I looked around Susan's backyard and saw a swing set, a sandbox, and a tricycle. The toys seemed a little babyish for an eight-year-old, but at least they would be something for Susan and me to play with.

"Come on, Susan. I'll give you a ride on the swing," I said, letting go of her hand.

But Susan had other ideas. As soon as she was free of me, she began to gallop back and forth across her yard (which was fenced in), clicking her tongue and wringing her hands. I let her go to it, partly because I didn't want to push her into anything right away - and partly because something was going on in the Hobarts' backyard, which I could see clearly from the Felders'. I couldn't help watching for a few minutes.

The Hobarts were the Australian family. Claudia had learned their names. And the four boys were in their yard, facing a bunch of neighborhood kids who weren't looking too friendly.

"You want fairy floss?" exclaimed one familiar-looking kid, snickering.

"Yeah! It's rad," said one of the younger Hobarts. "Totally cool." What was fairy floss? Candy?

Then a girl said, "If you guys are so cool, do some Crocodile Dundee stuff for us and prove it." I turned away. I had to watch Susan. But I felt like a fighter. I would have to battle for Susan - because I knew she needed me to battle for her. And I might have to battle for the Hobarts if the other kids didn't stop teasing them.

Nobody can say I don't stand up for what I believe in. (I think I learned that from Dawn.) Chapter 5.

For some reason, even though Tuesday afternoon was a beautiful day, the Pike kids didn't know what to do with themselves. When Jessi arrived to sit with Mal, she found the ten-year-old triplets - Adam, Byron, and Jordan - nine-year-old Vanessa, eight-year-old Nicky, seven-year-old Margo, and five-year-old Claire draped all over the furniture in the Pikes' rec room, looking bored out of their minds.