“Hey, don’t be modest,” Conan insisted. “I’ll bet you’re a great singer. Are you a soprano or an alto?”

Loud laughter.

Evan’s hands tightened into hard fists at his sides. He wanted to punch Conan, and punch him and punch him. He wanted to wipe the grin off Conan’s handsome face with his fists.

But he remembered what it had felt like to punch Conan. It had felt like hitting the side of a truck.

He took a deep breath. “If I sing the stupid song, will you really give me back the hamster?”

Conan didn’t reply.

Evan suddenly realized that Conan wasn’t looking at him anymore. No one was. They had all raised their eyes over Evan’s shoulder.

Confused, Evan spun around—to face Mr. Murphy.

“What is going on here?” the teacher demanded, his tiny black eyes moving from Evan to Conan, then back to Evan.

Before Evan could reply, Conan held up the hamster. “Here’s Cuddles, Mr. Murphy,” Conan said. “Evan let him get away. But I rescued Cuddles just as he was going to get run over.”

Mr. Murphy let out a horrified gasp. “Run over?” he cried. “Cuddles? Run over?”

The teacher reached out his chubby pink hands and took the hamster from Conan. He held the hamster against his bulging shirt and petted it, making soothing sounds to it.

“Thank you, Conan,” Mr. Murphy said after calming Cuddles. He glared at Evan. “I’m very disappointed in you, Evan.”

Evan started to defend himself. But Mr. Murphy raised a hand to silence him. “We’ll talk about it tomorrow. Right now I must get poor Cuddles back into his cage.”

Evan slumped to the ground. He watched Mr. Murphy carry the hamster back to the school building. Mr. Murphy waddles just like the hamster, Evan realized.

Normally, that thought would have cheered him up.

But Evan was far too unhappy to be cheered up by anything.

Conan had embarrassed him in front of all the others. And the big, grinning hulk had managed to get Evan in trouble with Mr. Murphy twice in one afternoon!

The kickball game had started up again. Evan climbed slowly to his feet and began trudging to the school building to get his backpack.

He couldn’t decide who he hated more—Cuddles or Conan.

He had a sudden picture of Cuddles stuffed inside a muffin tin, being baked in an oven.

Even that lovely thought didn’t cheer Evan up.

He pulled his backpack out of the locker and slung it over his shoulder. Then he slammed the locker shut, the sound clanging down the empty hallway.

He pushed open the front door and headed for home, walking slowly, lost in his unhappy thoughts.

What a horrible day, he told himself. At least nothing worse could happen to me today.

He had just crossed the street and was making his way on the sidewalk in front of a tall hedge—when someone leaped out at him, grabbed his shoulders hard from behind, and pulled him roughly to the ground.

Evan let out a frightened cry and gazed into his attacker’s face. “You!” he cried.

“Here’s a little advice, Evan,” Andy said, grinning down at him. “Don’t go out for the wrestling team.”

“Andy!” Evan cried, staring up at her in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

She reached out both hands and helped tug him to his feet. Then she tossed back her short, brown hair with a flick of her head. Her brown eyes flashed excitedly.

“Didn’t you read any of my letters?” she demanded.

Evan had met Andy the past summer, when he’d stayed with his great-aunt for a few weeks. He and Andy had become good friends.

She was with him when he bought the container of Monster Blood. She shared the whole frightening Monster Blood adventure with him.

Evan liked Andy because she was funny, and fearless, and kind of random. He never could predict what she would do next!

She didn’t even dress like other girls Evan knew. Andy loved bright colors. Right now she was wearing a sleeveless magenta T-shirt over bright yellow shorts, which matched her yellow sneakers.

“I told you in my last letter that my parents were sent overseas for a year,” Andy said, giving Evan a playful shove. “I told you they were sending me to Atlanta to live with my aunt and uncle. I told you I’d be living just three blocks away from you!”

“I know. I know,” Evan replied, rolling his eyes. “I just didn’t expect to see you jump out of the hedge at me.”

“Why not?” Andy demanded, her dark eyes exploring his.

Evan didn’t know how to answer that question.

“Glad to see me?” Andy asked.

“No,” he joked.

She pulled up a thick blade of grass and stuck it in the corner of her mouth. They began walking toward Evan’s house.

“I’m starting at your school on Monday,” she told him, chewing on the blade of grass.

“Thrills and chills,” he replied, snickering.

She shoved him off the sidewalk. “I thought people were supposed to be polite in the South.”

“I’m new here,” Evan replied.

“How’s Trigger?” she asked, kicking a pebble across the sidewalk.

“Good,” Evan told her.

“Like to talk a lot?” she asked sarcastically.