Ever since I could remember, Cassie had been my best friend. Through ups and downs and thick and thin. Even when I couldn’t rely on my siblings, teachers or friends, Cassie was always there with her tail wagging and a big grin on her face. 

Let's go back to the siblings part. Ever since my sister and brother left for college, my life has not been great. I’m basically a bored only child now, and what's worse is that both of my parents work late hours and don’t even live together anymore. Both of my parents' houses are like a giant snoozefest. 

“Kate! Come downstairs, you’re going to be late for school!” My mom yelled from downstairs. She didn’t understand. I looked at my phone. Ten missed calls from my dad, saying I had left my computer at his house, and I needed to go all the way back and get it. He didn’t understand either. Then, I looked down at Cassie. She understood. I let her out the back door and went on my way to walk to school. 

My friend Peyton was waiting for me outside my door as I was trying to get all my homework in order, disoriented as always. “What's your issue all the time? Come on, turn that frown upside down.” She’s the kind of friend you appreciate when you’re having a good day, not a bad day.

We finally got to school after what seemed like forever. I got my books out of my locker and went to first period.

As we walked into math class, my stomach sank. I didn’t realize we had a test today. My teacher, Mrs. Smith could tell I was distraught with one look my way.

“Kate, did you forget about another one of our tests?” She asked, looking down at me, her glasses resting on her nose. 

“No, I didn’t. I’m all prepared.” I lied, putting a fake grin onto my face. I stared down at the blank paper on my desk and watched everyone else filling in the answers. I tried to read the answers, but all the words kept getting jumbled up in my head and I had to start all over again.

Before I knew it, the bell rang. I finished half the test, and half of the answers were guesses. Mrs. Smith gave me a look and I knew what it meant. I failed it.

Finally, recess. I ran outside with a few of my friends to go hang out. It’s the most important part of the school day, but it's over in a snap. As my other classes went by, it felt like there were a hundred hours in one minute. 

When the last bell rang, I grabbed my stuff to walk home with Peyton. As soon as I got to my front door, Cassie greeted me by jumping up and licking my face. 

“Ew, gross, get that thing away from me.” Peyton said, looking annoyed at Cassie. I rolled my eyes and decided to ignore her. I asked Cassie if she wanted to go on a walk, which is usually the magic word and she would start jumping around like crazy. It was different today. She cocked her head and stared blankly at me. I got a weird feeling in my stomach. I’ve had Cassie since I was a little kid and she’s never done this before.

“My mom wants me home. I’m grounded since I got a bad grade on that science project. I’ll see you tomorrow, Kate!” Peyton waved bye to me and left. It was getting late, but my mom wasn’t home yet. She usually gets home later on Wednesdays. I decided I would feed Cassie a little early. I put all of her food in a bowl and put it down where I always do. She gave the same blank stare again, and kind of cocked her head. I knew something was wrong now. I decided to call my mom.

“Mom, I think there is something wrong with Cassie. She didn’t want to go on a walk today and now she’s not eating. I think we should call the vet.” My mom laughed when she heard the urgence in my voice.

“Relax, Cassie’s fine. Dogs do this when they get older, she’s probably just becoming more lazy, and that's why she didn’t want to walk. She’ll be fine, don’t worry.” I didn’t really believe what my mom was saying. I think I knew Cassie the best.

I decided to put my mind at ease. I had a lot of homework to do, and I needed to focus. I couldn’t let anything be a distraction, and I needed to get my grades up or else I’m not going to be able to play any sports in the spring. I couldn’t stop thinking about Cassie. I tried doing some research, but nothing came up.

Days and days passed, and each day, Cassie was becoming weaker, and less her. I was the only one that noticed it. When I would take Cassie to my dad's house, he didn’t seem to care either. He was never a dog person anyway.

On Monday, I went to school as per usual. I actually wasn’t too late, and I had everything laid out the night before. I swung my backpack over my shoulder and went on my way with Peyton. 

