Billy had gotten it into head head that he was not going to be the first person to give up on this handshake. He didn't care that he looked like a moron to everybody in the Great Hall. He did care about looking like a moron in front of Simon, but it was a little late for that now. Billy let his stubbornness get in the way of common sense, which was why he hang-glided in high winds, stole dinosaur eggs, and parasailed with untested sails.

"So what's with the not letting go?" he asked, deciding to shoot straight from the hip.