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legs with his tail. I petted him, gave him a dog biscuit, and then snapped the leash on and took him outside. I stayed in the trees nearby, nervous that if I set off down the sidewalk with Ra someone I know would see us. Eventually, I knew he would need more strenuous exercise, but for tonight we walked around close to the fort while he sniffed and marked the territory as his own.
    After I took him back inside the fort, I sat beside him and petted him awhile. I burrowed my face into the fur on his neck and inhaled the doggy smell. I laid my cheek against him. “You’ll sleep here tonight, Ra,” I told him. “I’ll be back to take you out tomorrow morning.”
    I wished I could bring my sleeping bag to the fort and sleep with him. Better yet, I wished he could come inside with me and sleep on my bed.
    I set my alarm to go off half an hour earlier than usual, but I’m a zombie in the mornings. I staggered around, staring at my clothes as if unsure what I was supposed to do with them. I ended up having only ten minutes with Ra—barely long enough to take him outside. I put some kibble in his bowl and promised to be back as soon as I got home from school.
    â€œDon’t bark while I’m gone,” I warned him. “You have to be quiet so nobody discovers that you’re here.”

CHAPTER SEVEN
    A deadline for bringing their donations had spurred the other classes into action. That day as we emptied the bins and counted the contents, someone called the pile of blankets and towels “Donation Mountain,” and the name stuck.
    My class’s creative project group had made dog and cat place mats. They drew animal pictures on 8 x 14 paper, and then Mrs. Webster had laminated the drawings. They were perfect for putting under pet food and water bowls. The kids in that group decided to charge three dollars each, and if I’d had three dollars I would have bought one to put under Ra’s bowls.
    Many teachers purchased place mats as soon as they saw them. The group had set up a card table at the high school basketball game and had sold out of the place mats in less than twenty minutes. They had earned one hundred fifty dollars to give to the Humane Society! The class got so excited over being able to donate toward the rescued dogs’ veterinary care that we asked the group planning a bake sale if all of us could participate.
    The afternoon before the bake sale, Andrew and I walked Ra after school but instead of playing with him after his walk, we put him back in the fort while we went to Andrew’s house to bake cookies. We made a double batch of peanut butter cookies and a double batch of chocolate chip cookies. Then we stirred up some Rice Krispies Treats.
    Wendy the Whiner hung around, but we told her she could only watch.
    â€œI want to stir the dough,” Wendy whined. “I want to scoop it onto the cookie sheets.”
    We said it was a school requirement that nobody except kids in Mrs. Webster’s class could help bake for the bake sale.
    â€œYou and I can bake cookies tomorrow,” Andrew’s mom said. “Today the boys are going to do it.”
    â€œThat isn’t fair. Andrew always gets to do everything first. He gets to go bowling.”
    Andrew rolled his eyes. “I take you along, don’t I?” he said. “Rusty and I let you come with us every Saturday afternoon.”
    â€œBut I don’t get to throw the ball.”
    â€œThat’s because it’s too heavy for you,” Mrs. Pinella said. “And the special shoes that the bowling alley requires are too big for your feet. You’re lucky the boys let you go along to watch, so stop complaining.”
    While the cookies cooled, we went back to the fort. Ra got so excited to see us that he spun in circles. We took him outside and threw his tennis ball for him. Then we gave him a rawhide chew bone to keep him occupied while we went back to Andrew’s house to pack