by Blake Morgan
“What now?” Noah asked, looking around. I could sense he wanted to stretch his legs, just like me. Lily must have noticed too, because she began to swing an arm through the air and pretended to throw an invisible ball. It’s a good job I realized she was only pretending or I would have been chasing after that ball, through all those legs in their school socks!
“How do you like playing rounders?” she asked.
Noah’s eyes widened. “No way! That’s my favourite sport after baseball!”
I’m telling you, it’s like these kids were born to be best friends!
“Come on, then. There’s a bunch of us who play most lunchtimes when the weather’s good. It’s our chance to get in some practice for the school team, but anyone can join in at lunchtime.” She grabbed Noah’s hand and the two of them broke into a run, past a sign that pointed towards a big green field at the back of the school. I think it said: Playing fields – that’s what Noah read out, anyway.
At the edge of the playing field was a wooden shed and Lily dived inside, coming back out a moment later carrying a wooden bat. She tossed a ball to Noah and he caught it neatly in one hand, his other hand still holding my lead.
“Good catch!” Lily said, her voice sounding impressed. I could smell the excitement coming off the two of them.
We ran over to the edge of a square marked out in white dust and Noah kneeled beside me. I was pacing back and forth, impatient for the game to begin.
As the team ran out on to the pitch, giving each other high fives, Noah whispered in my ear. “We’re going to have a game of rounders, Buddy. Promise you won’t chase the ball?” I put on my best puppy-dog eyes and gazed into his face. You’re kidding me, right? I’m a dog. I live to chase balls!
But I could see from the look on his face that he meant it. He led me over to a wooden bench and gave me a command. “Sit!” I plonked my bottom down straight away, because I’m good like that. I gave him another hopeful look and I saw a flash of guilt pass over his face. Noah came to sit beside me and rested his hand in my fur.
“Look, I know you want to play with us, but this is a game for Humans. The thing is…” His words ran out and I noticed that he was staring hard at the ground in the way Humans do when they’re trying not to get upset. Honestly, I don’t know why they don’t just let themselves yelp and whine – it would make them feel so much better.
“When we lived in our last house,” Noah went on, “the anaemia was really bad. I couldn’t do much at all. But then I got the new medication and we moved here and – we got you.” He rubbed his face into my fur before pulling back to gaze into my eyes. “And now, for the first time, I can actually start playing sport again. It’s a big deal that Lily has invited me to join in. It means she doesn’t see me as someone who’s ill – she sees me as a friend! You understand, don’t you?”
When he put it like that, of course I understood. I shook out my flanks and settled down on the grass, enjoying its velvety touch beneath my tummy. You go ahead. I’ll just lie here and watch. And honestly, as he walked off on to the field, calling out to the others, I found I didn’t mind at all.
Noah broke into a run, his limbs moving fluidly, and I realized I was watching a boy do what he was born to do. He ran almost as well as a dog!
“I’ll bat after you!” I heard him say to one of the other players. Confident! I knew that I was about to watch something really special. I crossed my paws over each other and rested my chin on top of them. Knock it out of the park, Noah! I thought.
The first to bat was a girl about Noah’s age. Her arms looked strong and her eyes glinted in the sunshine as she swung the bat round and – thwack! – she sent the ball soaring across the blue sky.
“Good hit, Emily!” Noah called, punching the air just like he’d done the first time I met him. The girl ran her heart out, racing from one post to another. It was a fantastic start to the game! I could see how thrilled Noah looked and how he couldn’t wait to bat himself.
“Go on, Noah!” called Lily from her place on the pitch. “Show us what you’re made of!” Oh, he’d show them all right, I knew that for sure.
He took up the wooden bat and circled it through the air as though he was testing its weight. Then he went to stand on a corner of the pitch, which was a big white square that the caretaker had marked out on the grass. Lily was rubbing the ball on her jeans to polish the leather. Even from this distance, I could see her eyes narrowed in concentration. I found I was holding my breath as I watched.
