Maya:

I don’t know how I get into these things. But here I am, at the concert hall, waiting for the performance by Uncle Louie and the Polka Dots to begin. Sitting next to a boy. Yeah. Well, actually, two boys.

Wendall somehow managed to convince me that this concert and the missing wallaby are somehow connected. And, since we’ve decided to be partners, I’ve decided to humor him and go to this concert.

“Perry, do you have to eat that right now?” Wendall asks Perry with exasperation. Peanut shells are flying everywhere. But Perry is spared responding by the curtain, which rises on the stage.

Uncle Louie and the Polka Dots are the most horrible band I have ever heard. The accordion screeches, the vocals totally suck, and the lyrics are just pathetic. Perry chooses this precise moment to say, “Wow, Maya, aren’t they great!” I really would like to smack him.

“They’re awful,” Wendall whispers into my other ear. I nod in agreement. “Something’s fishy about this,” he adds.