tonight . . . with Austin . . . as a dog?â
âOh! I have an idea,â Eve said.
âPlease share. We need all the help we can get,â Grace said, looking at the clock.
âYour brothers are best friends, too, right?â
âYes,â they replied together.
âGrace, ask your mother if April can sleepover. Then get your motherâs cell phone and text Aprilâs mom, asking if both April and Austin can sleepover. That will get you time until tomorrow. You just have to hide Austin tonight.â
April and Grace exhaled. Graceâs smile grew bigger and bigger. âI know just how we can do it.â
âEve, you are SUPER smart!â April said, grinning. âTomorrow, we will turn Austin from white and fluffy to brown haired and scruffy. I hope.â She tried to keep the smile on her face. âEve, we will see you tomorrow morning. Be here early, ok?â
âYes maâam,â Eve said. âSee yaâll in the morning.â
They hung up.
Grace quickly moved her eyes to meet Aprilâs. âOK . . . hereâs the plan . . . Iâll go downstairs and ask my mom if you can sleepover. You come downstairs and go into the dining room. She leaves her purse on the table, and she keeps her cell phone in the side pocket. Grab it. Then, weâll come upstairs. Sound good?â
âBut, what do we do with Austin?â April asked, looking at the little white dog.
He looks so sad and depressed , she thought. I donât think he has lain still like this since . . . well . . . ever! I am such a horrible sister. What kind of sister turns their brother into a dog? I canât believe I got myself into this mess.
âLetâs put him back in the closet,â Grace said.
April gently placed him on the closet floor, giving him a farewell pat on the head. âIâll be right back.â She stood up. âOh geez!â she said as she grabbed Graceâs trashcan. She started digging through it, taking out all the used paper and napkins.
Graceâs eyes bulged. âWHAT are you doing?â
April shooed the shoes out of the front corner of the closet. She feverishly flattened the papers on top of each other and placed them in the corner. âJust in case he has to go potty: a little wee-wee pad.â
As April closed the closet door, leaned her back against it, and stared off into the distance.
OMG! This REALLY could backfire on me. What if my parents find out? I would neverâand I mean NEVERâsee the light of day again. Forget sleepovers. Forget dances. Forget ever learning to drive. Forget life . . .
April blinked hard. She took the phone from Grace and started texting her mother.
thirteen
âIâm going to ask if I can stay over to eat pizza and sleep over,â April told Grace as she typed out the text message. âSo, when we text from your momâs phone, my mom will just say, âYeah, sure.ââ
âOh. Good idea,â Grace said as they sat on the edge of her bed.
âMom,â April said aloud as she was texting, âcan I stay at Graceâs house for pizza? And, can I sleep over? Thx.â She hit send .
âNow we have to go downstairs and get my motherâs phone,â said Grace. âDo you remember what I told you?â
April was still looking at the phoneâs screen. â âBout what?â
âHello? Earth to April . . . About where the phone is?â
Gosh. First, I lied to my mother. Now Iâm planning to steal Mrs. Galapagosâs phone. April lifted her head and fixed her glasses. âOh, yeah. On the dining room table . . . in her purse, right?â
âYeah.â
âWho knew Iâd be getting quizzed over here?â April said, rolling her eyes.
âCome on.â Grace grabbed Aprilâs hand and pulled her to the door. April left the phone on
Under the Cover of the Moon (Cobblestone)