One, two, three… She started to pull the ball back behind her. Then she released it and it soared through the air, arcing past the sun. It was like watching a bird, except without the wings! The ball flew through the blue sky towards Noah.
I’d never watched this game before, but deep inside me, I knew what Noah had to do. Humans didn’t like to chase sticks – they liked to hit balls with them! Come on, come on, I thought. My whole body was trembling with anticipation. You can do it! Noah drew the stick round in a smooth curve and – thwack! – he hit the ball over towards the far corner of the field. The ball soared past the figure of a boy in the far distance and he reached to catch it, but missed. As he ran after the ball, I could hear his angry shouts drifting back over the field. Whoops! I thought. He’s not happy.
But I was! I couldn’t help it – I leaped to all four paws and let out a barrage of celebration barks as Noah dropped the bat and began to run from post to post. As he ran past me he waved and I bounced about on the spot, excited for him. My boy was playing brilliantly!
The boy at the edge of the field finally threw the ball back towards the pitch. Other kids ran towards it but they looked like Chihuahuas chasing a squirrel – they were never going to catch that thing! Noah ran all the way round the pitch and punched the air. He’d done it! He’d scored a rounder!
Lily walked across the grass to shake him by the hand and I bounded over too. “Not bad for a first go,” she said, smiling brightly. “You can really play!”
The tips of Noah’s ears turned pink and I could see he was pleased. He didn’t look like he was going to faint and I couldn’t smell any bad scents, only happy ones.
They carried on playing until there was the sudden sound of a bell ringing.
“That’s it,” said Lily, glancing over towards the school buildings. “Lunchtime’s over.”
The players gathered to stack up the balls and bats carefully inside the shed. I walked beside Noah as we made our way back to the classroom. Apparently, they were going to study something called geography.
Lily slapped Noah on the back. “That was a good game! You should come to our afterschool sessions.”
Noah’s face flushed pink. “Do you think—”
“Hey, you two!” a voice rang out and my heart sank. It sounded like that boy who didn’t like me. Sure enough, Jake came running up beside us.
He tapped Noah on the shoulder. “I was playing in deep field,” he said, “and I was watching you. Are you sure you touched all the posts? You can’t sneak inside them when you’re running, you know.”
Ah, I thought. So that’s who I saw at the edge of the field.
Noah’s smile faded. “Of course.” I nudged the tip of my nose into his palm, trying to comfort him. Noah would never break the rules!
“Jake, stop being a sore loser,” Lily told him. She leaned over to us, pretending to whisper. “Jake likes to be the best at everything.”
“No, I don’t!” Jake folded his arms.
Lily laughed. “He also likes to have the last word on everything.”
“No, I—” Jake managed to stop himself just in time, and I noticed Noah biting his lip, trying not to laugh. Jake looked from Lily to Noah and back again, then he stopped walking and held out his hand to Noah. “All right, well done.”
Noah hesitated and I wondered if he’d take Jake’s hand. They hadn’t got off to the best start. But then Noah slowed down and held out his own hand and they pumped up and down.
“Than
k you,” Noah said. My ribcage swelled with pride. Not only was Noah brilliant at rounders, he was also great at making friends.
“Come on,” Lily said, linking arms with both of them. “I’ve told Noah to come to our practice sessions. Don’t you think that’s a good idea, Jake?”
I heard Jake make a sound somewhere between a grunt and a squeak. I think it meant yes. Noah looked back at me and winked.
Our first day at school was going great!
After the last lesson of the day, Noah texted his mum to let her know about the after-school rounders session. She agreed he could play if she was allowed to come and watch.
Now, I sat on the bench with her. Noah ran over to check in with us before he started to play. His mum laid her hands on his shoulders.
“Now, remember what we agreed,” she said. “If you start to feel tired, I want you to take it easy and come off the pitch. OK?”
Noah rolled his eyes. “OK,” he said, then ran out to join Lily and the others.
