Read Online Bobby the Brave (Sometimes) by Lisa Yee - Free Book Online Page B

enough.” Now panic was starting to take over. Isn’t it already soon enough? Bobby thought.
    â€œDad, you promised it would be ready for the show, and we have to leave in twenty minutes.”
    â€œThe musical is tonight?” Mr. Ellis-Chan asked.
    Bobby felt his stomach flip. But when his father broke into a grin, so did he. “Wait right here, son.”
    Soon Mr. Ellis-Chan reappeared, holding a light brownish pile of fake fur. “Here it is!” he declared.
    Bobby just stared.
    â€œCome on, try it on,” his father said, holding it out to him.

    Reluctantly, Bobby got into his Sandy costume. It was too tight in some places and too loose in others. He hoped it didn’t look as bad as it felt.
    â€œWell, it certainly is unique,” Mrs. Ellis-Chan said. “You make a very memorable Sandy.”
    Casey was much less diplomatic. When she saw her brother, she started screaming, “It’s a monster. A monster! A monster ate Bobby!!!”
    â€œYou don’t have to wear it,” Mr. Ellis-Chan said. His massive shoulders slumped. “Maybe you can wear those pajamas you have with dogs all over them.”
    It broke Bobby’s heart to see his father looking so dejected. “No, I want to wear it,” he insisted. “I’m sure it doesn’t look that bad. Ah-choo! Let me just look at myself.”
    Bobby tripped over his tail twice while shuffling to the mirror. He suppressed the urge to scream. Casey was right. It looked like a monster had eaten him, and all that was left was part of his head sticking out. But Bobby had made a promise to his father and was determined to keep it — even if it was starting to make him itch.
    Â 
    Backstage at the Rancho Rosetta Elementary School auditorium, everyone was talking excitedly in hushed tones. When Bobby appeared, it was suddenly silent.
    â€œI think you’re in the wrong place, Bobby,” Jillian Zarr finally said. “The Bigfoot musical is next door.”
    â€œWow, you look … furry,” Holly said, trying to cheer Bobby up.
    â€œYou look like Sandy after he’s been in a fight with a mountain lion,” St. James cried out. “Cool!”
    Bobby tapped Chess on the shoulder. “Yikes!” Chess exclaimed when he turned around.
    â€œDo you have it?” Bobby asked.
    Chess nodded and handed over one of Wilbur’s doggy biscuits. Bobby plopped the whole thing in his mouth. If he was going to be the best Sandy ever, he needed to act and think and eat like a dog.
    Mrs. Carlson rushed up, and then skidded to a stop when she saw Bobby. “Oh!” was all she said. She recovered enough to add, “All right then, everyone, gather around.” Bobby sneezed. “Bless you, Sandy. Now, we have a full house, so before we start, I just want to tell everyone, ‘Break a leg!’ You’re all going to be great! Okay, places everyone!”
    Annie and the orphans and others got into place. The music began, and then, just like in rehearsal, the curtains parted. Only this time there was a real audience of moms and dads, brothers and sisters, grandparents, neighbors, and all of Chess’s relatives staring back at the kids onstage. There were bursts of light in the audience as camera flashes went off.
    Backstage, Bobby tried not to sneeze. He wasn’t going on for the first few numbers. When the sneezing got worse, the girls glared at him like he was doing it on purpose. Then Bobby started getting itchy — really itchy, but it was hard to scratch himself since he had thick paws. How did dogs manage? he wondered. Wilbur was always scratching himself, and in weird places too.
    By the time it was Bobby’s turn to go onstage, his eyes were watering and he could barely see. His nose was running and his sneezing was nonstop. When he tried his best to romp, things got worse. It was hard to move in his costume without ripping it, and he could barely bark.
    Then Bobby