Emily's Dream Read Free

laptop – which I’d kill for, by the way – and a mobile, and your house is enormous, but otherwise, you’re not that different from me and Poppy and Izzy.”
    “I love you too,” Maya said, still trying not to laugh. “Anyway. Tomorrow at mine, and I’ll make Dad come with us. He could do with a walk.”

    “Do you think they’ll say yes?” Emily asked anxiously, for about the fifth time since they’d set off.
    “Yes!” Maya rolled her eyes.
    “I think they’d be really glad of the help, Emily,”Maya’s dad put in. “The shelter’s pretty tiny, and I’m sure I remember seeing an article about it in the paper – it’s mostly run by one lady, and she’s really overworked.”
    Appleby Animal Rescue was an old farmhouse, just outside Appleby village, where Emily and Maya both lived. It was a nice-looking house, not very big, but with a square yard in front of it, with stables and outhouses all round.
    “Do you think all those building have got animals in them?” Emily asked, looking around in surprise. “I didn’t think it would be this big.”
    “I suppose there isn’t another animal shelter anywhere close,” Maya said thoughtfully. “Any abandoned animals would have to come here.” She nudged Emily. “So, are we going in?”
    Emily pushed the big wooden gate open. There was a sudden excited chorus of barking, and the two girls looked at each other in surprise.
    Maya’s dad laughed. “Wow, the dogs know to listen for the gate opening, don’t they? Maybe they think we’re bringing them treats.”
    “At least it means someone knows we’re here. Look.” Maya nodded towards a friendly-looking woman in a pair of very dirty jeans who was hurryingacross the yard towards them.
    “Hello! Are you wanting to look at the animals? A dog, maybe?” She sounded really hopeful, and Emily wished so much that they were.
    “No, um…” She took a deep, gasping breath and gave Maya a panicky look, who nodded enthusiastically. “I was wondering if you needed any help? I live quite close, and I love dogs, and cats too. I could come after school, maybe, or at the weekend?”
    “Oh…” The lady looked at her consideringly, and Emily was glad that she’d brought clothes to change into at Maya’s house, sensible clothes that looked quite like what the lady from the shelter was wearing, except cleaner. Maya had put a sparkly top on (practically everything she owned was sparkly apart from her school uniform, Emily reckoned), but Emily had suggested she needed a hoodie on over the top, so most of it was hidden. She looked like a reasonably sensible friend for someone who wanted a volunteer job at an animal shelter.
    “What’s your name?” the lady asked.
    “Emily. Emily Harris. And this is Maya.”
    “I’m Maya’s dad, Tom Knight,” Maya’s dad added, holding out his hand for the lady to shake,but she laughed, and shook her head instead.
    “I’m really sorry, I’ve got horrible dirty gloves on, you don’t want to! I’m Lucy, I run the shelter.” She smiled at Emily. “So … you want to come and help. Do you have a dog at home?”
    Emily shook her head. “No. Does that matter?” she asked sadly. “I’d love a dog, but my mum thinks we’re all too busy to look after one. It was Maya and my other friends at school who said maybe I could work at the shelter instead. I like cats too,” she added quickly.
    “It doesn’t matter at all – I just wondered what gave you the idea, that’s the only reason I asked. Sometimes people come and help out because they’ve had a dog or a cat from a shelter, and they realise how much work we do.”
    “Do you really run this whole place on your own?” Maya’s dad asked, looking around in amazement. All the buildings around the farmyard had been converted into small pens and they all looked full.
    “I’m the only person who’s here all week,” Lucy agreed. “But I have a lady who comes in to do the office work every morning, and some volunteers