Paws, page 13
Mindy smiles again, showing me her perfect white teeth, which are even whiter than her hair. “I’ll be able to see it when I get home,” she says, “because Derek set the box to record the whole show on TV.” She laughs, and smooths her long hair between her palms and over her shoulder. “I’m sure we will all have no choice but to watch it later.”
I nod and feel better, and hope that I can see Derek get his trophy as well. I also wonder if Vinnie is being a good boy up on the stage.
“I think Vinnie was the happiest dog,” I say, looking back down at Kevin, who lifts his chin off my leg. “He was so happy he couldn’t even be a good boy in the contest, not like you.”
Ned snort-laughs and kicks at my foot gently with his. “Vinnie was so funny, right?” I nod and we all laugh because now I remember Vinnie in Arena 4 during the contest, and it is super funny in my head the way he charged around with his ears back, yap yap yapping at everyone.
And then I see Vinnie galloping towards us, Derek tripping and stumbling along behind him and gripping tight onto Vinnie’s leash. Kevin stands and gives my face a couple of quick licks and then he hops off my lap and goes to meet Vinnie and they start their circling and growling game.
Wilma walks a little way behind Derek, who plonks down beside me, and I notice her tall, thin frame slipping easily through the gaps between people. She’s holding onto Derek’s trophy. My tummy does a twist and I pull my knees up to my chest, locking my feet side by side, but then Derek is talking to me and I can’t feel the twisting any more.
“Are you okay?” he asks, and I look up into his blue eyes and nod. “Sorry I won and not you,” he says, “because if I was judging I’d have chosen Kevin as the winner.” He pats Kevin’s butt as he continues playing with Vinnie.
“Nah, I think Vinnie was definitely the happiest dog there today,” I say. “I would have picked him.”
Derek grins and then holds up a white envelope.
“What did you win?” Mindy asks.
Everyone leans forwards as Derek opens it – even Vinnie and Kevin come over and sit – and we all watch his fingers as they slide out a small piece of card. My eyes scan the words on the card at the same time as Derek reads them aloud.
“Congratulations on being a PAWS winner. This voucher entitles you to spend five hundred dollars at any Pet Pamperland store of your choice.” Derek looks up at us all. “Wow, five hundred dollars?”
“Wow!” Wilma says, taking a seat beside Mum. “How will you ever spend all of this money in one shop? Perhaps you need someone to help you – and no, I do not mean you, Miss Shopaholic Mindy.”
Mindy giggles and swats Wilma’s foot, and I nod and clench my back teeth together because that is a lot of money and I think Derek could buy so many cool things for Vinnie in that store.
Vinnie sniffs the voucher and then sneezes three times in a row, choo choo choo, and Derek scratches Vinnie’s ear and laughs. “Yeah, I agree, Vin,” he says. I have no idea why he says this because Vinnie only sneezed and no dogs say human words.
Derek turns to face me again and smiles on the side of his mouth. “Want to share the voucher?” he asks.
I pause, replaying his question in my head, and then I make fists and look at Mum because I don’t know if I’m allowed.
She makes a strange face where her eyebrows rise and she does this thing with her lips drawn in together and I wish I knew what it meant but then she nods and says, “Derek, are you sure?”
“Yeah, definitely. I think Vinnie would want to share it with Kevin anyway,” he answers, so I nod and say, “Thank you,” and Derek pats me on the back. “Cool. Hey, Mum, can we go there tomorrow?”
Wilma shrugs and says, “I don’t think this will be a problem. Would you like that, Alex, if me and your mum and Derek and you all go to this Pamperland place tomorrow to spend the voucher? And hey, how about afterwards we head to our house for a Sunday dinner? I will cook!” She claps her hands once.
“And we can play Skyscraper Escapades!” Derek adds. “You have to bring your laptop.”
“Yeah,” I say as I suck in lots of air because I would like that so much.
“What do you say, Alex?” Mum says.
“Thanks, Derek,” I say and scratch behind Kevin’s ears as he comes to sit between me and Derek.
“That’s okay. It’ll be cool.”
I think Derek is cool.
And I remember what Mum said on Wednesday, about her friends sharing things with her and making her better when she was sad, and I know that it doesn’t matter that I didn’t win the trophy today because it turns out I didn’t need it to make a friend.
I already have one.
Or two, because Angel called me her friend and she always makes me feel better every day at school.
“Okay, so shall we head off?” Wilma says, and we all agree and stand up. Derek lets me hold his trophy which is quite heavy and the shiniest silver I have ever seen. It has the picture of the Chinese Crested Dog on it and HAPPIEST etched into the curved part in the middle. It’s amazing, and I know it will look even more amazing on Derek’s shelf, and maybe it will make him smile when he looks at it instead of sad like when he looks at his fishing trophies.
