Dumb Plastic Toys.

"Please use the other door" the guidance office's double doors said in a laminated note. Callie sighed loudly and started to walk down the hallway to the office. She was in school and it was the last period of the day. She had gotten yelled at a few minutes ago and needed to talk to the counselor by teacher's orders. As she entered through the office doors she clutched her small plastic dragon in her sweaty palm.

The chair wasn't very comfortable, and her purse had nowhere to be placed. The room was covered in sticky notes and cluttered with files along with folders and toys. The counselor, Lexi Hunnel, had a sad expression planted on her face. Callie sat uneasily across the small room.

Suddenly the counselor said flatly, "Do you know why you're here."

Callie rolled her eyes and nodded.

"For a stupid reason, that's why", she replied.

Miss Hunnel leaned forward and with a very angry tone in her voice said, "Listen here little girl, this is no stupid reason. Your were sent here for playing with dumb plastic toys, am I right?"

Callie then leaned forward as well and with a sassy yet gentle tone in her voice said, "Listen here, old lady. I wasn't 'playing' with 'dumb plastic toys'. I was waking my dragons so they could burn you people to a crisp."

The counselor forced a warm yet fake smile on her face, then leaned back again and dropped the smile.

“To the Black Room. Now”, she said fiercely.

Across the hall was the Black Room. The Black Room is a small room painted all black with just one chair in the center and no lights. Callie has never been there before, but she knows friends who have. They all complain about the duration of their “timeout” in there - the longest time to be in the Black Room is the entire school day. Callie walked slowly to the Black Room, looking behind her a few times to make sure Miss Hunnel wasn’t looking. At the perfect time, when she was filing some papers, Callie dashed out of the guidance office doors, which were now wide open. She sprinted down a few hallways before reaching the girl’s bathroom on the other side of the school from the guidance office. She ran into a bright blue stall, not stopping to admire the beautifully painted butterflies and flowers on the neon green walls like she normally does. She took her purse off her shoulder and started to rummage through it. Eventually she found the rest of her plastic dragons and placed them on a small shelf on the stall’s wall. She immediately dropped her purse and grabbed one of the dragons out of 3. The one she chose was very creatively made, with light pink going down its stomach all the way to the tip of its tail, which was spiked at the end. The slender purple body had 3 short spikes along each side. The legs were muscular yet smooth, with claws that were sharp like knives. A thick neck followed a small yet mighty head frozen in a snarl, with powerful jaws containing sharp teeth and a snake tongue. The wings were extended and were light pink as well. Callie had named this dragon Xandi.

Callie cradled the precious dragon in her hands before she gently started stroking its snout, whispering words of encouragement.

“Come on Xandi, I know you can do it. Just medium, not large. I’m still in school you know.”

Suddenly a cloud of neon blue sparkles shrouded the small statue in a thin blanket of shiny lights. There was a huge ray of white light shining in Callie’s face for a few moments. Then standing before her, blowing smoke rings and carefully flexing her wings, was Xandi.

She looked just like her plastic figure. Muscular legs, pink wings, slender body and all.

She huffed, then said in her raspy yet high pitched voice, “Clarissa.. What did you do this time.”

Callie replied roughly, “Don’t call me that..”

Xandi rolled her bright violet eyes and responded, “Whatever. Just tell me what you need, or I’ll go back to plastic on you.”

Callie ignored the small threat and said, "I need you this time. I was trying to wake your brother in class and got yelled at for 'playing with plastic toys'."

Xandi took on a very surprised expression, with her mouth gaping and her paw up to her chest.

"How dare they call us plastic toys! We are merely mythical figures!"

"That's what I tried to explain, but they didn't give me enough time."

Xandi huffed and blew a large smoke ring, then said, "I'll show them!"

She quickly unlocked the stall door and scurried out into the hallway outside the bathroom.

