dad, and you tend to look at him from a very different perspective than most dogs here. I usually think of him as one thing, ‘dad’ not ‘hero.’ Do you get what I’m saying?”

“Yeah. But still, it must be great, right? Is that why you’re so popular?”

“Part of the reason.”

“What’s the other part?”

Boys, they don’t get anything, Saba thought. “Well, some of the boy dogs around here find me, I guess, attractive.”

“Really? Oh…” Nao looked into Saba’s deep blue eyes. He was getting a bit nervous. So was Saba; she might have led him into something he was uncomfortable about.

“Well…” Nao hesitated, but baled from it. “I gotta go. See you around, Saba.” Then he quickly took off for home.

After Saba waved goodbye, she slapped herself in the face. Why did she tell him everybody thought she was attractive?! But she decided he might forget it, and headed home. But guess who was waiting at the door when she came up the porch steps? It wasn’t Nao. It was Balto.

“Dad, what are you doing here?”

“I came to talk with you. You didn’t seem to like practice when I arrived. But everyone else did even more so.”

“Dad, I’m your daughter. When your dad is the teacher, the kid gets embarrassed and doesn’t want to do anything. It’s perfectly natural for me at this age.”

“But Saba, there’s got to be more than that. I understand that I can get carried away with me being famous.”

“Even after three years?”

“A lot doesn’t happen in this town. Anyway, I’m sorry if I embarrassed you. I just wanted you to be comfortable with dog sledding by me being the teacher.”

“It’s fine dad. I guess I should apologize for not getting into the lesson more. I’m sorry if I hurt you.”

“It’s okay. Is there anything else that’s bothering you?”

“No.”

“What about that husky you were talking to?”

Saba froze for a second. “What husky?”

“That golden one. He seems like he knows what he’s doing, but he asks so many questions.”

“Well, he’s apparently a Balto fan. Just like everyone else.”

“That would make sense. So, he talks about me a lot doesn’t he?”

“Now he does. When I met him, he barely knew who I was. I never met anybody like that. But today, when he DID figure it out, he was just like everyone else, always asking questions and always talking about you.”

“And did you like that?”

“Well, I don’t know. I usually like that kind of attention, but now…I just…don’t know what to think.”

“Just remember Saba, you’ll always be my daughter, not just another fan. I care about you and how you feel, so if you want to talk to me, my boat is always in dock.” A little joke he made up a while ago.

Saba nodded. “Thanks dad.” And she went into the house for breakfast.

During the day, Saba thought about the conversations that took place that morning, the one with Nao and the one with her father. Everything was clouding her mind and just about when she was going to explode, Jess and Kila burst through the door. Saba breathed a sigh of relief. At least her friends would take her mind off of all that thinking.

“Hey Saba! We forgot to ask you how practice was.” Jess said.

“Fine.”

“Seriously, nothing happened?”

“Okay fine. My dad just showed up and ruined everything! All my teammates just listened to my dad the whole time and didn’t give a hoot about the lesson.”

“Really?”

“Well, he taught us a little, but mostly he was just telling his story over and over again.”

“Yikes.”

“And the worst part was…Nao was a true Balto fan and the moment he realized Balto was my dad…He was never the same.”

“So what? Isn’t that a good thing? Aren’t your friends the ones you tell everything too?” Kila asked.

“I guess, but I actually liked him when he didn’t know. It was a new experience for me and…I actually kind of liked it.”

“So…What about us?” Jess asked.

“What about you?”

“Do you not like us now because you don’t want anyone knowing that Balto is you dad?”

“No of course not! It’s just that Nao is a true Balto fan, and you’re more cool about it, and that’s what I like about you guys.”

“Aww thanks!”

“But…I still don’t know. Somehow I still like the attention everyone gives me. It makes me feel like a queen!”

“Yeah.” Kila agreed. “Especially the attention Aitu gives you. What happened to him anyway?”

“I don’t know. Last time I saw him, I finally put my foot down and told him to leave. And that was like two days ago.”

“Weird. Well, I hope you and Nao find a compromise, and we’ll keep you posted. Bye Saba!” Jess started for the door, and so did Kila.

“Be strong, grasshopper.”

“Kila, I’m not a bug. You can go now.”

“Right. Bye.” Kila closed the door behind her. Saba now had nothing else to do but to start thinking again.

Do I like the constant attention everyone gives me?

Do I still like Nao now that he knows who I really am?

“Whatever happened to Aitu?”

Saba then decided it was time for her to breathe some fresh air and to go outside. Saba did so and started strolling around town. A group of male dogs said hi to her in unison. She said hi back as usual, and thought nothing of it. But then as time went by, less dogs were passing her, saying her name. That’s because she was heading into a part of town where she wasn’t really used to. How long had she been walking? Then Saba noticed her feet were beginning to hurt, but still kept walking. That was a bad mistake for Saba. Now almost no dogs were around here, especially around a particular alley. Saba was a curious little puppy, so she looked inside the alley. Only she couldn’t see anything because it was so dark in there, pitch black. Her curiosity only increased as step by step, she went into the dark and spooky alley that apparently no one goes into. Her eyes finally adjusted after some time, and looked around. Suddenly, she felt something soft, yet, hard as a rock. It was a dog, a big one, but very poorly groomed. She looked around some more and found two other dogs in the same condition. Don’t worry, they were sleeping. But not for long.