On the way back home that evening, Delilah and Susan had ran briskly back to the house.  The strange way of seeing Shawn had made its mark in eliminating all thoughts of hunger that Delilah had felt earlier. Or maybe it was just Tiffany's candy bar.

Either way, Susan remained convinced that leaving was the right decision, even if she didn't exactly understand Delilah's reasoning. Truth be told, it was more than likely that Delilah could have said almost anything, as long as it didn't sound weak, and Susan would have bought off on the idea. Many at school had accused Delilah's little sister of being cruel or mean. But Delilah knew that the other side of that coin was her little sister's fierce loyalty.

And so as Delilah was taking off her shoes in the hallway, she heard the loud, gaudy chime of the doorbell. When Susan opened the door, Bradford was standing there.

"Hi!" Bradford said, great eyes blinking behind those glasses like some kind of owl.

"Ummm....do you guys want to play? I've got a few secrets I want to talk about." He said, eyebrows moving up and down in a Groucho Marx sort of way.

Delilah opened the door a crack and peered out. It could have been Shawn. The stupid decorative windows were too high for her to see anyone. Her eyes were hard and her mouth drawn into a tight frown. When she saw Bradford, she opened the door a bit wider.

"Oh. It's just you. Wait, I mean like, in a good way." She waved him in, then looked across the front yard and the street. She couldn't see much of it from behind the door. "Quick! Get in! Were you followed?"

"Yeah, get in here!" Susan agreed, pawing at Bradford. "You want some Kool-Aid? We got lots in the fridge." She offered Bradford.

"Yeah." Bradford answered. "I mean, No! No!" He said, clearly overwhelmed by the number of questions coming his way, the questioners and the pressure of Delilah and Susans' affect.

"Suit yourself. Well I'm gettin' some." Susan snipped, skipping away to the kitchen door which a smack of her lips and an eager thirst.

Bradford watched her. And Delilah watched Bradford's eyes behind those glasses watching Susan. He looked confused and bewildered, fascinated and yet mesmerized. Concerned and somehow waiting for a signal to speak.  Then his eyes shifted back to Delilah.

Then he shrugged his shoulders as if to say 'now what?'

Delilah watched the strange exchange. Susie bringing up the KoolAid reminded her stomach to growl. She closed the door.

"Sorry. We don't have any real food or anything. Just KoolAid. C'mon!" She jerked her thumb towards the stairs.

"Ah, hang on. Take off your shoes."
This message was last edited by the player at 11:09, Sat 03 Feb 2018.

Bradford took off his sneakers. "You guys have a really nice house." He said awkwardly, as he balanced on one foot.

"I just moved to my house. Me and my Dad..."

"Huh? Yeah, it's alright." Delilah glanced quickly at the impressive furnishings. Her attention was on the doorways and the hall. The Mom-Thing could show up any second. "C'mon! Hurry! I gotta tell you something, too." She picked up the shoe Bradford dropped and hurried him into taking off the next. It would be easier to sneak around barefoot.

Bradford fumbled with his laces as the pace of excitement seem to descend on the hallway. Finally, he managed an awkward tug of his sneaker, pulling it off and then presenting it to Delilah like it was some kind of present.

"Alright!" He said, making a striking gesture of optimism with a closed fist swinging across his body, face all smiles.

"Where are we going?" He said, moving forward into the hallway to follow Delilah.

Delilah screwed up her face in a grimace and swiped the shoe out of Bradford's hand.

"Upstairs! Let's go go go!"

She tugged him along, even if he were still hopping out of the other shoe. "You can not see my mom. Not before you're ready."

"Umm..alright." Bradford agreed. He walked up the stairs awkwardly, his body facing forward, his head turned down, one hand pointing toward's the kitchen.

"Aren't you gonna wait for Susan. I mean, the Kool-Aid?" He asked, still following as quickly as possible, but maybe sad to miss out on such a treat.

But then when they got to the stairs and he saw the entrance of Delilah's room, all of that seemed to be forgotten. "Wow! You're room is super-dooper super spactacular!!!" he announced.

"Yeah, yeah. We can get some KoolAid later. Or we can have Susan bring it to us." Delilah's stomach gnawed on nothing. She folded her arms across her stomach, but she'd have to eat something soon. Right now, there were important secrets to share. Secrets about That Place. She waved Bradford through the open door, then closed it most of the way. She peeked out through the crack before turning to her guest.

Bradford was impressed by her bedroom setup. Ordinarily, she'd eat that up. Today, she ordered him to sit at her princess pink tea table.

"Yeah, I know it's cool. Sit! Listen! I saw someone bad today. Real bad! I think they live on this street." She paced the room. The end of her ponytail skimmed against her knees with each step. "How long you been living here? What kinda secrets do you know?"
This message was last edited by the player at 03:47, Mon 05 Feb 2018.

Bradford sat down at the tea table, and jumped a little. He reached a hand underneath and produced a stuffed animal that he had sat on. A bear.

Owl eyes blinking behind magnified glasses, he sat the bear on the adjacent chair, taking care to correct its posture several times, the stuffed animal constantly threatening to tip over.

There didn't appear to be anyone coming towards the room at all, leaving Bradford to endure Delilah's inquiry.

"Ummm...I just got to the neighborhood." Bradford said. He leaned forward to make a point. "But I don't really live with my Dad. I don't live with anyone." He said, looking sideways in a conspiratorial gesture to demonstrate he had just shared a secret.

"Who is it?" He asked suddenly. It took Delilah a moment to notice and register that he was referring to the bad person who just moved in.

"It's Junior, isn't it? He's not the only bad person that is coming. There are others. The new kids coming to the neighborhood aren't like regular kids. They're bad boys." he said, taking note to emphasize the last two words.

Delilah turned on her heel to face Bradford.

"Junior? Yeah! Him too. He was just a regular wuss-baby. But his face is all weird now. It was all creepy and gross." Her fingers pushed at her cheeks to indicate his permanent grin. She took one of the playset chairs and spun it, sitting on it backwards. She fired off one question after another and grilled the boy like a tv detective.

"What do you mean they're bad boys? They're not going to be regular boys? I saw someone today. Someone who was in Minnesota. I don't think he's a regular kid, either. I think something's really wrong. How do you know all this?"

Bradford seemed satisfied by Delilah's explanation and description about Junior. Then, he said "A kid from Minnesota?" as if he didn't understand who Delilah was talking about. He squinted and then tried to answer Delilah's next question.

"Oh. How do I know?" He repeated. Then he looked back to the hallway to make sure that no one was looking.

"Because Mr. Clayton told me about it..." He confessed, leaning forward.