The Upside-Down Day by Beverly Lewis Page A

“Nice doggie!” Carly cried when she spied Honey.
    â€œEllen, meet my sister and brother, Carly and Jimmy,” said Abby.
    â€œHi, Ellen, what’s your doggie’s name?” Carly asked.
    â€œHi, Carly.” Ellen laughed. “I call my dog Honey.”
    â€œI like puppy dogs,” said Jimmy, petting Honey.
    Eric Hagel came running, too. “Better hurry, or we’ll be late for school,” he said.
    â€œRelax, Eric,” said Dunkum. “Give Jason a chance to catch up.”
    Jason Birchall ran along behind Eric.
    Soon, Abby’s Korean brother Shawn came down Blossom Hill Lane. “I am very sorry to be late.” It sounded like velly sorry.
    â€œNobody’s late,” Dunkum said, shooting one more basket.
    But Dunkum’s mom dashed across the lawn. “ I’m late! I must enroll Ellen before she can attend school.”
    â€œOops, I almost forgot,” Dunkum said.
    The girls covered their mouths, giggling.
    â€œWhat’s so funny?” Dunkum asked.
    Abby swallowed another giggle. “Oh, nothing,” she said.
    Eric tossed the basketball to Jason.
    Jason bounced the ball slowly. He stared at Ellen and Honey. “Who’s the new girl?” he asked.
    Dunkum sounded like he was making a speech. “Everybody, meet my cousin Ellen. Ellen, meet Eric Hagel, Shawn Hunter, and Jason Birchall.”
    â€œNow we are gonna be late!” Eric complained.
    The kids turned and hurried down the walk.
    Jason watched Honey guide Ellen forward. “How will the dog know when to cross the street?” he asked.
    â€œShe’s trained to listen for cars,” Dunkum said. “Just watch when we get to the curb.”
    Abby’s sister, Carly, suddenly dropped her show-and-tell. It was a giant green lizard puppet with a long tail.
    Honey began barking loudly.
    Ellen frowned and stopped walking.“What’s wrong with Honey?” She tightened her hold on the harness.
    â€œIt’s OK, Ellen,” said Dunkum. “It’s just Carly’s ugly puppet.”
    â€œShe’s not ugly!” shouted Carly.
    Dunkum chuckled. “It’s a she ?”
    â€œGod made girl lizards, too,” Carly said, grinning.
    â€œYou’re right,” said Dunkum. “I forgot.” He circled the girls, bouncing the ball.
    The Cul-de-sac Kids laughed as they reached the end of the block.
    Honey led Ellen to the curb. They waited for a moment. A car passed by slowly, and Honey stepped back. Ellen did, too.
    Soon it was safe. The dog guided Ellen across the street to school.
    â€œWow,” said Carly and Dee Dee.
    â€œHoney’s cool,” said Eric.
    Dunkum’s mother took Ellen and her dog to the school office. The kids yelled their good-byes. They promised to meet at recess.
    â€œTwo things will be exciting this week,”Abby said. “One is School Spirit Day. The second thing is having a dog for a classmate.”
    â€œNo kidding,” said Stacy. Her eyes were bright.
    Abby could hardly wait for school to start!

TWO
    Miss Hershey was seating a girl with red pigtails.
    â€œLooks like we have another new girl,” Abby said. She tried not to stare.
    Stacy opened her desk behind Abby’s.
    Abby watched her friend dig through her desk. “What are you looking for?” she asked.
    â€œA piece of paper,” Stacy muttered. She closed her desk quickly.
    Abby ripped a page from her notebook. “Here.” She gave the paper to Stacy.
    Stacy began to draw a secret message for the new girl. The letters and numbersspelled out something special.
    Well + come 2 R Class
    â€œWill you take this to the new girl?” she asked.
    â€œ You take it. Don’t be shy,” Abby said. She pushed the note back into Stacy’s hand.
    Stacy wrinkled her face. Then she crept across the room. She slid the note onto the new girl’s desk. And she hurried back to her own desk.
    Abby and Stacy watched the