Riley (5 page)

The next morning, Kat still didn't know what to do about Grace. She tried to think about puppies while she waited for her brother.
Puppies here, puppies there. Puppies, puppies, everywhere…

But it didn't work.

Then she tried to think about Riley.
Sweet little Riley, with her beautiful brown eyes, her silky-soft ears, and her big, floppy paws…

But that didn't work either.

All Kat could think about was Grace.

I've got to speak to her today
, Kat decided as she and Aidan walked to school. Even though just thinking about it made her stomach tight. What would she say? Ask her to be friends? No. Maya didn't want that. She'd made that clear. So what else?

Apologize? Tell her a joke? One or the other would be good.

I'll get it over with and do it right away
, Kat thought.
I'll speak to her before school starts.

But Grace didn't get to class until after the bell rang. Everyone was already at their desks. Grace dropped into her chair as Ms. Mitchell began the morning announcements.

Okay, I'll speak to her at morning recess
, Kat said to herself. But when recess came, Ms. Mitchell asked Grace to stay inside for a chat.

Then it was lunchtime.
I'll speak to her now for sure
, thought Kat. But when the class was dismissed, Kat couldn't find Grace anywhere. Maybe she had gone home for lunch. Or maybe she was sitting alone somewhere, eating. This wasn't easy!

“Have either of you seen Grace?” she asked two girls from her class.

Lindsay and Carly just laughed. “Are you kidding?” Lindsay said. “You're not going to eat lunch with
her
, are you?”

“Good way to lose your appetite,” Carly added.

Kat didn't answer.

Instead, she hurried out to find Maya. They were going to Kat's house for lunch.

But when she ran up to Maya, her friend looked down at her feet. “I can't come to your house for lunch today,” Maya said.

“Why not?” Kat was surprised. Then, worried, she asked, “Are you feeling okay?”

“Umm…” Maya glanced at Kat, and then looked away again. “No, actually, I'm not feeling great. I think it's better if I go home for lunch.” She began to turn away.

“Maya, do you want me to come with you?” Kat asked.

“Uh…no. No thanks, Kat,” Maya called over her shoulder, and she walked away.

Kat didn't move for a moment. Her feelings were hurt. She didn't believe Maya was feeling sick. But why wouldn't she have lunch with her? It must have something to do with Grace. Was Maya upset about Kat asking Grace to be their friend? Kat hadn't even decided if she was going to do it!

Kat could hardly eat her lunch. She was worried about Grace and Maya. Then she was angry at Grace and Maya. At the beginning of the week, she had had one best friend and no new girl in her class. Now she felt like she'd lost her best friend and the new girl hated her.

It just didn't seem fair!

Kat was a little late getting back to school after lunch, so she missed seeing Maya in the line to go inside. Was Maya really sick? Had she stayed home? Or had she come back to school? Kat didn't know. That made her angry too.

When she hurried into her own classroom, Ms. Mitchell was asking everyone to sit on the carpet at the front of the class. Kat saw Grace sit right at the outer edge of the carpet. The other students were careful not to sit near her. It was like there was an invisible wall around Grace.

Kat was angry at her. Things had been better before she came here. But Kat also knew that she was the one who hadn't been fair. She had to do something. She got up her courage, and she sat on the edge of the carpet too. Not too close to Grace, but close enough.

“We're going to discuss temperature,” Ms. Mitchell said, setting out two glasses of water.

She held up two thermometers. “Could I have two volunteers, please?”

Ms. Mitchell picked Angela and Ari. She gave them each a thermometer to put in a glass.

Then she said, “Before we look at the thermometers, which do you think will be higher, the temperature of the cold water or the warm water?”

That was so easy. Of course the warm water would have a higher temperature than the cold water.

Kat raised her hand to answer. But Ms. Mitchell called out Grace's name, even though Grace didn't have her hand up.

“Grace,” said Ms. Mitchell. “Which do you think will have the higher temperature?”

Grace flushed. She opened her mouth to answer. Then she closed it.

