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Hello, friends, and welcome to

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sleep Tight Stories. Every

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week we celebrate our supporters through

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shout outs and personal birthday messages.

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We think this is also a fun way for us

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to hear all about the amazing places

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that you our listeners come

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from. I'd

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like to say hello to Omary, age

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seven. Mommy and Daddy love

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you so much. Happy

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belated birthday to Charlotte in Chesterland,

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Ohio, who turned seven on April

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sixth. Mommy, Daddy, Graham,

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Ellie and Otto love you very much.

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And Happy belated birthday to Xavier

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Gretorix, who turned nine on

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April ninth. Love Mom, Dad,

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Lydia, Kelly and Ned. Happy

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fifth birthday to Robin from Hornby

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Island, British Columbia on April

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sixteenth. Mom, Dad,

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Freddie and baby Thea love you.

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You are an amazing creative and bright

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light in their lives. Happy

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birthday to Teddy from Red Lodge, Montana,

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turning nine on April sixteenth.

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Mommy, Dada, Stevie and Norm love

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you so much. Happy

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birthday to Natalie Dieter, who is

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turning eight on April sixteenth.

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You are our sweet ray of sunshine

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and we love you so much. Happy

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Birthday to Addie in Seattle, who was

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turning eight on April seventeenth.

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Happy birthday to Eden on April

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seventeenth, Love Mama and Daddy,

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wishing you the happiest tenth birthday.

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The world is a better place because you are

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in it. Happy

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seventh birthday to Chase from Savannah

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on April seventeenth. Mom,

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Dad, Rowan, Cookie, and Major love

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you so much. Happy

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birthday to Jack Slater from Dallas,

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Texas on April eighteenth, Love,

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Mommy, Daddy, El and Bo.

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Happy six birthday, Jackie boy.

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We love you more than all the blades of

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grass in the Greenway. Happy

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birthday to Sebastian from Mom, Dad,

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Patrick, Angus, and Claude. You

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are our cute and cheekiest

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little one. We love you so

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much and hope you have an outstanding birthday

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full of cookies and

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Happy birthday to Jojo, turning

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nine on April nineteenth. Mommy

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and Daddy love you to the moon and

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back. Happy birthday

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to you all. To

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reserve your special shout out, please

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visit sleeptightstories dot org slash

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support. We can't wait to celebrate

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them with you. Now

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on to our story.

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Libby and Margarita

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are back. Libby

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is enjoying school more but

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still wishes they could do more math.

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She has made some friends and enjoy

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spending time with them, but

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Margarita is still the one she

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tells everything to. It's

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Friday and that means pizza night.

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But when mom gets Libby to come down

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for dinner, there is a piece of pizza

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missing. Where could

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it have gone?

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Margarita's pizza delivery

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service Beep,

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buzz, beep. When

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Libby's alarm buzzes early in

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the morning, it feels like the

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worst sound in the world. She

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buries her face deeper into her pill,

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wishing she could stay in her cozy

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bed forever, and

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the sun. Just because it

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was warmer outside didn't

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give the sun the right to make it so bright

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in her bedroom.

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Getting up means facing another

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long day at school where

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everything seems loud and too

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bright. Sure,

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she had some friends now, which

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was a definite improvement, but

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she wished they could just come over to her

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house, read books and

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play with Margarita.

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Libby rolled out of bed and dressed,

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including her favorite rainbow

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colored socks and baggy black

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hoodie. Libby liked to

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wear color, but most of

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the time, she was content to

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just wear this same super comfy

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dark sweatshirt every day

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of the week, except

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if she wore it every day, it

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would start to get stinky, and

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stinky things annoyed Libby.

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Putting on her headphones, Libby

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walked to the kitchen, where she smelled

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her least favorite food in

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the whole wide world, eggs.

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She grabbed a glass of milk and

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sat at the table to eat breakfast.

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Good morning, Libby, her mother said.