Callie started to recite a poem: "Return this dragon to my hand, may nobody see this magic. Let this figure proudly stand, in its form of plastic."

Suddenly Xandi appeared in Callie's hand once more in her statue form. Blue sparkles engulfed Xandi again and there she was, standing in the middle of the bathroom.

Callie grabbed her wing as she turned to run out and said, "No, Xandi. You know I'm in school, you can't just run out like that. I need your help."

Xandi stood facing Callie, halfway turned around with a blank stare on her face.

She sighed as she pulled her wing out of Callie's grasp and answered, "Fine. What do I have to do."

Callie nodded and smiled, throwing Xandi a hunk of meat she had stored in her magic safe.

"Here's the plan", Callie announced, "First of all, we don't have much time. They're probably looking for me right now and-"

Suddenly a teacher strolled into the bathroom. Xandi whipped her head around and blew a cloud of fire at her. As she ran out screaming, Callie whispered loudly, "Xandi! What the heck!"

Xandi turned back looking troubled and said, "Sorry.. It's a reflex.."

Callie shook her head quickly and stated, “Ok, whatever. We just have less time now. Word of a dragon in the bathroom’s gonna spread quick. But anyway, here’s the plan-”

Xandi interrupted hastily, “Wait.. Somebody’s coming!”

Callie and Xandi scurried into the bigger stall and locked the door just as Miss Hunnel walked in.

They pressed themselves up against the wall with Xandi on 2 legs, trying to hide their feet just in case Miss Hunnel was checking. Instead, she walked in front of a mirror and started to fix her hair. Xandi squeezed her eyes shut, holding her breath. Callie was watching Miss Hunnel through a small crack in the door, holding her breath as well. After she finished with her hair, she turned around and stood for a moment outside one of the stall doors, then shook her head and shuffled out of the bathroom.

Callie sighed and said quietly, “I think she’s gone.”

Xandi gasped and sucked in as much air as she could, then said, “Good. Now what’s the plan?”

Callie stepped away from the wall, pulling Xandi’s wing with her.

Xandi fell down onto all 4 feet again as Callie pondered, “Maybe the old plan isn’t thought out right. I have a better idea.”

Xandi replied perking her ears, “And that would be what? Do I get to burn somebody?”

Laughing lightly, Callie retorted, “Possibly. But you gotta listen first.”

Xandi nodded and plopped down on the floor, ears stilled perked.

“Alright, so here’s the deal. I think I should go back to the guidance office, where Miss Hunnel most likely went, and confront her about it. You know, me running away and avoiding the Black Room. I’ll apologize, but if she gives me a hard time about it, you get to step in and scare her.”

Xandi’s face lit up and she fluttered her wings.

“Not so fast, Xandi. I gotta turn you back to plastic, and I’ll bring you back in when I feel the need. You can’t just appear when you want. Ok?”

Xandi nodded quickly, then disappeared from her place on the ground and reappeared in Callie’s open palm as her regular plastic figure. Callie unlocked the stall door, grasping Xandi tightly in her hand as she picked up her purse and other dragons in the next stall over. After collecting her stuff, she strolled out of the bathroom looking like she didn’t have a care in the world. Off she went to the guidance office, feeling confident about the situation.

Callie stood in the doorway for a few seconds before waltzing into Miss Hunnel’s office. She looked quite surprised, seeing Callie in her doorway with her purse flung over her shoulder and her small hand fiddling with her ‘dumb plastic toy’.

Miss Hunnel asked, “Clarissa, aren’t you supposed to be in the Black Room?”

Callie stopped fiddling with Xandi and suddenly clenched her fist tightly. “Don’t call me that..”

Miss Hunnel looked even more surprised. “Fine. ‘Callie’.. I gave you a punishment for a reason.”

Callie loosened her grip on Xandi, realizing it might be hurting her. “I’m really sorry for running out, Miss Hunnel. I should’ve just gone to the Black Room like you told me to.”

