"Not so loud, Lisa," said Alan nervously. "No one must know I'm here."
"Not even my family?" said Lisa, a bit alarmed.
"They already know," Alan told her. "Do you think I could sneak into Bart's room and put on a pair of his pajamas without them knowing? Actually, I could."
"Why are you here?" asked Lisa. "All the kids at your school are worried half to death about you."
Alan slid out of his bed, his bare feet hitting the floor quietly. "I'm in great danger," he said ominously. "If my parents or the police find me, they'll lock me up. If the Brainchildren find me, they'll force me to join them."
"Brainchildren?" said Lisa in confusion. "Who are they?"
"A group of kids with mental powers," Alan replied. "One of them is my sister."
"I didn't know you had a sister," said Lisa.
"Neither did I," said Alan with a shrug. "The government shut her up to keep her powers a secret. She can change the personalities of other people by planting memories in their minds. She tried to do it to me, to make me one of them."
"Why do they want you?" Lisa wondered. "Do you have mental powers?"
"Yes." Alan lowered his face. "I can erase memories. I erased the mind of their leader by accident. I…I reduced him to the level of an infant."
Lisa shook her head. "This is getting really weird. Show me your powers, and then I'll believe you."
"You don't know what you're asking," said Alan. "I could make you forget a day, or a year, or your whole life. Once my sister and I put our powers together, and we switched two people into each other's bodies."
"Whatever," said Lisa incredulously. "I'm going to bed. We'll talk again in the morning."
"Fine," said Alan. "But remember, don't tell anybody I'm here."
It was also bedtime for D.W., whose mother was tucking her in.
"I'm scared, Mom," said the little aardvark girl. "Arthur and all his friends say Dr. Fugue is the meanest teacher in the universe."
"Don't worry, sweetie," said Mrs. Read, kissing her on the cheek.
"I watched Dr. Fugue play on the video," said D.W. "He plays a grand piano. Grand pianos are really big. With my short little arms, I can't even reach the keys."
"Maybe Dr. Fugue will let you play a baby grand piano," said Mrs. Read comfortingly. "It's smaller than a grand piano."
"Okay," said D.W. with relief. "G'nite, Mom."
"Good night, D.W.," said Mrs. Read, grunting to straighten her pregnant body.
As she walked through the doorway, D.W.'s voice called to her. "Mom, where do baby grand pianos come from?"
Mrs. Read sighed, closed the bedroom door, and shuffled away just as the phone rang.
"Oh, hi, Bitzi," she answered. "Yes, he's still here. I'll see what he's up to."
She heard faint moaning noises as she stepped up to the back of the couch. Upon seeing Buster and Fern in the throes of a passionate kiss, she gasped.
The two children separated their lips and looked up at her. "Sorry, Mrs. Read," said Fern.
"If you want, we can go and kiss somewhere else," said Buster.
While Mrs. Read gaped with wide eyes, D.W. appeared behind the second story railing. "What's going on?" she asked innocently.
"Er, Buster, your mother called," Mrs. Read told the rabbit boy. "It's time for you to go home. Fern, you should start heading home too. It's getting dark, so I'll ask Dave to walk you home."
"Sure, Mrs. Read," said Fern.
The aardvark woman stepped into the kitchen, and the two lovers kissed again. "It's nice to finally have a boyfriend," Fern gushed. "I was afraid I'd never get one."
"You're the best girlfriend I've ever had," said Buster, cradling the poodle girl in his arms. "I've had only one other girlfriend, and she turned out to be an alien. I almost got stuck in her body."
"I'm glad you didn't," said Fern. "I'd hate it if you were a girl."
to be continued