Read Online Guinea Dog by Patrick Jennings - Free Book Online Page A

I said, though I could feel Fido scrambling around inside it.
    “Then why do you have it with you? Why carry an empty backpack around? That doesn’t make any sense, dude. And you’re supposed to be smart.”
    “I am? Who says?”
    Mars woofed a deep, angry woof, and I felt a hot blast on the back of my arms and neck and head. I almost wet myself. I’m glad I didn’t. No one likes that.
    Fido barked back, giving herself away, making me a liar. She sounded like a squeak toy, but that wasn’t her fault.
    “You got that hamster thing in there, don’t you?” Dmitri said. He was smiling big now. “The one that chased you at recess. Open the bag, dude. Open it. Mars wants to meet your little friend.”
    I wasn’t about to let Dmitri or Mars meet Fido. I wasn’t going to let anyone meet her. It was accidental that she got loose at school, and a mistake that Lurena met her at my house. I needed to prevent anyone else from seeing us together. Especially Dmitri. I would not open my backpack, and that was final. It was my property. Dmitri couldn’t just take it and open it without my permission. That was theft and he would have to go to prison, and the law would probably have to put his dangerous dog down. I started to hope he’d try.
    And that’s when I saw Buddy sprinting across the lawn toward me, black and strong and fast and perfect. Buddy!
    “Buddy!” I said. What a dog!
    Mars stopped barking and snarling and looked.
    Murphy was behind him, waving. “’Sup, dudes!”
    Dmitri forgot all about me and Fido and tore off toward Murph.
    Mars gave a couple of last sniffs at my bag, then ran after his master. He obviously didn’t want to go. He and Buddy did the dog-greeting thing: circling, growling, sniffing, challenging, nipping. Then they relaxed and started play-fighting and racing around with their tongues hanging out and tumbling when they caught each other. I love dogs. If I didn’t, I definitely would have done the smart thing and gotten away while I had the chance. Instead, though, I stood there hypnotized long enough for Dmitri to tell Murph about my new pet and to drag him over.
    “You keeping secrets from me, Roof?” Murph asked with a grin.
    “Nope,” I said, glaring at Dmitri.
    “Glad to hear it. Wanna play some Frisbee?” He held up a big red one.
    I smiled. “Sure!” I sneered at Dmitri.
    “What about me?” Dmitri said. “Can I get in on this?”
    “Why not?” Murph said. “The more the merrier!”
    No one was playing baseball, so we spread out across the grass of the baseball field. I set my backpack down near me. Murphy wound up and threw me an easy, high-flying toss. I caught it, turned, and threw the Frisbee to Dmitri. It sliced a little, and wobbled, and Dmitri had to run a bit to get to it. When he got to it, he bobbled it, then dropped it.
    He growled bad words as he picked it up, then turned and hurled it to Murphy. The Frisbee went completely vertical, shot straight up in the air, came straight down, hit the ground ten feet away from Dmitri, rolled a foot, then fell over dead. It was an awful throw. Embarrassing. I knew Dmitri would blame me for it.
    “Roof totally threw me off my game, man!” he yelled.
    See?
    Murph laughed.
    “I’m telling you, Murph, he’s got that hamster thing in his backpack right now! Check it out! It’s, like, his pet!”
    “Heads up, Roof!” Murph called, and sent me a perfect flying saucer. It hung in the air over my head a second or two, hovering, then practically lowered itself into my hands, like it had a pilot.
    “Sweet!” I said.
    “What an insult!” Dmitri said. “That was totally awesome, Murph! Maybe the awesomest toss I’ve ever seen!”
    Kiss-up.
    “Why, it twarn’t nuthin’, pards,” Murph said, twanging like a cowboy and kicking at a pretend stone.
    I threw to Dmitri again, a little more carefully this time. It flew flatter and was right on the money. But he still muffed the catch.
    He glanced at Murph, who was waving at a