Mena was silent after Razzel finished her spiel. Because why wouldn't she be?. She already had been tricked and betrayed big time by Janus, a friend she had trusted since the very beginning of her time at the Dream Academy. Razzel was a small fry, chopped liver and other food metaphors in comparison, but everyone in the whole school hated her guts and this two bit magician supremacist had the nerve to pretend to like them until she made her friendship disappear. But on the other hand, there was something else to consider: what Razzel had just told them now. It was a big whopper of a life story and a half. As she thought with her hand to her lip, Mena finally spoke, not just for her, but for Trudy too.

  “I'm just gonna tell you, Razzel. We just had a major bestie breakup. As we told you, that gloomy reaper girl, she was a very close friend.”

  Razzel placed her left arm over to her right shoulder and looked off dejectedly. “I know. It was very bad timing to trick you guys…I’m sorry again.”

  Trudy pitched in with total agreement. “Mena and I genuinely wanted a new best friend. And we don't exactly have a best friend tree to grow them on…which is surprising, since we’re in a magical dreamland…but…”

  “Beside the point, Trudy,” Mena said, before facing Razzel yet again. “We don't need some clumsy magician insulting us. Telling us we’re basic witches…even if I still do like eye-of-new spice latte and romance books to some degree…”

  Trudy rolled her eyes and Mena giggled. “Sorry, now I'm beside the point. Anyway, we have every right to fire you as our new best friend super pal!”

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  “Uh huh!” Trudy said, nodding hard.

  “Then, I'll leave your best friend zone and never return,” the magician said, hanging her head and turning to walk away.

  As she did, Mena reached out, grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. Razzel’s eyes widened as she saw a bracey grin on Mena’s face. “But…I must say, you explained yourself real well…”

  Mena spoke quietly but thoughtfully and her eyes shimmered up on reflection.

  “I know what it's like to lose a loved one or two. It’s not easy at all.”

  Razzel’s fists balled up tightly, her mouth grimaced and tears rolled down from her normally haughty, witch-hating face. “It's not…I have had so few friends in this life. Berty…and Pumpkin. And they're both gone!!!”

  Mena embraced the sobbing magician, hugging her tight. Trudy walked over and this time made sure not to squeeze them so tightly they could breathe. She offered a few pats on Razzel’s shoulder instead and a kindly smile to boot.

  Mena continued to hug her new friend tightly. “We are really glad to have met you, Razzel. Not only so we can show you that some witches aren't so basic, but you might have discovered the key to our whole problem!”

  Razzel and Mena stopped hugging to look at each other. Razzel snorted so loud, blowing into her hat. When she did, her cheeks were rosy and there was a trepidatious smile on her face. “I have?!”

  Mena nodded. “You said there was an alternate way to catch a dreamfish! If we can do that and not risk our necks, we can finally find the sea sage temple in the Brain Sea!”

  “Oh we can,” Razzel answered, nodding happily. “But it is a total pain in the brain! We have to somehow catch Z’s! Dreamfish love them! I just don't know how we can get some…”

  “Z’s?!!” Mena and Trudy exclaimed, their eyes as wide as dinner plates.

  Razzel nodded. “Yep. But I feel with our combined brain power we can figure it out. If you want to…that is…”

  Mena and Trudy didn't even think. They took their new best friend super pal by the hand and she giggled. “Then I think,” Razzel said with a happy look.

  “Everything's gonna be hunky dory!”