Purple Nails and Puppy Tails by Jill Santopolo Page A

Reginald, and then Mrs. Bass, a True Colors customer, who seemed to be considering adopting Murphy, the bulldog.
    Mom started talking to Mrs. Bass.
    â€œI’m going to die of slowness!” Brooke whispered to Aly.
    But Aly was thinking that she might die of worry. All around her, dogs seemed to be getting adopted. Lucas, whom half the sixth-grade soccer team had a crush on, was playing with Laces, thebig golden retriever. Heather Davis’s friend Jayden and a girl in Aly’s grade named Annie were petting Penny the poodle.
    Aly started to feel a little panicky. What if Sparky had been adopted? What if someone was playing with him right now and thinking about taking him home? What if he already found another family, before Brooke and Aly got to make their case for the dog? Aly checked her pocket for the list, just to make sure it was still there.
    â€œLet’s hold hands and push through the crowd,” Aly told her sister. “We need to see if Sparky’s still here. And if he is, then we can show him to Mom and Dad.”
    Brooke looked at Aly with terror in her eyes. “Do you think he could be gone?”
    Aly took a deep breath. “I don’t know, Brookster. I just don’t know.”
    But just before they could start pushing their way to Sparky’s cage, Irena saw them.
    â€œGirls,” she called “I’m so glad you made it! Look at what you’ve done. All these dogs are going to have homes because of you and your friends.”
    Aly and Brooke smiled and thanked her, but Aly couldn’t stop her leg from bouncing with impatience. They had to find Sparky.
    â€œYou know, I think this is a record. All the dogs but one have been spoken for, and it’s not even noon yet,” Irena said.
    Aly felt her heart start to race. “All but one have been adopted?”
    Irena nodded, the beads on her braids clicking. “Isn’t that wonderful?”
    Brooke grabbed Aly’s hand and squeezed it hard.
    Aly swallowed.
    â€œWhich one—” she started to say, but the wordsgot caught in her throat, so she tried again. “Which one is left?”
    Irena looked down at her clipboard.
    Aly held her breath. Please don’t be adopted, please don’t be adopted, please don’t be adopted , she wished.

ten
Call Me Sparkly
    L et’s see,” Irena said. “It looks like the only one left is . . . Sparky.” She smiled at the girls. “Maybe he’s just a little too small for most people. It’s a shame, though, because he’s such a sweet dog.”
    Aly let out her breath in a whoosh. Thank goodness.
    â€œWewanthim!” Brooke blurted out so fast that her words ran together. “Please don’t let anyone take him. We want him.”
    â€œOh!” Irena looked surprised. “I thought you girls weren’t allowed to have a dog.”
    â€œWould we be able to see him?” Aly asked. “So we can show him to our parents?”
    â€œOf course,” Irena said. “I’ll go get him myself, for our star fund-raisers.”
    Irena left, and Aly pulled the list out of her pocket. “Okay, Brooke,” she said. “I’m going to go get Mom and Dad away from Mrs. Bass. You wait here and hold Sparky when Irena comes back. Got it?”
    â€œGot it,” Brooke answered.
    Weaving through the crowd, Aly made her way over to her parents. Mom was still in deep conversation with Mrs. Bass, but Dad was kneeling on the floor, petting Murphy, while Mrs. Bass’s sons filled out the adoption papers. Aly kneeled down next to him and gave Murphy a pat. He was a really sweet dog and hadn’t minded at all when his nails were painted.
    â€œHey, Dad,” Aly said. “Brooke and I want you to meet someone.”
    â€œHey, Alligator,” he said. “This guy looks great.” He gave Murphy another scratch behind his ears. “Who do you want me to meet?”
    â€œIt’s a