"What was it like to have a gun pointed at you?" an eighth-grade boy asked. "Were you scared? Did you think he'd kill you?"
Before we could answer, his friend said, "I think the scariest part of all is being in the Magic Forest with Danny Phelps. That kid is a major wacko."
Everybody laughed, but Arthur said, "Danny was the one who caught DiSilvio."
"He couldn't have done it without Bear," I put in.
But the kids went right on asking questions as if they hadn't even heard what we'd said about Bear and Danny. Somebody wanted to know why Silas had been holding a SAVE THE MAGIC sign. Before we could answer him, a girl asked if I'd ever seen Mrs. Donaldson's ghost. Her friend said she didn't believe in ghosts but had seen one once. Which didn't make any sense to me.
On and on they went. A really cute girl said we were brave. A boy said he wished he'd been with us. His friend said someone should make a movie of it. And, he added, he could star in it because they d want someone better-looking than Arthur and me.
"My mom's a teller at the bank," a girl said, "and she told me the DiSilvios are bankrupt. They owed money like you wouldn't believe." She chomped her gum. "Mrs. DiSilvio put their house up for sale, and she and Anthony moved to Richmond."
Everybody pretended to moan and groan about how much they'd miss Anthony the perfect one.
"My father says Mr. DiSilvio's nothing but a racketeer," a girl with a long brown ponytail said. She paused and looked around the bus. "Dad s a cop. So he should know, shouldn't he?"
"I always thought Anthony was a phony," her friend said. "Acting like he was better than everybody else, him and his friends."
The policeman s daughter said, "I bet Anthony's not the only kid in Fair Oaks with a crooked dad."
By the time we got to school, Arthur and I felt like heroes. Until we got off the bus, that is, and saw Danny walking toward us, looking as mean as ever.
"How's Bear?" Arthur asked.
"Fine." Danny looked at us. "He's my dog. You're not getting him back."
"Yeah, I know," Arthur said. "My grandmother said I can pick out a dog at the pound."
"My mom is close—really close—to saying I can get one, too," I put in.
"There won t ever be a dog as good as Bear," Danny said.
A little silence fell. Danny was right. It was too bad we didn't know how to clone Bear.
"Funny about Anthony and me," Danny said suddenly.
"Funny?" I was puzzled. "Funny how?"
"Not ha-ha funny," he said. "Weird funny. Crazy funny. Me and him both having dads in jail. Who'd have thought such a thing?"
"Maybe you two will end up best buddies when you visit your dads in prison," Arthur said.
"I don't know about that jerk Anthony," Danny said, "but I ain't going near a prison."
"How come?" Arthur asked. "Are you scared they'll keep you there?"
Danny's squinty eyes turned dangerous. "Watch your mouth, or you'll get your teeth knocked out."
Showing some sense for once, Arthur stepped back. "Sorry," he mumbled.
Danny shoved his hands in his pockets. I noticed he was wearing new jeans and a clean T-shirt. He d also gotten a haircut. In fact, he looked a lot better than usual.
"Tell you what, Arthur," he said. "You did good that night at the Magic Forest. Don't tell anybody I cried, and I won't beat up on you no more."
Without giving Arthur a chance to answer, Danny walked over to join his friends. One of them looked at us and laughed, but Danny shook his head.
"As if I'd ever tell on him," Arthur said.
"Who'd believe you if you did?" I asked.
The bell rang then, and Arthur and I joined the crowd of kids lined up to go inside. Ahead of us, one of the girls on the bus was telling her friend that she'd sat near me on the bus—the cute boy who was in the newspaper.
I smiled. So far, things at school were off to a pretty good start. I sure hoped they' d stay that way.
* * *
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mary Downing Hahn
A former children's librarian, Ms. Hahn is among the most versatile and popular novelists for young people today. They respond to her masterly storytelling, and have honored her with more than 48 child-voted state awards. Her recent novels for Clarion Books include The Old Willis Place and Deep and Dark and Dangerous. Ms. Hahn makes her home in Columbia, Maryland.
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