by Ahmet Zappa
Next Penny showed her the outside kennel yards, where dogs chewed on bones or nosed balls. Some puppies were grouped together. They’re the cutest things ever, Tessa thought. They had paws that looked too big for their bodies and large soulful eyes.
Penny pointed out the dog run, a giant fenced-in area where dogs raced around, playing, while a volunteer sat at a nearby picnic table, overseeing them.
“The dogs come out here at least twice a day,” Penny went on. “But we also walk them, so hopefully they do their business outside.” She smiled at Tessa. “That should make it easier to clean the kennels. But you’ll find out about that later.”
Tessa frowned. What did do their business mean?
All in all, Tessa didn’t like the sound of it. What exactly would she be cleaning? Spilled food? Something else? But maybe she’d finish her mission before it came time for any tidying up. Discreetly, she checked her Countdown Clock. Already a few Wishworld hours had passed. And her Wisher still hadn’t appeared. Tessa’s Wish Pendant hadn’t so much as blinked, let alone glowed brightly to signal her Wisher was near.
“Now for the cats,” said Penny, opening a door marked CAT CONDOS. Inside, large comfy cages housed the creatures, some singly, some in groups. A few cats were playing in the middle of the room, in a large open area filled with toys.
One volunteer sat on the floor, playing with a baby cat—a kitten, Tessa realized. The kitten had gray and black stripes, a tiny pink nose, and ears that stood straight up at attention.
The volunteer motioned for Tessa to come closer, then scooped up the small creature for Tessa to hold. The kitten nestled against her chest and purred. Tessa’s heart flipped; she wanted to take the creature home with her right that starsec.
She imagined the kitten going to class with her, watching her bake, and then going to the farm on school breaks and playing with Jewel. Of course, it could never happen. But at that moment, Tessa wished for it.
“I like you,” a soft voice murmured. Tessa turned to Penny and said, “I like you, too.”
Penny smiled a little uncertainly, as if she didn’t know why Tessa had blurted that out. “That’s good,” she said, “since we’ll be working together.”
Reluctantly, Tessa put the kitten down so Penny could show her more: visiting rooms for prospective owners, examination rooms, grooming rooms, and a storage room filled with bags and bags of animal food. Last, Penny showed her the room that housed a few snakes—those slippery creatures without legs—and some hamsters, the animal Tessa had seen pictured on a wheel. One hamster’s expression reminded Tessa of a glowfur’s, so she asked, “How many songs does she know?”
Once again, Penny gave her a funny look. Then she said, “I don’t believe she knows any!”
There was also one adorable black creature with a white stripe down his back. Penny said most of the staff stayed away from him, and she added something about a bad odor, but Tessa wasn’t really listening. She was still straining to hear the hamster, just in case she started to sing.
“Okay, that’s the tour,” Penny announced, taking Tessa back to the dog room. “How long will you be staying today?”
Tessa almost said, Until I meet my Wisher and help grant her wish. But she stopped herself just in time. “As long as you need me.”
“Good. Mostly you’ll shadow a staff member or volunteer to learn how things work around here. But right now, I think Tiny needs a walk.” She pulled down a long strap from a peg. “This is Tiny’s leash. Just attach it to his collar.”
A leash? A collar? Starland creatures had neither of those. Tessa looked at Penny helplessly.
“I’ll show you,” Penny said, “because it can be tricky getting it on, and getting Tiny out safely. You don’t want him taking off.”
Taking off? Like a shooting star? Now Tessa was really confused. She pictured wings unfolding from under Tiny’s fur. “You mean Tiny can fly?”
Penny laughed. “He sure can. He runs so fast it is just like flying! But seriously, you need to be careful he doesn’t run away.”
Penny demonstrated how to lean over and snap on the leash before she opened the gate. Tessa immediately reached down to pet Tiny. She looked into his big brown eyes and felt a spark of recognition, a connection like they’d known each other for staryears.
“Hi,” said a voice.
Tessa looked around. It was a deep male voice, and only Penny was standing nearby.
