Jammy

• Eilidh Sullivan, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2015

Every year, on the last Sunday of August, it is clean-up day in our street. Everyone helps to pick up rubbish, sweep the streets and scrub basically everywhere. This year is my first year participating in this event, because in all of the previous years I have either been too young, on holidays or just not bothered. I know it sounds strange, but I just can’t wait to scrub the pavers. It’ll be so fun throwing water all around myself and getting wet.
It’s very early on our annual street clean-up day and I’m already getting started. I’m on my own outside at 5:00am. It’s freezing. I zip up my jacket and start wandering up my street a bit trying to work out where to start, when I see the cutest Golden Labrador ever. I walk up to it, it’s not wearing a collar and there’s no one around, so it must be a stray. I pick up the Labrador and carry it home. I open the door and my sister sees the dog and runs to it delighted.
“Calm down,” I say with a big grin on my face, “I think we’re keeping her.”
“Are we?” my sister says excitedly.
“Yes!” I reply and put the dog down. “Now what should we name her?” I ask.
“Umm, Jammy,” replies my sister.
“Sounds perfect,” I say.
It’s been three months since I found Jammy and I’m almost certain that she’ll be mine forever. I’m sitting on my bed looking out the window and watching Jammy roll around in the garden. She’s getting really dirty, so I go downstairs and start running the bath. When it’s full, I stop the water and go outside to get Jammy, but she’s not in the garden. I notice that the gate is open, so I quickly run to it and see if Jammy is somewhere in the street, she is. I run after her. She’s heading for the spot where I found her three months ago. She starts running. I run faster. When she gets to the spot she stays completely still for like a minute. I try to pick her up, but she’s heavier than normal. Then she vanishes. I can’t see her anywhere. It’s like she’s just disappeared into thin air.
Then I see her, in someone’s front yard. A girl who looks about my age comes out of the house, picks up Jammy, smiles at me and then she goes back in to her house. I look down at my feet devastated and then I notice something that has never been there before. A little spot of jam, right where Jammy disappeared. I’m kind of glad that Jammy is gone, because now she is with her rightful owner.