It was such an easy question.
Why isn't Grace answering?
Kat wondered.
Didn't she hear the question? Why doesn't she just ask Ms. Mitchell to repeat it?

Megan snickered. She rolled her eyes, like she thought Grace was stupid.

“Grace?” Ms. Mitchell said again. “What do you think?”

But Grace said, “I don't know.” She shrugged like she didn't care.

Now some of the other students giggled too. Ms. Mitchell said, “Class…” in a warning tone.

Kat frowned. Grace must be embarrassed.

But when she looked over at Grace, she couldn't believe it. Grace had that mean look on her face! She didn't look one bit embarrassed. She just looked nasty.

Kat didn't know what to think.

Then suddenly, she remembered what had happened yesterday in the park. Grace had asked if she could pet Riley. When Kat didn't answer, Grace got that mean look. Then she started to cry.

Suddenly Kat understood. The mean look meant Grace was sad and upset. It meant she was trying to stop herself from crying.

That's what she had done yesterday. And that's what she was doing now. She just looked angry and mean, because she didn't want to cry. Maybe she was a nice person, after all. Maybe she was just unhappy about being at a new school.

Kat had planned to apologize to Grace or to tell her a joke. But now she knew she had to do more than that. Even if it made Maya upset.

At the end of the afternoon, Kat turned to Grace. She was about to speak, but the bell rang. Grace jumped up, grabbed her backpack, and hurried out of the classroom. She must have been waiting to make her escape.

I have to catch her!
Kat thought.
I have to talk to her now!

She ran after Grace. But, to Kat's surprise, Maya was right outside the door, waiting for her.

“Kat, I want to tell you something,” Maya blurted out. She looked embarrassed. “I wasn't really sick at lunch. I was just angry. You're my best friend, and I like looking after the puppies with you. And I like doing it alone, with just you.”

Kat tried to interrupt, but Maya kept going. She looked sad. “But I was thinking at lunch that you're my best friend because you're so nice. You're kind and thoughtful. And if you think Grace needs a friend—” She stopped. “I mean, if you think she needs
two
friends, then that's okay with me.”

A big smile spread across Kat's face. “Maya, you're the best. I mean it!” She threw her arms around her friend and hugged her. “I
do
think Grace needs two new friends. I've got to catch up with her and tell her that,” Kat said. “Even though I'm nervous!”

“Kat-Nip, I've got your back!” Maya grinned. “That's what friends are for.”

The girls spotted Grace right away. She was standing near the fence. She kept glancing at the road, as if she were waiting for someone. Her face looked hard as stone.

Kat stopped in front of the new girl and took a deep breath. “Grace, can we talk to you?”

“About what?” Grace replied. She tossed her head, flipping her braids onto her back. “You didn't seem to want to talk to me in the park yesterday.”

Kat turned red. “I know,” she said. “I want to say I'm sorry.”

Grace didn't say anything. She just pulled on the end of her braid.

Kat continued, “Grace, this my friend Maya. She's in the other fourth-grade class.”

“Hi,” said Maya, smiling at Grace.

Grace looked at Maya, but didn't say anything. She didn't even smile.

Kat took a deep breath and plunged ahead. “Grace, I just want to say that I know you copied my poem, and it made me angry. But I'm sorry I didn't let you pet Riley yesterday.”

“What? I didn't copy your poem,” Grace blurted out. Now she looked directly at Kat. She folded her arms. “I can write my own poem. I don't need to copy yours.”

Kat considered. She had seen Grace looking at her poem, but she hadn't actually seen what Grace had written. “No? Okay,” she said with a shrug. “My mistake.”

“And you're the one to talk anyway, sending me that rotten note.” Grace glared at Kat. Her brown eyes flashed.

“Hey, I didn't write that note,” Kat said, her hands on her hips. “I don't know who wrote it, but it wasn't me.”

For a moment there was silence. The girls looked at each other.

“Okay. I believe you,” said Grace.