His mum and I watched carefully. I knew Noah wasn’t the only person who’d phoned her that afternoon. The school had let her know that Noah had nearly fainted that morning. I’d also overheard Noah’s mum and dad talking the night before as I’d dozed in my basket by the stairs.
“We shouldn’t stop him from doing things,” Noah’s mum had said, as I cocked an ear. “The doctor said he can start to join in with the other children. And he has Buddy now.”
“Agreed,” Noah’s dad had said. “We want him to have a normal life.”
And now, here we were, watching Noah have a normal life. After all, he’d managed to get through a whole school day. Why should we stop him now?
I settled beside his mum, resting my weight against her leg. Together, the two of us watched.
Noah hit three balls in total and ran three whole times round the pitch. I’m not kidding, the boy was a natural. At the end of the game, the PE teacher went over to say something to Noah and then he ran over to us, dragging Lily behind him. Both of their faces were shining bright.
“Don’t tell me,” his mum said. “You’re on the team!”
Lily and Noah jumped around in a circle, clutching each other’s arms. “Yes!” Noah cried. “I didn’t even realize they needed a new teammate!”
Lily grinned. “I didn’t tell you that bit!” she said excitedly.
Even Jake was smiling, as he came over to join us, walking beside the teacher.
“That’s a talented athlete you have there,” the teacher said to Noah’s mum.
She smiled, gazing at Noah. “I know,” his mum said.
I could hardly believe this was the same boy who’d nearly passed out that morning. Maybe his new medicine was working even more quickly than we’d thought.
As the sun dipped in the sky, the three of us walked home together with me trotting on my lead between them. I gave a long, juddering sigh as we turned on to our street. I hadn’t wanted to admit this before, not even to myself, but I’d been a bit nervous about my new life as Noah’s Detection Dog. As it turned out, our first day at school together had been close to perfect. Why had I been so worried?
“Hey, wait for me!” a voice called out, as Noah and I walked out of school one Friday afternoon. We’d been there over a month now and Noah knew the names of every kid in his class. They all knew my name too, and loved to fuss over me. Noah’s mum had banned me from eating treats at school, even if kids tried to sneak them to me. Apparently I was putting on too much weight!
Now, children swarmed across the pavement, yanking off their school ties in the summer sun and diving into the newsagent’s for magazines and drinks. The whole weekend stretched out ahead of us, and beyond that, the whole of the summer!
Noah turned round as Lily caught up with us. She and Noah had become the best of friends since that first game of rounders. She held out a golden envelope, which glinted in the sun.
“What is it?” Noah asked, turning it over in his hand. I wagged my tail as I watched him open the flap and ease out a card. On the front was a picture of party balloons.
“An invitation?” Noah said in surprise. He read a bit more. “To the seaside!” My tail wagged harder than ever. Has anyone ever told you that Labradors love water? Because we do!
“It’s my birthday next Sunday,” Lily said. “We’re doing a beach trip. I’d love you to come.” She glanced down at me. “And Buddy, of course.”
For some reason, Noah started laughing. “Do you know how smelly Buddy gets when his fur is wet?” I stared up at him, my jaw hanging open. Are you kidding? Wet Labrador scents are like the best combination of soggy carpet, snails and mud. What’s wrong with that?
The three of us began walking again and Lily filled us in on everything she had planned. “Mum’s hired a minivan to take us to Golden Beach – do you know it?”
“Golden Beach,” Noah repeated. “Is that the one with the caves?” We’d been there a couple of weekends ago with his parents. It had been the most brilliant day, as one of the other holidaymakers had dropped some takeaway food in the street and I’d wolfed it straight up before anyone could stop me. Result! But I did remember those caves – I hadn’t liked the look of them. They looked like ragged open mouths, ready to steal my next snack from me.
“That’s the one!” Lily said, interrupting my thoughts. We’d arrived at the top of her street and she waved as she turned towards her house.
“Wait!” Noah called after her. “What do you want as a present?”
“Surprise me!” she called back, before slamming her front door shut behind her.
