night She can be a softie sometimes Man I couldn’t wait to see that beefy guy again Too bad my dad couldn’t see Murphy Dad likes big dogs best But he was up north again studying wolf packs That’s his job I leaped out of bed I had to beat Alfreeda to breakfast and call dibs on Murphy I just had to hang out with him first
I yanked off my pajamas and dug through some piles of dirty clothes I found a pair of dirty jeans and a stained Hound Hotel T-shirt I got dressed and bolted to the bathroom Oh no I thought Alfreeda was standing by the sink all ready for the workday She wore jeans and a Hound Hotel T-shirt too except hers were fresh smelling and clean And of course her face was washed And her poodle like hair was brushed I’ve got the same kind of hair and I’m telling you brushing it is not a piece of cake Alfreeda reached for the toothpaste Hey give me that I said jumping toward the tube No way Alfie she said I got here first We both dived at the toothpaste She got a tight hold on one end I got the other
She tugged her end I tugged mine Give it back Alfie she snapped Nope I said Yes She yanked harder So did I Then she pulled with alpha-kid strength and yanked the tube right out of my hand Ow I said My fingers actually burned I rubbed them But rubbing didn’t help So I ran cold water over them That didn’t help either How a person can get burned by a plastic tube of toothpaste is a mystery to me But I did Alfreeda grinned and gooped toothpaste onto her toothbrush She screwed the cap back on and then handed me the tube
I call Murphy I said even though I knew Mom would make that decision Ha Alfreeda said through a mouthful of foam Tell me another good joke You heard me I said I called him first Alfreeda spit in the sink In her I’m-SO-tired-of explaining-things-to-my-dumb-brother voice she said When will you ever listen to Mom’s rules Alfie The first kid who’s totally ready for the workday gets to pick a favorite dog to play with I’m ready F-I-R-S-T So I’ll get Murphy today Step aside I didn’t move We had a shoving match in the middle of the bathroom I won’t say who ran out the doorway first except that I was left standing there holding the dumb toothpaste
