Andy wore a bright red sleeveless T-shirt over white denim jeans. She had slipped off her yellow sneakers and was digging her bare feet into the soft ground.

“So what did you do?” she repeated.

Evan picked up a hard clump of dirt and tossed it into the creek. Then he leaned back, his hands planted firmly behind him on the ground.

“I got a dog leash,” he told Andy. “In the supply closet.”

Andy’s eyes widened in surprise. “Murphy keeps a dog leash? What for?”

Evan shrugged. “He has all kinds of junk back there.”

“So you put the leash on Cuddles?”

“Yeah,” Evan told her. “He was just the right size. As big as a dog. Maybe a little bigger.”

“As big as Trigger?” Andy demanded.

Evan nodded. “Then I tied the other end to the leg of Murphy’s desk—and I ran out of there as fast as I could.”

Andy laughed. But she cut it short when she caught Evan’s angry glare. “What happened when you went to science class?” she asked, turning back to the creek.

“I didn’t,” Evan muttered.

“Huh?”

“I didn’t go,” Evan said softly. “I was afraid to go. I didn’t want Murphy to start blaming me in front of everyone.”

“So you cut class?” Andy asked, startled.

Evan nodded.

“So what did you do?” Andy asked. She pulled up a handful of the tall grass and let it sift through her fingers.

“I sneaked out and came here,” Evan replied, frowning.

“Everyone was talking about Cuddles all day,” Andy reported. Her dark eyes flashed. She couldn’t keep an amused grin off her face. “Everyone had to go in and see him. The stupid hamster practically caused a riot!”

“It isn’t funny,” Evan murmured.

“It’s kind of funny!” Andy insisted. “Mr. Murphy was bragging that Cuddles could beat up any other hamster in the country. He said he was going to try to get Cuddles on TV!”

“Huh?” Evan jumped to his feet. “You mean Mr. Murphy wasn’t upset?”

“I heard that he was at first,” Andy replied thoughtfully. “But then I guess he got used to Cuddles being so big. And he was acting kind of proud. You know. Like he had the biggest pumpkin at the fair or something. A blue-ribbon winner!” Andy snickered.

Evan kicked at the grass. “I know he’s going to blame me. I know it!”

“Everyone was feeding Cuddles carrots all day,” Andy said, not seeming to hear Evan’s unhappy wails. “The hamster ate the carrots whole. One big chomp. Then it made this really gross swallowing sound. It was a riot.”

“I can’t believe this!” Evan groaned. He lowered his eyes angrily to Andy. “Why did you do it? Why?”

Andy gazed up at him innocently. “I wanted to give you a laugh,” she replied.

“Huh? A laugh?” he shrieked.

“You were looking pretty down. I thought it might cheer you up.”

Evan let out an angry cry.

“I guess it didn’t cheer you up,” Andy muttered. She pulled up another handful of grass and let the blades fall over the legs of her white jeans.

Evan stomped over to the edge of the creek. He kicked a rock into the water.

“Come on, Evan,” Andy called. “You have to admit it’s a little funny.”

He spun around to face her. “It’s not,” he insisted. “Not funny at all. What if Cuddles just keeps growing and growing? Then what?”

“We could put a saddle on his back and give everyone hamster rides!” She giggled.

Evan scowled and kicked another rock into the creek. “You know how dangerous that Monster Blood is,” he scolded. “What are we going to do? How are we going to get Cuddles back to hamster size?”

Andy shrugged. She pulled up another handful of grass.

The sun sank lower behind the trees. A shadow rolled over them. Two little kids chased a white-and-red soccer ball on the other side of the creek. Their mother shouted to them not to get wet.

“Where’s the Monster Blood can?” Evan demanded, standing over Andy. “Maybe it tells the antidote on the can. Maybe it tells how to reverse the whole thing.”

Andy shook her head. “Evan, you know it doesn’t say anything on the can. No instructions. No ingredients. Nothing.” She climbed to her feet and brushed off the legs of her jeans. “I’ve got to get home. My aunt doesn’t know where I am. She’s probably freaking out.”

Evan followed her toward the street, shaking his head. “How big?” he muttered.

She glanced back at him. “What did you say?”

“How big will Cuddles be tomorrow?” Evan asked in a trembling voice. “How big?”

“Andy—will you hurry up?”

Evan had agreed to meet Andy at her aunt’s house the next morning so they could go to school early. But Andy had found a spot on her jeans and had gone back up to her room to change.

And now they were no longer early.

“Sorry,” she said, hurtling down the stairs two steps at a time. She had changed her entire outfit. Now she had on a red-and-black-striped vest over a yellow T-shirt, pulled down over pale blue shorts.

“Didn’t you leave out a color?” Evan demanded sarcastically, grabbing Andy’s backpack for her and hurrying to the front door.

She made a face at him. “I like bright colors. It suits my personality.”