The kids ate dinner, then met again in the bushes across the street from the haunted house.
"It looks awful dark over there," Ben said.
"I want to go home," Beth said. She stuck one of her braids in her mouth and chewed it.
"Yuck. That's disgusting," Ben said.
"You're the one that's disgusting. I'm going home," Beth said and climbed out of the bushes.
"No, you can't!" Lily stopped her. "Tell you what. You stay here as lookout and Jamal and Ben and
I will sneak over to the house and see if we can look in a window. OK?"
"Well, I don't know…"
"She won't do it. She's a little baby. She even has to have a light on when she goes to bed so the
monster under her bed won't grab her feet when she gets up!" Ben and Jamal thought that was hilarious and started laughing. Lily hushed them.
"Stop it. The Rulers might hear you. Don't you worry about a
thing, Beth. You just stay here in the bushes and watch while we check out the house. Come on, guys."
The three older children started sneaking across the street, hiding behind bushes and trees until they were
in the backyard and out of Beth's sight.
Beth suddenly realized that no one told her what to look for and what to do if she saw anything. She settled down to wait for her brother and two friends to come back.
An hour later they were still gone and Beth was beginning to worry.
What if they don't come back? What will I do then? Beth chewed on her braid and worried -- all alone in the dark.
