Odd was running happily down the sidewalk. He dashed past everyone, jumping up and down. He quickly stopped in front of the pet shop. Pressing his face and hands against the glass, he stared inside. Yep, the store was open! He walked inside to go pick out an animal.
There were lots of critters in the pet shop. He saw all sorts of rats, fish, lizards, cats, bats, and frogs. They were all really cool! How could he choose? Then, he noticed a cardboard box with some writing on it. He looked inside.
A puppy! It was grayish-brown and a little ugly, but Odd liked him. The dog jumped out and ran around in circles until it got too dizzy and fell over. "I want this one, please!" He said, placing his choice on the counter. "Thanks," The cashier said, "But he doesn't have a barcode. You can just take him home." So Odd ran out the door with his new dog.
When Odd got home, he went into his backyard and thought about what he should name his pet. He thought for a while, and the puppy did too. Then, he heard the unmistakable jingling of an ice cream truck.
Hopping over the fence, he got himself a fruity popsicle and a bone for his dog. He paid for it and went back, licking his frozen dessert. "Hm…" He said out loud. He looked at his ice cream wrapper. "Hey! I know! I'll call you Kiwi!" He rubbed Kiwi's head and laughed.
The next day, Odd had to get on a plane. He was going to a boarding school, but it was far away from where he lived. He hugged his family goodbye, and then hid Kiwi in his suitcase. He snuck his dog on the plane. There were no dogs allowed, but he couldn't let his friend be lonely. He almost got caught. But he didn't.
He finally landed after several hours. Kiwi was getting cranky, but it felt good to be out in the fresh air after so long. He figured he might as well take him to the vet for a check-up. He seemed a little dirty and unhealthy, really. He rode a taxi there and set up a quick appointment.
Kiwi and Odd sat and waited for the vet to show up. "Wow, what's that?" Odd asked. It was a container filled with green, bubbly, SPARKLY liquid. He picked it up. "Whoops!" He dropped it onto the ground. There was a large SHATTER and CLATTER as he watched all the goo leak out of it. Kiwi, being the helpful dog he was, tried to help his buddy clean up the mess by licking it. SLURP!
"What on Earth is this all this noise about!?" A woman stammered, flinging the door open. "What? Who spilled all this? Hey, where do you think you're going?" Odd and Kiwi ran out of the building in fear of getting in trouble. "Kiwi! My little diggety-dog, are you okay?" He patted the dog's head. "I'd better go to school. But where can I leave Kiwi?" He looked around. "Looks like you're coming with me, then." He hid his dog in his backpack and walked to his school, Kadic Academy.
"Wow!" He exclaimed when he got to his room. He had to share it with another student, but it was good enough for him. "I'll have to hide you here, buddy, but it should be enough." He explained. Kiwi seemed a little uncomfortable, but it wasn't because the room was small. "I'd better go to my first class, boy. I'll visit you during lunch, okay?" He patted his pet's head and went to his science class.
School was okay. He introduced himself and sat down by a girl who said her name was Yumi. Then, the teacher announced that there was an upcoming science fair! The winner got a shiny golden trophy. "Hurray!" He cried, jumping out of his seat. "Please sit down, Odd." The teacher explained. The other children laughed.
The next morning, after getting a good night's rest, Odd was determined to think of a good idea for his project. "Maybe Kiwi can inspire me." He said to himself. "Kiwi?" "ARF! ARF!" Kiwi barked loudly and crashed into him. His roommate woke up. "Are you crazy? You have a dog in here?" "Sorry, Ulrich." He apologized, looking up.
"And what's more, it has WINGS!" "What?" He was right. Kiwi stretched open a pair of feathered wings. "Weird…" He murmered. "He wasn't like this last night." "Whatever…" He sighed, rolling back under the covers. Odd was still awake of course, petting his dog. "That's… so… AWESOME!" "Shhh!" Ulrich hissed. Odd just ignored him. Kiwi was a flying dog! He could definitely impress everyone with this at the science fair! The chemicals at the vet must have caused a weird reaction on Kiwi. He licked it, after all…
Odd came back to his room after class was out and opened his laptop. But something seemed missing. "Kiwi?" He called out. There was no answer. A gust of wind twirled past him. "Oh no, the window is open!" He looked outside. "Kiwi!" He hollered. He curled up sadly underneath his blankets, wondering if he would ever see his friend again.
The next day in class, his teacher announced that tomorrow was the last day to turn in science fair projects. Odd didn't even care about the science fair anymore. He just wanted Kiwi back.
He slowly walked home. He sat in his room and stared at the wall. Then, he heard footsteps walking toward him. "Not now, Ulrich." He sighed. "WOOF!" He spun around. It was Kiwi! "KIWI!" He yelled. He hugged his dog. Kiwi flew around the room. "I'm so glad to see you, buddy!" He was so excited to see his friend again that he had completely forgotten to sign up for the science fair!
The next day, all the other kids were being called up to show off their projects. He sighed, but he was just happy that Kiwi was back. "Odd?" The teacher said. "Who, me? But I didn't sign up…" "I did for you." Ulrich replied. "Now go get your, uh, project." "Thanks Ulrich, you're the BEST!" He cheered. He brought back down Kiwi. Everyone was quiet for a moment.
"Wow!" A kid in the back shouted. "You guys, that dog has freakin' WINGS!" She pointed. Everyone immediately agreed and marveled at Kiwi's beautiful wings. And from then on, Odd had a great time at his new school. The kids that laughed at him earlier were nicer to him now, and he was happy to be friends with them. But none of them could replace his first friend, Kiwi the flying dog.