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
A llama Henry and Olivia said together Finley nodded They have graceful necks and long eyelashes and they’re covered in wool I could knit with Plus it could carry my backpack I’d even ride it to school You could park it by the bike rack Henry suggested Llamas are cool They’re supposed to be really smart And they hum I saw it on a nature show Why do they hum Olivia asked Because they don’t know the words Henry grinned Actually the moms hum to communicate with their babies Llama lullabies Finley said Another reason to love them What about something a bit smaller Olivia suggested Like a lizard or a
hamster Finley shook her head Mom’s not crazy about rodents And Dad’s scared of lizards Even a cute little one like a gecko Olivia said Some of them are as small as a dime Finley nodded When Dad was a kid my aunt Grace told him that lizards were baby dinosaurs and he never got over it That makes sense Henry said The word dinosaur actually means fearfully great lizard How do you know that Finley asked I was crazy about dinosaurs in preschool Henry said I read a ton of dinosaur books Triceratops was my favorite that’s what I always wanted for a pet What about a puppy Olivia suggested Finley nodded I’d love a puppy Or a miniature pony Or a parrot I could train to speak French But a llama is definitely my first choice Henry finished writing the list and circled the word llama Then he ripped the page out of his notebook and handed it to Finley
