Nice plan. Take the gullible outsiders, walk them around for a bit, then feed them to the giant tortoise.

I dived for it, caught it three inches above the cement, and found myself face-to-face with the salamander. Ruby-red eyes regarded me with mild curiosity, black lips parted, and a long, spiderweb-thin filament of a tongue slithered from the salamander’s mouth and kissed the sphere’s glass in the reflection of my nose. Hi, I love you, too.

Andrea stared at me. "You're not taking me seriously!" "That's probably because you're not excited enough," Derek said. "You should clench your fists like they do in the movies, shake them, and yell, 'This is bigger than any of us! It goes all the way to the top!

Oh no, is it naked time?

I just had to stay cool. Zen. No punching in the face. Punching would not be Zen.

I make a bad mom, but I can pull off a crazy aunt.

I could have fixed almost everything else, but death defeated me every time.