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guess.”
    She nodded sagely. She understood. Her parents werestill married, but many of the kids at school were from separated homes. She didn’t want to pry further, but Danny offered the information anyway. “They’re married and everything. Two years now. At the Little Chapel of the West if you can believe it. That was horrible … Anyway, they’re married. But they asked me if I just wanted to keep Mom’s name and I said yeah. So that’s why she’s Juanita Brown and I’m Danny Lopez, before anybody talks or says anything or, uh, anything.”
    He’d said all this very quickly and now he paused to take a deep breath.
    â€œWell, I suppose it’s my turn,” Tony said. “I’m from the Springs, born and bred. My dad works at NORAD, in Cheyenne Mountain; my mom’s an admin assistant for Focus on the Family. My dad’s also an elder over at the Faith Cathedral, but I don’t think he gets paid for that.”
    â€œNORAD—that sounds pretty cool.”
    â€œYeah, I guess, I don’t know. We’re not allowed to go there. Oh, I have a sister, like a big sister, she’s eighteen, Alexa, she’s cool, she’s in college. Kinda near Vegas, actually. Arizona State. And I have a cat called Snowflake. My grandparents live in Texas and Florida and I snowboard. So I’m sort of a board chick too, but the mountain bullies are such dicks. I kind of think of myself as a hippie surfer girl without the ocean, you know?”
    Danny didn’t know, but he nodded anyway.
    â€œYour English is pretty good,” Tony said.
    â€œWTF? So’s yours,” Danny said furiously.
    Tony looked embarrassed. She covered her mouth and swallowed a big chunk of chocolate. Her cheeks were burning. “I didn’t mean anything by that, it’s just that, I don’t know, I never met anybody whose mom was Mexican, that’s all.”
    â€œMy mom’s American. Her dad was a Cherokee, and his people have been here for ten thousand years. And my grandma’s from Texas, so don’t start any of that crap with me.”
    Tony reached across the table and grabbed his hand. Her fingers were tiny, cold, delicate.
    She squeezed his palm. “I’m really, really sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. That was a dumb thing to say. It’s pretty white-bread around here, worse than the Springs even. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
    The green of her eyes wavered in front of him for a second or two and then melted his resistance. He knew that sometimes he was a bit too quick to fly off the handle.
    â€œ
De nada, ese,
” he said.
    â€œWhat does that mean?” she said suspiciously.
    â€œIt means ‘it’s chill, sista.’”
    She let go of his hand and stood up.
    â€œGood, OK, well, now that I’ve checked out the scene and alienated you forever, I have to go back. This is an unofficial scouting mission on your family, unsanctioned by the rest of the street, but I must deliver my report before church.”
    â€œWhat are you going to tell them?” Danny asked.
    â€œWhat else? The truth. You’re into heavy metal, devil worship, and you have dug a portal to hell right here in the living room.”
    Danny smiled. “Don’t forget the human sacrifices.”
    â€œHuman sacrifices, check.”
    â€œWhich house do you live in?”
    â€œThe one on the other side of the road. The pink monstrosity,” she said, pointing to a newish McMansion almost exactly like the ones you’d see in Seven Hills. Four or five bedrooms, triple garage, black Tudor-style wood boards over pinkish white stucco.
    â€œThat is a big house,” Danny said with mild satirical intent.
    â€œNo bigger than yours,” Tony replied. “Anyway, I gotta go.”
    â€œI’ll walk out with you,” Danny said.
    â€œIn that?” she said, pointing at his clothes.
    Danny realized