“I said hello. Are you going to walk me? I love walks. I love to sniff the air. I love to chase squirrels.”
What? Was that Tiny talking? And what in the stars was a squirrel?
Tiny tilted his head, as if expecting answers, and it hit Tessa like a lightning bolt: she could understand his thoughts—the same way she had earlier with the kitten, she now realized. Penny hadn’t said she liked her! It had been the tiny adorable creature. That must be Tessa’s special talent—knowing animals’ thoughts!
She looked at the other dogs but couldn’t pick up any voices. Maybe she needed to feel a special closeness.
Meanwhile, Penny was still talking, unaware of what had just happened. “So stay away from busy sidewalks and the highway out back. But everywhere else is fine.”
Tessa didn’t want to ask what a highway was. She felt embarrassed enough, having blurted out that she liked Penny without the Wishling’s saying she liked Tessa first!
Anyway, a highway was probably a street of some sort, Tessa figured. But how high did it reach? She grew a little excited, imagining walking Tiny up among the stars, even though Penny had said to stay away from it.
Now Penny was holding out the leash. As soon as Tessa took it, Tiny raced out of the kennel, then straight out a side door, taking Tessa with him.
At least Tiny knows where he’s going, Tessa thought as she tried to keep her balance. He was pulling her along, barking happily, and Tessa heard him thinking, Good girl, you can do it. Just keep running! He was encouraging her, almost as if she was his pet!
Together, they ran through a small wooded area behind the shelter, then right by a busy road, where cars zipped along as fast as comets.
Highway, highway! Tiny thought. I love to chase cars!
Tessa struggled to keep him under control. “Slow down, Tiny!” she shouted. Really, they should call the road a fastway, not a highway. She hoped Tiny wouldn’t jump the guardrail on the side.
“Stop!” Tessa pleaded, and luckily, Tiny listened, settling down to stay by Tessa’s heels. Together they watched the cars for a bit—really rather unpleasant, Tessa thought. All that noise and smoky exhaust. How did Wishlings stand it? Of course, there weren’t any homes nearby, so maybe they didn’t like it, either!
After a while, Tiny led her back through the woods and into the shelter. Inside, a staff member showed Tessa how to fill water bowls and food dishes and how to clean out the kennels while the dogs were outside.
Cleaning wasn’t as bad as Tessa had feared. She put on protective gloves and used something called a pooper-scooper. But most everything had already been funneled down the sloping ground into a drain. All she really had to do was spray a soapy mixture all around the kennel and hose down the floor.
“Nice work,” said Penny, passing by.
Tessa felt as pleased as if she’d earned all Is.
That afternoon, Tessa helped a couple choose a puppy to take home and gave two dogs baths. That wasn’t fun at all. She almost suggested the dogs take sparkle showers instead. They were so resistant to getting into the big tub! Luckily, she remembered Wishlings didn’t even have sparkle showers.
Meanwhile, a constant stream of visitors came into and went out of the shelter. But so far her Wisher was nowhere to be seen.
After the doggy baths, Penny asked Tessa to take some photos. Tessa held the camera gingerly as she walked through the cats’ play area. How did it work, exactly? Starland’s glamera was a small egg-shaped device you could hold in your palm. But this was a big bulky object that you strapped around your neck like so
me kind of fashion accessory.
Play with me! the striped kitten squeaked to her. So Tessa convinced a volunteer to take photos of her and the kitten together.
Later Tessa organized the sales table in the lobby with Penny. She was thinking that things on Wishworld were similar to Starland yet so different at the same time, when a big drop of water fell—splat—on her head. She moved a few star inches to her left, and more drops plopped around her.
“What’s that?” she asked, wondering if somebody else had had the idea of showering the animals and this was some sort of a test run.
Penny sighed, reaching for buckets they kept under the front desk. “Remember it rained yesterday?”
The starday had been glowrious on Starland, but Tessa nodded.
“Whenever it rains, our roof starts leaking sometime the next day. The roof is so old it really needs to be replaced, or at least repaired. But we’re low on funds as it is. We have just enough money to cover basic care of our animals. So that’s on hold.” She smiled at Tessa. “Thank goodness we have volunteers to help. I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you worked all day. But we’re closing up shop now.”
