Summer vacation is right around the corner, and as 10-year-old Sheila Tubman steps on her building’s elevator after school one day, she sees her classmate Peter Hatcher and his dog Turtle about to get on with her. Sheila is petrified of dogs, so she proclaims Turtle smells so bad that she must walk the 10 flights of stairs up to her family’s apartment. On the way, she congratulates herself for “pretend[ing] that [she] hate[s] Turtle because he smells,” and Peter will “never know the truth” (4) about her intense fear.

In the Tubmans’ apartment, Sheila’s 13-year-old sister Libby practices ballet, and Mrs. Tubman reminds Sheila she was supposed to bring home a quart of milk. Sheila is too exhausted after climbing the stairs, so Mrs. Tubman sends Libby to get the milk instead, much to Libby’s frustration. Libby teases Sheila and guesses there was a dog on the elevator. Mr. Tubman comes home, and he and Sheila play their special game of hide-and-seek: Sheila points her shoes in the direction she is hiding, and Mr. Tubman follows the clue until he finds her.

Mr. Tubman announces the family will be spending the summer out of Manhattan, in a house in Tarrytown.