“Well, if you weren’t playing with your dumb plastic toys, you wouldn’t have been sent there. But anyway-”

Callie interrupted abruptly, “Hey hey hey, they aren’t ‘dumb plastic toys’. Stop saying that, please. They are my best friends.”

Miss Hunnel rolled her eyes. “How can they be your best friends if they aren’t real, Callie. Come on. Get a grip. Grow up. Do something.”

Callie was extremely offended by this and defended herself. “Ok, fine. Tell me this isn’t real.” She then placed Xandi in the center of her open palm. “Come on Xandi. It’s your turn.”

Miss Hunnel looked flabberghasted as Xandi appeared in front of her, snarling and growling.

Callie leaned against the doorframe proudly as Xandi did her job. She walked around Miss Hunnel’s desk and growled in her face, showing off her surprisingly pointy canines. Miss Hunnel couldn’t stop gasping and blinking furiously as she leaned back in her chair at the sight of Xandi.

As Xandi got closer, Miss Hunnel said quickly, “Callie! Call her back! Is she like a dog? Does she respond to commands? Help!”

Callie snapped her fingers and said, “Alright Xandi, you can stop torturing her now.”

Xandi started to back away and strutted back over to Callie. She nuzzled Callie’s leg since she was only up to waist height and blew a few small smoke rings.

Miss Hunnel carefully placed her hands on her desk and said, “Callie. I am so sorry.. I didn’t believe you.. What’s her name again?”

Callie smiled and replied, “Her name’s Xandi. With an ‘x’.”

Miss Hunnel nodded. “Pretty name. Is she friendly? Or will she try to kill me?”

“Nah, you’re safe. Unless you make her mad..”

Callie looked down as Xandi looked up and they shared a small wink.

“So I can pet her? She’s beautiful.”

At that remark, Xandi blushed a little and nuzzled Callie’s leg again.

Callie’s smile grew bigger. “Of course. Come on over, she won’t bite.”

Miss Hunnel slowly stood up and walked even slower over to them. Suddenly Xandi galloped over to Miss Hunnel, skidded to a stop in front of her and placed her paws on Miss Hunnel’s legs. Miss Hunnel smiled even though she was a bit frightened, reached down to stroke Xandi’s snout softly, and listened to Xandi purr. Callie was overjoyed knowing her counselor liked Xandi.

But suddenly something else came to mind. “Miss Hunnel.. you won’t tell anybody about Xandi, will you? Nobody else knows and if the wrong person finds out-”

Miss Hunnel interrupted with a smile, “Of course not. Your secret’s safe with me.”

Xandi suddenly stopped purring and announced, “Oh no! Somebody’s coming!”

Callie opened her palm and turned Xandi back to plastic at the exact moment the principal walked in.

Callie tried her hardest to act normal as she gripped Xandi in her fist and walked over to a small table, placing her purse down. The principal, Mr. Dhaet, stood in the doorway as he scanned the room.

“What’s going on in here, Lexi?”

Miss Hunnel looked swiftly over to Callie, then back to Mr. Dhaet. “Oh, nothing. We were just talking about her weekend. She was just about to leave. Right, Callie?”

Callie nodded and smiled at Mr. Dhaet. “Yup, I gotta go. The bell’s about to ring anyway.”

After grabbing her stuff, she ran out of Miss Hunnel’s office, out the double doors, and down the hallway to leave the school. To her surprise, Mr. Dhaet tapped her on the shoulder just as she passed by the office.

He said as she turned around, “Clarissa.. No, sorry. Callie. Can you come to the library really quick? I need to talk to you.”

Callie had no idea what was coming, so she followed him to the empty library. There were books everywhere. The only clean place was the floor. They went over to a big round table and sat.

“Listen, Callie. This might come as a shock to you.. But I think you’ll like it”, He told her.