We’re moving off towards the exit when Ned says, “Wait up,” and we pause and look back towards the stage. Betty Frisp is talking again and introducing someone else onto the stage. I can still see the TV screen and beside her stands the woman from earlier, the one with the dark hair like mine and the skin that’s darker and the clipboard.
“We decided to start a new contest this year, a very special secret one, and Krystal here” – Betty gestures towards the clipboard lady – “has been wandering around watching you all with your dogs. You might have seen her.”
I nod because I did, I saw her a few times.
“Well, I shall hand over to Krystal so she can tell you more.”
Krystal takes the microphone from Betty and tucks her clipboard under her arm. The crowd is quiet, just a faint shushing and the occasional cough and bark, and everyone is facing the stage waiting to hear what Krystal has to say.
“Hi everyone,” Krystal says, her voice gentle and soft and clean. “So as Betty said, I had the pleasure of observing you all today with your beautiful dogs because I had the important job of picking one very special winner.” Betty comes up beside Krystal, holding the handles of a big gold trophy and Krystal smiles at her. “It wasn’t easy, I promise, but there was one dog I saw today who stood out and it was obvious to me that he should be the winner.”
Mum and Wilma, Ned and Mindy, and me and Derek all glance at each other, and I can tell by everyone’s faces that they’re as excited as me because there has never been a secret contest at PAWS before. I pick Kevin up so he can see the stage and the screen, and so I don’t slap my thighs because there are so many people around that might see, but he doesn’t want to see the screen, he just rests his chin on my shoulder, his soft fur crushed against my neck and cheek.
“I asked around,” Krystal continues, “and found out the name of this dog and his owner and, so, I would like you all to give a big round of applause to the very first winner of the Best Dog Friend contest at PAWS.”
“Best Dog Friend?” Derek repeats.
“Congratulations to Alex Freeman and his gorgeous cockapoo Kevin!”
The crowd are clapping and cheering but all I can hear is Derek and Ned screaming and yelling and whooping and I don’t mind that it’s loud because my thoughts are too jumbled for me to focus on all the noise.
That was my name. Mine and Kevin’s.
“Please come up to the stage and collect your trophy and your prize when you’re ready, Alex,” I hear Krystal say and then Mum, who’s crying, and Ned are wrapping their arms around me and Kevin, who’s still in my arms, and are gently pushing me forwards through the people and towards the stage, saying things in my ears. My eyes are fixed on Kevin’s fur because I know if I peek up even a tiny bit I will see faces looking at me and I still don’t know what’s happening inside my head and my body.
We reach the red tape that wraps around the display area and there’s a walkway through the middle that goes right up to the stage steps and then there’s more red tape on either side. Me, Kevin, Mum and Ned are walking up this pathway now, towards the stage, and I remember that I don’t have my shoes on, and the grass is soft and scratchy at the same time and I wonder if people are looking at my bare feet. Mum is gripping my shoulder and Ned is saying “How cool is this” over and over and I focus on them, and on Kevin in my arms and the way he’s so still and pressing against my skin.
And then we’re at the stage, and I’m walking up the steps, my feet thudding against the warm wooden blocks until I’m at the top and then I see Krystal and Betty Frisp right in front of me and I stand still, squeezing Kevin tighter.
“You must be Alex,” Betty says, and she crouches down so she can see into my eyes because I’m looking down at everyone’s legs and feet and the dark wood of the stage.
Krystal appears next and this time I look up at her face and I notice the wrinkles at the sides of her eyes and how her skin looks like someone has put glitter all over it. “Alex, it’s such a pleasure to meet you,” she says and I nod. Her eyes then shift down to Kevin and she asks if she can pet him and I nod again. Her long fingers gently press down on Kevin’s head and she strokes from his head to his tail and he lifts his head from my shoulder and licks her hand. “Oh, thank you,” she says to him and he licks her some more.
Betty stands behind Krystal, the huge gold trophy in her arms, and I notice how I can see reflections in the gold and the words BEST DOG FRIEND, PAWS scratched into the front.
A trophy that me and Kevin have won.
I don’t know if I have space on my desk for it.
“Alex, as soon as I first saw you, I knew you and Kevin had something special,” Krystal tells me. I nod and peek up at her wrinkly eyes again. She’s not smiling as big now but the wrinkles are still there. “I think Kevin is the best friend anyone could ever ask for and I think you are very lucky to have each other.”
I nod and say “Thank you” but the words don’t really come out because my mouth feels numb and all I can think about is Kevin in my arms and what Angel and Ms Westing will say to me when they find out. Kevin looks at me and I stare back and think that if it wasn’t for Kevin running away that day to meet Vinnie, I might not have made friends with Derek, and Mum with Wilma, and maybe Ned would never have spoken to Mindy. I think I might be crying but I can’t be sure and I don’t care because today is the best day ever.
