Chapter 1 PICK A PET Finley Flowers plunked her backpack down on the kitchen table and rifled through it Has anyone seen my lucky rock I put it in here so I’d have it for my geography test this morning but when I got to school it was gone Finley’s older brother Zack looked up from his homework You don’t need a lucky rock for a test You just need to study He held up his math book Which is what I’m trying to do right now Anyway there’s no such thing as a lucky rock For your information I did study Finley said dumping out the rest of her backpack And there is too such a thing as a lucky rock I have one
Zack smirked What’s so lucky about it It’s smooth and gray with little white flecks And it fits just right in my hand Zack raised an eyebrow So what makes it lucky Finley shrugged I don’t know magic I just want to know if you’ve seen it Nope Zack said But there are tons of rocks in the driveway Why don’t you get one of those Finley sighed That’s just gravel Maybe it’s magic gravel Zack said Then he burst out laughing Finley glared at her brother and he ducked behind his book Just then their little sister Evie bounded into the kitchen and grabbed an apple from the bowl on the table My lucky rock is missing Finley told her Have you seen it Evie chomped on her apple What does it look like
It’s smooth and gray About as big as a strawberry but flatter I found a rock kind of like that this morning on the porch Evie said Finley’s eyes lit up It must have fallen out of my backpack Where is it I didn’t know it was yours I took it to school to show Ms Patel Finley rolled her eyes Well I need it back I wish I could give it back Evie looked at her feet But I lost it You lost it I’ll find you another one Evie offered You can’t Finley said glumly I got it at the beach when we went to visit Grandma She heaved her backpack onto her shoulder and plodded upstairs to do her homework Zack and Evie never understand she thought Sometimes having siblings is harder
than a geography test The next morning Finley caught up with her friends Henry Olivia and Kate on the way to class Did you hear that Lia got a new puppy Henry said hanging up his jacket Lia said her mom might bring it to school sometime Kate added She got it to keep Lia company since her older brother is always busy now that he’s in high school Finley tugged her jacket off and hung it in her cubby I wish I could trade Zack and Evie for a pet Pets don’t laugh at you and act like they know everything And they don’t take your stuff and lose it The best part about pets is that they accept you the way you are Olivia said Like my chinchilla Camilla she doesn’t care if I’ve brushed my hair or what grade I got on a test she’s just glad to see me Same with our old dog Winnie Henry said She was always on my team no matter what Finley sighed I’ve always wanted a pet but my parents think it’s too much work Mom says she can’t take care of another living thing We don’t even have any indoor plants But you’d take care of it Olivia said as they walked into class What would she say to that Finley shrugged I don’t know I guess it couldn’t hurt to ask We should make you a pet wish list first Henry said setting his books on his desk That way you can narrow it down before you ask them He opened his notebook and grabbed a pencil Okay pick a pet Finley smiled dreamily If I could get any pet I’d get a llama
