the glassless window of the fuselage as the sounds of screeching macaws drifted in.
“A couple of years ago, I rescued a yellow Lab that was hit by a car. I pledged my undying loyalty to it. I wanted it to know I would take care of it for the rest of its life.”
The freckle above his lip bounced as he relived the emotion of saving the dog. His hazel eyes radiated goodness—he was a somber superhero, with magical healing hands that saved the lives of animals. He’d be able to heal Allie from the trauma she’d suffered with Fletcher and during her identity-theft period at Alpha Academy. As soon as she figured out how to get back together with him, they would heal each other.
“Unfortunately, the dog’s owner came and took him home. But something about rescuing this old dog made me attached, in a major way. It was like we were destined to find one another. He needed someone, and I happened to be there.”
That was
it
! Allie’s heart bloomed in her chest like a daffodil shooting out of the ground after a long, cold winter. All Allie needed to do was pretend to be as injured as Old Yeller. If she needed rescuing, Darwin would automatically respond—it was in his DNA to take care of people. And after he rescued her, he would think they were destined to be together. She sat back in her airplane seat and grinned, spinning her blond hair into a high knot on topof her head. She couldn’t wait to tell Charlie about the new plan.
Allie opened up the compartment on her tablet and pulled out her thimble again. Now that she had a reason to write, the words flowed quickly.
Be the wounded doggie and lure the rescuing hero!
“To be continued!” Keifer announced, breaking Allie’s concentration. “Class dismissed. Work on these tonight, and tomorrow we’ll turn them into sonnets!”
“Ready?” Charlie stood in front of Allie’s chair, an eager smile on her face. She hopped from one foot to the other, looking more than ready to bail.
“Yeah.” Allie stood up and leaned in close to Charlie so none of the other writers would overhear. “I figured out a plan for—”
“Let’s get a move on,” Charlie cut her off. Her brown eyes darted around distractedly. “I mean, tell me in a minute. I want to get out of this airplane and back to earth.”
“Okay….” Allie wondered why Charlie was so impatient. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Darwin hustling down the spiral staircase and hurrying away.
When Charlie and Allie reached the bottom of the tree, Allie was surprised to see Mel leaning against the gnarled trunk, checking his aPod. He wore his Alphas blazer over a lemon-yellow button-down, khaki shorts, and flip-flops, andhis white-blond hair almost glowed in the dappled, leaf-speckled shade of the tree. Not that Allie cared. She was too busy working out the details of her pooch ploy to worry about faux-flirting her way into Mel’s heart.
“Hey Mel,” Charlie said, doing a terrible job of feigning surprise. “Are you here to see Darwin?”
“Not exactly,” Mel said, his chiseled cheeks lifting in a smile as he aimed his lavender eyes straight at Allie.
Allie smiled back at him, but her legs itched to catch up with Darwin. She stuck her hands in the pockets of her pleated mini and cleared her throat. Her eyes shot from Charlie to Mel and back again. Both of them looked at her expectantly.
“Well, nice seeing you,” she finally said, giving Mel a tight smile. “Gotta run!”
“Maybe Mel should walk you to acting class,” Charlie suggested a little too eagerly.
“Sure, I could do that,” Mel said, nodding. “It’s kind of on my way.”
“Nah.” Allie shook her head. “I have a monologue to memorize. Gotta do it solo, of course! Bye!”
Without waiting for a reply, Allie whirled around on the toe of her gladiator sandal and took off, power-walking down the path and not looking back. Charlie was wrong—faking an interest in Mel wasn’t where Allie’s acting talents were needed. She
“A couple of years ago, I rescued a yellow Lab that was hit by a car. I pledged my undying loyalty to it. I wanted it to know I would take care of it for the rest of its life.”
The freckle above his lip bounced as he relived the emotion of saving the dog. His hazel eyes radiated goodness—he was a somber superhero, with magical healing hands that saved the lives of animals. He’d be able to heal Allie from the trauma she’d suffered with Fletcher and during her identity-theft period at Alpha Academy. As soon as she figured out how to get back together with him, they would heal each other.
“Unfortunately, the dog’s owner came and took him home. But something about rescuing this old dog made me attached, in a major way. It was like we were destined to find one another. He needed someone, and I happened to be there.”
That was
it
! Allie’s heart bloomed in her chest like a daffodil shooting out of the ground after a long, cold winter. All Allie needed to do was pretend to be as injured as Old Yeller. If she needed rescuing, Darwin would automatically respond—it was in his DNA to take care of people. And after he rescued her, he would think they were destined to be together. She sat back in her airplane seat and grinned, spinning her blond hair into a high knot on topof her head. She couldn’t wait to tell Charlie about the new plan.
Allie opened up the compartment on her tablet and pulled out her thimble again. Now that she had a reason to write, the words flowed quickly.
Be the wounded doggie and lure the rescuing hero!
“To be continued!” Keifer announced, breaking Allie’s concentration. “Class dismissed. Work on these tonight, and tomorrow we’ll turn them into sonnets!”
“Ready?” Charlie stood in front of Allie’s chair, an eager smile on her face. She hopped from one foot to the other, looking more than ready to bail.
“Yeah.” Allie stood up and leaned in close to Charlie so none of the other writers would overhear. “I figured out a plan for—”
“Let’s get a move on,” Charlie cut her off. Her brown eyes darted around distractedly. “I mean, tell me in a minute. I want to get out of this airplane and back to earth.”
“Okay….” Allie wondered why Charlie was so impatient. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Darwin hustling down the spiral staircase and hurrying away.
When Charlie and Allie reached the bottom of the tree, Allie was surprised to see Mel leaning against the gnarled trunk, checking his aPod. He wore his Alphas blazer over a lemon-yellow button-down, khaki shorts, and flip-flops, andhis white-blond hair almost glowed in the dappled, leaf-speckled shade of the tree. Not that Allie cared. She was too busy working out the details of her pooch ploy to worry about faux-flirting her way into Mel’s heart.
“Hey Mel,” Charlie said, doing a terrible job of feigning surprise. “Are you here to see Darwin?”
“Not exactly,” Mel said, his chiseled cheeks lifting in a smile as he aimed his lavender eyes straight at Allie.
Allie smiled back at him, but her legs itched to catch up with Darwin. She stuck her hands in the pockets of her pleated mini and cleared her throat. Her eyes shot from Charlie to Mel and back again. Both of them looked at her expectantly.
“Well, nice seeing you,” she finally said, giving Mel a tight smile. “Gotta run!”
“Maybe Mel should walk you to acting class,” Charlie suggested a little too eagerly.
“Sure, I could do that,” Mel said, nodding. “It’s kind of on my way.”
“Nah.” Allie shook her head. “I have a monologue to memorize. Gotta do it solo, of course! Bye!”
Without waiting for a reply, Allie whirled around on the toe of her gladiator sandal and took off, power-walking down the path and not looking back. Charlie was wrong—faking an interest in Mel wasn’t where Allie’s acting talents were needed. She
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