At nine o'clock the next morning, Garrett and Roland were sitting at a table in a small hotel dining room and helping themselves to toast, cereal and orange juice.

'He was just calling them jokes to start off with,' said Garrett, 'but then we all seemed to agree they were riddles. I mean, a joke is a kind of riddle, right? Or is a riddle a kind of joke?'

'Both,' said Roland. 'If it's cryptic but not funny it's just a riddle, and if it's funny but not cryptic it's just a joke, but if it's funny and cryptic then it's both. Maybe I should call Egon again and ask him what he thinks about this.'

'You'd be calling him with practically nothing, Rolster. What exactly did he say yesterday?'

'He said he'd see about getting some equipment to us, and he'd call me if he made any progress. But he also said to call him if we got any more information, and I think this might be important. In fact, now I come to think of it –'

'Look who finally decided to drag themselves out of bed,' Garrett interrupted, as Eduardo and Kylie came giggling and frolicking into the room. 'You're just in time, guys – Roland's about to tell us something interesting about the ghost.'

'Oh yes?' said Kylie, trying to look interested as she and Eduardo took their seats at the table. Then she started giggling, and said insincerely, 'Eduardo, stop that!'

'Yes, Eduardo, stop that,' said Garrett.

Eduardo stopped whatever it was he was doing, and they all looked expectantly at Roland.

'I just remembered,' said Roland, 'that the ghost actually asked me a riddle as well. I barely even noticed at the time. It was so seamless, when he was telling me all my friends hated me. He said something like... they take you in when they don't need you, but they throw you away when they want to use you, so what does that make you?'

'An anchor,' Eduardo said at once.

'Oh yeah,' said Kylie, giving him a congratulatory pat on the face. 'Good one, sweetie.'

'Well,' said Garrett, 'you kind of are our anchor, Roland. But that's a good thing.'

'Yes, well, the ghost tried to make it sound like a bad thing.'

'Can you solve mine, Eddie?' Garrett asked hopefully. 'What kind of flower grows on your face? I keep fixating on iris, but that's not cryptic enough, is it?'

'I think maybe it's tulips,' said Kylie.

'Tulips?' said Garrett, looking puzzled. Then light dawned on his face. 'Oh... I get it!'

'I was thinking about it all night,' Kylie confessed.

'You were?' said Eduardo, giving her a comical look, and she subsided into giggles once again.

'This isn't getting us anywhere, is it?' said Roland. 'I mean, can we actually use this information?'

'Maybe,' said Eduardo. 'Didn't you guys say this thing wanted you to give it a riddle?'

'He did suggest it,' said Garrett. 'He probably gets to eat your soul after he solves it or something.'

'Not if we give it a riddle it can't solve,' said Eduardo.

'That sounds like a dangerous game, Eduardo,' said Kylie. 'He might be able to solve anything. I wouldn't even want to risk asking him the one about why a good friend is like a good bra.'

'Are you sure?' said Garrett. 'He's so Victorian-looking, that might just embarrass him off campus. So why is a good friend like a good bra, Kylie?'

'Because,' said Kylie, 'it's hard to find, but when you do it's comfortable, supportive, lifts you up and stays close to your heart.'

Garrett chuckled. 'That's a good one.'

'I don't think we should bring up those kinds of ideas with him,' said Roland. 'It's just the sort of thing he likes to tear apart.'

'Friendship,' Garrett giggled, 'or bras?'

'Maybe both,' said Eduardo. 'So do you guys wanna hear me out or not?'


The school was teeming with lunchtime activity as Kevin dragged Lucy and Jandro to a secluded spot behind the sports hall.

'What's up, Kev?' said Lucy. 'Why all the cloak-and-dagger stuff?'

'I want to talk to you about Michael,' said Kevin. 'We've got geography again this afternoon, and I think we should all go back to his place afterward.'

'In God's name, why?' said Lucy.

'To work on the project,' said Kevin.

'Maybe he won't invite us today,' said Jandro, sounding more than a little hopeful.

'Then I'll suggest it myself,' said Kevin. 'Please, guys, for me...'

'I don't understand where you're coming from, Kev,' said Lucy. 'Michael is a grade-A moron! Why do you have a boner for him all of a sudden?'

'I don't have a boner for him – I just thought you were both a little rude to him yesterday,' said Kevin. 'Couldn't you see how hurt he was when you made your flimsy excuses? Luce, you never even wear dresses!'