Tessa could see the sunlight dimming outside. The whole Wishworld day had passed, and she hadn’t even caught a glimpse of her Wisher.
“Is it okay if I come back tomorrow?” she asked Penny.
“Of course. But we should really nail down your schedule for the rest of the summer.” Penny took out the volunteer book and looked at Tessa expectantly.
Oh, no, not again! Tessa looked into Penny’s eyes and said, “You do not need my schedule.”
Penny closed the book. “I do not need your schedule.” She shook her head. “And there’s that raisin cinnamon smell again. I think I’ll stop off at the bakery on my way home.”
That night, Tessa unfolded her star tent and pitched it in the dog run, careful to find a clean, clear spot. The tent popped up easily, complete with everything Tessa could want—including a portable micro-zap.
Tessa knew the tent was invisible to Wishling eyes. But she wondered briefly if animals could spot it. Either way, she needed to be up and out before anyone came to the shelter in the morning. Good thing the bells she’d heard chiming when she first arrived continued to ring every hour on the hour. That was one way to keep track of Wishworld time.
Tessa eyed her Countdown Clock uneasily. She probably had two to three Wishworld days left, with so much still to do! But it wouldn’t help to worry or let her mind wander back to problems on Starland.
Instead, she smoothed the deep plush rug that stretched across the floor. She plumped her luxurious pillows, chosen specially for the trip, and sank into her bed, between cool smooth sheets. There. It was almost like being home. She stretched, reaching for warmed-up tarts and sandwiches on the nightstand.
Now what? Tessa didn’t feel tired at all! So she fiddled around with her Star-Zap and found a Wishling video called Middle School Musical 2. It followed students throughout a day at school. Tessa made a note in her Cyber Journal especially for Leona: Sometimes Wishlings break out in song to express their feelings—even if glowfur-like creatures don’t!
Tessa must have been more tired than she realized. The next thing she knew, the bell sounded nine times. Starf! She’d better hurry. The shelter would open any starmin. As quickly as she could, she packed her things and rushed to the front entrance.
A Wishling girl was walking down the path just ahead. The girl had straight reddish hair, tied back in a short bobbing ponytail. If Tessa squinted, the red hair looked orange and she looked just like Gemma! Tessa felt a pang. But wait, she thought. Maybe the pang was really a tingle, a clue that her Wisher was nearby. She looked down at her brooch. Sure enough, Tessa’s Wish Pendant was glowing brightly. This girl was her Wisher!
“Hey!” Tessa said, running a bit to catch up.
The girl stopped, then grinned. “Hey, yourself! Are you a new volunteer with the summer program? I’ve been volunteering here all year, so if you want, I can show you around. Do you love animals, too? I have a dog named Fiona, but I love all the animals here.”
Did the girl talk as much as Gemma, too? That was starmendously perfect.
“My name is Tessa,” said Tessa, smiling happily. “I—I mean, my family and I—just moved to Hillsboro. Otherwise I would have been working here all year!”
“I’m Lizzie,” said the girl. Tessa thought she’d ask questions about Tessa’s family, or where she lived, or where she was going to school. She had already prepared some answers. Instead, a shadow crossed Lizzie’s face and she fell silent.
Together, the girls walked into the shelter and said good morning to Donna and Penny. Tessa heard barks and meows and some random thoughts.
I’m hungry!
That’s my catnip!
Hope my walker comes soon!
But she tried to shut them out.
No distractions, she told herself firmly. Now is the time to concentrate on Lizzie.
First order of business: figuring out her wish. Tessa had to stick close to her, get her talking again.
“I’m supposed to be shadowing someone this morning, to learn more,” Tessa said to Lizzie. “Can you be my person?”
“Sure!” Lizzie brightened. “I can teach you everything I know. It’s good, really, because”—there was that shadow again—“today is my last day, and I’ll feel better knowing you’re here.”
Before Tessa could ask a question or get more information, Lizzie turned away. “I usually feed the dogs their breakfast first thing.”