Callie leaned back in her chair a little, thinking something bad was going to happen. But then Mr. Dhaet pulled something out of his pocket. It was a big thing, not like a small trinket. It was green with yellow on the underside, with long appendages on its back that were yellow as well. It had 4 more appendages on its underside that were thick and short. It had a long spiked appendage coming off its back. It had a long and narrow appendage coming off its main part. Callie gasped and leaned back in her chair from surprise. Mr. Dhaet had a dragon.

It was a dragon. A plastic dragon.

The first thing Callie asked was, “What’s the name?”

Mr. Dhaet replied, “His name is Zlatan. It means ‘gold’.”

Callie was hesitant to say, “Is it ok if I bring my favorite dragon out? She’s been my best friend for a while and-”

Mr. Dhaet nodded briskly in response. Callie unfolded her fist, revealing Xandi.

Mr. Dhaet reached out as if to touch the pink and purple dragon, but stopped in mid-air and pulled his hand back.

“She seems very unique, Callie. What’s her name?”

“Xandi, with an ‘X’. It means ‘protector of humankind’.”

“Did you choose the name yourself? If you did, very well chosen. Clever. I believe Xandi’s going to do something amazing someday. I can feel it.”

Callie’s face lit up at this remark. Suddenly her happiness was interrupted by the late bell, which meant that she missed her bus.

“Oh no.. I missed my bus. Can I call my mom, Mr. Dhaet?”

“Of course you can. Want me to hold onto Xandi for you?”

Callie took a moment to think about that decision. Feeling a sudden surge of energy in the crunched amount of time she had, she quickly placed Xandi into Mr. Dhaet’s open hand as he placed Zlatan on the table and bolted back into the guidance office. The student phone was right next to Miss Hunnel’s office, so she had to swiftly sneak by her door. While Callie was on the phone with her mom, Mr. Dhaet was fiddling around with Xandi. He was talking to her as if she was a human being.

“So Xandi, I’m just gonna cut to the chase. Stop being friends with Callie. She’s a troublemaker and she’ll forget about you after a while. I promise you that. Don’t tell her I said anything.. Just keep it between us. I need you to stop trusting her.”

Xandi stood motionless in her plastic form without response. Mr. Dhaet nodded at her as Callie ran back into the library. She grabbed Xandi out of his hand, then her purse, and ran back out. She still hadn’t gotten her backpack. When she reached her locker, she realized that most of the teachers had left the building. She placed her purse on the floor and put Xandi in the middle of her hand. She rubbed Xandi’s snout a few times, then let her do the rest. First the blue sparkles, then the white light, and lastly there was Xandi in the middle of the hallway.

“Hey Xandi, break this lock for me. It’s the last day of school, so who cares anymore. Don’t be too loud though, there might be a few teachers left.”

Xandi walked up to the locker and stared at the lock for a few seconds before getting up on 2 feet and bringing her front paws down so hard it smashed the lock in half with a snap.

Callie was in the car on her way home. She didn’t tell her mother anything about Mr. Dhaet, because her mother doesn’t know about her powers. Her mother only knew them as plastic trinkets, not live dragons frozen in time. Now she was wondering if Mr. Dhaet had those powers too. Before Callie had the chance to go deep into thought, her mother interrupted her.

“Hey Callie, wanna go out for ice cream? It’s the last day of school, let’s celebrate the summer!”

Callie replied as they drove by the ice cream shop, “Nah. I wanna go straight home.”

Her mother seemed a little worried. “Is anything wrong, Callie?”

“Nope, just a crazy day. Last day of school nonsense got to people’s heads.”

“Then why were you late?”

This made Callie freeze for a moment. Then she said, “Oh, Mr. Dhaet wanted to talk to me about doing good next year and all that since I have 1 more year there.”

Her mother nodded and pulled into their driveway.

Later that night, Callie’s mother was out with her father at a party and her grandmother was in charge. She knew about Callie’s powers and had her own dragon. Callie was in her room, talking to Xandi. Xandi was busy trying to catch her tail as Callie attempted to go deep into thought again. Sadly, Xandi interrupted.

