Paleous Jerard Tom Pettingsworth Dragon

The jar of Dragon's scale moisturizer made a loud clinking noise as the jar flew across the porcelain sink and spun to a stop by the drain. Paleous Jerard Tom Pettingsworth stood motionless and stared at the pot as it spun around one last time in the sink. He knew he was smart, yeah, pretty smart for a fifteen-year-old dragon. A sly smile began to form on his shiny, dragon lips. He was the best-looking dragon in town, but nobody else seemed to notice. Sure, he was unique with his multicolored scales. Elvis was extraordinary and so were the Beatles; everybody loved them, so by the mighty God of the moon, Paleous Jerard Tom Pettingsworth swore he would not change a thing about himself to please anyone! The other dragons would see his worth in time.

PJT Pettingsworth, or Petty, as his best friend called him, walked behind a group of junior dragon girls who were giggling and turning around to get a quick look at him. Of course, he was the best-looking dragon in town, so why wouldn't they look? But a small voice inside his head knew better and softly whispered it was time to face the truth. Petty is a misfit, and nobody likes him.

Petty hung his head and amused himself looking at his shadow following slowly behind him. Too bad his shadow wasn't real; at least he'd have someone. His only friend, Jonathan Thorne Shakespear, was ill and had been sick for a week. Jonathan was his only friend, even though they were nothing alike.

In a nearby town, a young child sat on the edge of a table and smoothed his hair in the mirror his mother had left sitting next to him.

"Jason isn't right," his mother choked out the words. "He has a special magic that I'm afraid isn't normal, and it frightens me," she continued, casting a reassuring smile his way every once in a while. The child pulled the mirror closer to his face.

You're a freak Jason Prine, he whispered to his reflection in the mirror. Even your own mother is afraid of you.

"Windy!" his father barked at his mother, "the boy can hear you talking about him."

"Oh, of course," his mother offered. "He hears everything, even what I'm thinking!"

Jason laid the mirror down and smiled his best smile at his father. He loved his father so much because his father always took his part. Unfortunately, his father was ruled by Windy, Jason's mother, and often did things she wanted even if he didn't agree with her. Today was going to be one of those days, he could feel it in his toes. The sounds from the kitchen were now hushed tones that rose and fell, but no words could be heard. Oh sure, he could tune into their brains, but that would only make it worse, or would it?

Petty slid into his desk in the classroom and took his dragon training manual out from under his desk. Dragon Training Day was Petty's favorite day of the week because he got to play outside and use his fire-making skills, something he wasn't allowed to do at home, but today was training day and all Senior year dragons were to meet outside, swords in hand, teeth barred to show how fierce they were, and their scales polished and glowing in the sun. Then the sparing began and soon the yard was rocking with dragons at sword-play and showing their fire-making skills as they did. Petty was particularly good at sparing and when he was doing it, he didn't feel ugly, less important, and a failure as a dragon.

Jason slid down from the table and tied his shoes, took one last look at himself in the mirror, and then went to the kitchen to see if he could make the arguing stop. It made him crazy when his parents fought and interfered with his magic capabilities.

"Can we take a ride today, mother?" Jason smiled, "I would promise not to use any magic, not on purpose of course."

"We'll take a short ride today, and there is a test involved as well. We will explain it to you after we are in the car." Windy smiled a big smile as she spoke, so Jason knew he was in trouble.

Petty shuffled his overly large dragon feet across the cool earth below his desk, a habit that annoyed Ms. Filisha dragon, his teacher. Petty could feel her glaring eyes digging into his chest from across the room; hot, angry disapproval resonated from her stare. Petty's scales began to dim as he grew more embarrassed. He stopped moving his feet but knew this wasn't the end of what Ms. Filisha dragon had in mind for him.

The old, black sedan smelled clean on this beautiful, autumn morning. Jason felt a slight discomfort, like he was embarrassed, but he didn't understand why he should feel that way. Shrugging, Jason settled into his seat and carefully fastened his seat belt around his slight body. Born premature, Jason had always been small for his age, but he was extremely intelligent and, of course, he had the gift of magic.

The sedan rumbled slowly down the driveway. Jason unhooked his seat belt for a moment and pushed his upper body as far as it would go, so he could take one last look at the mansion he had called home for four years. Maybe he would return later, but in what condition? Were they taking him to yet another quack doctor to cast a spell on him, or better yet, hold his head under cold water for five seconds, or was this an even worse scenario? No explanation had been given by his parents and that wasn't a good sign.

