Friendship Forever

by Sue Bentley

  “It’s fine by me. You’re the boss!” Mark joked.

  Tyra beamed at them both. “Thanks so much!” She wrapped her arms around Storm and cuddled his fluffy little body.

  Storm gave a tiny delighted woof and leaned up to lick her nose with his warm pink tongue. “That is good! This is a safe place. I like it here.”

  Tyra stiffened. Storm had just spoken to her in front of everyone else!

  She expected cries of wonder and astonishment from the grown-ups and Rachel, but nothing happened. Storm’s midnight-blue eyes glinted with mischief as he looked up at Tyra. “Only you can hear me speak,” he yapped.

  Tyra smiled affectionately at her new little friend. Storm was full of surprises. She wondered what else he could do.

  Her mom bent down to stroke the tiny puppy’s fluffy tan-and-cream fur. “Storm seems pleased about being able to stay. It’s almost as if he understands every word we say!”

  Tyra hid a smile. If only her mom knew how right she was!

  Rachel had been silent up until now. Her dark hair had fallen forward to hide her face as she sat at the kitchen table eating some toast. “Don’t bother to ask me, will you? No one cares what I think,” she muttered, scowling.

  Pam looked at her daughter in surprise. “But I thought you’d love the idea of having a puppy in the house. You’re always asking if we can get a dog.”

  “Yeah! And I’ve never been allowed to have one!” Rachel complained. “So how come it’s suddenly okay for Tyra?”

  Tyra’s mom looked embarrassed. “If this is going to be a problem, maybe we should just call the local shelter and take Storm there,” she said quietly.

  “No, we can’t!” Tyra burst out. “I’ve already promised Storm that … I mean, I’ve promised myself that I’ll take care of Storm. He has to stay with me!”

  “Now, Tyra, be reasonable. Remember what I said? This isn’t up to you,” her dad warned gently.

  Tyra swallowed. She made a big effort to stay quiet in case she made things worse. But she hoped that her parents’ friends wouldn’t change their minds because of Rachel’s objections.

  But she didn’t need to be worried. “Rachel, be fair.” Pam shook her head slowly and reached out to ruffle her daughter’s dark hair. “It’ll be nice for Tyra to have a puppy for company while she’s staying here. All this upheaval with the flood is very upsetting.”

  “I suppose so,” Rachel admitted grudgingly. Tyra heaved a huge sigh of relief. Storm was staying! She turned to Rachel with a grateful smile, but the other girl was staring at the table again and didn’t notice. Tyra could see that Rachel’s face was bright red and her lips were pressed together in a thin line.

  She tensed as she saw that the other girl seemed furious. She might have given in, but Rachel wasn’t at all happy that Tyra had been allowed to keep Storm.

  Tyra avoided looking across the table at Rachel as she quickly finished her breakfast. Storm was lying next to her feet, with his wet black nose resting between his fluffy front paws.

  “Thanks very much, Pam,” Tyra said politely. She got up and carried her plate over to the sink and then turned to her dad. “Is it okay if I take Storm for a walk?” At the word walk Storm jumped to his feet, looking bright-eyed and wagging his creamy bushy tail.

  “Of course it is. Storm looks pretty eager to go out,” her dad replied.

  “The old playground is nearby. We went there once, when you visited. Do you remember where it is?” asked Mark.

  Tyra nodded.

  Her dad fished in his pocket for some money. “Here you are. That should help you out until you get your allowance at the end of the week. Why don’t you buy a few cans of dog food after your walk?”

  “I will. Thanks, Dad.” Tyra went into the hall with Storm at her heels. “See you later, everyone,” she called.

  “Bye!” called a chorus of voices.

  Tyra noticed that Rachel didn’t join in.

  As soon as she and Storm were alone, Tyra breathed a sigh of relief. “Phew! I’m glad to get out of there. Did you see Rachel? She was giving me dirty looks all through breakfast.”

  Storm twisted his head around to look up at her with alert blue eyes. “Why would she do that?” he woofed curiously.

  Tyra shrugged. “Probably because she’s mad about not getting her own way. She was furious that I was allowed to keep you, because she’s never been allowed to have a puppy. How come Rachel’s so grumpy when her mom and dad are really nice?”