Noah looked down at me. “What do you think she’d want, pal?”
Snails? But I had a feeling Lily didn’t like eating snails as much as me.
“Come on. I have an idea.” We ran the rest of the way home.
“Mum! Can I go to the beach with Lily next weekend?” Noah burst into the kitchen, where his mum and dad were making dinner. I sniffed the air, nostrils flaring. Spaghetti Bolognese! Immediately, my mouth began watering and I sidled up, watching her wooden spoon hopefully. A dog has to be alert at all times – you never know when a Human is going to drop food.
His mum heaped steaming piles of buttery spaghetti into bowls and my stomach grumbled so loudly even the Humans could hear. Noah filled a bowl with dry dog food and put it down for me. I started eating before the bowl had even made contact with the floor and half a second later, I was licking my chops clean.
“I’m not sure, Noah.” I could hear the little wobble in her voice as she glanced at his dad. “You’ve had to deal with so many new things, recently. Wouldn’t it be better to stay home and rest?”
Come on, I thought. If Noah can play rounders, he can definitely go to the beach. And you said you didn’t want him to miss out.
Noah and I watched as his mum and dad continued to exchange anxious looks.
“Please, Mum!” he said, scrambling on to a stool next to Lucy and picking up his cutlery. “It’s Lily’s birthday.” Noah did puppy-dog eyes even better than I did and his dad’s face broke into a grin.
“Well, then. How could we possibly say no?”
The night before Lily’s birthday, Noah sat on his bedroom floor surrounded by piles of wrapping paper. He held a brand-new rounders ball in the palm of his hand.
“Have you ever tried wrapping one of these, Buddy?” he asked. “It’s impossible!”
I glanced down at my paws. I don’t have thumbs, I thought. So, no, I have never wrapped a birthday present. Honestly, sometimes I think Noah forgets I’m a dog!
His mum poked her head around the door. “How’s it going?”
Noah let out a big sigh and dropped the ball on his bedside rug. “I can’t seem to do it.”
His mum came into the room and kneeled beside him. She was holding a box and tipped the ball inside it. Then she took a fresh sheet of wrapping paper and placed the box in the centre of it. She cut the paper to size and folded a corner, and another corner, and another. With eac
h fold, she asked Noah to pass her a strip of Sellotape and after a few moments she held up the box, wrapped in brightly coloured paper with a bow on top. “Do you think she’ll like it?”
“She’ll love it,” Noah said firmly. Lily had told Noah all about her different hobbies. She seemed to do something different every evening after school. There was choir, and karate, coding club and craft night. Noah had joked that she only did hobbies that began with the letter ‘c’, then she’d reminded him how to spell karate, and they’d both fallen over laughing. But despite this, Noah still wanted to give her a present to do with rounders.
“Playing rounders is how we became friends,” he said softly. “It means a lot.”
It did mean a lot. Lily had become a good friend to Noah and they seemed to understand each other perfectly. She’d definitely like her present, I was sure.
“One, two, three…” Lily’s mum tapped the top of each child’s head as she counted them into the minivan, everyone scrambling to find a seat. Her hand paused in the air above my chocolate fur. “Ah, and you must be Buddy. Hello, boy.” She stroked me and then gave my bottom a gentle tap to encourage me into the van as Lily’s dad climbed in behind the steering wheel. I didn’t need asking twice and leaped up beside Noah.
There were three rows of seats in the back of the van, filled with a whole party of kids, who screeched with delight as they saw my big wet nose.
“Buddy!” cried Lily’s friend, Mattie. She reached over the back of the seat, her pigtails jiggling, to ruffle my fur. “Are you going to go for a swim today?”
Yes, please! I thought. How did Mattie know? Labradors love swimming, almost as much as we love sausages.
Beside Mattie was sat another friend I recognized – Ben, with the freckles smattered across his nose. He scratched the sweet spot behind my ear, making my leg kick in circles. Everyone in the van laughed.