“Hey Callie. Check this out!”

Xandi curled up in a ball, turned to plastic, and then exploded back to life in a burst of blue sparkles. She landed back on the ground with a huge smile on her face. Suddenly Callie’s grandmother opened the door, most likely after hearing the bang of Xandi hitting the floor.

“What’s going on in here?”, She asked playfully.

“Oh nothing, grandma. Just Xandi being silly”, Callie replied.

Her grandmother nodded and closed the door after giving Xandi a pat on the head.

Xandi said after a few moments of silence as they both stared at the door, "She's so nice. When can I meet her dragon, Callie? I bet he's handsome.."

Callie rolled her eyes and retorted, "Nope. He's actually pretty gruesome looking. He's a Fighting dragon. You're a Royal dragon. You two would never get along."

"Just cuz I'm a Royal doesn't mean anything! He might like Royals", Xandi replied with a smile.

Callie noticed her blushing a bit, so she countered, "Actually, he might not. I saw him go for a Fortune dragon once. Another time he went for a Weather dragon. She was really pretty!"

Xandi suddenly stopped blushing and looked down before plopping onto the floor.

"It's okay.. I mean.. I'll get over it. I still haven't seen him yet. I still bet he's adorable.."

“Hey, Xandi. It’ll be fine. You don’t need male dragons to make you happy, you have me. And I promise I’ll never leave your side”, Callie said with a big smile.

Xandi huffed and blew a medium sized smoke ring, then lifted her paw and blew it away.

Early the next morning, Callie and Xandi were taking a walk back to Callie’s school. They were only a few streets away and decided they needed exercise. They were strolling down the sidewalk when Xandi said something.. strange.

“Mr. Dhaet seemed nice.”

Callie stopped walking and grabbed Xandi’s wing since she was ahead and pulled her back.

“Xandi.. What did he do to you.”

Suddenly Xandi froze in place and breathed out heavily.

She took a deep breath in again and was about to speak when Callie suddenly said, “Nah, I’m just kiddin’. But did he say anything to you when I was on the phone? Did he bring you out of plastic?”

Xandi was still frozen, now with her mouth gaping.

She slowly closed it and then opened it again to say, “Uh.. he didn’t bring me out of plastic, no. But.. he said some interesting things to me.”

“Like what?”

“Um, I’d rather not say.”

“Xandi, come on. What did he say.”

“He wants me to hate you.”

Callie was taken aback by this and started to step away, then stopped. “Xandi.. Please don’t tell me you’re going to leave me for him..”

Xandi stood speechless.

"Xandi you can't do this, you're my Forever Dragon! You can't just leave me.. You know what'll happen!"

Indeed, Xandi knew what would happen. But Callie continued.

"Xandi.. If you leave me, you'll die, and you're all I have! Your brother hates me and your sister isn’t too fond of me, and.. Well let's not go there. You were my first dragon, Xandi. My best friend since the beginning. You can't leave me now!"

That's when Xandi turned and walked away.

Xandi had teleported herself to Mr. Dhaet's house. All dragons are born with a virtual map in their heads that show where someone lives and who it is. When she appeared at his front door, she knocked and waited a few seconds until he opened the door. For some reason, he was in a suit and tie.

He said, "Oh, hello Xandi. Come on in."

She stepped into his house and walked down the hallway that lead to the kitchen. His house was bigger than she imagined. It was more like a mansion. He followed her in and opened the refrigerator.

"Hungry, I'm guessing?"

Xandi nodded and crawled into a tall chair. He pulled out a huge bag filled with all kinds of meats and placed it on the table as if he had prepared it for her beforehand.

Xandi still hadn't said a word until Mr. Dhaet asked as he sat down next to her, "Are you ready?"

"Ready for what?"

Laughing lightly, he replied, "To meet my dragon."

