The Lizzy Cormen Series
by Abigail Elisabeth Larke
Chapter 1
“Its not fair!” Lizzy screamed. She ran down the hallway, slammed her bedroom door and cried on her bed. She HATED her new “home” (if you could even call it that). Her family had just moved to a little town in Southern California call Kneadsbury. Her Dad, Mark, lost his job and Kneadsbury was the only place he could find good work. Her eight-year-old brother, Collin, had easily made friends and joined the Kneadsbury Elementary soccer league. Soccer was his thing. Lizzy also had a fifteen-year-old sister named Ems. Well, her real name was Emily but when Lizzy was young she couldn’t pronounce “Emily” so she called her “Ems” instead. The name just stuck. Her attractive sister quickly became popular at the Kneadsbury high school, Galesen High. Lizzie, who was thirteen, was in the eighth grade and couldn’t seem to make any friends. She was average height, straight brown hair and popping green eyes.
Their family attended North Heights Baptist Church(NHBC). She enjoyed the middle school program there. Dave, the middle school pastor/leader, was great. Lizzy just felt like the 8th grade girls already had their cliques from elementary school. They weren’t mean or anything, just a little too exclusive. Lizzy felt like the misfit from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. School wasn’t any better. At her old school in Dallas, she had lots of great friends and was almost popular. Here, she was invisible. It really wasn’t fair.
After Lizzy had cooled down from her argument with her parents, when she unsuccessfully begged them to move back to Dallas, she decided to go on a walk. Although she told her mom she was going to explore the neighborhood, she was really going to get things off her mind. And maybe explore just a tad. Before she left, she paused to look at their house. Their house was two stories and a light, soft green. It had a porch that covered the entire front of the house. It had new windows and the stained, wooden door wasn’t bad either. Now the yard. It was fairly big yard with a driveway and a two car garage. They had Crape Myrtle lining the side of their house opposite to the driveway and also the front of the house. They had a few flower beds here and there, mostly in front of the house. “I guess it is a nice house," Lizzy murmured. Finally, she started her walk. The neighborhood was decent. It all had sidewalks, mostly two-story houses, and pastel-colored houses. Her favorite houses were the ones that were blue, green, or purple. The white and tan were too plain for her taste. Just down a few blocks was a SPCA, veterinarian office, and a house next door. Being an animal lover, Lizzy had to check this out. After talking to a sweet receptionist, Lizzy found out that it was owned by a couple who were both vets and took in abandoned animals. They lived in the house next door. The large two story building was filled with offices, cages, equipment, and animals. Lizzy was surprised that the building didn’t stink. She walked into a noisy room with non-stop barking, chirping, meowing, and everything else. As she was walking down a row of cages, a cute dog caught her eye. Its big, brown eyes locked hers and Lizzy immediately loved the dog.
“That’s Sadie.”
“Oh!” Lizzy exclaimed as she jumped. “You scared me.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” said the woman. “I’m Jacqueline Portez.” She was a fairly petite, blonde woman and very friendly. She was dressed in a doctors coat with her hair pulled into a perfect ponytail.
“Let me introduce myself. I’m Lizzy Cormen,” Lizzy said, “My family just moved here from Dallas. We live in the green house down the street.”
“Oo-oh. You’re the new family who moved here. I think I saw you at church the other day,” Jacqueline said.
“You go to NHBC?”
“Yes, I do. We me and my husband have been attending that church ever since we were Christians.” That eased Lizzy’s mind to know that she was talking to a Christian, not a stranger.
“Cool!” Lizzy said.
“I see you were looking at Sadie.”
“Yeah, she is so cute! How old is she Mrs. Portez?”
“Oh, please call me Jackie.”
“Okay, Jackie, how old is she?” Lizzy repeated.
“We think she is one year old. She is only a mutt and we found her on the side of a highway in a box when she was a puppy. Our guess is that the owners didn’t want her or they couldn’t afford her,” Jackie answered.
“How sad! Can I pet her?”
“Sure, let me get her out of this cage for you,” Jackie replied. She opened Sadie’s cage and brought Lizzy and her in a separate room where it was quieter. The room looked like it was for dog training. It had an agility set, different toys on the ground, and a counter with some treats on it. Lizzy and Sadie played for while with Jackie supervising. At first, Sadie was a little skeptical, but with some encouragement from Jackie she and Lizzy played nicely.