'My heart bleeds for him,' said Lucy, adopting an impressive frown.

'I really did have to go home and wash my dog,' Jandro added.

'Please, just come back to his place tonight,' said Kevin. 'We can get most of the project finished, plus I have an interesting idea – it's gonna be fantastic, trust me!'

'Okay, Kev,' said Jandro. 'I guess we do need to get to work on that thing.'

'Okay, I'll come too,' said Lucy. 'I can't wait to see if it really is an interesting idea.'


'It's an interesting idea,' said Kylie, who was walking down a Stanford corridor with her arms locked around Eduardo's waist. 'I just hope it's going to work!'

'Don't you trust me?' Eduardo asked.

'I don't trust anyone with an entity we know nothing about,' said Kylie, 'including myself. Maybe we should try calling Egon again.'

'It's only been five minutes since I tried him, Ky,' said Roland who, with Garrett, was a few yards behind them.

'I think Egon would say it's a great idea,' said Eduardo. 'It worked before, didn't it?'

'When?' asked Kylie.

'Remember Pagan's brilliant plan to defeat that wish demon?' said Eduardo. 'Worked like a charm. Too bad he's not here right now – you could ask his advice about this.'

Kylie frowned. 'Sweetie, you're not being a jerk, are you?'

'Of course not,' said Eduardo, stooping to kiss the top of her head. 'Sorry. I'm just nervous.'

They arrived outside Nina's office. Kylie knocked, and then pushed open the door.

'No one here,' she said, as she made her way into the room, and then through into the professors' office. 'Looks like the professors are out too.'

'What did I tell you?' said Garrett, as they all assembled between Professor Solomon's and Professor Albright's desks. 'This is why we waited for the lunch hour.'

'Assuming ghosts don't take lunch,' said Roland. 'How do we get him to appear?'

'How about if we answer its riddles?' said Eduardo. 'You know – the ones it already asked. Kind of challenge it, I guess.'

'Yeah?' Garrett asked sceptically. 'Tell me honestly, Eddie. Are you sure you know what you're doing?'


Kevin, Michael, Lucy and Jandro were sitting around Michael's kitchen table, working studiously. Kevin glanced up at the clock on the microwave, nodded, put the lid on his pen and cleared his throat.

'Okay,' he announced, 'it's time to get to work.'

'We've been working for almost an hour, Kev,' said Lucy.

'We sure have,' said Kevin, 'but now we've got a different kind of work to do. Michael's mom will be back from the supermarket in another hour, and by then this place is gonna be spotless!'

'It is?' said Jandro. 'Why?'

'Because we're gonna clean it!' Kevin announced.

'Oh, Kev...' Lucy sighed.

'Mike, can you imagine how happy your mom will be to come home and find all the housework done, and the place shining like a home from a real estate agent's brochure?' said Kevin.

'Yeah, I can imagine that,' said Michael. 'She'd be pretty happy, I guess. But...'

'No buts!' said Kevin. 'Time's a-wasting and we need to get to work! Jandro, I want you to find every piece of pottery and silverware in this kitchen and give it a thorough going-over in the sink.'

'You mean you want me to do the dishes?' said Jandro.

'Exactly,' said Kevin. 'Mike, you're going to get a cloth and a bucket of hot water and scrub down all the kitchen surfaces, the table, the window in here and the window in the lounge.'

'I am?' said Michael, as if the concept sounded completely alien to him.

'Yes, you are!' said Kevin. 'Lucy, would you mind vacuuming the lounge?'

'Is there a vacuum cleaner in this place?' Lucy asked pointedly.

'There's one in the big storage cupboard,' said Michael. 'I'll get it out.'

'Perfect,' said Kevin.

'And what are you going to do, Kev, while we're all working so hard?' said Lucy, giving him a small smile.

'I'm going to do the laundry,' said Kevin.

'The laundry?' said Jandro. 'That's specialist stuff, man. Are you sure you know what you're doing?'

'Of course I'm sure,' said Kevin. 'Just trust me, okay?'


'Just trust me, okay?' said Eduardo. Then he announced loudly, 'An anchor, and tulips. Now it's my turn, right? Like you said yesterday?'

