âYou never know. Or I can sell them.â
Jack was always short of money.
âItâs not nice to sell other peopleâs food,â I said.
âYou offered,â said Jack. âSo itâs mine now. Whatâs that?â He frowned at my drawing.
âBirds,â I said. âItâs homework. Havenât you had art class yet this week? The new art teacher is crazy about birds.â
âIf itâs homework, why are you using a pen? Ink doesnât erase.â
âThatâs the whole point. Weâre not supposed to think of stray marks as mistakes. Weâre supposed to think of them as opportunities.â
Jack pointed. âThat looks like a mistake to me.â
âGo away now, Jack.â
âYou make a lot of mistakes, Sly. Youâre making a mistake not to take my case.Taxi would love it.â
Friends
âOkay,â I said. âIâll take the bait. Why would Taxi love your case?â
âIâll show you,â said Jack. âCome.â
âWhere?â
âThe soccer field.â
Brian grabbed his green crayon and scribbled on his paper. âThis is a soccer field.â
I gathered Brianâs crayons and stuck them in his backpack. Then I rolled his picture up and put it in too. I handed Brian his backpack. âSee you later.â
Brian left.
Jack ran ahead of me on the sidewalk, dribbling his soccer ball.
I caught up with him at the corner. We crossed together. Jack ran ahead again. He passed his house and jumped and waved. I wasnât surprised that he jumped. Jack jumps a lot. But the wave was a puzzle.
âWho are you waving at?â I called.
âWish Fish,â called back Jack.
I squinted at Jackâs window. Yup, that was a fishbowl on the sill. And I could even make out Wish Fishâs scarlet body.
âHey, wait,â came a voice from behind.
I turned around.
Melody raced up with Pong on a leash. Melody is my best friend. Pong is her puppy.
âWant to walk with us?â asked Melody. âPong needs exercise.â She held up an empty plastic bag. âAnd you know what else he needs.â She giggled.
I like dogs. But I like cats better. And that plastic bag was one reason.
âIâm going to the soccer field with Jack,â I said.
âYou donât play soccer,â said Melody.
âIâm on a case,â I said. âOr maybe I am. I havenât decided yet.â
Jack came dribbling back. âHurry,â he said.
Pong jumped on the soccer ball.
âWell, I guess Pong decided,â said Melody. âWeâre coming too.â
Birds
âAll right,â I said. âWhatâs the problem?â
We stood at the edge of the school soccer field.
âBirds.â Jack pointed at a flock near the far goal.
âThose birds donât look like a problem to me,â I said.
Just then Pong noticed the birds. He yipped and jumped like a wild thing.
Melody let Pong off his leash. He ran straight through the birds. They flew off.
âHey,â said Jack. âPong solved my case.â
âWhat case?â I said.
âThose birds wonât leave the field. And the final game is this weekend. Itâs a big deal. If we win, weâll be the champions. But the birds are in the way.â
âAre you nuts?â I said. âBirds wonât stay on the field when teams are playing.â
âRight. But they stay when I practice alone. They wonât let me practice. And I need extra practice, so I can get my kick perfect. But itâs all solved now. Melody, lend me Pong after school every day this week.â
âOkay,â said Melody. âBut I have to come too.â
âThatâs fine,â said Jack. He grinned. âYou donât charge anything. Youâre better than Sly.â
Melody smiled.
Bad Mood
I left them on the field and walked toward home. This all should have been fine with me. After all,
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