Chapter 62

No Pets In The House

When I got home, Mom and Dad weren't there, but Olivia was. She was texting one of her many friends, so she wasn't really paying attention, but she spotted me anyways.

"Where have you been?" she mumbled. She looked at Ursa. "And what is that thing?"

Ursa barked. "This is my dog Ursa," I explained.

"Dog? It looks more like a bear. Dogs are actually cute."

"Ursa's cute!"

"Whatever you say, Isabelle," Olivia said. "Here's a better question: what are you going to do with it?"

"I don't really know," I said. "She's been following me around for a while, but I can't keep doing that."

"You could just take her to the pound," Olivia suggested.

Ursa whimpered. "That's where I rescued her from! You don't even know what it's like there."

"Right," Olivia said. "Because you have to save the world every time you get the chance."

"Is there a problem with that?" I asked, half to Olivia and half to the Magic 8 Ball.

My sources say no.

"Not really," Olivia said. "You're obviously just trying to get attention though."

"No I'm not!" I shouted.

"Yes you are!"

"Let's stop arguing and figure out what to do with Ursa," I said.

"Why don't you just tell Mom and Dad about it?" Olivia said.

"They might let you do something like that, but not me," I said.

"Wait a second," Olivia said. "What if we pretended it was mine? Mom and Dad couldn't say no to that."

"Is that a good idea?" I asked the Magic 8 Ball.

It is certain.

"You know Olivia, that's the most intelligent thing I've ever heard you say," I said.

"You're very welcome, Isabelle. But you'll have to pay me back for this sometime. I don't do nice things for you for free."

"That won't be a problem," I said.

The door opened and Dad stepped inside. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" he shouted. "NO PETS IN THE HOUSE!"

"Daddy," Olivia said, giving Dad her best puppy-dog eyes. "Can we please, please keep her?"

"She might be someone else's."

"I already checked."

Dad sighed. "Fine, but you'll have to take care of her yourself."

"Yay! Thank you!" Olivia jumped up and gave Dad a big hug.

I wished I could sweet talk my way into things like that. Olivia was a master at getting what she wanted. I just had to keep her on my side, which would certainly be difficult. But in a way, I had gotten some of that ability. My two biggest helpers in getting Ursa back were Olivia and Candace, and just two months ago, I would have avoided both of them at all costs. Ursa was back, but there was still so much that had to be done. We still had to do the variety show to raise the rest of the money to save Barnswell. All of those other dogs were still at the pound. But with Ursa sleeping at my feet like a big, fluffy rug, I knew I was breaking free.