The ghost appeared in Professor Albright's chair, and looked narrowly at the quartet through his spectacles. 'I never said anything about a team effort. And I didn't even see your spokesman.'

'Come on, man, just let me ask my riddle,' said Eduardo.

'Well...' said the ghost, his lips spreading into a sinister smile. 'All right.'

Eduardo took a deep breath, and felt Kylie slip her hand into his. Then he said, 'The village barber shaves all the men, and only the men, who don't shave themselves. Does the barber shave himself?'

For a moment, the ghost only stared. Then his brow creased into a deep, wrinkled frown and his eyes glowed red.


Michael's kitchen had become a hive of activity. Jandro was standing at the sink dressed in a flowery apron, his sleeves rolled up almost to his shoulders and his hands submerged in dishwater, while Michael was on his knees scrubbing the legs of the kitchen table, and Kevin was sorting the laundry into light colours and dark colours.

'What are you doing to my underpants, Kev?' Michael asked suspiciously, glancing up.

'Just turning them the right way out, Mike,' Kevin replied. 'There, they can go in the light wash.'

'I still think laundry should be left to the moms, dude,' said Jandro, piling yet another dish onto the overfull draining board. 'It's a portal to a whole new world of trouble that we can't even begin to understand.'

'Don't be silly, Jandro – it's perfectly simple,' said Kevin. 'There, now I just put the soap powder in here... turn that to there... press that button... and bingo!'

The washing machine sloshed into life. Kevin stood back to admire his handiwork. His expression of satisfaction soon changed to one of horror, however, as a mass of fizzing soap bubbles suddenly started pouring out of the gaps around the edge of the detergent drawer and began to form a towering structure on the floor.

'Dios mío!' Kevin exclaimed in alarm, jabbing at the buttons on the washing machine for all he was worth. 'Stop! Pause! Cancel! Jandro, I need the sink, I need the sink, I need the sink!'

In one smooth motion, Jandro removed the washing up bowl from the sink and stepped away, making room for Kevin to run over with the detergent drawer held at arm's length in front of him and slam it under the tap.

'What the hell have you done to my mom's washing machine, Rivera?' Michael snarled from under the table.

'Nothing!' said Kevin. 'I just put the soap powder in the wrong part of the drawer – it'll be fine when I've rinsed it out.'

Kevin ran the drawer under the tap for ten more seconds, took it back over to the washing machine, dried it with a pair of socks from his pile of dark washing, and replaced it in the machine.

'There now,' he said, exhaling heavily. 'Kevin does the laundry, take two.'

Kevin poured a generous amount of soap powder into the correct section of the drawer and pushed it back in. He then pressed the appropriate buttons for a second time, and the washing machine started its cycle with no further problems.

'I told you not to mess with that stuff,' said Jandro, as he replaced his washing up bowl in the sink. 'Despite some indications to the contrary, you're not a middle-aged woman, Kev.'

Kevin frowned at Jandro in his flowery apron, came over to the sink, put a hand into the water and splashed Jandro in the face. Jandro giggled, and slapped a palm-full of bubbles into Kevin's face. Lucy appeared in the doorway.

'If you two have run out of work to do,' she said, 'you can come and move the couch for me.'

'Okay,' said Kevin, squeezing the contents of the washing up sponge into Jandro's hair, 'we'll be right there.'


The ghost in Professor Albright's chair had been reduced to a gibbering wreck. It sat there saying rapidly, 'But if he shaves himself, he can't shave himself... and if he doesn't shave himself, he must shave himself... but if –'

Then suddenly, the ghost exploded. The entire room and all its contents were showered with viscous grey ectoplasm.

'Oh, come on!' said Garrett, wiping the stuff from his eyes. 'Seriously?'

'Eduardo, you did it!' said Kylie, flinging her arms around him. 'That was amazing!'

'But,' said Eduardo, 'it blew up. We've never been able to blow anything up before. Querida, you always say it's not really gone when something like that happens, and you're always right.'

'Am I?' said Kylie, looking at the puddle where the ghost had been sitting. 'Well, I'm probably talking about the effect our equipment has on things. This is different – more like Tenebrach. I didn't say destroying the orb hadn't worked, did I? You defeated this guy with his own weapon.'

'It's true,' said Roland, clapping Eduardo on the back, and sending grey ectoplasm flying with a splat. 'Have a little more faith in yourself.'

