Nick stepped off the bus to the chants of the kids inside, “Dork Vader” “Puke Skywalker!” He turned his back and rubbed his eyes. No one would see him cry, he wouldn’t let them. He ran home as fast as he could; burst through the front door, threw his backpack on the couch and ran upstairs shouting, “I hate this school. I hate this town. I hate that backpack.” Nick’s mom, Jen, wandered into the living room. Staring at the abandoned Star Wars backpack that Nick had loved so much yesterday, she said to herself, “Well I guess that answers my question about how school was today.”
Nick’s mom knocked on his bedroom door. “Go away!” he shouted in a voice that sounded suspiciously like he was crying. “Nicky,” she said as she entered the room, “what happened?” Nick turned around and pushed his glasses up on his nose. “Why did we have to move here anyway? I liked my old school and my old friends. No one likes me here. I want to go home.” “This is home now,” his mom said. Sighing, Jen repeated the old argument, “You know dad had to move for work but we have a much nicer house now and a brand new school. You’ll make new friends Nicky but you have to give it a chance. You’ve only been there a few days.” Nick thought that sometimes grownups didn’t even try to understand little kids. “My teachers are okay I guess and some of the kids in the class are talking to me. I even made a friend, Kate.” “Oh,” Jen replied, ruffling Nick’s longish red hair, “Is she cute?” “Moooooom, ewww, I’m only 8, girls are gross. Well, most girls but Kate is kind of cool. She even likes Star Wars and she can play video games and everything.” Jen laughed. “So then what’s the problem?” Sniffling Nick told her about the kids on the school bus and how even though Kate was his friend, none of the boys were friends with him yet. It was hard being the new kid in third grade. Everyone knew each other already. “It’ll get better Nicky, I promise.” Nicky sighed and picked up a comic book off of the desk near his bed. Jen knew that meant he was done talking so she got up, “I guess I’ll go make dinner. You sure you’re okay Nicky?” “Yeah and hey, mom?” Nick said as she walked out the door. Jen turned. “I guess she is kind of cute, for a girl.” Jen laughed and went downstairs.
After dinner, Nick was in the living room playing his Wii. His dad, John, was home from work and helping his mom clean up the kitchen. He could hear them talking. Parents always thought kids couldn’t hear them. It’s like they thought they entered some kind of weird parent zone. His mom was telling his dad about the bus. Nick didn’t want to hear it so he went upstairs to do homework. If he had stuck around, he would have heard his dad say: “He needs a best friend honey, I think it’s time.” “But they are so much work John, are you sure?” “Well, we have a great big backyard now and I think Nick would like the responsibility of taking care of a dog.” “Okay, a puppy it is then.” If Nick had heard that part of the conversation, he would have been so excited because a puppy was the one thing Nick wished for every night before he went to sleep.
On Friday, when Nick came home from school, his dad was there waiting for him. “Hi dad, what are you doing home?” “Oh your mom and I had a friend that we thought you would want to meet.” Nick did his best not to roll his eyes. Dad’s idea of friends were usually some boring guy from work or worse, an annoying little kid who belonged to one of the boring guys from work. The very last thing Nick expected was his mom to walk in from the kitchen with a furry little bundle in her arms. “Nicky,” Jen said, “we found this little guy who needed a home and someone to take care of him. Think you can do it?” “Do I ever!” Nick said racing to his mom. “He’s really mine? I can keep him? Forever? What’s his name? What kind of dog is he?” Nick had a thousand questions as he reached for the puppy, which was now awake and squirming to get out of Jen’s arms as excited to meet Nick as Nick was to meet him. “Whoa, slow down Champ,” his dad said. “He’s a German Sheppard pup and he doesn’t have a name. We thought you would like to give him one and yes, he’s yours, forever. You have to take care of him though, feed him and walk him. I bet that if you do, he’ll be your best friend.” Nick, whose week on the bus had been as rough as that first day, was ready to have a best friend. “I’ll do everything,” he said, breathless with laughter as the puppy licked his face over and over again. “So what’s his name?” his mom asked. “Hmmm I think I’ll call him Chewy.” His dad laughed at the nod to one of Nick’s favorite Star Wars characters and his mom thought, chewing everything in sight was probably all that this puppy was going to do. Nick took great care of his puppy that day and at night, Chewy and Nick laid side by side in Nick’s bed, sound asleep, already the best of friends.
Nick wasted no time that weekend in getting the things he needed to take care of Chewy. He went with his dad to the pet store and made sure that Chewy had tags, a leash, bowls for food and water, a nice comfy bed (Nick insisted on trying them all out himself until he found the right one) and several kinds of chew toys. Nick even picked out a teddy bear because he figured Chewy was a baby and all babies need something to cuddle. John laughed as Nick went through the store making careful selections in every aisle. It might cost a fortune but his dad knew he had made the right move and that Chewy would help Nick grow as much as Nick would help him.
Shannon McCauley - Author 
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