Pepper, Please Race! (But Chase the Ball)

Starring Justin

Justin twirled his aviator sunglasses and grinned. “Backyard race, Pepper!” he said, chalking bright arrows and a big finish star. Pepper sniffed the chalky grass and wagged at the squeaky red ball, which smelled faintly like peanut butter, so Justin added, “Winner gets a belly rub and a whoop!”

“On your mark—go!” Justin shouted, but Pepper dashed after the bouncing ball instead, skittering past cones and trampling a little edge of flowers. Ms. Lee peeked over the fence, eyebrows raised, which made Justin’s smile droop. Because he felt bad about the mess and the mix-up, he called, “Time-out—new plan coming!”

Justin tapped his chin, then smiled. “We’ll follow the ball’s scent trail through the arrows—fetch relay!” he said, moving cones into checkpoints and tying a jump rope as the finish ribbon. Because Pepper loved the ball, she zoomed from checkpoint to checkpoint while Justin called the route like a coach, which fixed their timing and made Ms. Lee nod.

At the ribbon, Pepper nudged the ball through, and Justin whooped, “Team win!” After, he gently pressed soil back around the marigold and handed Ms. Lee a fresh cone for the edge. She smiled. The red ball rested on the tidy finish star, shining in Justin’s sunglasses like a promise to play fair and play smart.