'What is it you sometimes say to Kevin?' said Kylie. 'Never underestimate a Rivera? That's good advice, sweetie. I know that by now.'

'You weren't underestimating me today?' Eduardo said good-naturedly.

'Of course not,' said Kylie. 'I knew it was a good idea. I was just worried about you.'

'You guys,' said Garrett, 'I don't know about you, but I'm leaving before those professors come back and see what Eduardo did to their office.'

'Good point,' said Kylie. 'I'd say we should clean up, but I think this is a job for professionals.'


When Rita arrived in the kitchen, she found Kevin hanging clean laundry on a clothes horse and Michael scrubbing out the cupboard under the sink.

'Oh, hi,' Kevin beamed at her. 'I've just set off the dark load and Mikey's going to hang it up when it's done – aren't you, Mike?'

'Yes, Kev,' Michael's voice echoed from under the sink.

'Oh my goodness,' Rita breathed, clutching her chest as she looked at her kitchen in astonishment. 'I think I need to sit down.'

As Rita collapsed at the spotless kitchen table, Lucy entered the room with a sock in her hand.

'Would you look at this?' she said. 'I thought it was just a huge pile of dust under the basin but it turned out there was a sock buried right at the... oh, hello Mrs... Michael's mom.'

'It's Mrs Conway,' Michael's voice emerged from the cupboard. 'Like our make-believe city, remember?'

'Yeah, I know that's your name, Michael,' said Lucy. 'I just didn't know if your mom was married or... What should I do with this sock?'

'Too bad it's just missed the wash,' Kevin laughed. 'Never mind – I'll put it in the laundry basket for next time.'

Rita opened her mouth to speak as she watched Kevin dealing with the sock, but she closed it again as Jandro appeared in the kitchen.

'I finally got out the last of it, Kev,' he reported, 'but I'm afraid I used up all the bleach. Oh, hello, Mrs Conway... er, unless that's not your name...'

'It is,' Lucy assured him.

'Are there any more of you lurking back there?' Rita asked in bewilderment.

'No,' Kevin grinned, 'this is all of us.'

'Well, I... I don't know what to say,' said Rita. 'You've done such a wonderful job. Oh dear, I think I'm going to cry.'

'Mom!' Michael objected, finally standing up again. 'Not in front of my friends!'

'We're his friends now?' Lucy whispered to Jandro.

'I guess so,' Jandro whispered back.

'Thank you all so much,' Rita beamed, dabbing her damp eyes with a tissue. 'I never expected... never even dreamed...'

There suddenly came the sound of insistent honking from the street outside.

'That's my dad,' said Lucy. 'I'd recognise his honks anywhere. You come with me, Jandro – I'll get him to give you a ride home.'

'Okay,' said Jandro, 'thanks.'

'Bye, guys,' said Michael. 'Thanks for everything.'

'Yeah, no problem,' said Lucy. 'Kev, do you want a ride too?'

'No thanks,' said Kevin. 'It's only a few blocks, and it's out of your way.'

'Yeah, I guess so,' said Lucy, dragging Jandro out of the apartment. 'See you at school, Betty Crocker.'

'Bye, Kev,' Jandro added. 'Tomorrow I'll get you back for messing up my hair – you just see if I don't!'

'What a nice bunch of kids,' said Rita. 'Kevin, are you staying any longer?'

'I really should go home now,' said Kevin, 'or my mom'll start to worry. Goodnight, Mrs Conway.'

'Goodnight... and do call me Rita,' she returned. 'Such nice kids... I can hardly believe it...'

Michael followed Kevin out of the front door, and pulled it almost shut behind them.

'Bye, Kev,' he said. 'Thanks for... well, you know.'

'No problem,' said Kevin.

'You won't tell anyone any of those things I said yesterday, will you? You know, about Ella and my family and stuff...'

'Of course not, dude. So, are you gonna invite Ella over for those beans on toast tomorrow?'

'Oh, I don't know,' Michael shrugged. 'I guess I will, maybe... anyways, see you at school.'

Kevin gave him a winning smile, pulled the hood of his hooded top over his head, and set off into the street.


As Beth was approaching the front steps of her home with a bag of shopping in her hand, she saw a fairly tall hooded figure loping towards her along the sidewalk. She dropped her gaze and hurried up the steps.