Petty tried to look busy, writing his name and date on his large-lined paper to get ready to take notes on what Ms. Filisha dragon would lecture about today. Petty swallowed hard as a huge knot grew in his stomach. Ms. Filisha dragon's bright red shoes with the funny pointed toes had moved into his private space. He could smell her scales and thought she used too much scale enhancer. Ms. Filisha dragon cleared her throat, and when she did a slight flint of fire shot out, showing her anger.

"Mr. Pettingsworth, do you have last night's homework ready for me?"

Petty dug through his pack and dragon stuff and pulled out a wrinkled piece of paper that was torn on the side. He sheepishly handed it to her, knowing what was coming next.

"This is not acceptable work Mr. Pettingsworth, and it's the third time you have given me this low-standard homework. Therefore, I am throwing you out of my class for two weeks. Maybe then you'll learn a lesson!

Petty sighed and began gathering his dragon papers and stuffing them in his pack. Ms. Filisha dragon stood right there and made sure he had everything before pointing to the outside and telling him to go. Petty took one last rub on the cool ground with his feet and stood up. He slung his backpack over his wing and lifted his head and walked out with his head high, but inside he was feeling horrible. His stomach was in knots and he felt a lump in his throat that usually appeared only when he was going to cry, but he wasn't about to let Ms. Filisha dragon see him cry. He didn't go to his next class or wait, he headed straight for the forest where he always went when he felt blue.

The sedan came to a halt once it was in the deep forest. Windy turned to Jason and a big smile crossed her face.

"Get out Jason. Your test of magic is to stay in the woods all night, alone."

Jason saw the look on his father's face and knew they wouldn't be back for him. This was it, he was being dumped in the middle of Dragonshire forest to be eaten by a dragon and they would never be back for him. His father hung his head, and Jason slowly unbuckled his seat belt and picked up his pack. This time tomorrow he would be a dragon's feast if his magic wasn't strong enough. But his family would not be coming back this way.

The back door was heavy and made a loud noise when he opened it. It was autumn, so it was a little brisk outside and Jason pulled his jacket closer around his frail body, his feet shaky as they hit the ground.

"Hurry up son," Windy barked.

He had barely gotten the big, heavy door slammed shut when the sedan sped off leaving a trail of dust in its wake. Jason choked on the dust and looked around. He immediately conjured some magic and created a small hut for him to sleep in with a bed and some food. He went inside and sat down to think, knowing his magic would wear off in a little while and he'd have to rebuild his house before he went to sleep. It was then he heard a strange sound in the distance, a sort of sobbing, but not the kind of sobbing he'd ever heard before. What was out there? Oh God, Don't let it eat me before I figure things out, he mused.

Slowly, Jason opened his front door, and in the distance, he saw a strange, multicolored creature sitting on a big rock, crying. What's he got to cry about, Jason thought, at least he probably has a home.

Jason crept closer being careful not to make noise the creature might hear. As he got closer, he realized the enormous size of the creature. But, the thing seemed upset and maybe needed help.

"Excuse me, sir, I am a small boy abandoned in the forest and I could use your help. But first, how can I help you with whatever is making you sad?"

Petty wiped the tears from his eyes and stared at the small talking thing in front of him. Never have I seen such a creature! Petty thought. I wonder if it is dangerous?

"What are you and why are you here? Petty asked through sobs.

"My name is Jason Prine and my mother is afraid of my magic, so she dumped me off here to die, but I can survive."

"That tells me who you are but not what you are."

"Oh, excuse me, but I am a human. Haven't you ever seen a human before? And by the way, what are you?"

"What am I? Why, I'm Petty the dragon, the best... Petty stopped there and began to cry again."

"Please don't cry, Mr. Dragon. Whatever is making you sad I will help with."

Petty continued to sob. "I am a big nobody and don't have any friends. I was thrown out of school for rubbing my feet on the smooth, cool earth, but they itched. My teacher said it was because I turned in less than acceptable homework, but that's a lie. It was my feet rubbing the cool earth she hated."

"You have magic too you know; if you really are a dragon. Maybe you just don't know how to use it?"

"I can use it!" Petty roared, even though he didn't even know he had magical powers.

"Then why are you crying? Just turn yourself into whatever dragon you want to be; your magic is there to use if you learn how."

"Get away from me you stupid human. I have no magic and even if I did I wouldn't know how to use it, and you're bothering me. Go away!!"

Petty stood up and his entire body went from bright colors to gray, and he felt like he'd turned to stone. He wanted to look fierce and angry to get rid of the little annoyance telling him what to do, but now he couldn't even function.

"Sorry Mr. Dragon," Jason said in a sad voice. "I had to cast a spell on you so you wouldn't hurt me."

