Sofia’s Puppy Love
A Change of Heart
On Monday, Sofia floats into school. Yesterday, her team won their soccer game. And she can’t stop thinking about the fact that in just a few weeks, she’ll finally be able to take Piper home! She’d be able to take a dog to the dog park, or cuddle with one on the couch. She’d already figured out where his bed should go!
Sofia slides into her desk in class. She unzips her backpack and pulls out her notebook. But then she feels her stomachs ink. She forgot to do her homework over the weekend. Ms. Chen had given them a math and a writing assignment, and she forgot both.
Sofia quickly opens her notebook and begins to scribble on the page. But by the time Ms. Chen is done with attendance, Sofia has only finished one page of her writing assignment, and her math worksheet is blank. She glances over to Madison, who’s pulling out her science fair registration form. Shoot! Sofia has forgotten that, too. Today was the deadline for registering for the fair, and she was so looking forward to it. Last year, she won a prize on her photosynthesis project. But this year, she won’t be able to participate at all.
After class, Ms. Chen calls Sofia to stay a minute. Sofia tells her friends she’ll meet them in the cafeteria, and she approaches to Ms. Chen’s desk. She has a feeling she knows what Ms. Chen is going to say. As expected, Ms. Chen says she didn’t see Sofia’s science fair registration form. She knows Sofia had fun last year; why doesn’t Sofia want to participate this year?
Sofia guiltily says she meant to sign up, but she forgot the form was due today. And she doesn’t have an idea yet either. Nodding, Ms. Chen asks if this is related to the incomplete homework assignments Sofia turned in. Hanging her head, Sofia says she forgot to do those, too.
Sympathetically, Ms. Chen says it happens to everyone from time to time. There’s always next year. Sofia is grateful that Ms. Chen is so understanding. Hopefully her parents will be as well.
After school, Sofia’s mom picks her up to take her to Rosa’s Refuge. Sofia doesn’t want to tell her mom about her homework and the science fair project, but she knows she has to. Sofia admits she forgot to do her homework that weekend. And she missed the deadline to register for the science fair.
Sofia’s mom asks her what happened, and Sofia answers that she doesn’t really know what happened. She wasn’t inspired to come up with an idea, and she just forgot. She was so busy with Piper and soccer. Sofia’s mom hesitantly says that part of the deal of volunteering during the week was that she’d keep up her schoolwork. Perhaps Sofia has too much on her plate.
Sofia sits up straight in her seat. This can’t be happening! But Sofia knows that this was the deal, and she let down her side of the bargain. In the rearview mirror, Sofia can see the disappointment on her mom’s face. Continuing, her mother says that she’s sure Mrs. Wallace can find a good home for Piper. A dog is a big responsibility, and it’s not a decision to take lightly.
Sofia blinks back her tears. Just like that, all of her dreams of owning a dog of her own have been crushed.