Mr. Chase had had a long day working on a fire that had Murphy written all over it. He came home to see his daughter walking out the door with her best friends.
"Milo," he asked, "Were you at Tri-State Plank and Board today?"
"No, but my dad said he needed to pick up a few things there and... oh." He turned to Melissa. "As I was saying, you should check out Horse in a Redbox. It's written by the same people as Horse in a Bookcase, but it's quite different and not as repetitive. I actually like it better."
"OK Milo, if you say so." She smiled and thought, "Maybe I will give it a shot. And trying Horse in a Bookcase again might not be a bad idea either." There was a short pause.
"OK, well, bye, Mr. Chase," Milo said as he put his shoes on. "We're off to the mall."
"Bye Milo! Bye Zack! Be careful, Melissa!" said Mr. Chase.
The kids grabbed their bikes and headed out.
"Man, what is it with my dad?" Melissa wondered out loud.
"I don't know," said Milo. "It sounded like he was mad at me."
"No, not that. He told me to 'be careful' but not you guys. I think he's mad at me."
"Stop... Milo!" Elliot said in his signature condescending voice, while holding up his stop sign. "And... your little friends, too," he continued as he looked them over.
"Cool it, Elliot. We're just going to the mall," Melissa countered.
"Doesn't matter. Milo is a hazard to everyone else on the road."
"But... there's no one else on this road except you," Zack said.
By this time Milo had gotten off his bike. "Hey guys!" he exclaimed. "Look what I found!"
Melissa, Zack and Elliot all walked over to where Milo was and looked down.
"Whoa!" said Melissa.
"What does it mean?" asked Zack.
"Hang on to that," said Elliot. "It might come in handy."
Milo picked up his prize and put it into his backpack. Elliot, pleased with the job he had done, let the kids go. They rode on, as Elliot watched. Milo started to lose control of his bike. Elliot rushed over to help, but as he was running, he saw Milo regain control and ride on.
"Stay safe!" Elliot called after the kids.
What do you think Milo found? And why are they going to the mall? Leave your theories and ideas in the reviews section.