  Storm blinked. “I did not think that Rachel looked angry. I thought she looked a little upset.”

  “Really?” Tyra asked. “Anyway, let’s forget about her for now.” She looked toward a side street. “I think we go down there and turn left to get to the playground.”

  Storm’s furry little brow wrinkled in a frown. “What is a playground?”

  “It’s a big field with a playing field and a jungle gym and stuff. You can run around.”

  Storm’s bright eyes sparkled. “My favorite thing!” he woofed happily. Tyra smiled at the little puppy’s eagerness.

  She and Storm walked to the end of the road and then turned onto a long tree-lined avenue. On one side, the row of houses stopped at the edge of a large open space. There was a small fenced-in area near the road, containing swings and a slide, and a flower bed with cheerful tulips and daffodils.

  Ruff! Ruff! Storm kicked up his heels and took off across the grass.

  Tyra watched him running around and sniffing all the exciting smells.

  As she wandered along, enjoying the smell of fresh-cut grass, Storm skipped after her, his tail twirling happily. Tyra found a candy wrapper and crumpled it up into a tight ball so she and Storm could play a game of fetch.

  Storm was panting hard, his little pink tongue hanging out, by the time they were wandering back along the path toward the road.

  “We’ll go and buy you some food now. I bet you’re pretty hungry, aren’t you?” Tyra asked.

  “Yes, I am!” Storm woofed happily.

  As they walked by the playground, Tyra noticed two older boys messing around on the slide. One of them was tall and tough-looking, with a thin face and short sandy hair. He looked about fourteen. The other one was shorter and stocky with brown hair. As they spotted Tyra they nudged each other and stood up. “Uh-oh,” Tyra said nervously, slowing her pace.

  “Is something wrong, Tyra?” Storm yapped, pricking his ears.

  Before Tyra could answer, one of the boys called to her. “My friend wants to have a look at your dog! Ed says he lost a dog that looks just like that.”

  Tyra’s skin prickled with alarm as both boys got down from the slide and stood facing her. She hung back, trying to decide whether or not to ignore them and hurry past. But she knew that the older boys could easily catch her up if they wanted to.

  Tyra lifted her chin and tried to look braver than she felt as she and Storm went toward them. “I think you’ve made a mistake,” she said. Then she lowered her voice to whisper: “I don’t trust these boys. Stay close to me, Storm.”

  Storm nodded, his midnight-blue eyes narrowing warily.

  The boy named Ed, wearing expensive jeans and sneakers, stood waiting as Tyra approached. He turned to Storm and crouched down, slapping his thighs to encourage Storm to jump up. “Come here, boy. Come on … er, Buster!”

  “His name’s not Buster. It’s Storm,” Tyra said.

  “Says you,” Ed sneered. “What are you doing with my dog?”

  Tyra’s heart began to beat fast, but she held her ground. “He isn’t yours. He’s mine!”

  Ed’s thin face twisted in a grin. “Prove it! What breed is he then?” He glanced at his friend. “I bet she doesn’t know, Dale.”

  Dale grinned at Ed.

  Tyra realized that the boy was right. She didn’t know what breed Storm was. What she did know was that there was no way that these two bullies were getting their hands on her tiny friend. She started to try and walk around the boys in a wide circle, bu
t Ed dodged in front of her.

  “Storm—I mean Buster—is a rare Akita puppy. How would I know that, if he didn’t belong to me?” he said triumphantly.

  Tyra couldn’t care less, but she wisely kept silent.

  “Ed knows a ton about dogs,” Dale informed her. “You’d better hand that puppy over.”

  Tyra’s mouth was dry. Both boys looked strong and mean. “You’re not taking Storm. He doesn’t belong to you, so there!” She gulped. “Come on, Storm! We’re leaving.”

  Ed moved again to stand in her way. “I don’t think so,” he drawled.

  “You can’t stop me!” Tyra tried to edge around Ed. “Run, Storm!” But Ed moved like lightning. Shoving Tyra aside, he reached down to grab the tiny puppy. “Oh!” Tyra gasped as she stumbled against the metal slide, banging her knee hard.

  Storm yelped as Ed grasped him tightly around his middle and held him under one arm. Storm’s dangling back legs peddled frantically as he struggled to get away. A soft growl rumbled in the tiny puppy’s throat and his big blue eyes lit up with anger.