Kat nodded. “And another thing. I wanted to say sorry for what I said at recess on your first day. Maya and I were talking by the big tree, and we didn't know you were there—”

“That's okay,” Grace said quickly. “I didn't hear anything.” But her face had turned red. She was pretending she hadn't heard.

Then Grace hoisted her backpack higher on her back. She looked down the street again. It seemed like she was about to walk away.

“Wait, Grace,” said Kat. “I want to tell you about Riley. The puppy you saw me with in the park. The one that you wanted to pet.”

Grace stopped. “She's sweet,” she said.

“She's so sweet,” Kat agreed.

“Totally,” Maya added.

Grace didn't speak for a moment. Then she said, “You're so lucky to have a dog. I used to have one. Bella. But she died a few months ago.”

“Oh, that's terrible,” Kat gasped.

“Mom says it's for the best. Bella was a farm dog. We had to move here, to town. Bella wouldn't have liked it,” Grace said. “Mom said maybe it was better we didn't have to put her through that big change.” She swallowed hard.

“Maybe,” Kat agreed. “But still. You must miss her so much.”

Grace nodded. “I do.” Then her face went hard. Her eyes sort of bunched up.

Grace looked angry, but Kat knew she was trying not to show her real feelings.

She was trying not to cry.

“Riley isn't my puppy,” Kat explained. “Or Maya's. Neither of us has our own dog. But my aunt just opened a dog-grooming salon. She's really busy, so she asked Maya and me to help out. We get to exercise any dogs she boards. This week, it's Riley. Her owners can't keep her because their daughter's allergic.”

“You are so lucky,” Grace said again softly.

Kat looked at Maya. Should she do it?

She didn't have to.

Just because Ms. Mitchell put Grace in the seat next to hers. Just because Grace was new and unhappy. Just because she had lost her dog. None of those things meant she had to do this.

But Maya was nodding. She even gave Kat a nudge with her elbow.

“Actually, we wanted to ask you something,” Maya said.

Grace stared down at the sidewalk. Again she pulled on the end of one of her braids.

Kat started talking. “Grace, I know I haven't been very nice to you. You probably don't like me very much. I don't blame you. But would you like to come with us to play with Riley? We're on our way to see her now. It would be lots of fun.”

Grace frowned. “Really? You want me to come with you?”

“Yes.” Kat nodded.

“Yes,” said Maya.

Grace was quiet for a moment. Slowly her frown disappeared. Her face brightened. “Well, I can't come today. My mom is picking me up and taking me to get my hair cut.” She bit her lip. “But maybe I can come tomorrow. I'll ask.”

“Well, I hope she says yes,” said Kat. “Because, well, you know, when someone's new and you don't know her… Sometimes you may think you know right away what someone is like—just by the way she looks or acts—but actually you might be wrong.”

Grace looked confused. Kat glanced at Maya for help. “What Kat means,” said Maya quickly, “is that we want to be your friends.”

“Oh,” Grace said. And then she smiled. Her whole face lit up.

“But, listen, there's one thing I need to warn you about, new girl,” said Maya. She had on her sassy grin. Her eyes twinkled. “It's Kat. She thinks she's a comedian. She can't stop telling really terrible jokes that she thinks are hilarious.”

Grace grinned. “Uh-oh,” she said, going along with Maya.

“Yeah, uh-oh is right,” said Maya, nodding.

“Hey, they aren't all so bad!” complained Kat, also grinning.

“Okay, Kat-Nip, prove me wrong. Tell one,” challenged Maya.

“Yeah. Go for it,” said Grace.

Kat thought for a minute. “How is a puppy like a penny?” she asked.

“I don't know,” said Grace.

Maya shrugged. “Me neither.”

“Each has a head and a tail!” Kat shouted. “Get it? A head and a tail?”

“Oh, that is such a bad joke,” said Grace, but she was laughing.

“So bad.” Maya was shaking her head and clutching her stomach as if she was in pain.

“I know. So bad,” agreed Kat, smiling happily.