Chapter 10

Chapter ten The next day at school, all I thought about was Cheerio. I'm usually pretty bad about paying attention. Like when Principal Love is talking on the loudspeaker, I always stare at the clouds outside, wondering if ants could build a colony in them. After school, my dad came to pick me up. When I saw him, I was totally surprised. He was holding a leash, and at the end of it was my new dog. "Cheerio!" I called out. "Hey, is that your dog?" Nick McKelty said as he tripped down the front steps. "He's really short." "But very cute," Katie Sperling said. Katie

has loved animals ever since we were in preschool. Everyone wanted a chance to pet him, but all Cheerio wanted was to see me. He tugged on the leash and stood up on his hind legs, panting. I ran to him and knelt down, letting him kiss me all over my face. "Taking Cheerio on a walk together was a great idea, Dad," I said. "Why don't we take him to the park? The fresh air will be good for all of us." "You might be right, Hank," my dad answered. "I just read an article that says exercise can sharpen the mind." My dad has a way of making everything fun seem like a life lesson. But I didn't care. I was getting park time with Cheerio. I couldn't wait to see what he'd think of all that grass.

We walked down 78th Street all the way to Riverside Park. The minute Cheerio saw the grass, he took off running. I was holding the leash, and he practically pulled me off my feet. There were so many new things for him to explore. He couldn't decide what to do first. He ran to the rocks and sniffed all around them. He ran to the tree and sniffed some more. When he found a fire hydrant, I thought his nose was going to fall off from over-sniffing. We headed toward the basketball courts. "Oh, look who's there shooting some hoops," my dad said. "Isn't that boy in your class? He's with his father, who just bought the bowling alley on Eighty-Sixth street." When I looked over to the basketball court, my heart sank down to my knees. There was Nick McKelty, shooting baskets with his dad. Nick was the last person I wanted to see right now.

"Let's go say hello," my dad suggested. "Let's not and say we did." "Well, I'm going to say hello," my dad said. "A man with a new bowling alley is going to need some help with his computers. And, might I remind you, that is what I do for a living." Before I could stop him, my dad had marched up to Mr. McKelty and introduced himself. Right away, they started talking about business. I don't know why grown-ups always do that. That left me and Nick McKelty staring at each other with nothing to say.

"Your dog looks like a hot dog," McKelty sneered. Cheerio just wagged his tail happily. i guess some puppies don't know a jerk when they see one. "I bet he feels like one, too," McKelty added. Then he bent down to touch Cheerio. But instead of petting him, he unhooked his leash from his collar! Cheerio took off running. "Come back, Cheerio!" I yelled as he chased a fat gray squirrel around the park. But Cheerio wasn't interested in listening. All he was thinking about was catching that squirrel. "Hank!" my father called out. "Get your dog!"

I went after him, but I couldn't catch him. No matter which direction I went, Cheerio ran the opposite way. To him, it was a game. McKelty just stood there laughing his head off. "You are such a loser, Zippertooth," he said under his breath as I ran by him for the fifth time. My dad joined in the chase. He ran after Cheerio, but he didn't have any more success than I did. A mom pushing a stroller stepped out of the way so he could run by her. Two little kids on the swings just pointed and laughed. Cheerio never got tired. Finally, he stopped right next to the fountain to catch his breath. Panting hard, he looked up at the statue in the middle of it. It's a statue of a man on a horse. I think Cheerio thought he could play with the horse, because he jumped right into the fountain. "Now I've got you cornered!" my dad yelled. And with that, he jumped into the fountain, too, shoes and all. A tourist with a camera stopped