All About Attitude (Book One)

Ch. 1: The Good News!

Sarah the beagle and Lily the German shepherd walked into kindergarten like they always did every morning... excited for the big day ahead of them! Sarah carried a princess backpack with a notebook, a box of crayons, and a folder with special kindergarten papers  in it. Lily held a large purse in her paw filled with playing dough, her Science Journal, and a big box of colorful and bold markers. Even though they liked all their school supplies, they still thought it sure was a heavy load!

Anyway, when they came into the building, all of their classmates were buzzing about the class wildly. They all seemed very excited. Their kindergarten teacher, Ms. Bubzy (the horse), was busily preparing for the day of school- frantically shuffling papers into stacks and pulling out and pushing back in multiple drawers at once. The vibe of the class was bright and exciting!

Sarah and Lily looked at each other with shocked and knowing faces- something big was happening today. They just knew it!

Ring-a-ting-a-ling! went the school bell, which silenced the class. Lily smiled. They had made it to class just in time! Ms. Bubzy stood up at her desk, and walked towards the front of the room. "Everyone!" she called. "Please come gather around on the Alphabet Rug!" Sarah, Lily, and their classmates all rushed to the famous mat. The reason why this Alphabet Rug was so famous was because every week, they would study one specific letter on the mat. And here was the fun part- whoever sat on the letter they were studying that week, they got to be the student of the day! So everybody rushed to sit on the letter A- the letter they happened to be working on that week.

But to the class's surprise, Ms. Bubzy exclaimed, "No, kids! None of you will sit on the letter A today. That spot is reserved!" Sarah raised her hand and asked, "So you got to pick student of the day? Who is it? Is that spot reserved for... me?!" "Or me?" Lily called out. "Or could it be me?" another classmate, Tina the rabbit, called out. "I really hope it's me!" yelled Toby the turtle.

"But what about me?" "Or me?" "It has to be me!" "I bet it will be mine!" "I will be the student of the day!" "You know I will!" "NO! IT HAS TO BE..."

"Class, please quiet down!" Ms. Bubzy called out. "As I said before, none of you will sit here." "But who will?" Lily asked. "Somebody has to sit here!" Ms. Bubzy grinned. "I will explain!" she said. "First, class, please take a seat!" Everyone eagerly sat down, because obviously, Ms. Bubzy had some great news!

"Okay, everyone," Ms. Bubzy began. "Usually, we would begin with Calendar Time, but I have some very important news to share with you!" So she did have something to say! They all leaned in closer, begging for an answer!

"In a few minutes," the teacher said dramatically. "A new student will be joining us!"

Silence.

The entire room was in shock. Then...

The room completely flooded with excitement... and many questions! "Is it a he or she?" "Where is the kid from?" "When will the kid get here?" "Why did this kid move?" "Is this kid nice or mean?" "Who are the kid's parents?" "Where does the kid live now?" "WHY ISN'T THIS PERSON MY BEST FRIEND YET?!"

Lily and Sarah looked at each other with surprise. "Wow!" Lily had to yell above all the noise. "A new kid!" "I know!" Sarah yelled back in reply. "How exciting!" They grinned, and began to stare at the door as if the new student could come in at any second!

Ms. Bubzy chuckled and quieted the class down. "I'm not sure if I'll be able to answer all those questions," she said. "But I'm pretty sure our new friend will!" As if on cue, someone opened the door and sashayed into the classroom with her head held high. Almost too high! "Hello, there!" Ms. Bubzy said in a friendly voice. The girl rolled her eyes. Sarah and Lily looked at each other, confused. Why was the girl acting like this?

The girl was a Cocker Spaniel dog with curly, floppy ears with brown tips. She obviously had spent a lot of time getting herself ready! But her uppity attitude made her prettiness look mean. She strutted up to the front of the room. She eyed the classroom with mean eyes. "Welcome to our school!" said Ms. Bubzy. "Can you tell the class a bit about yourself? They sure do have a lot of questions!" The girl sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I'm Katie. I come from Fangdale, Ponysvania. I moved here to Petsville, Pawbraska because my mother found a prettier house here. And just so you know, I'm way too cool for any of you, so most of your friend requests are denied! Don't speak to me unless you are my best friend!" She growled and showed her beautiful, pearly white teeth. "You have been warned!" she finished.

An awkward silence filled the classroom. Ms. Bubzy gave Katie a weird look. The class looked at each other with frightened looks. Katie didn't seem like a very nice girl at all!

"Well..." the teacher began slowly. "It must be tough moving here, right?" "Wrong!" Katie exclaimed. "I am going to adjust fine. Just fine!" Ms. Bubzy ignored her remark and continued, "Don't worry, you will get settled in greatly. For you will have two Settling-In Buddies!" Katie gave Ms. Bubzy a disgusted look. The teacher cleared her throat and continued. "They will be your first-ever two friends at this school! They will show you around, and I'm sure you will get to know them well and form a special bond between you and them!" Katie scoffed skeptically.

"Okay, now to pick them..." Ms. Bubzy said, scanning the classroom. Every kids' hand shot up into the air. Katie seemed to be eyeing each one of them and judging them. Lily and Sarah tried to ignore her mean, wandering eye.

"Hmm," Ms. Bubzy said. "How about... some nice, welcoming kindergarten students..." The kids raised up their hands even higher. "...Lily and Sarah!" The class's hands sank down as they groaned in disappointment. The two girls smiled and high-fived each other, then ran up to the front of the room to meet their new friend!

Lily held out her hand to shake with Katie. Katie rolled her eyes and barely shook. She didn't even bother with Sarah; all she did was give her a quick nod. "I'm Sarah, and this is my other friend, Lily!" Sarah introduced. "Nice to meet ya!" When the teacher walked away to collect her books for Calendar Time, Katie's eyes narrowed as she harshly whispered to the two girls, "Listen, girls. I can handle this school by myself. I don't need your help, 'kay? And if you two even dare try to play with me... You. Will. Get it!" The girls' eyes widened in shock. Did she really mean all that mean stuff?

Katie smirked and stalked off to her designated spot- the letter A.

When Lily and Sarah sat back down at their spaces at Q and R, they looked at each other with surprised and displeasured looks. They both knew what they were thinking...

It was going to be very difficult to be Katie's friend!