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Receiving no reply, she tried

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again, Libby, what

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oh, sorry, Mom, I didn't hear

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you with my headphones on. Libby

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finally replied, you

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know, it would be nice if once

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you didn't wear your headphones at breakfast

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time. Her mother said, music

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helps me get moving in the morning, and

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the last time I played my music without

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headphones, you said, it sounded

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like a bunch of pots and pans being thrown

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down the stairs or something

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like that. What's for breakfast,

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I'm starving. I'm

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making fried eggs and toast this morning,

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her mother replied, Please,

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no runny yolks. Runny

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yolks are disgusting. Why

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can't we have pizza for breakfast like Margarita

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Margarita is an unusual

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cat with an unusual digestive

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system, her mother said, as

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she put a plate of eggs and toast in

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front of Libby. That

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reminds me, I need to feed that

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crazy cat, Margarita.

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Here, kitty, kitty, it's breakfast time.

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Margarita jumped off her napping place

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in the living room with a thump. She

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trotted into the kitchen where

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Libby's mother was heating up the food.

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She knew the silly cat would eat, but

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she would try to convey wins Margarita

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to eat something else at every

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meal. First she tried

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to give Margarita a drink of milk,

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but she wouldn't drink it. Then

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she brought her a bowl of stinky tuna,

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but Margarita would not eat

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it. Then

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Libby's mother tried giving her chicken

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gravy cat food, but

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Margarita would not eat

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it. Libby's

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mother sighed and said, you

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are one spoiled and unusual

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cat. Just

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then, the microwave dinged and

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Libby's mother put the plate with a slice

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of pizza on the floor for Margarita

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to eat. The cat

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started purring as she ate it

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all up. Then Margherita

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disappeared as quickly as she came.

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She has been eating super fast

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lately, said, she puts

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me to shame, and I eat

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fast. After

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inhaling her breakfast, Libby

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brushed her teeth, grabbed her book

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bag, and, after saying goodbye

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to her mother, walked to school.

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She tried to say goodbye to Margarita,

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but she was nowhere to be found. School

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was as loud, bright, and boring

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as usual. Libby

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liked learning and generally liked

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going to school. She just

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wished she could spend more time studying

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what she wanted. Luckily,

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she had her new friends to talk to and

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they felt much the same way. After

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school, Libby walked home as quickly

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as she could. It was Friday,

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which meant tonight was pizza night,

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and pizza was Libby's favorite

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food. Lately,

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they have been making their own instead

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of ordering from the nearby restaurant.

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She was also excited to spend time

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with Margarita. Though

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she had more friends now, Margarita

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was still the one she confided in

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the most. She was

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also the only friend who would let

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her put on bows and scarves that

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matched her orange fur. For

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some reason, her friends wouldn't let

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her do that, especially

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the boys. As

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long as there was pizza for her to eat, Margarita

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was up for anything. Libby

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walked in the door and called out, Margarita,

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I'm home here, Kitty, Kitty.

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As usual, Margarita ran to

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greet her at the door. Hi,

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Margarita, did you miss me today?

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I missed you today.

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I was so bored. Libby

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began drawing out the words as

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she stroked the cat's orange fur. So

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bored that during math I

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started imagining, what

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if you could go to school instead of me?

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Could you imagine you sitting

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in class trying to solve math

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problems with those cute little paws?

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She laughed and continued. But

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then I thought of something even

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funnier. What if I

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taught you how to sing? I

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also thought you might make a great

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Italian chef. You could

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make the perfect pizza, right,

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especially Margherita pizza, which

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is your favorite.

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Margarita blinked slowly, her

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tail twitching in amusement, or

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maybe just in response to the gentle

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pets. I

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wish we could spend more time learning

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math in school. It's more predictable.

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I like to read books, but English

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class lacks any kind of logic.

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Walking into the kitchen, Libby said

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to Margarita, would you like a snack?

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I am getting something to drink and a snack

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to eat I could share. Margherita

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purred and rubbed up against Libby's

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leg. How about some milk?

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Would you like that? Libby asked.

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Margarita replied with a mah.

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How about some stinky tuna fish.

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Margarita replied with a may.

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I bet you would like some kitty snacks.

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Margarita replied with a mah

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okay, how about some pizza

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bites? I could heat some up for you,

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Libby said, as she reached into

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the freezer to bring out the delicious

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bites. Margarita

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replied with a meal and rubbed

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up against Libby's leg. Don't

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eat too much before dinner, you two,

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Libby's mother said as she came

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into the kitchen. Tonight

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is homemade pizza night, and you don't

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want to ruin your appetite.

