Though he’s looking at me with an air of gravity, I’m having trouble taking him seriously.
He’s just so darn cute!
I reach out and pet his head. Then, unable to help myself, I bend over and press my forehead into his. I nuzzle his head with mine while petting him under his chin until he starts purring. “I’m the luckiest witch in the world,” I transmit as I kiss the soft spot right between his ears.
“Penelope—oh, that feels nice. Yes, scratch behind my ears like that. Oh...” His eyes close and his steely chin softens into an expression of happiness.
“There we go,” I say, as his lips curve upwards into a grin. “There’s my little happy Turkey Werky.”
When our snuggle session ends, Turkey shakes his head briskly. “You’ve caused me to completely lose my train of thought,” he transmits.
“Sorry,” I say. “I think you were saying something about that quiz—I mean, exam.”
“Yes! Exam. If you don’t take this exam within the week, Penelope, your license will expire. You won’t be able to practice as an investigator anymore, unless you enroll in the school all over again.”
“Well, I can’t do that,” I say. “That school was expensive. Five thousand bucks. I spent all of the money Mom left me.”
“I know,” Turkey says. “That’s why you have to schedule this exam now.”
“I’ll do it in the morning,” I say, reaching for my bowl of cheese puffs. “You said I have all week, right? I’ll just sign up for it tomorrow morning, and maybe take it the day after or something, once I’ve had a chance to look through my notes.”
“Notes?” Turkey says, skeptically. “You hardly took notes.”
“Well, I’m betting that the exam will be open book. We’re allowed to use any resources that we want. I’ll look up the answers online as I go.” I pop a puff in my mouth.
“It’s not that simple,” Turkey says. He raises his whiskery little eyebrows. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. We have to start preparing for this now if you want to take the test by the end of the week. For one thing, the exam costs one thousand dollars.”
I nearly choke on my snack. With a sputtering cough, crumbs fly from my mouth. “One thousand dollars?” I transmit.
“One thousand,” Turkey confirms.
“For an exam? I already paid to get my license! They can’t force me to pay again—that’s highway robbery!”
“Call it what you want, Penelope. It doesn’t change the facts. You have to take this exam if you want to keep working as an investigator.”
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The Case of the Banishing Spell Page 20