Wag, You're It!

by Kristin Earhart

  “Yeah?” Max said. “That’s kind of weird. I guarantee my dog and my teammates were not thinking about you.” Max immediately regretted his response. Why did he have to make a joke?

  “Well, maybe the Walruses should start thinking about me and the other Bulldogs, because we are going to beat you on Saturday. You won’t know what hit your blubbery little walrus bodies.”

  Max wanted to point out that they were playing flag football, so tackling was not allowed. But he didn’t say that. He knew a clever reply could backfire. “Well, my mom told me that walrus blubber can be over three inches thick, so that’s pretty good protection.” Oh, brother. Max rolled his eyes at himself. Why was he quoting his mom’s crazy animal facts?

  “Your mom told you?” Jason asked. “You’re a sweet kid, Max, but it won’t do you any good on Saturday. There’s no way you’ll win. No way.” When Jason patted Max on the shoulder, it didn’t hurt, but it stung. Why had Max decided to play flag football anyway?

  “Were you just talking to Jason Strait?” Lara asked. Miles, her twin, was right behind her. The three teammates watched as the older kid strode away down the middle of the hall.

  “Yeah, I guess so,” Max said. “He was warning me about our game on Saturday. He knows that the Walruses don’t exactly have a quarterback.”

  “Ugh. We play the Bulldogs this weekend?” Miles grumbled. “Maybe I’ll be sick.”

  “You can’t be sick,” Lara insisted. “You’ll be at the park if I have to drag you with one hand and hold a barf bag in the other.”

  “Yuck,” said Max.

  “What?” Lara said with a shrug. “We’re twins. We’re close.”

  “Maybe too close,” Miles replied.

  * * *

  That afternoon, Max decided to take Bear for a walk. He had been thinking about the day before. How had he heard Rina when he had been outside with the door closed? Max thought that the voice had come from inside his own head — just like at Power’s Pets. Max had a theory. Bear was part of that theory, and Max wanted to try it out.

  Bear was excited to be outside in the crisp fall air. Every few steps, he jumped up on Max’s leg, getting caught in the leash. “Bear, I need to teach you better manners,” Max said, lifting up the puppy’s paw and shortening the lead.

  When they finally reached the park, Max looked for a good place to test his theory. It didn’t really matter where, but he needed for people to be close by. Max passed the playground because it was too loud and crowded. He wouldn’t be able to hear himself think.

  At the edge of the meadow he could see Lara and some of her friends playing football. He watched as Lara took the ball and looked for someone to throw to. She let the ball go, and it sped through the air. The girl she had thrown to couldn’t run fast enough. It went over her head and landed near Max.

  Nice throw, Lara! Max thought. Max hoped she wouldn’t decide to switch football teams next year, like Jason.

  “Let’s get the ball,” he said to Bear.

  He led Bear over to where the ball had landed in a pile of leaves. The girl who had missed the catch came closer, and Max realized it was Sadie.

  “You brought Bear!” Sadie leaned down and immediately started rubbing Bear’s ears. The puppy loved it. “It’s Max!” Sadie yelled to the rest of the group. “He has the cutest puppy!”

  The group started running and had soon surrounded them. Max gave Lara the ball and then introduced everyone to Bear. The girls had lots of questions for Max. They all tried to pet Bear at the same time.

  “Does he do any tricks?” Lara asked.

  Max nodded. It was time to test his theory. “Watch this,” Max said.

  “Bear, I need you to pay attention,” Max started. He showed the puppy the treat. As soon as Bear had his eyes fixed on the treat, Max set it on his nose. “Wait, Bear, wait,” Max directed. Bear looked longingly at the treat. Then his eyes wandered to the faces of the girls in the crowd. Then he looked off in the distance.

  “That’s adorable,” they cooed.

  After enough time had passed, Max praised the puppy. “Yes! Good boy, Bear!”

  Bear tilted his head back so the treat went into the air. He followed the treat with his eyes and then gulped it down, licking the edges of his tiny jaw.

  Sure enough, Max soon saw the sparkles floating around Bear. Next he noticed that the sounds of the girls clapping and talking were muffled. Then he heard a single voice in his head. It said, “I wish someone would offer to watch my cart. I need to go to the bathroom.”