'Mom!' Kevin's voice wafted along the sidewalk to her. 'Why are you ignoring me?'

'Oh, Kevin,' Beth breathed in relief, stopping halfway up the steps. 'I thought you were a hooded teenaged thug!'

'Oh, I see,' said Kevin, as he came up to join her. 'Sorry about the hoodie, but it's a pretty cold evening. Here, let me take that grocery bag.'

'Thanks,' said Beth, smiling at him as she passed it over.

'Say, Mom,' said Kevin, 'should I maybe do some laundry for you sometime over the weekend?'

'Well... yes, if you're sure you want to give it another try,' said Beth, as they walked up to the front door. 'You do remember what happened last time, don't you?'

'Yeah, I remember,' said Kevin, 'but I feel like I've really turned a corner since then, where laundry's concerned. You of all people should remember, Mom – never underestimate a Rivera.'

'I guess I should know that by now,' Beth laughed, as she turned and shut the front door behind them.


Eduardo mooched into the hotel lounge, saw Roland looking through a bound sheaf of papers, and immediately turned to leave. Roland looked up and saw him.

'Eduardo!' he called. 'Are you trying to avoid the rest of us or something?'

'Well, I don't know, sort of,' said Eduardo, sinking into an armchair a few yards from Roland.

'You know,' said Roland, 'whatever it is, it might help to talk about it.'

'I don't think so.'

'Not even to Kylie?'

'Not today.'

'Okay,' said Roland. 'Let's talk about something else. You did well, you know. I don't get why you're not happier that your plan worked.'

'I didn't expect it to work so well. I just thought maybe I'd keep it busy until Egon got some equipment to us, or something like that. I wish we could check it's really gone.'

'I do know the feeling. You know what I'm like when I'm deprived of my equipment... kind of an anchor with no rope, I guess. You could make a pretty good anchor yourself, you know, if I ever had to haul myself in and... no, wait, I don't think I can do this whole thing as a metaphor.'

'Good,' said Eduardo. 'I don't like metaphors much. I think I get it, though. Thanks.'

'No problem.'

'So... are you leaving us after graduation, or have you still not decided?'

'Professor Solomon's course outline has almost made up my mind,' said Roland, indicating his sheaf of papers. 'It speaks to me... now that I've gotten most of the ectoplasm off it. But doesn't that kind of sound like I'm choosing a pile of papers over my girlfriend?'

'We already did this,' said Eduardo. 'T'Keyah gets it, and she wants to hang on to what you guys have no matter what you decide. But engineering doctorates don't see it that way.'

'Yeah?' said Roland. 'That sure sounds like a metaphor to me.'

'Actually I think it's personification.'

'Oh.'

'I got a metaphor too, though,' said Eduardo. 'I think. Yeah... okay, here it is. If you're not gonna be our anchor anymore, you know you'll always be the perfect bra, right?'

'Well,' said Roland, smiling slightly, 'I hope so.'

'I know so.'


Kevin was emerging from the restroom at school when he heard his name being called, as well as the sound of heavy footsteps running towards him.

'Kev!' said Michael, coming up to him at quite a pace. 'I did it – Ella's coming over to my place for beans on toast after school today!'

'I'm happy for you, Mike,' Kevin replied with a smile. 'Let me know how it goes, okay?'

'Okay,' said Michael. 'Well, maybe I won't give you all the details, huh?'

He laughed, thumped Kevin on the back, and entered the restroom. Kevin smiled, shook his head, and started walking along the corridor. After a few seconds, Lucy fell into stride beside him.

'I still don't get it, Kev,' she said. 'I mean, I get that you're a real nice guy, and I get that Michael's not so bad once you scratch the surface, and I get that we needed to do some serious work on our geography project... but overall, I don't get it.'

'I'm not sure I get it either, Luce, to be honest with you,' Kevin replied. 'I don't even know if there's really anything more to get. But anyway, it wasn't so bad, was it? I mean, you didn't hate it, right?'

'No,' Lucy laughed. 'No, I didn't hate it.'

'Well then,' said Kevin, 'I guess everything's worked out okay.'

'Yeah,' said Lucy, 'I guess it has.'

Kevin fixed her with a smile, then Jandro popped up and poured a load of pencil shavings into Kevin's hair, before giggling and running off down the corridor. Kevin chased after him. Lucy smiled, shook her head and followed.