Xandi recalled the green and yellow dragon at Callie’s school, but not his name. Mr. Dhaet reached into his suit pocket and pulled him out.

“Zlatan couldn’t wait to meet you. He predicted you were coming today.”

Xandi watched him place Zlatan on the table, also reaching into the bag of meat.

“Should I bring him to life for you?”, Mr. Dhaet asked, already rubbing Zlatan’s snout.

Xandi watched him bring Zlatan to life in a burst of red sparkles and white light. Suddenly, a very tough looking yet handsome dragon stood before her. Xandi was surprised at how big he was. He was half the ceiling’s height. Xandi was only up to Callie’s waist. Even though Xandi was almost 22, which is very young for a dragon, she was very short. Zlatan had to be around 30. Zlatan blew a large smoke ring and stared down at Xandi. Xandi gave him a small wave as he sat down in a chair on the other side of her.

He scooted the chair a bit closer and stared into Xandi’s eyes lovingly until Mr. Dhaet said with a wink, “Zlatan, don’t get too close. She’s a fiesty one.”

Xandi blushed deeply and squeezed her eyes shut as she felt butterflies flutter in her stomach. Zlatan nodded towards Mr. Dhaet, then placed his paw on Xandi’s cheek. He used his other paw to pull her face towards his, then Mr. Dhaet interrupted.

“Should I leave you two alone?”

Xandi buried her face in her paws as her entire face turned bright red. She started to shake her head, but then Zlatan pulled her paws away from her face with a smile.

Xandi looked away as Mr. Dhaet said, “Just kidding, I wouldn’t do that to Xandi. She’s too nice.”

Xandi stopped blushing and looked at Mr. Dhaet. For once, he had kindness in his eyes and voice, not hate and evil. She believed she could warm up to him easily.

After Xandi teleported, Callie went home and ran straight up to her room. She jumped onto her bed and cried into her pillow fiercely. What was she supposed to do without Xandi? Her grandmother then opened the door and peeked in, then saw Callie crying. She walked over and sat next to Callie on the bed.

“What happened this time, Callie?”, She asked.

Callie replied between sniffles and sobs, “Xandi left me!”

Her grandmother gasped and started to run her fingers through Callie’s hair, trying to calm her down.

“Why would she leave you? Doesn’t she know she’s your Forever Dragon?”

Callie nodded inside the pillow and said, “Yeah, but when I tried to explain to her what would happen, she teleported!”

“Oh dear.. What are we going to do? Xandi’s gonna die in a matter of 2 days without you. We can’t let her do this!”

Callie looked up with a tear-stained face and messy hair. “But how? She left me for my principal.. He’s probably much nicer than I will ever be.”

Her grandmother retaliated in a stern tone of voice, “Nonsense. You treated her like she was your child. A mother never argues with her child. Unless, of course, her child is acting badly. But even so, a mother should never fight back.”

Callie then turned back to her pillow and plopped her face into it, realizing that even though Xandi was “acting badly”, she shouldn’t have fought back.

“What should we do?”, She said, muffled.

“We’re gonna get her back. Using Xandi’s sister.”

Callie looked up again, now staring at her grandmother with wide eyes. “You don’t mean..”

“Yes, I do Callie. This time, we’re bringing out.. The last real dragon in the world.”

Callie had never brought Xandi’s sister to life. Even though she was the only Nature dragon left, and also the most powerful dragon out there, she had never been used. Callie has carried her around everywhere. This dragon is the last real dragon in the world for one reason only; The rest of them were human-made figures with added magic. Xandi’s sister is a very beautiful dragon. She is long and lean, with thick legs and a spiked tail. She has a big sail on her back, and a narrow yet strong head with mighty jaw power and sharp teeth. She has 2 inch long claws and beady red eyes. Her body is bright red with black on the underside. Legend has it she’s over 100 years old. Callie named this dragon Xylophia.