  Tyra felt a faint, warm tingling sensation down her spine, but she hardly noticed it for the pain in her sore knee. “You rotten bullies! Leave Storm alone!” she screamed.

  “Make me!” Ed crowed.

  Dale looked uncomfortable. “Maybe we should leave it, Ed,” he said. “I think that girl’s hurt.”

  “She’s just faking.” Ed stopped and then a look of astonishment crossed his face. “What’s happening?” he yelled, gazing down at his hands in horror. They swelled up until they looked like a pair of inflated purple rubber gloves! “I must be allergic to that dog’s fur or something!”

  Ed thrust Storm back at Tyra. “Here! You hold him!”

  Tyra gathered Storm close, protectively, while trying to balance on one leg.

  “Hey! What’s going on?” called a girl’s voice.

  Tyra saw Rachel in the distance. She was frowning furiously as she started to run. “Why don’t you leave and pick on someone your own size!” she shouted to Dale and Ed.

  “Huh! Some people can’t take a joke!” Ed said. “C’mon, Dale.” The boys slouched off with Ed still flexing his purple swollen hands.

  As Rachel drew nearer, Tyra’s legs gave way, and she sank down on to the flat end of the slide. Now that the excitement was over, she felt sick and wobbly, and her knee was throbbing.

  “Thank you for sticking up for me, Tyra. You were very brave,” Storm barked gratefully, and then his fluffy little face creased in concern. “But you are hurt! I will make you better.”

  Time seemed to stand still. Tyra felt another warm tingling sensation down her spine, but this time it was much stronger. Bright gold sparks ignited in Storm’s fluffy tan-and-cream fur and his pointed ears crackled and fizzed with electricity.

  Storm rested a paw on her injured knee and a glittering golden mist flowed from it. As the sparkles swirled around her, forming a sort of magical bandage, Tyra felt the pain grow hot and increase for a moment and then drain away, as if it had never existed.

  “Thanks, Storm. My knee’s all better now.” She smiled at her friend. “You certainly taught that horrible Ed a lesson! Those purple hands looked really awful!”

  “The magic will not last long and his hands will not be harmed.” Storm put his head on one side and showed his sharp little teeth in a doggy grin. “Did you say that we were going to buy some food?”

  Tyra laughed. “I certainly did, and I think you deserve a treat, too. How about a yummy dog chew?”

  Storm woofed and licked his lips. Seconds later, Rachel came running up as time returned to normal. “Dale and Ed go to my school. They’re always in trouble. Are you okay, Tyra?” she puffed.

  Tyra nodded. Rachel must not have been able to see the effects of the magic Storm had just done. “I’m fine now, thanks. I wish Shelly could have been here with me. She can be pretty tough sometimes. Those boys wouldn’t have dared to pick on me and Storm then.”

  Rachel’s face fell. “I came to see if you wanted me to show you where the store is, but I guess you don’t need my help.” She turned around and marched back across the playground.

  Tyra stared after her. Now what was wrong? Rachel was so touchy. Tyra just couldn’t figure her out. “Come on, Storm. Let’s find the store,” she said. Storm glanced over his shoulder at Rachel, his dewy eyes troubled, before he scampered after Tyra.

  Back inside Pam and Mark’s kitchen, Tyra poured dog food into a bowl. With an eager woof, Storm began chomping it up.

  The warm room still smelled faintly of fried bacon and coffee. Her mom and dad were sitting at the table reading newspapers. The radio was on in the background.

  “Did you and Storm have a good walk?” her mom asked, as Tyra sat down with them. “Rachel went to find you. Did you see her?”

  “Yeah. We saw her, and then she went off by herself. I suppose she had something else to do,” Tyra replied. She decided not to mention anything about the incident with Dale and Ed.

  The local news came on the radio and they all stopped talking and listened. After the reporter finished speaking, Tyra’s dad smiled. “It seems that the water level’s falling fast. We’ll be able to go back to the house soon and inspect the damage.”

  “Maybe we can find Jemima and bring her back here to give her a wash and a brush up,” her mom added.

  Tyra felt a guilty pang. Since Storm had arrived, she hadn’t really missed Shelly. But at the mention of Jemima, she started worrying again about what her best friend was going to say about the lost doll.

