Lucy finished her Spaghetti Bolognese and wiped her mouth with her napkin. Soon the empty bowl was replaced by another filled with fruit. Lucy ate a chopped banana piece and drifted back to the dormitory.
By now all the other year one students were making their way out of the dormitory and down for dinner. Lauren looked anxiously at the clock. Three minutes.
"Stand back," Mrs Koster swept a hand towards the girls, making them back up. "Shaka la harda a keekabo, Shaka a
la harda a keekabo, Shaka la harda a keekabo..." She chanted, also standing back. Suddenly, the egg's glow shone out and coloured the room. Yellow, orange, blue, purple, green then back to yellow. It was so bright that Lucy and Lauren had shield their eyes, but Mrs Koster was looking at the colours in delight. Her chanting grew louder and faster until the colours shone brighter than ever, then died out. Mrs Koster stopped chanting and looked proudly at the new born dragon. Lucy and Lauren peered over the bed to see a little red shape. Puff! It went. Lucy smiled at it.
"He's a boy," Mrs Koster stood back to let Lucy have a look at her dragon.
"May I?" Lucy asked.
"Of course, he is your dragon." Lucy gleefully scooped up the baby dragon and cradled him in her arms.
"Now you need to name him," Mrs Koster told her. Puff! He went again.
"Puff," Lucy exclaimed. "I'll call him Puff."
"A great name! Next you need to make him a nest to sleep in. I will be around if you need me." And with that she was gone, in a click of a finger.
"I wish they wouldn't keep doing that!" Lauren said, coming over to Lucy to help with the nest. Puff gave an agreeing puff! and flew onto the window sill, where the humans where making his nest. Lucy pulled another tissue from her backpack and ripped it into shreds. As Lauren stuck the last tissue rip on, Puff clambered into it inspect. He patted the tissue into shape with his paws, turned around three times and sat down. He gave the approval with another puff!
"OK," Lucy walked away with Lauren to dinner. "Stay there until we come back."
Lucy quickly ate her fruit salad and walked back to the dormitory with Lauren. Lucy rushed over to Puff's nest went they got there. Puff wasn't there.
"Puff?" Lucy called anxiously. A squawk came from her backpack. She opened the bag. Puff was sat there, looking at her sheepishly with chocolate round his lips.
"Puff!" Lucy picked up the half-eaten chocolate bar as evidence. "Just how much have you eaten?" She cupped her hands and lay them in her backpack for Puff to clamber onto. She gently took him to the girls bathrooms and placed her hands in a sink. Puff fluttered off and started to explore his new surroundings. Lucy ran ice cold water from the tap. As it flowed onto Puff, he jumped back, surprised. Puff! He went, like a puppy barking at a new, unexplored thing.
"Don't worry Puff, it's just water," Lucy reassured him. "See?" She splashed a bit at him with her fingers. Puff! He said, now overjoyed with the idea. He fluttered under the mini shower and hrrrrred in delight as the water trickled down his back. Scales of all shades of red sparkled and rattled as he moved. Lucy smiled and squirted liquid soap into her hands. She rubbed it all over Puff, as he fell over trying to eat it.
"No Puff, we don't eat soap!" Lucy said, turning around to get a towel. She picked up a green hand towel - perfect for a baby dragon. She picked Puff up and placed him in the centre of the towel. Lucy carefully dried him, put the towel on the radiator to dry and walked out of the bathroom.
A hubbub of chatter was now echoing around the dormitory and music was playing somewhere in the large room. Lucy went over to her bed and put Puff (refreshed from his shower) into his nest to rest. Lauren was reading a book next to him. He decided to flutter down and join her.
"Puff!" Lucy exclaimed, thinking she wouldn't like him there.
"It's OK," Lauren said, without looking up.
"OK, then," Lucy settled on her bed and got out her Dragon Observation book and started writing in it.
PUFF
RED DRAGON
1 DAY OLD
BIRTH
When Puff was ready to hatch, his egg started to glow and crack. A staff member called Mrs Koster helped to hatch him with us. She started chanting and weird stuff like that. I had to shield my eyes as the glowing got too bright to look at. Suddenly it died out and when I could look at it again, the egg had disappeared and in its place was Puff.
LIKES
-Chocolate
-Saying puff
-Books
-Water (showers)
DISLIKES
- Being alone
"OK, it's time for bed, now," Mr Aspinall was leaning against the door frame with his arms folded. Everybody groaned. He wagged his index and middle fingers to his eyes, then to the students. "I'll be watching you," he warned, then turned and walked away.
"Spooky," said Lauren, but still pulled out her PJs from her suitcase.
Lucy awoke with a start. A clatter. The bathroom. She looked at her clock. 2:30. Then her gaze shifted to Puff's nest on the window sill. No sign of him. She sighed. Lucy got up and walked sleepily to the bathroom. She lit a candle and caught Puff red-clawed having another shower.
"Naughty, Puff," she scolded, getting the green hand towel from the radiator and drying him. She put the towel back, turned out the light and took him back to his nest.
"Now, go to sleep." Lucy got back into bed and turned over. But Puff wanted to be with his mistress, so he flew down and happily settled on her ear. And, with one last Puff!, he drifted off to sleep.
