After school ended for the week, the Belnap triplets once again insinuated themselves into the lives of Buster, George, and Zeke.

In Buster's condo, the rabbit boy returned from a snack trip to the kitchen, to find Amy cuddling Amazon Puppy in her lap. "The puppy's not allowed on the couch," he informed her.

"Sorry, Buster," said Amy, gently lowering the pooch onto the floor.

"I got some cheese curls," said Buster as he sat down, a bag of treats in one hand.

"I'm not hungry," was Amy's response.

Recalling something his mother had taught him about not eating in front of others, Buster set aside the bag.

As Amy spoke, she inched ever closer to the boy. "Are you going to the party at Mickie's on Friday?" she inquired.

"Uh, I don't know. The whole point of the party is to get the kids to vote for her, but I'm voting for Arthur."

"You can go anyway," said Amy. "Cally's been to her house. She says it's big and beautiful, with all kinds of food."

"Mmm," mused Buster. "Maybe I will go." A few feet away, Amazon Puppy was chewing on a piece of carpet.

By this time Amy's and Buster's legs were almost touching. The cat girl felt the time was right to move to the next level.

"I really like you," she said affectionately. "Can I...kiss you?"

Her expressed desire startled Buster, but not seriously. "Uh...yeah."

Amy moved her head forward like a snake, administering a closed-mouth smack on the lips that lasted about a second. To Buster, it felt perfectly natural and cootie-free.

"That was nice," said the girl as she leaned away.

Buster looked at his Bionic Bunny watch. "Hey, it's almost time for Bunny League. Want to watch it with me?"

Amy smiled seductively. "No, I'd rather kiss you again."

"Maybe later," said Buster, reaching for the TV remote.

"I want to kiss you now," Amy insisted.

"I can't see the TV if I'm kissing you," Buster pointed out. He clicked a button on the remote, and the screen displayed a commercial in progress.

As he stared at the television, Amy wrapped her hands around his head and tried to turn it so that his lips faced hers. "Whoa, whoa!" Buster protested as he tried to push the girl's arms away. Discouraged, Amy backed off and started to pout.

"Can't you think about anything besides kissing boys?" complained the flustered bunny.

"Normally, yes," was the girl's unhappy reply.

"What do you mean, normally?"

Amy looked away and didn't answer.

"If you want, you can scratch my ears while I'm watching the show," Buster offered.

After sulking for a few more seconds, Amy decided to follow the rabbit boy's suggestion, and carefully tugged one of his ears downward.

----

"You're the first girl who's ever kissed me," George admitted.

"I can't imagine why," said Becky sweetly. "You're such a cutie."

"Let's do it again," George suggested.

"Okay." Once more they pressed their lips together. The moose boy almost thought he felt his antlers tingling.

Their bliss was rudely interrupted by the flash of a camera. "Oh, yeah!" cheered Salma, who had photographed their liplocking with a digital camera. "The Elwood Times will pay me a thousand dollars for this!"

George leaped to his feet and scowled furiously. "Sal, I'm going to..."

The little moose girl started to quiver, expecting a terrible retribution.

"...kiss you!"

Sal squealed and fled while her brother pursued, making smacking noises with his lips.

----

"Please, Ezekiel," Cally begged. "Just one little kiss."

"Get thee behind me, Satan," Zeke muttered indignantly.

(Shortest...scene...ever.)

----

The Belnap girls had their fun, not knowing that an event with terrible repercussions would take place that very night.

A thunderclap awoke Alan in the middle of the night. Unable to fall asleep again, he figured a midnight snack was in order.

As he pushed himself out of the bed, he experienced an odd feebleness combined with an irritating pain in his joints. Fatigue almost overpowered him as he struggled to his feet. He didn't feel like himself at all.

He switched on the light and glanced in the mirror, and the reason was revealed. Staring back at him was not his own reflection, but that of an elderly, stooped rat woman with curly white hair and spectacles.

He screamed. His eyes flew open. He was in his bed again.

The same nightmare had tormented him three nights in a row. It was a prophecy of Prunella's fate--of a fate which he had been narrowly spared.

He hadn't recognized that the power to switch bodies undermined his most basic assumptions about life--the assumption that he would die in the same body in which he had been born, the assumption that the secret burdens of other people would never become his own. Never again would he exchange bodies with a person, unless he was willing to stay in that person's body until death, come what may.

From beyond his bedroom door he heard faint but worried voices--those of his parents, and one or two other people. According to the digital clock, it was between two and three a.m.--a strange time for Mom and Dad to be accommodating guests. Something was wrong.

Still in his pajamas, he crept quietly to the door and noiselessly opened it. The scene before him reminded him of a recent occurrence, namely, Tegan's disappearance. His parents were talking with Dr. Payne and Dr. Minkowski, the scientists from Ballford Prep. It could only mean that Tegan was in trouble again.

Unable to contain his fear, he burst out of the room. "Mom! Dad!" he exclaimed. "What happened? Is Tegan okay?"

His parents turned around, and they appeared quite consternated, although their words didn't reflect it.

"Tegan's all right," Mrs. Powers reassured her son. "Go back to bed."

From that moment onward they spoke in hushed tones with the scientists, occasionally looking backwards to see if Alan had retired to his room yet. There could be no doubt--they were keeping something from him.

He would figure out the truth, if he had to lie awake for the rest of the night. As he stepped into the bedroom, determined to do exactly that, his ears picked up the voices of two other people who were approaching the front entrance. He turned around, and managed to catch a glimpse of the newcomers.

They were C.V.'s parents, the Oberlins.

It was the last straw--Alan would no longer be denied. He charged into the midst of the group of concerned adults, declaring, "Something's going on here, and I want to know what it is. Now."

His parents, the scientists, and the owl couple fell silent and glared at him.

Then Dr. Cindy Payne spoke. "Someone broke into the school," the poodle woman informed him. "They didn't take anything of value. All the kids are fine."

Alan mulled what he had been told--and a terrifying thought entered his mind. "Mansch," he muttered.

Dr. Payne cocked her ears. "What?"

"He's a professional thief," Alan said more audibly. "If anyone can get through the school's security system, he can. And he has a reason to. He wants to free the Brainchildren."

A wave of shock passed over the faces of the two Ballford doctors, as if Alan had uttered a top-secret word.

Dr. Payne regained her composure. "I just told you," she said firmly, "the kids are fine."

"Go to bed, Alan," Mrs. Powers ordered.

The boy remained stubborn, until it became clear that no one would speak another word until he obeyed.

He lay on his back, unable to rest or to think about anything but the break-in at the school. Had Mansch succeeded? If so, what did it mean?

----

to be continued