out why Reggae had misbehaved when he’d been training her with Yvonne. Which really amounted to finding out what Josh had done wrong, as all the training books at the library agreed if your dog had a problem, it was your fault.
He finally decided that he’d come back to school early and look for a solution on the web. He often spent the last ten minutes of his lunch break at a library computer. He’d discovered the internet was a wonderful source of information about training Border collies. There were websites, videos on YouTube and special forums devoted to showing, explaining and even arguing about the best way to teach a working dog.
And Yvonne usually showed up before the end of the lunch break so they could walk to their next classes together. Sometimes, she’d even bring a sandwich.
He googled ‘dogs circling sheep’ and then clicked on a video on the Border Collie Boards forum.
A harsh voice interrupted his concentration. Josh looked up. It was Kearney and his troll-like sidekick, Angus. Kearney looked at him as if he were a dog that had done a very clever trick. ‘You can work a computer?’ Then he noticed what Josh was watching. ‘Getting a dog are you?’
‘My uncle promised he’d get me one if we had a good year,’ Josh lied.
‘That old miser?’ said Kearney, laughing. The librarian gave him a sharp look and he lowered his voice. ‘You’ll be waiting a long time, City Boy.’
‘City Boy,’ Angus repeated, chuckling. Angus thought pretty much everything Kearney did was clever. Even a remark that had been old five years earlier.
‘I’ve got a dog,’ Kearney bragged. ‘A working dog.’
Josh was interested in spite of his dislike for Kearney. ‘Really? What kind?’
‘It’s a Border. It’s black with a round white circle around his left eye. My dad gave him to me. I’m training him up.’
‘I bet that’s difficult,’ Josh sympathised.
‘Are you joking?’ Kearney said. ‘It’s easy peasy. He’ll beat your imaginary dog any day.’
On cue, Angus repeated Kearney’s joke. ‘Imaginary dog. Good one, Kearney.’
Josh found it difficult to imagine Kearney having the patience to train a dog. Especially him finding it ‘easy peasy’.
‘I’d like to see him sometime,’ he said.
Kearney rolled his eyes, as if Josh had suggested something far too ridiculous to consider. He and Angus left the library. Josh went back to his video, determined that Reggae would be ten times better than any dog Kearney owned and trained.
Josh heard the library door open and automatically checked to see if it was Yvonne. No. Disappointed, he turned back to the computer.
* * *
Josh’s next class was citizenship. It was boring, but at least the teacher didn’t call on him very often. She only paid attention to the smart kids who asked and answered questions. As he rushed through the hall, he caught sight of Yvonne’s stringy brown hair. There she is, he thought, pleased to see her. He was just about to shout out her name when he realised she wasn’t on her own. Eric, a tall blond boy who always had his hand up in class, was with her.
They were deep in conversation. Josh felt a bit like he’d stepped into a rabbit hole on the commons – his whole body seemed to be suspended in mid-air before gravity took hold of him.
That
was why she hadn’t come to see him in the library. She was in the middle of a brilliant conversation with Eric, probably talking about something he couldn’t understand. Instantly, Josh reversed direction. He took the other stairs up to the classroom.His stomach still seemed to be floating, as if the hole he’d stepped into was a lot deeper than he’d expected.
Josh sat staring at the page in his textbook. His mind went back to Yvonne. So she’d found something better to do during lunch. It didn’t necessarily
mean
anything.
Then he pictured how absorbed she was in the conversation with Eric. He felt a sharp pang of feeling. Something he hadn’t
He finally decided that he’d come back to school early and look for a solution on the web. He often spent the last ten minutes of his lunch break at a library computer. He’d discovered the internet was a wonderful source of information about training Border collies. There were websites, videos on YouTube and special forums devoted to showing, explaining and even arguing about the best way to teach a working dog.
And Yvonne usually showed up before the end of the lunch break so they could walk to their next classes together. Sometimes, she’d even bring a sandwich.
He googled ‘dogs circling sheep’ and then clicked on a video on the Border Collie Boards forum.
A harsh voice interrupted his concentration. Josh looked up. It was Kearney and his troll-like sidekick, Angus. Kearney looked at him as if he were a dog that had done a very clever trick. ‘You can work a computer?’ Then he noticed what Josh was watching. ‘Getting a dog are you?’
‘My uncle promised he’d get me one if we had a good year,’ Josh lied.
‘That old miser?’ said Kearney, laughing. The librarian gave him a sharp look and he lowered his voice. ‘You’ll be waiting a long time, City Boy.’
‘City Boy,’ Angus repeated, chuckling. Angus thought pretty much everything Kearney did was clever. Even a remark that had been old five years earlier.
‘I’ve got a dog,’ Kearney bragged. ‘A working dog.’
Josh was interested in spite of his dislike for Kearney. ‘Really? What kind?’
‘It’s a Border. It’s black with a round white circle around his left eye. My dad gave him to me. I’m training him up.’
‘I bet that’s difficult,’ Josh sympathised.
‘Are you joking?’ Kearney said. ‘It’s easy peasy. He’ll beat your imaginary dog any day.’
On cue, Angus repeated Kearney’s joke. ‘Imaginary dog. Good one, Kearney.’
Josh found it difficult to imagine Kearney having the patience to train a dog. Especially him finding it ‘easy peasy’.
‘I’d like to see him sometime,’ he said.
Kearney rolled his eyes, as if Josh had suggested something far too ridiculous to consider. He and Angus left the library. Josh went back to his video, determined that Reggae would be ten times better than any dog Kearney owned and trained.
Josh heard the library door open and automatically checked to see if it was Yvonne. No. Disappointed, he turned back to the computer.
* * *
Josh’s next class was citizenship. It was boring, but at least the teacher didn’t call on him very often. She only paid attention to the smart kids who asked and answered questions. As he rushed through the hall, he caught sight of Yvonne’s stringy brown hair. There she is, he thought, pleased to see her. He was just about to shout out her name when he realised she wasn’t on her own. Eric, a tall blond boy who always had his hand up in class, was with her.
They were deep in conversation. Josh felt a bit like he’d stepped into a rabbit hole on the commons – his whole body seemed to be suspended in mid-air before gravity took hold of him.
That
was why she hadn’t come to see him in the library. She was in the middle of a brilliant conversation with Eric, probably talking about something he couldn’t understand. Instantly, Josh reversed direction. He took the other stairs up to the classroom.His stomach still seemed to be floating, as if the hole he’d stepped into was a lot deeper than he’d expected.
Josh sat staring at the page in his textbook. His mind went back to Yvonne. So she’d found something better to do during lunch. It didn’t necessarily
mean
anything.
Then he pictured how absorbed she was in the conversation with Eric. He felt a sharp pang of feeling. Something he hadn’t
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