Farnsworth,â Petra corrected himself. Farnsworthâs tail thumped on the dusty stone floor. âHere we go.â
Petra pulled out an old rusty key from beneath his shirt, turned it in the lock, and swung the door open.
Albert peered inside, past Petraâs shoulder.
It was not at all what heâd expected.
âThis . . . is . . . ahhhhmazing!â Birdie shouted, holding her hands up in the air. âIt couldnât be more beautiful, Petra!â
She walked over and then climbed up on a Guildacker-shaped float, the kind that Albert watched every year in the Macyâs Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York.
This float was twice the size of Jadar and it took up most of the room. It looked so real that Albert was tempted to reach out to touch its chest and feel for a heartbeat.
âItâs taken me months,â Petra said. âAnd you guys get to help me finish it! I mean, thereâs no way I could do this all by myself.â
âBut you have!â Albert gasped. âYou made this?â
âYou have some serious skill, bro,â Leroy said as he stared at the float.
It looked like some sort of famous sculpture artist had done it, not tiny little Petra. Albert didnât know the guy had it in him to be so creative.
The base of the float was made up of glittering gold coinsâold ones that, apparently, Lucinda had given to Petra to use, as long as he promised to return them (with interest). The Guildackerâs wings were covered in some sort of sparkling purple webbing. Albert reached up to touch it, but Leroy stopped him.
âThatâs that crazy moss stuff that made my fingers go all balloony on me last term.â
âOh, yikes.â Albert pulled his hand away just in time.
âI had to wear special gloves for that part,â Petra said. He stepped up beside Albert in the shadows cast by the Guildacker floatâs widespread wings.
âThis is really awesome, Petra. But whatâs it for?â Albert asked.
Petra bobbed on his toes. âThe Float Parade, of course!â
Albert just stared.
âOh, riiiight,â Petra squeaked. âYou donât know about the parade. Technically, itâs usually just for Pures, since weâre the only ones here during the holidays.â
Birdie hopped down from the Guildackerâs back, careful not to mess it up with her boots. âIâve never heard of it.â
Even Leroy shook his head. âIâm coming up empty, dudes.â
âItâs only the biggest Pure event of the year,â Petra explained, eyes as wide as the coins on the float. âFirst thereâs the Float Parade. Then thereâs a dance and a dinner, and whoeverâs float gets the most votes wins. Itâs a huge Core tradition for the Pures. And since you guys are here for the emergency session, the Professors have decided that everyone gets to join!â
âI canât wait!â Birdie giggled and clapped. âAnd youâre so going to win the float competition. It looks just like Jadar!â
âI was hoping youâd say that,â Petraâs cheeks grew redas cherries. âAnd I might have also been hoping that you three would, um, ride on the float. Please say yes! Itâll be just like last year, when you guys saved Calderon! The entire Core will go nuts when they see it!â
Albert didnât really like being in the spotlight. He was good at saving the world from behind the scenes, then slipping quietly away with his best friends and dog.
But Petra looked so excited, and Albert couldnât even imagine how much time his friend had put into building this thing. It was cooler the longer he looked at it, with tons of detail. Even the Guildackerâs claws looked razor-sharp, made of copper pipes that Petra had somehow chiseled into outspread talons.
âIâm game if you guys are,â Albert said.
âIt would be an honor, bro,â Leroy said, patting
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