  “I think we’d better leave Storm here,” Tyra’s mom decided, a couple of days later. “We can’t have him paddling about in all that mess and getting filthy.”

  They were borrowing Pam and Mark’s car to drive back to the house. Tyra wasn’t looking forward to seeing it for the first time after the flood, but she had explained about Jemima to Storm and he had offered to help Tyra look for her.

  “Storm will be fine here with us,” said Pam. She smiled at Tyra. “I could ask Rachel to take him out for a walk when she gets back from school, if you like?”

  “That would be okay,” Storm woofed gently to Tyra.

  Tyra was surprised that Storm didn’t seem to mind Rachel, even though Tyra wasn’t sure how to take her. One minute Rachel seemed friendly, and the next she was all prickly and sulky. It was very confusing.

  Tyra decided that there was no way she was leaving Storm behind, but she couldn’t see how she could take him with her. She bent down and pretended to tie her shoe. “What should I do? I really want you to come, too,” she whispered to him.

  Storm’s big blue eyes were thoughtful. “Tell them that you are going upstairs to get something,” he yapped.

  “Okay.” Tyra wasn’t sure what he was planning, but she stood up and did as he asked. “I’ll only be a minute. I’ll meet you in the car,” she called to her mom and dad, heading toward the stairs.

  “Have you got a bag I could hide in?” Storm woofed as he ran up the stairs beside her.

  “Oh, I get it! Good idea!” Tyra went into her bedroom and grabbed an empty shoulder bag she’d brought with her. She usually used it for schoolbooks, but her school was closed indefinitely because of the flood.

  Tyra opened the bag and Storm jumped inside. “You’ll have to keep very quiet and stay out of sight. If Mom and Dad notice you, they’ll make me leave you in the car,” she warned.

  Storm’s little muzzle wrinkled in a grin. “Do not worry. I will use my magic, so that only you will be able to see and hear me.”

  “You can make yourself invisible? Cool! There’s no problem then.” She had another idea.

  “I’ll tell Pam that you’re up here having a nap, then if Rachel comes looking for you when she gets home from school, we can always say that you were hiding or something.”

  Storm nodded. “That is good.”

  Tyra shouldered her bag, with her tiny friend inside, and went outside to the car.


  Twenty minutes later, Tyra and Storm stood beside her mom and dad in the kitchen doorway of their house. Tyra was stunned. She had expected that everything would be soaked through, but she was unprepared for the thick layer of smelly mud that covered everything.

  “This is dreadful!” her mom said sadly. “Everything’s ruined. We’re going to have to strip the entire kitchen and living room and start over.”

  “It could have been worse. At least we’re all safe,” Tyra’s dad said soothingly, putting his arm around his wife.

  They began discussing things like insurance and something called a dehumidifier, which would help to dry out the wet walls. Tyra decided to leave them to it. “Let’s try and find Jemima,” she whispered to Storm.

  Storm nodded. He was invisibly sitting up with his front paws hooked over the edge of her bag.

  Mud sloshed around Tyra’s boots as she went into the sitting room. She picked her way around soggy books, cushions, and other stuff on the floor. There was a musty wet-furniture smell.

  Storm peered around curiously as if he couldn’t imagine what the house looked like before the flood.

  Tyra had a sudden thought. “Could you use your magic to make our house as good as new?” she asked eagerly.

  Storm blinked at her with serious midnight-blue eyes. “Yes, I can do that if you ask me to. But that would mean giving myself away, and then I would have to leave.”

  “Oh no. Don’t do that! I never want you to leave!” Tyra said hastily, wishing she hadn’t said anything. She couldn’t bear the idea of losing her friend. “Mom and Dad seem to be getting it all organized anyway. I’m sorry I even asked. Let’s just try and find Jemima.”

  Storm nodded.

  Tyra kept looking, but there was no sign of Shelly’s doll. She was looking behind the wet chairs and sofa, when she spotted a scrap of pale blue material in the mud. She pounced on it and picked it up.

  “It’s Jemima’s hair ribbon! She must be here somewhere,” she told Storm.

  The tiny puppy leaned forward and his little black nose twitched as he sniffed Jemima’s scent. “I will find her!” he woofed.

  “No! Don’t jump down! It’s too wet and muddy in here,” Tyra said.