A few days later as their school bus pulled up in front of the Hawthorne House, Matt and Gerallt were having a good-natured argument about which of Matt's games was the best. Matt preferred to play alien first-person shooters, while Gerallt really liked the car-racing games.

"Hey, you two," Gwyneth said, as she walked past the boys. "You'd bettah pay attention if you don't want a long walk home."

Looking up, the boys noticed where they were and rushed down the aisle to the ...