Amy tried it twice more. Both times, the screen went blank outside the room, but lit back up inside. The whole time, Rover’s eyes never left Amy’s.

Amy clutched her iPad to her chest, feeling confused and a little scared. It was impossible. It made no sense. What, was Rover an electric dog? When they found him on the side of the road, had he been some sort of government guinea pig, a discarded …

Science experiment?

Amy inhaled sharply.

Was this possible?

If she had enough proof, if she did her research, it could definitely work. Her mind raced with hypotheses, but she snapped out of it when Rover woofed softly.

Right, his food.

“Guess you can eat early today,” Amy said, noticing the dog’s intent gaze as she went to the cupboard, wondering just what she might find when she tried to test what was behind those eyes.

Chapter 6: Scientific Method

“Remember,” said Mr. Heindecker as the class rose from their desks, “if you haven’t already given them to me, I need your project sheets for the science fair.”

Amy popped up from her chair so fast that her bio lab partner, Kieran, started back.

“Sorry,” she said before power walking up to the front of the classroom, her project sheet tucked in a purple folder under her arm.

At the head of the class, a few final stragglers handed in their project sheets, some reluctantly, some hurriedly. Amy smiled as Max Levine and Carla Wing handed in a black folder with a skull and crossbones on it—their experiments never really won any prizes, but they were always some of the most entertaining in the grade.

Amy handed her folder to Mr. Heindecker, who beamed back at her.

“Ms. Tanner. I must admit, I’m excited to see what you have planned for us. I thought last year’s project was excellent, and Ms. Feliz told me to keep an eye on you this year.”

He opened the folder, scanned her pages … and his brow furrowed.

“Everything okay?” asked Amy, feeling a little worry clouding her excitement.

“It’s … well, I’m just a little confused,” said Mr. Heindecker. “This looks more like an obedience training program for your dog. That’s interesting, but not exactly scientific. What are you trying to prove?”

Amy was ready for this. “It’s not that I’m training my dog,” she said. “I’m learning to communicate with him on a deeper level using outside stimuli. Sort of like Pavlov, who made his dog drool by ringing a bell.”

Mr. Heindecker smiled again—this time, Amy thought, a little condescendingly.

“Well, that sounds interesting, I guess,” he said. “Just make sure you have your experiment parameters really mapped out. The scientific process, remember—come up with a theory, then prove it, hmm?”