Callie and her grandmother had invited Mr. Dhaet over for lunch. He pulled up into their driveway a few minutes later in a black Ferrari with Xandi and Zlatan in the back. Callie gripped Xylophia in her hand tightly as Mr. Dhaet walked up the driveway to greet them with the dragons following. Xandi was looking around the yard as if she’d never been there before. Zlatan was walking proudly next to his owner. Xandi looked much older. Her thick skin had started to wrinkle very badly.

Once they reached the top of the driveway where Callie and her grandmother were waiting, Mr. Dhaet said, “How nice of you to invite me here. Lovely garden you have.”

Xandi was now staring and pawing at the ground.

Callie replied, “Thanks. We’re gonna eat out on the porch.”

She lead them up to the moldy, wooden porch. There was a large table with a set of chairs in one corner, and in the other was an assortment of potted plants. Callie’s grandmother went inside to grab the food while they all sat and chatted about the weather.

As her grandmother came out of the house with a big platter full of healthy food, Mr. Dhaet changed the subject and said, “Callie, we all know Xandi wasn't meant for you. Quite frankly, I knew it from the beginning."

Her grandmother froze in place as Callie's face became twisted in anger.

She said as calmly as she could, "You know what, Mr. Dhaet. You're right. Xandi probably wasn't meant for me. Maybe she was meant for somebody else. But here's the deal.."

She stood up and walked over to his chair with Xylophia in hand.

"Xandi was my best friend. She had been since I was born. I still remember the first day I brought her to life. I've never seen a prettier dragon. But Mr. Dhaet.. I don't think you're the right owner for her, 'quite frankly'. You will never treat her as nice as I did. Maybe I did screw up that one day, but you don't deserve such an amazing dragon. Xandi is meant for bigger and better things. Oh and one more thing.."

She then start rubbing Xylophia's snout with her thumb.

"You better watch what you say about my dragons."

Suddenly a huge red and black dragon sprung from Callie's hand and landed in her backyard. Xylophia roared and stomped her feet, making the ground shake slightly. Mr. Dhaet took this as a challenge. He whispered something to Zlatan, who then flew towards Xylophia. Callie watched him take a huge breath in, then blow a huge tornado of fire at Xylophia. She held up her huge paw and brushed it away. Then she lifted her paw higher and brought it down on Zlatan with such a force that he flew into the ground so far they couldn't see him anymore. They all thought he was done for because he didn't fly back up.

Mr. Dhaet yelled, "Come on Zlatan, you're tougher than this!", with no response.

He then pointed at Xandi, who flew towards Xylophia and hovered in front of her. Callie watched them stare into each other's eyes, almost as if they were trading thoughts. Suddenly Xylpohia bent her head towards the ground and Xandi flew over to her, landing on her neck. As Xandi gripped her neck tightly, Xylophia let out a huge roar, then bent down towards the hole where Zlatan was last seen. She breathed in deeply, then blew a thick beam of fire down the hole, where everybody heard one last cry of pain escape. Xylophia lifted her head and turned her neck around as far as it could go to let Xandi nuzzle her snout. Callie ran down the porch stairs and over to Xylophia. She waved her arms at her and she brought her head down once more. Callie stroked her huge snout a few times before whispering, "It's time to go."

She closed her eyes and opened them again to find Xylophia's figure in her hand and Xandi across the lawn. Callie started to walk away until she was tackled to the ground from behind. She started to yell, "Who did that?", but then she turned around and got a hard lick on the cheek from her Forever Dragon.

Mr. Dhaet went home without dragons that day, Callie got Xandi back, and Zlatan was no longer with them. Xylophia was brought back to plastic and treated like a queen for the rest of that evening. Oh, and me? I'm Xandi's brother. The name's Zolton. I wasn't a part of anything that happened that week, but that's only because I'm not exactly a "regular dragon." I'm the last Secret dragon in the world.