or whose pet does the best trick, will win fifty dollars! When Kristine hears, she starts talking right away. Mr. Jones shushes her, but at lunch, she's chattering.
"My cat, Princess Marguerite de Fluffy, will definately win. She can jump through hoops, and- oh, hi, Hannah."
She sees me at the table nearby. "What'll you bring? A pig?" she asks. I glare at her. She just smirks.
Diana sits next to me. "You should bring Jake!"
"He doesn't know any tricks." I respond.
"But you have a week! You could train him, like to shake, or maybe roll over, or, ooh! Or play dead!"
I shrug. "Okay."
"I think I have a book on training dogs. What should we try first?"
"You can choose."
"Okay! I think he should learn to... to play dead! We could do a skit where he dies! It could be a tragedy!"
"Sure."
Diana looks at me. "Hannah? Are you-"
"Fine." I say, "I'm fine."
But I'm not. I'm thinking about how the school is practically plastered in anti-bullying posters but bullying goes on anyway. It's not fair.

Diana comes to my house on Tuesday after school with a bag of treats and a book called: Dog Training, The Basics. She tries to get Jake to play dead, but he just wants to play, without the dead.
Finally, Diana gives up. She tries sit, instead. She pushes on Jake's bottom and says, "Sit!" at the same time. When he sits, he gets a treat. After about an hour, he learns it. Diana squeals with excitement when he sits as soon as she takes a treat out of the bag.
"Now for come. Aren't you going to help me, Hannah?" she asks.
I get out of the patched lawn chair on the porch. "But you're the expert. I don't know what to do!" I say. Diana gives me instructions.
Then, Diana tells Jake to sit and holds his collar while I get a treat. I walk to the other side of the lawn and say, "Come!"
Diana lets go of his collar and he flies toward me. We continue. Treat after treat after treat. After an eternity, we try it without the treat. He comes anyway. I'm excited now. That fifty dollars could be mine!
Next, lie down. Then shake, roll over, and finally, play dead.
We practice our skit. It doesn't go so well. We decide to just show off his tricks.
In a day, he's learned it all, slightly. But it's late, and we decide to have Diana spend the night at our house. We aren't supposed to stay up late, because of school tomorrow, but when you've smuggled an Australian Shepherd puppy into your sleeping bag, it's kind of hard to keep quiet!