  POP!

  What? That was not what Max had expected. He had expected to hear the voice of one of the girls, but this hadn’t been anyone familiar. This voice was deep and gruff. The sparkles were gone. Max didn’t hear the voice anymore. He could only hear the girls talking about Bear.

  “He really does look like a teddy bear when he sits like that,” the girl standing next to Lara said.

  “He’s so cuddly,” added another.

  Max looked at Bear. The puppy was staring off into the distance again. Max followed the puppy’s gaze. He saw a man with an ice cream cart at the edge of the playground. His parents had bought him cones there lots of times. The voice had definitely belonged to a man, and that man had said something about “his cart.” Max decided it had been the ice cream man. He guessed that the ice cream man must really need a restroom break.

  “I’m going to get some ice cream,” Max said.

  “Isn’t it close to dinnertime?” Sadie asked, her eyebrows raised.

  Max glanced at his watch. It was getting late, and his parents were kind of strict about being home for dinner. It was the one thing they made a big deal about. “I’ll just see what flavors they have,” he said as he gave the leash a pull.

  “One more round before we go home?” Lara asked the group. They all nodded. “We’ll see you later, Max,” Lara called. “Bye, Bear!” Some of the girls in the group said good-bye to Max. They all said bye to Bear.

  Max hurried across the grass toward the cart with the umbrella. Bear loped along beside him. The ice cream man was standing with his hands in his jacket pockets, watching the playground. Max didn’t know what to say.

  “Um, do you want to take a break? Maybe go to the bathroom?” he asked. “I can watch your cart.”

  The man looked hard at Max. “I know you, don’t I?” He tilted his head at Max.

  “Yeah, I’m Max. I’ve gotten your ice cream lots of times,” he said.

  “Well, I’m Michael,” he said. “I really appreciate you and your guard dog watching the cart.” He patted Bear on the head before walking away.

  Max sat down on a park bench to wait. It took Bear three tries to jump up next to him. Then the puppy sat down next to his boy. Max scratched him behind the ear. “That’s a pretty special trick, Bear, that whole catch-the-treat-out-of-the-air thing you do.” Max didn’t know how, but it seemed like he could hear someone’s thoughts every time Bear did his trick. Pretty weird. He remembered how important the trick was to Mr. Power. He remembered the sparkles. It didn’t seem possible, but there was only one explanation. The trick had to be magic.

  Max heard a rustling and looked up. There, high on a tree branch, sat a black cat with white whiskers. “Lucky?” he asked. “Is that you?”

  Max thought it looked just like the cat from the pet center. Then, when the cat winked at him with one of her sparkly green eyes, Max was sure.

  Bear started yipping. He jumped up on Max’s leg and barked.

  “What’s going on, boy?” Max asked. “Why are you so excited?” Something told Max that Bear really wanted to do his trick. “Do you want a treat, boy?”

  Arf! Arf! The long fur on the puppy’s ears flopped as he scampered around on the bench.

  “Okay, okay,” Max said. Bear sat down without being asked, and Max placed a treat on the blond stubble just behind the puppy’s coal-black nose. Bear waited, his tail thumping on the planks of the bench.

  “Yes, good boy, Bear,” Ma
x said. Bear tossed the treat and snapped it out of the air. This time, Max knew to expect the sparkles. He also knew that he couldn’t guess whose voice it would be. There were kids on the playground, joggers passing by, and a group of old men playing horseshoes. When Max did hear the voice — with the odd echo in his head — it was a voice that he thought sounded familiar.

  “Oh, no. There’s that dog again. No way do I want to go anywhere near that dog. I don’t trust it. I’m not even getting close. No way.”

  POP!

  Max looked around. The puppy had been watching the playground, but now he turned back to Max. Was he trying to tell Max something?

  All the times before, the thoughts seemed to share good information — in Power’s Pets, with Rina, and in order to give Michael a bathroom break. This time, Max couldn’t figure out whose thoughts he had heard or what they meant. The voice sounded like a kid, definitely a boy. And, from what the voice said, Max was pretty sure the boy was afraid of dogs.

