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Paige grinned at him, her hands stuck on her hips. “Why? I told you, I feel fine! I never noticed how vivid the colors in this room are. Did you pick them? You did a really, really great job. You’re so talented, Dewey.”

“Just have a seat on the chair for a second.”

Paige shrugged and pressed her lips together as she strode to the chair and plopped into it.

She patted the plastic bag from the SmartMart. “Oh, I forgot to tell you about my big idea to smuggle you out of the library.”

“You can tell me in just a second,” Dewey said as he flitted toward her with a small flashlight clutched between his chubby fingers.

His scaly hand grasped her chin, holding her head steady. He flicked the light into each of her eyes a few times.

“Ah, that’s bright,” Paige complained, trying to wrestle her chin from his grip.

Dewey squashed his lips together and wiggled his ears, a puff of smoke rising from his nostrils.

Paige burst into uncontrollable laughter. She covered her mouth as she giggled.

“What’s so funny?” Dewey asked.

“Your ears,” Paige said, slapping her thigh as she continued to chuckle.

His ears wiggled again at the statement, causing Paige’s laughter to intensify. She doubled over, tears springing from the corners of her eyes.

“What’s wrong with my ears?” Dewey demanded, unimpressed by her fit.

“They wiggle when you get upset. I noticed it before, too. And you did it again now. It’s so funny.” She clutched at her sides as her laughter continued.

Dewey offered her an unimpressed stare, another puff of smoke billowing from his nose.

Paige wiped at her eyes as she tried to calm her laughter down.

“I’m going to let you off the hook this time for laughing at me.”

“I’m laughing but not at you. It’s cute.”

Dewey grumbled as he tossed the flashlight into a drawer. “You’re high.”

Paige snorted a laugh and nodded. “Yep.” The smile slid from her face, and she squashed her eyebrows together. “Wait, what?”

“You’re high. That’s why you feel so good. And why you think everything’s beautiful. And funny.”

“No, I’m not,” Paige countered.

“You are. I must have messed up the ratio when I calculated it. I put way too much dragon’s root into the slime. And now you’re high.”

“OMG,” Paige said, her eyes going wide. “High?”

“As a kite,” Dewey confirmed. He pulled open a cupboard and retrieved a glass, then he filled it with water. He flitted over and handed it to Paige. “Drink this. It’ll help to pass the drugs through your system.”

Paige took a sip and set the glass on the table. “I can’t believe this! How did you mess this up?”

Dewey perched on the chaise across from her and shrugged. “I told you I only estimated your weight. I must have been wrong.”

“Well, what did you estimate?”

The horns on Dewey’s head wobbled as he wrinkled his nose. “Two hundred and fifty pounds.”

“Two hundred and–“ Paige sank her forehead into her hand. “Are you kidding me?”