Dream Dogs

4

Crystal
Aimee Harper

Special thanks toThe Happy Dog Grooming Parlour, Farnham

Table of Contents

Cover Page

Title Page

Dedication

Introducing…

One Here is The News

Two Football Crazy

Three Surprise at the Salon

Four Mimi

Five In Trouble with Amber

Six A Step Too Far

Seven Friends Again

Eight Makeover Time

Dream Dogs CHARLIE

Acknowledgements

Copyright

About the Publisher

Introducing…

Name: Crystal

Breed: Pomeranian (Pom)

Age: I

Colour: Creamy butterscotch and snowy white

Likes: Playing outside, kisses and cuddles

Dislikes: Her diamante collar

Most likely to be mistaken for: A teddy bear

Least likely to be mistaken for: A muddy Great Dane!

One Here is The News

Bella put her head out from behind the changingroom curtain. “Are you ready, Mum?” she said in excitement.

Bella’s mum, Suzi, put down the magazine she had been reading. “Come on then,” she said. “Show us what you’ve found.”

Bella flung back the curtain. The silky t-shirt fell to her knees and the fabric felt really light and lovely on her skin. But the best bit of all was the big picture of a puppy on the front. The puppy was panting in the cutest way. All around the picture was a frame of sprinkled sequins that caught the shop lights.

Bella’s little brother, Louie, stuck his fingers down his throat and pretended to throw up.

Ignoring him, Bella gazed hopefully at her mum. Suzi ran a dog parlour called Dream Dogs in Sandmouth, where they lived. She was completely crazy about dogs, just the same as Bella was. She was bound to love this outfit. Wasn’t she?

“What do you think?” Bella prompted. “It’s for Amber’s birthday, remember – down at the beach. I can wear it over my cozzie if it’s hot and I can wear it with jeans if it’s cold.”

“It’s GROSS!” Louie hooted.

Bella looked scornfully at her brother in his grotty old Sandmouth Hornets football shirt. She wondered if Louie ever actually took his shirt off. “Like you’re a fashion expert,” she said. “NOT.”

At last, Suzi reacted by bursting into laughter. Bella wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or not. She waited cautiously until her mum stopped spluttering.

“I love it!” Suzi gasped. “Do they have it in my size? Oh, you have to get that for the party, Bella, love. It’s completely perfect.”

Louie groaned. Bella shot him a triumphant glance and whisked back into the changing room again to take it off. She could have it! She’d be the best-dressed girl at Amber’s beach party for sure!

“I saw something like this in one of your magazines, Mum,” Bella said happily as they went up to the till to pay for the new t-shirt. “Mimi Taylor was wearing it.”

Taking out her purse, Suzi counted the money for the girl behind the till. “I remember,” she said. “Only Mimi had it quite tight and cropped, didn’t she?”

“With a cute picture of her little dog, Crystal, on the front,” Bella said with a sigh. “She got it done specially. Crystal goes everywhere with Mimi. I wish we could take Pepper anywhere we wanted.”

Bella, her mum and her brother all looked out of the shop. Pepper, their scruffy brown dog, was sitting patiently on the pavement with his lead tied to a post by the door.

“I bet Mimi can take Crystal into shops,” Bella continued.

“Mimi carries her little dog in a special bag,” Suzi pointed out. “I don’t think Pepper would like that very much. Besides, he’d be much too heavy to carry around all day. I’d feel like I was lugging the supermarket shopping everywhere I went.”

Louie looked disgusted. “The only interesting thing about Mimi Taylor,” he said, “is that she’s married to Idaho Taylor.”

Suzi looked blank.

“The footballer, Mum,” Bella reminded her. Her mum was well up on fashion icons, but not on who they were married to.

“Oh yes,” said Suzi, nodding. “He plays for Chelsea United or something, doesn’t he?”

As Bella and Louie both rolled their eyes, Bella heard the girl behind the till clearing her throat. She was doing it in this special way which Bella knew at once meant that she wanted to say something important.