  “That guy should meet you, Bear,” Max said. “No one would be afraid of a good pup like you.” Max had read a lot about dogs since getting Bear. He knew that dogs could sense a person’s fear. Sometimes a dog reacted by growling or barking. If a dog did that, it might make the person more afraid. “Too bad we don’t know who that guy is,” Max said as he pet one of the dog’s silky ears.

  Michael, the ice cream cart owner, came back. He gave Max a free cone, which Max shared with Bear.

  Max had been so lost in his thoughts — and his ice cream — he forgot to check the time. “Oh, no, Bear,” he said. “We have to run.” And he meant it.

  Max took off, and the puppy jogged next to him at first. Max stopped at the edge of the park and waited to cross the street. When the light changed, Max started to sprint across, but Bear stayed put. “Come on,” Max said, tugging on the leash. Bear stood up and trotted forward, but his stride was short. His tongue drooped out of his mouth.

  “Oh, man!” Max grumbled when they got to the end of his block. Even in the dusk, Max recognized the kid in the dark blue warm-up jacket. It was Jason, and he was with one of his friends who lived on Max’s street. The last thing Max wanted was to run into Jason.

  Bear looked too tired to walk any farther. Max knew the puppy would never make it the long way around the block. With a huff, Max lifted Bear and started walking as fast as he could. When he had looped around and arrived at the other end of his street, he ran into Lexi.

  “Hey, Max,” she greeted him. “Luna and I are just finishing our evening walk.” Max noted that Luna was growing taller and leaner, no longer a roly-poly pup.

  “Oh, Bear and I are just heading home for dinner.” Bear snuffled up against Max’s sleeve, his eyes nearly closed.

  “Dinner? Your family eats late,” Lexi said.

  Max guessed his family had already started eating. They had to be wondering where he was.

  “I’ll walk you home,” Lexi suggested.

  Max nodded. By the time they reached Max’s mailbox, the older kids were gone. “Well, have a good dinner,” Lexi said as she led Luna away.

  “Yeah,” Max said under his breath. But looking at his watch, he was pretty sure there wasn’t much of a chance for that.

  Max’s parents weren’t angry — at least not right away. At first, they were relieved. They both got up from the table and rushed to meet Max at the door. “We were about to go out and find you,” his mom said.

  “We’re so glad you are all right,” his dad said, placing a hand on Max’s shoulder. His mom smothered him and Bear with a giant hug.

  Max had only been fifteen minutes late, but no one was ever late for dinner at the Harding house.

  Max made sure Bear had food and water before joining his family at the table. Bear drank an entire bowl of water. Then he headed straight for his crate and fell fast asleep.

  Max’s parents let Rina and Kazu finish talking about their days. Then they asked Max the hard questions. Max didn’t know how to answer them. Why did he offer to watch the ice cream guy’s cart? Why didn’t he take the fastest route home?

  “I’m sorry,” Max said several times, and he meant it. He felt bad.

  He felt worse when his parents wondered if Bear was too big of a responsibility for Max.

  “Maybe it is too much for you right now,” his mom said.

  “We’ll give you another chance, Max, but you have to prove you’re responsible enough,” his dad advised.

  Max nodded and looked over to where his puppy was sleeping. Bear was really worn out. Max had pushed him too far. He promised himself he wouldn’t do it again.

  * * *

  The next day, Max came straight home after school. He grabbed a banana and Bear’s brush. Then he took Bear to the backyard.

  “No walks today, Bear,” he said. His only plan was to brush the tangles out of the puppy’s tail, but it wasn’t easy. Bear’s tail would not stop wagging. “No tricks either.” Max suspected that Bear had done his trick too many times. That might have been why the puppy had been so tired. “We’re going to take it easy.”

  The puppy gave a lighthearted yip and lay down next to Max. He rolled over, so Max could brush the soft, wavy fur on his belly. Arf, he barked again.

  “Hey, champ. Hey, Bear.”

  Max looked up and saw his dad closing the back door.

  “You’re home early.” Max said it almost like a question, doubting it was true.

  “Yeah,” Mr. Harding said. “I thought maybe you’d want to throw the ball or something.” He already had the football. He tossed it up with a spin and caught it again.

