When I got home from school, I was surprised to find Dad and Mom waiting for me. Dad was usually in the barn right now, and mom was usually at work. "What's wrong?" I asked. Did something happen to Grandma? It had to be an emergency.
"Cassie, come sit down. There's something we need to talk about."
"Yeah...okay..." I said. "Is someone hurt or...?"
"No one is hurt," Dad assured me.
We sat down at the kitchen table. Mom started out. "Cassie, you Dad and I have been noticing some changes in you lately."
"Well, I've been putting more effort into school lately," I started out.
Mom shook her head. "That isn't what we're talking about. You've been spending a lot of time with Rachel lately."
"She's my best friend. I don't think it's any more than usual."
Dad cleared his throat. "You've also been spending a lot of time with Jake."
I blushed. "Well, Jake and I...we're just...we're friends, you know?"
"What are the three of you doing all the time?" Mom asked. Her voice was hardening, like she was building up to something unpleasant.
"Just hanging out..." I began.
"Cassie..." Dad said, trailing off.
"You come home late, sometimes in just a leotard and without your shoes," Mom interrupted. "You're tired all the time, sometimes you forget to do your chores. I've called Rachel's mother several times when you were 'at her house' and she's had no idea where either of you were. Same with Jake's parents and brother."
"I..." No. She couldn't be figuring things out, could she? She couldn't possibly guess that we were Animorphs, no way.
"A friend of yours came by earlier today," Dad added. "A...very strange kid. He didn't seem all there. It was like he couldn't stop playing with his mouth, and he ate everything in the fridge. Including the barbecue sauce. Just barbecue sauce. Straight from the bottle."
"Another boy came and got him after a few minutes. He said his name was Tobias. Wasn't the name of a kid who dropped out of school a few months ago?"
I shuddered. Ax and Tobias. No. NO! Mom couldn't know about this! My parents couldn't know about the Animorphs. What...what if they were Yeerks? There could be Hork-bajir in the next room! And my parents... NO!
I shifted in my chair. "Mom...what do you think's going on?" I asked.
"You tell us. You're out all night. You're never where you say you are. You're tired all the time. You've got this...look...in your eyes lately. And then there's these friends of yours..."
Dad joined in. "Cassie, you know whatever's going on, you can tell us. We're not here to judge you. We just want to help."
"Are using things form the barn?" Mom asked.
"Am I..." Oh my god, she knew! Or...or maybe, just maybe... "Yeah, Mom. My friends and I...we just thought it would be fun."
Mom shook her head. "Cassie, we are very disappointed in all of you."
Dad put his hand on mine. "But it'll be okay. The Sharing has a great anti-drug program."