“Excuse me butting in,” said the girl, “but I don’t suppose you’ve heard yet, have you?”

Suzi’s eyes brightened. She could smell gossip a mile away. “Heard what?” she said at once.

The girl took her time folding Bella’s new t-shirt and sliding it carefully into the bag. “About Mimi Taylor,” she said, pushing the bag towards Bella.

“What about her?” Bella asked. For some reason, her heart had started thumping. There was something in the girl’s face.

“She’s moving to Sandmouth,” said the girl triumphantly. “Her boyfriend’s just been bought by the Hornets.”

Louie choked.

“Sandmouth Hornets have bought Idaho Taylor?” Bella gasped out loud.

The girl leaned forward. “My boyfriend works at the estate agent’s up the hill,” she said in a confiding way. “He’s just sold a big house to a footballer who needed somewhere for himself, his wife, his son and his very small dog. Idaho Taylor is going to be playing for the Hornets next season!”

Two Football Crazy

Louie charged out of the shop. “IDAHO TAYLOR!” he yelled. “IDAHO TAYLOR’S GONNA PLAY FOR THE HORNETS!”

Suzi dashed out of the shop after him. “LOUIE!” Bella heard her mum hollering. “LOUIE, come back here!”

Bella tried to gather her scattered thoughts. Mimi Taylor! Here in Sandmouth! It was unbelievable!

“I’m really sorry my brother’s yelling like that,” she said to the girl behind the till. Words and thoughts were tumbling through her head like a rockfall. “I hope it wasn’t meant to be a secret!”

“It was until this morning,” said the girl cheerfully. “But nothing stays a secret in Sandmouth for long. It’ll be in the paper today, I expect. But don’t forget – you heard it here first!”

Outside the shop window, Bella could see that her mum had caught Louie and was now scolding him. Louie was hopping up and down like a rabbit on elastic but he had stopped shouting Idaho Taylor’s name.

Still in a daze at the news that a mega fashion icon like Mimi Taylor was going to be living in her home town, Bella knelt down to untie Pepper. Pepper jumped up at her, barking madly. Louie’s excitement was infectious.

“Mimi Taylor is coming to live in Sandmouth!” Bella said breathlessly, giving Pepper a big squeezy hug that made him yelp. “I can’t WAIT to tell Amber!”

Bella skipped the whole way home, the bag with her new t-shirt swinging from her hand. She was meeting Amber at the beach in an hour. She’d tell her about Mimi Taylor then. It would be great. She couldn’t wait to see the shock on her best friend’s face!

“IDAHO,” Louie began, swinging round a lamp-post.

“Louie!”

“Sorry, Mum…”

Bella skipped after her mum and her brother, down on to the seafront and along the beach. The wind gusted in over the sand, taking away the heat of the bright May sunshine.

“MIMI,” she sang. “MIMI! MIMI!”

“Hey!” said Louie indignantly. “How come you’re not telling Bella off, Mum?”

“I’m just singing,” Bella giggled. “Mimimimimi…”

“That’s enough, kids,” said Suzi. She looked quite breathless herself. “The first editions of the Sandmouth Bugle should be in by now. I wonder if it’s got the news?”

Judging from the group of people standing around the news kiosk on the beach, the news was already spreading. Suzi bought a paper, lifting it high out of Louie’s reach. IDAHO COMING TO SANDMOUTH! roared the headline.

Pepper barked and jumped up at the paper like it was a bone. Suzi rolled it tightly against the wind and tucked it under her arm.

“We can read it back at home,” she said. “Come on. My first appointment today is at ten-thirty, and it’s nearly twenty-five past.”

“Who’s coming?” Bella asked. She hoped it would be someone who’d be as excited as she was about Mimi Taylor.

“Mr Evans,” said Suzi. “Barney and Nugget both need a wash and a trim.”

