Chapter 8

Chapter 8 PUT YOUR PANS TOGETHER FOR JODIS ALL-PURPOSE PET SERVICE! Back in the real world, it had been several days since Jodi had shown her presentation to her parents. Several days since they had told her "We'll see." And in that time, Jodi had begun to worry that Morgan was right. Maybe she had gotten her hopes up too soon. That was when Jodi decided she needed to prove herself. She needed a plan. She had started with their next-door neighbor. Miss Maribelle was a small woman with two large dogs. Beefy, a muscular German shepherd, liked to tug at his leash. Bo, an energetic Labrador, tried to chase everything that moved. Miss Maribelle had to

walk them one at a time so they wouldn't drag her all over town. Jodi offered to walk Beefy and Bo in the mornings, to give her neighbor a break. At the dog park, Jodi had met other dog owners. Some of them asked Jodi if she would walk their dogs from time to time. Some of them even offered to pay!

It was a dream come true. Getting paid money to spend time with animals? She said yes to everyone who asked. Including one very familiar face. "I can't believe you're going to walk Doc's dog," Po told her as they moved along the sidewalk. "In fact, I can't believe Doc is a dog person! Are you sure she isn't paying you to walk a killer robot?" "I'm sure," Jodi said, and she tugged on Bo's leash to keep him on the sidewalk. "I met her dog at the park just the other day." Po narrowed his eyes. "So it's a very convincing killer robot," he said. "With a fur suit and everything." Jodi shrugged. "Only if killer robots love to eat Vegan pepperoni," she said. It was early in the morning, but there was no school for the entire week—and that meant no basketball practice for Po. He had offered to tag along, just so he had something to do. The others were also coming along, simply out of curiosity. They'd never seen a teacher's house before! "I bet Doc has a smart home," said Harper. "With all the latest gadgets."

"In that case, look out for stray lasers," said Theo. "Doc can be a real menace around technology, if you haven't noticed." "We've noticed," said Morgan. "Believe me, we've noticed." Doc wasn't just responsible for their special VR goggles. It had been her experiments with AI, or artificial intelligence, that had led to the unintended creation of the Evoker King. But if they were expecting a high-tech wonderland, they were disappointed. From the outside, Doc's house looked just like any other—with the exception of a souped-up antenna on the roof. Harper grinned at the sight of the device. "She probably gets channels from Alpha Centauri on that thing!" she said happily. As soon as Doc answered the door, a poodle bounded out onto the porch. The dog shook its pompom tail at the sight of Jodi. "Hello, Nicolaus Pupernicus!" Jodi cooed. "I'm happy to see you, too. Yes, I am!" "Students! Greetings," Doc said brightly. "I hope you're enjoying your time off." "We are now," said Po as he scratched the poodle behind its ears. "What a cutie!"

"He is cute," agreed Doc. "He's also crafty! He takes after his mama." Doc chuckled to herself. "He's even found a way to slip out of his collar once or twice. If he gets away from you, call him back with this, and he'll come running." Doc handed Jodi a strange piece of high- tech equipment. It looked a little like a flute… mixed with a spaceship. "What is it?" asked Jodi. The teacher bounced on the tips of her toes. "Why, it's a dog whistle of my own design!" said Doc. "I guess now we know what Doc does with her time off," Morgan whispered, and Harper quickly shushed him.

"I've heard about dog whistles," said Jodi. She turned to her friends. "Dogs have very sensitive ears. They can hear sounds that are too high-pitched for human ears. That's what a dog whistle does. It makes a sound that only dogs can hear." She turned back to Doc. "But why is this one so, um…complicated?" "I've made great improvements to it," said Doc. "Think about it: Why make a single silent note when you can play an entire silent symphony? I think you'll agree that dogs deserve to enjoy music that is more sophisticated than a simple whistle can deliver." Doc handed Jodi a thick instruction manual. "It looks complicated, but it's really quite simple once you get the hang of it. Play 'Claire de Lune' to get him to sit, Beethoven's Fifth to get him to come to you, and 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' to get him to play dead." "Got it," said Po. "I think." As Jodi led the dogs away from Doc's porch, Po reached for the whistle. "This I've got to try," he said.