I followed him along the corridor, heart thudding. He smirked at me, and pushed the door open. I shut it behind us; then, holding my breath, I turned to face the front of the room.
And here I was hoping to be disappointed.
The cage rumbled. Spurts of fire escaped from between the bars. Ten skinny necks, glittering with scales, thrust themselves out. They were of a size with kittens; there were blue ones, red ones, gold ones, green ones, and purple ones. A green one belched, singeing the floor. The pavement was scuffed in dark marks.
“Keeping pets is forbidden for Academy students.” I sounded monotone. I caught myself against a chair. I forced myself to breathe.
“Don’t start freaking out.” He brushed the hair from his eyes, and his grin widened. My heart sped up. “I’ve got it all worked out.”
“No. No, this is a disaster.”
“That’s what I’m known for.”
“That doesn’t help, Alex!”
“It wasn’t meant to.” Alex shrugged. “Do you want to name one?”
I approached the cage, balling my robes between my hands. I could see the inside of the headmaster’s office in my mind’s eye. I could picture his stern gaze, his expression if he saw the dragons.
“We have to get rid of them.”
“Relax! This was Mr. Moriarty’s office. But then he disappeared, and now nobody comes in here.”
“Why?”
A red dragon hissed. He nipped at a blue dragon, and it squealed. Alex frowned at the cage. “Apparently it’s haunted or something.”
“That’s great, Alex! Dragons and ghosts! That really makes my day.”
“They’re not mean or anything.”
I shuddered. “They’re cold. And wet. And sometimes they walk through you. On purpose! Just to be jerks!”
“Well, Joe does that.” Alex scratched his head. “Or was that Mabel? Maybe it was both of them.”
“I don’t care. I’m leaving.”
Alex jogged up to me. “Wait, there’s more.”
Uh oh.
I took a breath. “Yes?”
“I kind of made a...deal with a frog. He wasn’t really a frog. He used to be a man. A wizard. But now he’s a frog, and he needed to get these off his hands...”
I raised my eyebrows.
Alex cleared his throat. “I bought them. Blew through half of my savings. And he cast a spell on me. It was the last of his magic. I made a vow that we would both look after them, for the rest of their lives.”
“We?”
“Dragons can live to be three hundred. I guess I was sort of hoping we could...raise them together. Like test kids or something. Anyways, I can’t get rid of them. If I do, my blood will catch on fire and I’ll die. That was the deal.”
“You’re insane!” I pointed to the cage. “Not only that, but you’re...you’re...”
“Handsome? Intelligent? Witty?”
“Inconsiderate!” I shoved him. “You roped me into this deal without even consulting me! You spoke for me. You didn’t have any right-”
“Hold on. You told me last week you wanted to raise a dragon!”
“Yes. A dragon. The singular being the operative word!”
“It’s a lot, I know, but I knew one wizard who raised thirty.”
“Yeah, Magnus Wolfsbane.” Now there’s an original name. “He had a zoo. You know, multiple enclosures, employees, state sponsored feed?”
“I’ve got money. For the food.”
“And space?” I motioned to the room. “You think they’re all gonna fit in here in another year? In another month?”
“How fast do they grow?” He bit his lip. “Do you know?”
I sighed. “It’s just like you not to ask a question like that when you’re with the buyer. But no, you want to be surprised...”
“I figured you would know.”
My eyes smarted. “They’ll be full grown in two years. In a year, they’ll be the size of elephants.” I glanced at the cage. “In a month, they’ll be the size of large dogs.”
“And the poop?”
“Oh, god.” I reddened. “I hadn’t even thought of that. Dragon poop. That means it will be corrosive.”
Alex frowned.
I recognized the expression. “That means ‘acidic’. It will burn everything?”
“Oh.”
“You really need to pay attention in English.”
“But we’re wizards! What’s a bunch of words got to do with anything?”
“Considering that spells are words, and that the arcane arts are built on the languages, I’d say they have to do with everything!”
“So I should pay attention to the Latin lessons too?”
I shook my head. “You’re a hopeless case.”
The cage shook. We dodged back as flames licked the floor.
Alex tucked a strand of my hair behind one ear. “Sure. But I’m your hopeless case.”
My heart sped up. Sweat coated my face. It was warm in here...because of the dragons? My cheek tingled as he trailed his fingers over my face. He took my head between my hands. He leaned in...
There was a roar, and a shriek. We broke apart. Muttering, Alex dashed to the cage. He slapped the enclosure. A blue dragon whimpered. Most cowered as the largest, the red, nipped at them.
He glanced up. “Martie.”
“Dragons first. First kiss later.” I was breathless.
“Right. So what are we gonna do?”
“We’re going to tell Walter.”
“Walter? But he’s a teacher!”
“Trust me. I know what I’m doing.” I took a pebble from my pocket. It glowed blue. “I’ve got a Bargain Token.”
“No way.”
“Once Walter swears on it, to do what we want, he won’t be able to tell. He’ll be in on it, and therefore culpable if he does.”
“You’re devious.”
I pecked his cheek. “I learned from the best.”
The red flapped its wings. A breeze gusted through the room, knocking over a desk and filling the air with papers. Alex caught me as I stumbled. Our hair settled.
“Let’s get this over with.” I squared my shoulders. “Before the castle gets burned down.”
“Dragons first. First kiss later?”
“That’s a promise.” I ruffled his hair. “Just try not to do anything stupid in the meantime.”
“That’s a promise...for an attempt anyways.”
“Let’s go.” The growls and grunts died behind us as we sped off. We ran hand in hand, and the promise of the kiss made my face burn.
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