“Shall I give the trophy to Mum?” Betty Frisp asks and I nod because my hands are busy holding Kevin, and I watch Mum take it with both her hands and say how it’s heavier than she expected.
And then Betty crouches again and this time I look at her old face. She looks just like Ms Frisp but maybe her face is a bit rounder and her hair a bit lighter.
“You know what, Alex,” she says, placing her hands on her bent knees. “I have a confession to make.” I don’t know what a confession is but it sounds like Betty has something serious to tell me. “I actually heard your name before today.”
I frown at this, wondering how she could know my name.
“And here’s a secret that not many people know . . .” Betty leans in closer. “You know we have an art contest every year to choose the PAWS logo for the following year?” I nod again. “The judge of that competition is my sister, who you might know as your art teacher at school – you know Ms Frisp?” I nod because I do and I was right; I knew that Betty looked like Ms Frisp and they are sisters. “Uh huh, well Ms Frisp isn’t here today because she doesn’t like dogs all that much.”
“She likes cats,” I say.
“Doesn’t she just. Well, anyway, Ms Frisp chose one of your sketches as the winning entry this year.”
I frown, wondering what she’s talking about because I didn’t enter the competition because I don’t share my artwork at school with anyone but Angel. And then I remember my green robot notebook and how Ms Frisp wanted to keep it until Friday.
“But Ms Frisp has asked me to ask you first, because you didn’t enter the contest officially and she knows you like to keep your art a secret. So, would that be okay?” I look into Betty’s grey eyes and then across at Mum beside me and I don’t know what to say, but then I do. I have a question.
“Which sketch?”
Betty stands up and plods over in her big clumpy trainers to the table, picking up a piece of paper from the back. “Ms Frisp took a copy from your notebook,” she says as she comes back.
I look at the paper and I know exactly which sketch it is. It’s the last one I did in the robot notebook, the one I think is the best sketch I’ve ever drawn in my life ever.
It’s Kevin with his paw on the top of a trophy.
She holds it up and shows me, and Kevin turns his head and looks at it too, sniffing the white page, and then he licks it.
Betty laughs. “I think that’s a yes from Kevin,” she says. “But what do you say, Alex?”
I think hard, about all the people that will see the sketch, how it will be all over the posters and the trophies and even on the TV. Everyone will see Kevin and the trophy and I realise that this is a good thing and it makes me feel happy and excited and proud.
This is the best day of my life.
So I nod and give Kevin the biggest hug I’ve ever given him.
It’s hard to describe how surreal it is to be writing an acknowledgements page, yet here I am. Reaching this point in my career has been quite a journey and I have so many people to thank for keeping me on my path – I’ve stumbled and fallen off countless times!
To my publisher, Linsay Knight and her amazing team. Knowing how much PAWS means to you all is a feeling like no other. I received such a warm welcome into team Walker, and to have had a dedicated and wonderful group of professionals work together to bring Alex and Kevin’s story to life is a feeling unmatched. I ugly cried when I saw my cover for the first time, and it remains, without question, my favourite book cover in the world. Obviously.
To Alice Sutherland-Hawes, Judy Roberts, Lynn Leitch, Jessica Vitalis, Katrin Dreiling, J C Davis, Tammy Oja, Bella Ellwood-Clayton, Ellie Terry and Wendy Orr for your time, kind words and invaluable encouragement. To Matthew at Salt and Sage Books, my sensitivity readers, and to the editors at the Ink and Insights contest. To my mum and husband for reading and understanding the importance of this story and what it means to me and our family. Thank you all so much.
Thank you to every single one of my writer buddies who read chapters of this book and supported me throughout the ups and downs of querying and submission, and to the 21ders debut group for sharing your passion, love and experiences so openly. Only writers truly understand what this business is like on the inside!
Finally, to you, the amazing reader for whom this book was written. I hope PAWS brings you as much love and joy as it’s brought me. And be sure to pat all the dogs and thank them for their services. They make the world a better place.
Kate is a literary agent and children’s author writing books about friends, family, and always dogs. Originally from the south east of England, she now lives on the beautiful Gold Coast in Australia with her husband, three sons, and two naughty oodles.
First published in 2021
by Walker Books Australia Pty Ltd
Locked Bag 22, Newtown
NSW 2042 Australia
www.walkerbooks.com.au
The moral rights of the author have been asserted.
Text © 2021 Kate Foster
Cover illustration © 2021 Walker Books Australia Pty Ltd.
Cover illustration by Sarah Davis
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise – without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Kate Foster, Paws