“Okay,” said Tessa, following Lizzie to the storage room, where they filled bowl after bowl. Lizzie would only be there that day! Tessa really had to act quickly.
When Tessa brought Tiny a bowl, he threw his body against the gate and wagged his tail harder than any other dog.
“Wow, that’s some greeting,” said Lizzie. “Tiny is usually very particular, so you must have a way with animals.”
“I hope so,” Tessa said with a laugh. “We used to live on a farm.” She slipped inside the kennel, careful to close the door quickly. Tiny jumped all around her, and it was all Tessa could do to put down the bowl without spilling any food.
Tiny swung his head back and forth, looking at the bowl, then Tessa. Clearly, he was torn. But in the end, food won. As he slurped his breakfast, Tessa quietly edged outside to rejoin Lizzie.
“You must miss the farm terribly,” Lizzie said. “Just like I’m going to miss this shelter. We’re moving away, too, in just a few days. That’s why I won’t be working here anymore.”
Lizzie was moving away. This was important information. Maybe her wish had something to do with that.
Lizzie carried a bowl to the kennel next door. A little black-and-white dog backed into a corner and looked at her warily. “Here, Trixie,” Lizzie called softly. The dog was so thin Tessa could see her ribs. She couldn’t tell what Trixie was thinking at all.
“Come on, girl,” Lizzie said encouragingly. “Come eat.” She put down the bowl, then slowly pushed it closer. Trixie didn’t move. Lizzie moved it a little closer, then closer still.
Tessa held her breath. Finally, Trixie bent her head over the bowl and began to nibble.
For a long moment, Lizzie stayed as still as a statue. Finally, she backed out of the kennel, barely making a sound. “I’ll give her some space now. But I think we just made some progress. Yesterday she wouldn’t eat at all.”
“You really know what to do,” Tessa said admiringly.
“Well, I’ve worked at a bunch of different shelters. My parents are both in the military, and they’re always getting different assignments. We’ve lived all over the world, some places less than a year. Volunteering with animals makes me feel better each time we have to move.” She took a breath.
That was Lizzie’s longest speech since her hello, Tessa realized. She hoped Lizzie didn’t regret telling her so much.
“Anyway, I’m here all day today,” Lizzie added.
“How about you?”
That scheduling question again! “I don’t know.…” Tessa snuck a peek at the Countdown Clock in case anything had changed since she last checked.
“Oh, you have to call home and check?” Lizzie asked, misunderstanding.
“Uh, yes,” said Tessa. “But I’m sure it will be fine.” She swiped her Star-Zap a few times and got ready to have a pretend conversation. But a voice with a much different accent from Lizzie’s answered.
“This is Regina Barnes at the London office of Barnes, Barnes, and Barnes. How may I help you?” The woman’s voice was loud enough for Lizzie to hear.
“Oops! Wrong number!” Tessa hung up. “I’ll just text later.”
Lizzie looked at her sympathetically. “I know it’s hard getting used to different home numbers—and everything else.”
“It is hard!” said Tessa. “I can’t believe I just called London instead of Hillsboro!” Tessa acted like she knew all about London. But for all she really knew, it could be the next town over.
“We actually lived in London for a while,” said Lizzie. “And it wasn’t so bad being out of the country. I had a great friend named Nola who lived next door. We still keep in touch.” She smiled at Tessa. “I try to stay friends with people I like. You should give me your contact info before we say good-bye.”
“Sure,” said Tessa. If only she and Lizzie really could stay in touch. Wouldn’t that be starmazing? she thought. Her mind wandered to scenes in which she and Lizzie were both grown-up, traveling back and forth…meeting each other’s families…going to each other’s weddings.
“Tessa?” said Lizzie. “Are you all right? You have a funny expression on your face.”
“I’m fine,” Tessa said firmly, blinking her eyes to shake away the thoughts. She was fine, as long as she kept her mind on the mission. No distractions. “What should we do next?”
A few starmins later, they were settled in a quiet area of the cat condos room, holding miniature baby bottles to feed milk to the kittens.