“You handle dogs very well,” Jackie stated, with a hint of impressment in her voice.
“I should. We used to have three dogs back in Dallas, “Lizzy replied, “We had to leave them their with my cousins permanently when we moved, though. I miss them a lot.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Jacqueline replied. After a pause she continued, “How would you like to work here at the SPCA. We have lots of students your age come and volunteer with us after school. I couldn’t pay you very much but it would be a great experience for you.”
“I’d have to ask my parents but I would love to work here. Do you think I could come back tomorrow with an answer?” Lizzy asked
“Of course! You and Sadie seem to get along well. Do you think you would like to take care of her like a foster parent until I can find her a home? Normally, I would go through further testing to see if you two are get along well. But, I can see you love her and vice versa.”
“Yeah! I would love to do that!” Lizzy said, “But maybe I should just take her in for the night and talk to my parents before I make any decisions.”
“Sounds good to me,” Jackie said. “I’ll give you everything Sadie will need for a night.” She left for a moment and returned with a box of things. It included a collar, crate, food, blanket, leash, food, and some other things. “See you tomorrow!”
“Bye,” Lizzy said as she and Sadie walked out the door with the big box.
“That’s Sadie.”
“Oh!” Lizzy exclaimed as she jumped. “You scared me.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” said the woman. “I’m Jacqueline Portez.” She was a fairly petite, blonde woman and very friendly. She was dressed in a doctors coat with her hair pulled into a perfect ponytail.
“Let me introduce myself. I’m Lizzy Cormen,” Lizzy said, “My family just moved here from Dallas. We live in the green house down the street.”
“Oo-oh. You’re the new family who moved here. I think I saw you at church the other day,” Jacqueline said.
“You go to NHBC?”
“Yes, I do. We me and my husband have been attending that church ever since we were Christians.” That eased Lizzy’s mind to know that she was talking to a Christian, not a stranger.
“Cool!” Lizzy said.
“I see you were looking at Sadie.”
“Yeah, she is so cute! How old is she Mrs. Portez?”
“Oh, please call me Jackie.”
“Okay, Jackie, how old is she?” Lizzy repeated.
“We think she is one year old. She is only a mutt and we found her on the side of a highway in a box when she was a puppy. Our guess is that the owners didn’t want her or they couldn’t afford her,” Jackie answered.
“How sad! Can I pet her?”
“Sure, let me get her out of this cage for you,” Jackie replied. She opened Sadie’s cage and brought Lizzy and her in a separate room where it was quieter. The room looked like it was for dog training. It had an agility set, different toys on the ground, and a counter with some treats on it. Lizzy and Sadie played for while with Jackie supervising. At first, Sadie was a little skeptical, but with some encouragement from Jackie she and Lizzy played nicely.
“You handle dogs very well,” Jackie stated, with a hint of impressment in her voice.
“I should. We used to have three dogs back in Dallas, “Lizzy replied, “We had to leave them their with my cousins permanently when we moved, though. I miss them a lot.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Jacqueline replied. After a pause she continued, “How would you like to work here at the SPCA. We have lots of students your age come and volunteer with us after school. I couldn’t pay you very much but it would be a great experience for you.”
“I’d have to ask my parents but I would love to work here. Do you think I could come back tomorrow with an answer?” Lizzy asked
“Of course! You and Sadie seem to get along well. Do you think you would like to take care of her like a foster parent until I can find her a home? Normally, I would go through further testing to see if you two are get along well. But, I can see you love her and vice versa.”
“Yeah! I would love to do that!” Lizzy said, “But maybe I should just take her in for the night and talk to my parents before I make any decisions.”
“Sounds good to me,” Jackie said. “I’ll give you everything Sadie will need for a night.” She left for a moment and returned with a box of things. It included a collar, crate, food, blanket, leash, food, and some other things. “See you tomorrow!”
“Bye,” Lizzy said as she and Sadie walked out the door with the big box.
After a long walk home, Lizzy finally reached her house. As they walked through the front door, Sadie heard something upstairs. She pulled the leash away from Lizzy, bolted up the stairs, and right into Ems’ room!
