Monica stepped out of the building and shielded her eyes from the sun. While she had managed to get over most of her hangover, the glare still made her wince.
“Well, that was rather rude of you,” a muffled voice said from within her purse. “She seems like a nice girl.”
“Exactly,” Monica responded as she opened the purse and rummaged inside. Gently, she pushed aside a small jar containing a frog currently giving her a disapproving look. “And that’s why I’m doing her this favor. Better she distance herself now and save herself the stigma.”
“Hey, the counsel only forbade you from flying your own broom. They didn’t forbid you from making friends,” the frog replied.
“They didn’t have to. My friends all left on their own after the ruling. A grounded witch is a useless witch, after all, and the publicity certainly didn’t help. Honestly, I don’t know why we even bother with all the secrecy. Witches practically own this city, and casting such a vast illusion spell on half the population must be very expensive. Ah, here it is!”
Bringing out a pair of sunglasses, the witch snapped her purse shut and slipped them on. “Alright, where did you say we were going?”
Her purse sighed. “I told you before. The zoo.”
“Give me a break. I hardly remember anything from last night.” Monica turned in the direction of the zoo and set off at a brisk pace. Fortunately, her destination was only a few blocks over.
“You were very intoxicated,” the frog agreed. “It’s a wonder you managed to get home before you collapsed.”
Monica grimaced. “So, where in the zoo did I leave him?”
“The lion exhibit.”
“Lion exhibit!? You mean I’ll have to face an angry lion now?”
“Correction: an angry lioness.”
“Lioness? So he’s-” Monica paused. “Oh.”
“Yes.” Her frog confirmed in an admonishing tone. “And after he was such a good sport the whole evening, too. True, I did scare him into obedience with my whole transformed ex-boyfriend act, but he never even complained. You’ll have to make it up to him, especially after all he’s seen. If he goes to the police, the counsel won’t be too happy about having to organize another cover-up.”
“Ugh, could this get any worse?”
Monica’s groan came a second before she turned the last corner and froze. There, she saw the entrance to the zoo blocked off by police cars and caution tape. People patrolled the area with pole snares and tranquilizer guns, and a reporter seemed to be interviewing the zookeeper.
“Don’t say anything,” the witch grumbled as she started forward again. “Not a word.”