Nobody's Dog by Ria Voros Page B

up in the sky. I don’t even know what Cygnus looks like. I’ll never find it just standing here.
    Chilko sneezes beside me.
    A piece of the puzzle just dropped out of the sky but I have no idea where to go from here. I wish I could remember. “Let’s go,” I mutter. “This is stupid.”
    We walk two more blocks along Cygnet Street but nothing gets more familiar. I get grumpier. How am I ever going to find anything like this? My eyes feel sandy. It’s 2:15. At the next intersection, I turn left, then left again. Chilko follows silently. By the time we get back to my neighbourhood, I’m counting the steps to my computer. Research. I can’t walk the whole city at this pace. I need a map. And my dad’s star chart. He never would have thought I’d use it for anything, especially not this.
    A block from where we met, Chilko crosses the road.
    â€œWhere are you going?” I ask, but then it’s obvious. He’s going home. Wherever that is. We meet, we roam, we go home. He’s my partner. I give him a wave and watch him slip around the corner. For a moment I want to run after him. He’s so much smarter than me — knows how to travel, how to take care of himself. Doesn’t get worried or scared. Just lives.

Chapter 5
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    hey j, you’re having some crazy nights, sounds like. kinda wish it had happened when i was still there. i don’t really get what you mean about the stars — isn’t the northern cross a medal they give soldiers? i’m going out to skate with this guy i met next door. you’d like him. he’s from Germany. ttyl
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    I’m in another boring social studies class trying to focus on the teacher’s droning voice when I look over and Dad’s sitting at the desk beside me. He’s all hunched over as if he’s writing a note. It looks so ridiculous, I laugh. No one else looks up
. Dad,
I say
. What are you doing here?
He glances at me, hiding whatever he’s writing with his arm
. Hey, Jakob. Thought I’d try school again,
he says. He’s not doing a great job of it if he’s already goofing off in class, but I don’t have time to tell him this. Someone taps me on the back of the head. I almost jump out of my seat when I see my mom sitting behind me
. Hi, sweetheart,
she says
. Having a good day?
I look back to see the teacher motioning me to the front of the class, a stern look on his face. As I take the ten stepsto the board, it turns into an open window looking onto a dark street — here we go again. I don’t even look back to see if my parents are still sitting in the class. I just climb through the window and hit the ground running. Nothing seems familiar — until I see a street sign with no words, just a picture of a swan. That’s new. I run past it and far off, a siren sounds. Not a police car, an ambulance, more than one. The heartbeat of the car fills my ears and my chest is tight. I turn in circles trying to find the right way. I look so hard I wake myself up
.
    Bumps and thuds echo from the kitchen: 8:54.
    â€œMorning,” Aunt Laura says as I emerge, dressed and yawning. I must look like I thought it was a school day, but really I didn’t want to sit in sweaty pyjamas for breakfast.
    â€œSo today’s the day,” she says, putting toast onto a plate.
    â€œFor what?” I ask.
    â€œLibby. Your new friend?”
    â€œShe’s not my friend.”
    â€œRight. She’s your summer buddy.” Aunt Laura hands me the jam.
    â€œGod, stop it. She’s nothing, okay?”
    â€œBut you’re doing it.”
    â€œDoing what? You make it sound so weird.”
    She sighs, hands me a knife as I stick my finger into the jam. “You’re looking after Libby. Like you promised Soleil.”
    â€œWhatever.” I spread too much jam on my toast, the way I like it. “It’s temporary. Soleil said until she found