Science is my favorite subject, and my favorite class at the moment. It’s the one class I’m not completely failing in, and I’m pretty confident doing projects and answering questions. My science teacher is the best. Her name is Mrs. Miller, and she’s the best. 

She smiled as she handed back my lab report from last week. It was an A+. My first one this year. Even better, I could tell she was proud of me by the smile on her face. I showed her how much I appreciated it by smiling back.

The rest of the day was great. I hung out with my friends at recess, breezed through the rest of my classes, and boom, the day was over. It was time to go home. 

Everything was great until something was off when I walked in the door. Had the furniture been rearranged while I was at school? I thought to myself. No, I don’t think so. Was it the temperature, the lights? Neither of those things either. Then, I realized it. Where is Cassie?

I looked everywhere. Every day, since I was in kindergarten, Cassie had been there at the door, wagging her tail. Where was she? I looked everywhere, from the basement to the bathrooms. Then, I found her lying on my bed. She never does that. Something most definitely was not normal. When my mom got home, I explained to her what happened, but she just brushed it off again. I decided to take it into my own hands. I decided, the next day after school I would take Cassie to the vet myself and see what was going on. 

The next day at school I couldn’t stop thinking about what would happen at the vet. I had called before to see if I could bring her in, and they said it was fine but didn’t seem to take me seriously, just like my mom.

Finally, 3:00 came and I sprinted home, I didn’t even wait for Peyton to walk home with me. When I got home, I ran inside the house, and got Cassie so I could walk her to the vet.

When we got there, the vet finally called my name after what felt like hours. “Hello, there! What seems to be the issue with your pet here?” The doctor asked.

“Well, she’s not eating, and doesn’t want to go on walks.” I said, with worry in my voice. The doctor frowned and looked at Cassie’s stomach, and throat. The frown turned even more serious when he called another doctor in to see what the issue was.

“We are just going to run some quick tests. It won’t take long.” The doctor smiled and went out of the room, taking Cassie with him. I was so nervous I felt like my heart could jump out of my chest. When the doctor came back in, I wanted to ask him a million questions. 

“I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that Cassie has something that could be cancer, but we’re not sure yet. The good news is that you caught it right in time. You are a very special girl, and you have a special dog.” Even though I was overwhelmed with sadness that Cassie was sick, I was so thankful that she’s actually okay.

“It should be a quick, painless surgery just to be safe and Cassie will be back to her normal self in no time.” The doctor promised. I had never been more relieved. 

That night, as I was walking Cassie back home from the vet, I thought about what I was going to say to my mom. She had been texting me a lot, asking where I was, and what I was doing. I decided I wasn’t going to respon and just leave it until I got home to tell her where I had been.

As I walked into the door, it felt like I was going to be interrogated by my mom. She was sitting at the kitchen table, with a mad look on. “Kate, where have you been?” She asked in a harsh tone. I decided to be honest, I mean, honesty is always the best policy, right?

“I took Cassie to the vet. I knew there was something wrong with her, and you didn’t believe me.” I replied. She looked confused.

“What do you mean? What did they say? Is she okay?” She looked more sad than angry now. I took a deep breath and decided to explain.

“The vet thinks that Cassie has a type of cancer. They could do a surgery, and remove it though.” I said with a sigh. My mom looked like a deer in headlights. I almost felt bad, but then I realized I had told her I knew something was wrong, and she didn’t believe me at all. 

“Why didn’t you say anything if you knew it could be that serious?” She said, with a sad tone. I couldn’t believe what this woman was saying. I had tried to tell her. Many times! Did I imagine it all?

“Mom! I can’t believe you! I brought it up to you so many times. It’s sad that you don’t listen to me until a medical professional with proof tells you.” I realized I might have gone too far. My mom looked like someone had slapped her across the face.

“I’m sorry. I just didn’t understand how serious it was.” She said. Even though I was mad at my mom, I decided to forgive and forget. That would be the best thing for Cassie, too.

The next week, we took her into the vet to get the surgery. She ended up being cancer free, and made a full recovery from the surgery. I had my old pup back again. I guess it is really important to always trust your gut.