Marco’s face darkened. “Don’t call me stupid.”

“I’m not calling you anything. I’m just saying you’re not smart. That’s not the same as saying you’re stupid.”

“Yes, it is, Jamie.”

“No, it’s not. It just means you have a tendency to say and do stupid things. Doesn’t mean you are stupid. So long as you don’t say or do anything stupid around Zak Cunningham and his buddies, we should be fine. This is a big night for us. We can’t let anything go wrong.”

The third boy, a dark-haired kid with a birthmark peeking up from the collar of his shirt, raised his head for the first time. “Jesus, can’t the pair of you shut the hell up for five seconds? All week, tonight is the only thing you’ve talked about. You know how boring you’ve been? It’s a party, okay? Get over it.”

Marco and Jamie exchanged glances, and then the grins broke out.

“I think someone is feeling upset that he’s too young for Hell Night,” said Jamie.

“I guess you’d better get home,” Marco jeered. “You don’t wanna be caught out after curfew.”

“Yeah, you wanna make sure you’re tucked in with all the other little kiddies.”

“Ha, look, poor baby is sulking. Don’t make fun of him.”

“Aw, I’m sorry, baby – please don’t cry.”

The boy with the birthmark smiled tightly, and got down off his perch, dusted off his jeans like he was getting ready to leave. Then he flew at his friends, shoving Marco backwards off the railing while he grabbed Jamie and dragged him to the ground.

“What’s that?” he snarled. “What’s that you’re saying?”

He jammed his knee on to Jamie’s throat and picked up a rock, held it over his head, ready to smash it down. “What’s that you were saying about crying? Huh?”

“Jesus!”

“Speak up now.”

“Let go of me, you psycho …”

The kid with the birthmark put a little more weight on his knee, then stood, allowing his victim to roll over and cough.

He threw down the stone. “You dickheads really think I give a shit about Hell Night? You really think I care that I have to wait another year? It’s a town party. Big frikkin’ deal.”

Marco helped Jamie to his feet.

“Go on,” said the boy with the birthmark. “Run off to play with Cunningham and his pals. Enjoy Hell Night while you can, assholes. Next year, it belongs to me.”

Jamie and Marco hesitated, then turned, started walking away. The kid with the birthmark watched them, then let out a derisive laugh and set off in the opposite direction. Amber and Milo ducked down until they were all gone, then straightened up.

“Lovely kids in this town,” Milo said.