Read Introducing Serina K., Ph.D. and Future Famous Person Page 10

  Chapter Ten: Suzy and Mrs. Barnes

  Autumn and I talked about what we could bring for the time capsule on the walk home until we reached Mrs. Barnes’s house. Autumn had an old Raggedy Ann doll that she said she might bring. She had had the doll since she was 4 years old, but wanted to get rid of it because everyone is always joking that she looks like Raggedy Ann with her long red hair and freckles. Her parents wouldn’t let her give it away because it was a Christmas gift from her great-grandmother. They might change their minds if they thought it was for an important school project like this.

  “I thought about writing my memoirs for the time capsule. Every famous person has written their memoirs. I should be famous for something by the time the capsule is opened.

  “Whoever finds it will probably just sell your memoirs on eBay,” Autumn joked.

  She had a good point. I’ll probably wait to write my memoirs. Book companies will probably pay a fortune for my memoirs after I become famous. I can picture my memoirs on the bestsellers list...The Life and Times of Serina K.: The World Famous Chef, Scientist, Veterinarian, and PhD. That should be a bestseller for sure. There’s no way that I was going to let someone else get rich from my memoirs. I’d just have to think of something else to put in the time capsule.

  “Look, there’s Suzy,” Autumn said as we approached the sidewalk in front of Mrs. Barnes’s house.

  “Where?” I asked.

  “On Mrs. Barnes’s front porch,” Autumn said.

  Sure enough, Suzy was curled up in a ball and sleeping on Mrs. Barnes’s doorstep.

  “Suzy, come here boy,” I yelled.

  Suzy slowly raised his head and opened his eyes as if he had been awoken from a deep sleep. He looked around bewildered before laying his head back down between his paws.

  “Suzy!” I yelled.

  Suzy jumped up and ran down the porch when he recognized my voice. He nearly knocked me over when he ran to greet me. Autumn’s face received the usual tongue bathing as she bent down to pet him.

  “What were you doing up there?” I asked Suzy while petting him. “You’re going to get me in a lot of trouble.”

  Suzy just stared at me with his big, brown eyes and his tail wagging like a helicopter propeller.

  “Uh-oh,” Autumn mumbled.

  When I looked up, I saw Mrs. Barnes standing on her porch with her hands on her hips. She had the same look on her face that Mrs. Crocker had when Suzy caused a commotion during the National Anthem.

  When Suzy saw Mrs. Barnes, she ran back up the porch steps and nearly knocked her down like she did me moments ago. Mrs. Barnes seemed just as excited to see him. To my astonishment, she bent over to rub his belly as he rolled over on his back. Suzy’s legs twitched as Mrs. Barnes massaged his stomach. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Suzy had never acted this way with anyone else but me before. I was beginning to feel jealous.

  “Can you girls come here for a minute?” Mrs. Barnes asked.

  “Serina, does this dog belong to you?” she asked when Autumn and I walked up to the porch.

  “Yes, Mam,” I replied.

  “What’s his name?”

  “Suzy,” I said.

  “Suzy?” she asked with a bewildered look on her face.

  “It’s a long story,” I assured her.

  “I wouldn’t expect anything less from you,” she joked. “Well, Suzy has been spending a lot of time around here.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I’ll take him home now and see that he doesn’t bother you anymore.”

  “No, it’s ok,” she said. “I’ve become quite fond of him. He usually arrives at the same time each morning and will stay around most of the day. He keeps me company and helps take care of Penny and the puppies.”

  “Puppies?” Autumn asked. “Come on in,” Mrs. Barnes said. “I’ve got something to show you.”

  Suzy ran in the house as soon as Mrs. Barnes opened the door. The inside of Mrs. Barnes’s house was awesome. The living room had a couch that wrapped around the entire room. There was a television screen on the center wall that covered the entire wall. There was a crystal chandelier in the dining room hanging over a shiny, wooden table that looked big enough to seat my entire class. The silverware was wrapped in cloth napkins with a lace bow tied around it. I had never seen a house like this before except for on TV. Mrs. Barnes must have been famous at one time or another. I’ll have to search for her name on the internet later.

  Suzy led us through the house as if it were his own. With his tail swinging and his nose to the ground, he navigated his way down the stairs and into the basement. The basement looked like it was mostly used for storage. There were several boxes stacked up along with some other antique items. A revolving fan sat in the middle of the room blowing cool air on a cardboard box in the basement corner.

  “Meet Penny,” said Mrs. Barnes.

  Penny is a beautiful, yellow Labrador Retriever. She raised her head over the box curiously when she heard her name. Suzy walked over to Penny and licked her across the face.

  “Suzy’s got a girlfriend. That’s so sweet,” Autumn said.

  We walked to the box to pet Penny as Suzy sniffed each of the puppies she was nursing. Two of the puppies were yellow like their mother, three were black and brown like Suzy, and one was solid black. Their eyes were not open yet. Suzy and Penny both stared at me with pride when I picked a black and brown puppy up.

  “They’re so tiny and cute,” I said.

  Suzy jumped up, sniffed the puppy to make sure that it was ok, and licked me across the face. He did the same to Autumn when she picked up the solid black puppy.

  “He’s a proud father,” said Mrs. Barnes. “He comes by every morning to check on them around 7:30 and stays until the afternoon. He lies down on that blanket beside the box when he gets tired. Sometimes he’ll lie there and watch the puppies while Penny gets up to take a break from nursing.”

  “That explains why he hasn’t been at school all week,” said Autumn.

  Mrs. Barnes laughed when I told her about Suzy howling during the National Anthem.

  “Mr. Brady gave me until tomorrow to find a way to keep Suzy at home,” I explained. “Luckily, he’s been here taking care of the puppies all week, but I’m afraid he’s going to follow me tomorrow for some reason. I’m scared that my dad will make me give Suzy back to my cousin if Mr. Brady calls him.”

  “Don’t worry about Mr. Brady,” she assured me. “I donate a considerable amount of money to the school district every year. I’ll make sure that he doesn’t call your dad.”

  Mrs. Barnes asked us if we wanted to go swimming after we were through admiring the puppies. She said that the pool wasn’t used much since her children grew up and that we could use it whenever we wanted. She also said that we could visit the puppies every day and help find them good homes when they were old enough to give away.

  Even though I was jealous at first, I was glad that Suzy had become friends with Mrs. Barnes. She sure was a nice lady. She even said that Autumn and I could have our pick of the puppies. Autumn said that she would ask her dad if she could have one when she got home. Even though they were cute, I don’t think I’m going to keep one. I can just picture Suzy and his pup both howling the National Anthem outside my classroom. Suzy’s the best dog in the world, but I don’t think that I could keep up with another dog just like him.