Bella gave a whoop. Her teacher Mr Evans had two golden retrievers. One of them, Nugget, had stayed with Bella for a while until Mr Evans had offered Nugget a permanent home. Now Nugget was one of Bella’s favourite customers. Mr Evans wasn’t a big follower of fashion though. She’d have to save her news for Amber after all.

Mr Evans was standing outside Dream Dogs as Suzi rushed up to the salon door with her keys.

“Have you heard the news, Mr Evans?” said Louie breathlessly. “Idaho Taylor is coming to play for the Hornets!”

“I know,” Mr Evans smiled, “His son is joining Cliffside Primary. Your class, in fact, Louie. I was sworn to secrecy, of course. But now the news is out, I suppose there’s no harm in telling you.”

“Idaho Taylor’s son is going to be in my class?” said Louie. He sounded almost hysterical. “My class?”

“What’s the lad called?” asked Suzi, unlocking the salon door and letting everyone in. “Tiger or something, isn’t it?”

“Panther,” said Mr Evans. “Pan for short, apparently.”

Bella giggled. It was a crazy name. But theneverything felt crazy today.

Bella helped Suzi adjust the water temperature in the shower head as Suzi and Mr Evans chatted about the news. Louie raced to the flat, keen to look up all the facts he could find about Idaho Taylor.

“Come on, Nugget,” said Suzi, coaxing the golden retriever up the steps that led to the waist-high bath. “Come along now. This won’t hurt.”

Maybe they’d actually meet Mimi Taylor at the school gates, Bella thought dreamily. She fondled Nugget’s ears, and the big golden dog jumped up at her.

“Down, girl!” she laughed, and aimed the shower head at Nugget’s shaggy back.

Nugget was very shaggy. It took ages just to get her fur wet enough to lather up the shampoo. She stood patiently as Bella and her mum soaped around her face and under her tummy, round her feet and her tail.

“I wonder if Mimi will bring her little dog to the salon?” Suzi said suddenly.

“Oooh!” Bella gasped. Dream Dogs was the only dog salon in Sandmouth. Mimi and Crystal were bound to visit!

“Oooh!” Mr Evans shouted, but for slightly different reasons. “Be careful where you’re pointing that water, Bella!”

Bella lowered the shower head quickly and turned off the taps. She’d just soaked Mr Evans’s shoes.

“It’s ten past eleven, Bella,” said Suzi, checking the clock on the salon wall. “Weren’t you supposed to meet Amber on the beach at eleven?”

“Hmm?” said Bella dreamily. She was lost in a daydream where her mum became Mimi Taylor’s best friend and she, Bella, got invited round to try on all of Mimi’s clothes while her mum and Mimi drank coffee.

“Amber?” Suzi repeated.

Bella dropped the shower head into the bath. She’d completely forgotten. Amber was always on time when they met up. She was going to be well mad.

“Gotta go!” she gasped, before grabbing a fleece off the peg by the door and charging out of the salon. “Come on, Pepper. Walkies!”

Three Surprise at the Salon

It was twenty past eleven before Bella arrived at the place where she and Amber had arranged to meet.

“What time do you call this?” Amber said, folding her arms.

“Sorry,” Bella panted. She was out of breath.

Pepper frisked down to the water’s edge and started barking merrily at the waves. “But there’s been the most amazing news, Amber. You won’t believe it, but—”

“Idaho Taylor’s going to play for the Hornets, I know,” Amber interrupted. “My brother’s a Hornets fan too, remember?”

Bella stopped. The girl in the shop had been right. Nothing stayed a secret in Sandmouth for long.

“So you know about Mimi too then?” she said, disappointed. “Mum thinks she’ll bring Crystal to the salon! How cool is that?”

Amber shrugged. “Whatever,” she said. “Listen, now you’re here can we talk about the party?”

“What party?” said Bella absently.

“MY party,” said Amber. She frowned. “That’s why we’re meeting, remember?”

Oops. Bella’s head was so full of Mimi Taylor that she’d actually forgotten about Amber’s party. “Oh yes, of course,” she said quickly. “I just bought the best top for the party, Amber.

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