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I have an unlimited appetite

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for pizza, mom, and I think Margarita

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does too. While

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Libby finished her math homework, her

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mom baked the pizza and mixed the salad

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for dinner. Libby,

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I have sliced the pizza. Come

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have dinner. There

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was no answer, so Libby's

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mother walked to her bedroom, where

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she saw Libby staring off into space

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with her headphones on listening

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to music. Tapping

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her on the shoulder, she said, Libby,

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come eat some dinner, and please

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don't wear your headphones. I want

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to hear all about your day. When

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they both walked into the kitchen to eat

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dinner, Libby's mother noticed

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a slice of pizza was missing. She

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put her hands on her hips and raised an

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eyebrow, surveying the scene.

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Well, I wonder what happened to that

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slice, she asked. I

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could have sworn I made a whole pizza

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eight slices, not seven. Libby

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laughed, but glanced at the pizza

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and then around the kitchen as if

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the missing slice might magically

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reappear. Maybe

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it grew legs and walked away, she

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suggested, trying not to laugh

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too hard. If

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that's the case, I hope it walks

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back into my tummy. I'm starving.

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But then her gaze landed

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on Margarita, who

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had just innocently walked into

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the kitchen and stopped to

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clean her whiskers in the corner, or

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maybe we have a pizza thief.

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Libby turned to Margarita. Margarita,

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have you started a pizza delivery service

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we don't know about, she asked,

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walking over to crouch beside her best

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friend. You aren't delivering

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pizza to your friends, are you? Margarita

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simply purred in response, her

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tail flicking back and forth, the

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picture of innocence. All

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right, I know she is a

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super fast eater, but there

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is no way she can eat a slice that

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big so quickly. It's

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time we figured out what is going on,

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her mother said, grabbing a bite

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of pizza before they started searching

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the house together.

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Libby and her mother walked around the

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house looking for signs of pizza.

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They checked under the couch, behind

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the curtains, and even in

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the most unlikely places

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like the bookshelf and the plant pots.

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They went down to the basement, where Margarita

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had gotten lost before they

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even checked outside.

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Maybe Margarita isn't the one who took

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the slice. It could be a mouse,

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Libby said to her mother. If

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a mouse took that slice of pizza,

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then we have a bigger problem than

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a cat who loves pizza. Libby's

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mother replied, or many

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little problems, Libby

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said, with a shiver. Mice scared

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her. Finally,

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they found a trail of tiny cheese

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pieces leading to Libby's room.

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I think we need to vacuum more often.

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I can't believe I am seeing crumbs on

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my floor, Libby's mother said.

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They tiptoed inside Libby's

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room, only to discover

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a stash of pizza slices

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hidden under Libby's bed, each

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slice carefully wrapped in napkins.

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Margarita sat beside the stash,

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looking up at them with big round

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eyes, as if proud of her collection.

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Margarita, so you

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are now also a pizza delivery

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cat, Libby exclaimed, trying

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to sound serious but failing

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miserably, so she started

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to laugh. I

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suppose we should be grateful, saving

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some for later. But let's make

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a deal, Margarita. You

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still get to eat pizza for breakfast

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and dinner, but no more hiding

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slices. Okay. Margarita

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meowed softly as if agreeing

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to the terms, and rubbed against

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their legs, sealing the deal with

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her purs Well,

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I guess we solved the case of the missing

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pizza slice, Libby said,

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picking up Margarita for a cuddle. But

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some of those slices are starting

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to look disgusting, yach,

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and they were under my bed. They

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returned to the kitchen with the collection

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of delivered pizza slices and

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sat down to eat dinner. Delicious

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pizza and salad. Mom, I'm super

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hungry, Libby said as she started

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eating a slice. Thank

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you, Libby, I'm pre hungry myself,

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Libby's mother said. After

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taking another big bite, she

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continued, guess

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what you need to do tomorrow on

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a Saturday, mom, Libby

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side she knew exactly

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what her mother was telling her. She

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would be spending part of her Saturday

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cleaning her room. You

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have to help me, Margarita. It's

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only fair. Margarita

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let out a yow as she patiently

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waited for her slice of pizza.

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And that is the end of our story.

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Good night, sleep

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tight.

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The almost the