Dragons and Labs (A short story)

Hi. I’m Diana. And I’m one of the coolest people I know. Well, second coolest. First is my best friend, Joan Hales. Now, me and Joan weren’t always best friends. I first befriended her when I stumbled upon the secret laboratory she has above our classroom (did I mention she was cool?). 

You can get in and out of the laboratory by hoisting yourself up into a hole in the ceiling. And inside, it is pure heaven! Cool flasks filled with strange chemicals, large cardboard prototypes, a small tv (we didn’t make that but it is useful when you want a movie night during school hours) and best of all, Lizzie. 

Lizzie is not a lizard, as I first thought she was. She’s actually a salamander. With wings! Which kinda makes her a dragon! She lives there most of the time and NEVER goes out. 

“Imagine the mayhem it would cause!” Joan said, feeding Lizzie a dead cricket, “And what if she gets stepped on?”

I get why Joan didn’t want Lizzie to go out but it's a bummer either way.

To keep our lab a secret, we have always made sure the corridor’s empty when we get inside and to ALWAYS close the tile back in place when we get out. 

I didn’t follow it…once.

Joan was sick that day. And I may have let Lizzie from her box to play. And I may have lost track of time, yelped when I saw my watch and got out of there without putting Lizzie back OR closing the tile.

When I got in the lab the next day, Joan was a sweating mess. “I can’t find Liz anywhere!’ she cried, toppling over dioramas in a frenzy. 

I broke out in a cold sweat.

Joan gave me a cold, angry stare. “You forgot to put her back, didn’t you? And you forgot to close the hole!” Without another word, she walked past me and down the hole. I bit my lip. The best thing I could do right now was try to help. I followed her into the empty corridor (we were in school early, as always. So no kids) and began whistling to attract Lizzie’s attention.

“THERE!” I shouted. Lizzie was inside an eighth grade classroom. We dashed in, and began whistling and tutting, trying to coax the salamander to come closer. Instead the darn lizard flew right over our heads. “Hey! Wings1725! COME BACK HERE!”

Gee, Joan was yelling Lizzie’s experiment name. She must have been MAD!

The both of us scampered after the unexpectedly fast dragon. It ducked under the exit and flew out on campus. Joan wasn’t used to running and began to lag behind. Me? I didn’t do all that badminton for nothing! Wind whipped my face as my vision narrowed to that single flying spot. I ran after her into the canteen. And Lizzie hesitated for just a second. That’s all I needed. I jumped onto a table and grabbed her. And then hurtled to the floor. I hit the ground with a resounding thud as I heard Joan’s breathy gasp from the canteen entrance. Lizzie climbed on my face and gave me a small lick.

Yes, I broke my arm from the fall, but at least Joan’s not mad at me anymore. And Lizzie can fly around the campus under our supervision now. Sure I messed up, but I made up for it, which is what counts. And that’s why I'm the second coolest person I know.