Jason turned and walked away, disappearing into the trees. Petty slowly returned to his true colors and was able to move again, and he knew without a doubt that the tiny annoying thing was magic. No wonder his mother is afraid of him, he is a magical ... human?

The sun was setting and a cold wind started blowing through the forest, moving the trees. Petty threw himself on the ground and decided he wouldn't go home. Sure, it was warm at home and he had a bed, but his family would be upset with him for getting thrown out of school. Maybe if they worried about him for a night they would be glad to see him.

Petty woke up to a slight smell of smoke in his nostrils, and it was to getting stronger. He stood up and looked around, and toward town he noticed a large plume of smoke rising over the roofs and buildings. Oh, God! The town was on fire! He had to get help from Jason because he didn't know how to summon his own magic.

Petty began running in the direction Jason had gone, and he saw a small glowing hut at the edge of the forest.

"JASON!!" he yelled as he turned in circles, "Jason I need your help!! Now!!"

"I'm here Petty," Jason's small voice answered, "what's the problem Petty?"

"Look! are you blind? The town is on fire and I don't know what to do. My family is there and I love my family."

Jason turned toward to plume of smoke and closed his eyes tight. He envisioned the fire and where it was; where it was going. "It's at the school," Jason spoke, "but it's headed toward the houses. We have to act quick or the town will be ashes."

Petty's eyes grew wide and tears were welling up in them. "Help me find my power, Jason" Petty begged. "I can't lose my family and my town."

"Close your eyes dragon, and focus on what is bothering you. Then imagine a huge golden light rising within you, and let the visions and the light merge, and then you will find your power."

Petty closed his eyes and thought really hard, so hard his horns hurt, and he could suddenly see the fire as Jason had, and he began conjuring the image of the bright, golden ball, which came slowly but finally appeared. When the two merged, something wonderful happened to Petty. Suddenly he had a new sense of confidence, and he knew what they had to do.

"Got it Petty?" Jason queried.

Petty shook his head. He felt different than he had before, more confident and powerful. His scales were bright and shiny and even though he didn't like the human, he was grateful for the help.

"Let's go put out a fire. You know this doesn't mean that I like you human," Petty said, even though he was humbled by what Jason had done.

"I'm not sure I like you either," Jason replied with a scowl on his face. "I just did something really great for you and you still don't like me. I guess nobody will ever like me because of my power."

"Don't be so egotistical. Your powers have nothing to do with it. I don't like your smug attitude."

"Fine," Jason answered, giving up on the idea of having a new friend.

The two of them hurried down the dirt path through the forest and continued to slam each other, telling each other how they each felt disdain for the other, in spite of the fact they had a connection, such as when Jason felt embarrassed when Petty did in school.

At the edge of town, they could see it was the school that was burning. It was totally engulfed in flames and the fire dragons were having a difficult time getting it under control.

"Petty, what if you drank a bunch of water to put your fire out and then blew the water onto the fire?" Jason suggested. There's a lake over there, and it will only take a day to get your fire back" he said, pointing to a small lake not too far away.

The two of them hurried down to the lake. Petty hesitated. What if he lost his fire forever? He'd seen dragons with no fire and it was pathetic. But, the situation was serious. All the people in town were gathered around the fire, watching and wondering if there would be anything left of the school after the flames were out.

Petty stuck his head all the way under the water and sucked it in until he felt like he would explode. Then he tried it out, and sure enough, he was able to blow water, but he didn't know for how long. The two of them hurried back, and when they got there pushed their way to the front of the building, in spite of the warnings the fire dragons were yelling. Petty opened his mouth and blew water as hard as he could. The entire crowd was covered with the cold water from the lake, but after he blew all his water out, the fire was also out.

The crowd was dumbstruck and silent. How had one dinosaur saved the day? Other dragons and their families began hovering around Petty and telling him how great he was; a savior. Petty's head loomed above the other dragons and he searched the area for Jason, but he couldn't locate him. To his surprise, a huge tear ran down his scaly face. He missed the little human he didn't like, so maybe he did like him a little, but where did he go?

Hours later the crowd had subsided; the fire dragons cleaned up the ashes,and Petty sat alone, thinking about Jason. The forest was getting light because the morning was coming, so Petty strolled back into the thickness of the trees to find Jason. He called and called, but no little human. Finally, feeling like he would never see his new friend again, even though they didn't like each other, he hung his head and one last time yelled out,

"I'll never forget you, Jason!"

A slight breeze blew, and on the wind, a message came back to Petty.

"I am magic Petty, and I'll always think of you when I cast a spell. Be cool my friend. Yes, you are my friend, even if you hate me!"

A sly smile formed on Petty's lips. Maybe he didn't hate the human.