  “Sure!” Max gave Bear one last brush and stood up. He remembered how Kazu and their dad had often played soccer, before Kazu had practice all the time.

  Max headed to one side of the yard, clearing Rina’s plastic shovel and pail out of the way as he went. His dad threw a straight, spiral pass as soon as Max had turned around.

  “Max,” his dad said just before catching a pass, “I feel bad about yesterday. I know you understand that dinnertime is important.” He threw the ball back Max’s way. Max caught it easily. “And I know adding a puppy into the mix complicates things. We don’t want you to feel like you have to do it all alone.” He caught Max’s pass and held the ball in both hands. “We’re a family, so you’ve always got us. We can help with Bear when you need us to.”

  Max nodded. “Got it,” he said. “Thanks.” Max paused a moment and then threw the ball back. “I might need help with Bear sometime. But I really need help with my football. We’re playing a tough team Saturday, and I’m kind of nervous.” Max wasn’t sure if he was nervous about playing the Bulldogs, or seeing Jason.

  “What’s the problem?” his dad asked. “You’re throwing and catching well.”

  “I don’t know,” Max replied. “The other teams are bigger. They always grab our flags before we get anywhere.” That was one of the major problems. In flag football, the play was over as soon as someone grabbed the flag from a player’s belt. “Their arms are so long, they’re like elasto-men.”

  His dad laughed. “You’ve got to get past the size thing. There are good things about being small. Bigger isn’t always better.”

  “I guess,” Max mumbled. “I just don’t want to let you guys down. You know, with the whole family being there.”

  “No way. You can’t think about it like that, Max. It’s not about winning. Just help your team play its best,” his dad said, “and there’s no way I won’t be proud.”

  Max looked at the ground and let his dad’s words sink in.

  After a moment, his dad said, “Now go long.” Max looked up as his dad got ready to pass. He took off running. He glanced up over his shoulder, and the ball dropped safely into his hands. If only the games were as easy as that.

  * * *

  That night, Max was still thinking about what his dad had said. One phrase kept replaying in his head. There’s no way I won’t be proud. No way … It was very reassuring, but it also re
minded Max of something else.

  It reminded him of Jason. Jason always said “no way.” The voice Max had overheard in the park had said it, too. There’s no way I’m going near that dog. No way.

  Max thought about it. He remembered how Bear had barked when he first met Jason. And how Jason had quickly backed away. Could Bear have picked up on something? Had Bear barked because he sensed Jason was afraid? Max couldn’t be sure. The one thing he did know was that he had one special puppy. So far, it seemed like Bear’s magic had the power to help people, and it was Max’s job to figure out how.

  “Go get ’em, Walloping Walruses!” Kazu called, giving Max a light slap on his back. “Have fun.”

  Their mom smiled from her spot on the large, plaid picnic blanket. Rina was blowing bubbles. She didn’t know the difference between a football and a soccer ball … yet. Max’s dad was standing, surveying the field. Bear’s leash was in his hand. The pup had been spunky all morning, wagging his whole back end.

  “I’ll be back, boy,” Max said, giving his puppy a hearty back scratch. “Root for the Walruses!”

  Max waved when he saw Miles and Lara headed his way. There was a group of tall boys with yellow jerseys not far behind them. Max shook his head. His team really was small.

  In the huddle before the game, he could tell his teammates were worried, too. “No wonder Jason Strait changed teams,” one kid said. “The Bulldogs look like they could play in the pros.”

  “My dad said bigger isn’t always better,” Max said. “And it’s true. We’re small and fast. We can get right up next to them and grab their flags.” The team seemed to take in his words.

  “That’s a good can-do attitude,” Coach chimed in. “Don’t worry about how big they are. Just grab those flags!” The coach led a group cheer, and the team hit the field.

  Halftime came before anyone knew it. Neither team had scored. “Nice call, Max,” Coach said during a water break. “You guys are small and scrappy. You just keep grabbing those flags and we have a chance.” The Walrus players had been scampering around and ducking under the bigger guys to snatch the Bulldogs’ flags. It kept the other team from getting points, but the Walruses didn’t have any points either.