Mal was standing over them saying, "I hope you guys are going to find things to do today." "Me, too," said Mrs. Pike as she hurried out the back door. "Please behave, kids. I'll be back by six." " 'Bye, Mom," said Mal as the door closed behind her mother.

"Do, do. What can I do? I've lost my sock and I've lost my shoe," said Vanessa, the poet.

"You have not," pointed out Claire.

"I know," replied Vanessa. "I was just making a poem." "A stupid poem," said Adam.

"It was not stupid!" exclaimed Vanessa.

"Kindergarten baby, stick your head in gravy - " Nicky began.

"Enough, enough, enough!" cried Mal. "Look. The weather is lovely. Why don't you guys go outside? You could ride your bicycles - " "Nah," said Jordan.

" - or go skateboarding - " "Nah," said Nicky.

"You could stay inside," suggested Jessi. "There are plenty of things to do here, too. You could play a game - " "Nah," said Vanessa.

" - or," (Jessi couldn't believe she was about to suggest this), "you could watch TV." "There's nothing good on," said Margo.

Silence.

Finally Nicky said, "You know, a new family moved into Mary Anne's old house. The Hobarts. James Hobart is in my class at school. He's really weird. He talks funny - " "He's from Australia," said Mal. "He has an accent, that's all." "Australia?" spoke up Byron. "You mean like Crocodile Dundee?" "Well, yes," agreed Jessi.

"Crocodile Dundee can do all kinds of neat things," said Jordan. "I hope the Hobarts are like Crocodile." "They're Crocs!" cried Nicky gleefully. "That's what everyone in my class calls James and his brothers. The Crocs!" Nicky snickered.