Chapter 1

DRAGON GIRLS Book 7 Rosie the Twiight Dragon by Maddy Mara

1 Rosie rolled out her sleeping bag. The best night of the week had arrived—Friday night was Sleepover Club for Rosie and her best friends, Phoebe and Stella. Rosie woke up every Friday with a quivery feeling bubbling away in her stomach. And the happy bubbles just grew and grew throughout the day. On Sleepover Club nights, anything felt possible.

Today that feeling had been even stronger than usual. Rosie wasn't sure why. She just felt certain that something special was going to happen tonight. It was like the time her friends had thrown a surprise midnight feast for her birthday. But it wasn't anyone's birthday now. So why was she feeling so excited? Rosie often found it hard to concentrate at school, but today had been extra hard. She kept thinking about how fun it was going to be tonight. The girls usually baked cookies, and often Rosie would make up a silly bedtime story. Tonight's sleepover was at Phoebe's house. They stayed at Phoebe's house more often than at Rosie's or Stella's. Phoebe sometimes got homesick, even at friends' houses. So she preferred to be the host. That was fine with Rosie. She loved sleeping at Phoebe's! Phoebe's family room had a big window with a seat, facing west. The three friends often sat in the

window seat, loaded up with bowls of snacks, and watched the sun set. They called it "twilight TV." Rosie loved watching the sky turn pink, purple, and orange before fading into the rich blues of evening. Her favorite sunsets were when puffy clouds sat low on the horizon. She often daydreamed about chasing beams of sunlight, or bouncing from cloud to cloud. "Rosie!" called Phoebe from the family room. "It's almost twilight TV time! Are you coming?" "Oops, I got distracted!" Rosie called back. "I'll be there in a minute!"

This happened a lot. Rosie would be doing one thing, but then her mind would wander off and she would forget all about what she was supposed to be doing. She hadn't planned to set up her sleeping bag right now. She had been heading to the bathroom to wash her hands! Rosie glanced outside. There was just the faintest trace of pink in the sky. She jumped up. Twilight was always gone so quickly. She would have to hurry! The bathroom was near Phoebe's bedroom. Rosie liked the bathroom at Phoebe's. It had a soft white mat on the floor and it was filled with plants, including a fern in a macramé pot hanger Phoebe had made herself. Rosie turned on the taps and picked up the fancy bar of soap resting on the side of the sink. At her house they only had boring, unscented liquid soap. She much preferred the fancy, sweet smelling soap at Phoebe's. It smelled like roses and floated on the water like bubbly clouds.

Rosie looked at the soapy clouds dreamily. Imagine if clouds really did smell like roses! She trailed her finger through the water. And imagine if you could fly around them, like a bird! As she was daydreaming, Rosie heard a strange sound. It was some sort of song. She had never heard anything so beautiful. Magic Forest, Magic Forest, come explore… The voice was very soft and sweet. "Phoebe? Stella? Is that you?" she called. No one replied. Maybe it was Phoebe's mom? But Rosie knew it wasn't her, either. The voice was somehow familiar and completely new at the same time. Magic Forest, Magic Forest, come explore… The singing was getting louder. It seemed to be coming from the bubbles in the sink. But that was impossible, right? Rosie looked carefully at the water and noticed something very strange. The