Chapter 1 : A Perfect Day
It was an average day at the pet shop. Not much seemed to be happening and not much seemed to be about to happen either. Penny Ling was practicing her ribbon dancing in a far off corner, twirling and swirling like a leaf in the breeze. Zoe was trying out a new song while Pepper was trying out some of her new jokes on Russell and Minka. Without much success.
"All right, you're gonna love this one. Why did the chicken cross the road? Hehehe… TO GET TO THE OTHER SIDE… of the road. HAHAHAHAHA hahahaha heehee… get it? I added 'of the road' to the joke. I changed it."
Russell and Minka looked at each other with anxious faces. They weren't sure whether to provide some constructive criticism or just laugh it off. Unfortunately they took too long to decide and Pepper chose her own course of action.
"AW COME ON! IT'S FUNNY!"
Meanwhile, away from all the other pets, Sunil and Vinnie were playing around with their favorite red, bouncy ball. They were just enjoying being buddies. Laughing, tossing, and catching was all they did for some time. Everything was quite peaceful. Just a perfect day.
"Is it me or does this day seem to be perfectly boring?" Sunil asked while lying down on a pet bed.
All the pets were sprawled around the pet shop. Either on a pet bed or just on the floor. It seemed like a bored fever had spread throughout the pet shop and infected all of them. None of them could think of anything interesting to do, or even tried to. They all seemed content to lie there wallowing in self pity.
"I already sang my new song… twice. I don't feel like doing it again. Even though my song was fabulous! Don't you all agree?" Zoe said.
"Uh huh…" The others said in unison while not really caring.
"Although I do think I might need to make it a little longer. After all, who doesn't want to hear me sing? Longer songs are definitely better. Especially if I am the one singing them. Don't you all agree?" Zoe continued. Oblivious to the others disinterest.
"Uh huh…" The pets replied once more.
Before Zoe could open her mouth again the door to the daycare opened and Mrs. Twombly walked in carrying a yellow crate with big pink flowers painted on it. The crate seemed to be able to fit a pet around the size of Zoe. Whatever was in it was very quiet and did not shake around. Mrs. Twombly set the crate down gently before speaking.
"All right Sweeties! Be nice to Mango and make her feel welcome!"
Vinnie bolted upright, his mouth beginning to drool. "Mango? I love Mangos! They're so delicious and…" Vinnie cut off as soon as he saw the pet that stepped out of the crate.
It looked kind of like a dog. She was orange, bright orange like the sweet juicy inside of a mango. White marked her mouth, stomach, and the bottom of her bushy tail. Her pointed ears, front of her nose, front arms and back paws were a rich chocolate brown. On her neck she wore a neon green collar, studded with bright pink rhinestones, and on her big swirl of hair on top of her head she wore a neon green bow with bright pink on the inside. But what he really noticed was her eyes. Her long lashes split into two on top and her eyelids were the same rich, brown as her paws. Her eyes were a dazzling golden yellow, like Sunil's only brighter. They seemed to shine in the light.
"Vinnie? Are you feeling all right my green, scaly friend?"
Sunil's voice snapped Vinnie back into reality. "Oh, yeah I was just thinking about Mangos. Tasty, sweet, beautiful Mangos…"