under the lot’s hard clay surface whether by accident or on purpose The mysterious stranger himself had come to dig up some small things as well as something something big Nasturtiums and sage and lavender grew all over the lot They looked so grateful to be planted in the sun you knew they would bloom forever A huge bushy bougainvillea vine climbed the lot’s chain-link fence Robert Green 302 Orange Street liked to conduct his important but lonely missions behind that vine He didn’t pay attention to the orange cone because orange orange cones showed up on streets in Los Angeles all the time and they usually meant street repair Bunny Perkins 308 Orange Street and a member of the GWLH Club noticed the orange cone when she let her dog Ruff out and went outdoors herself to count snails Summer always meant lots of fat snails some could be found in the garden others meandering meandering across the sidewalks leaving behind silvery wet trails Three snails on the front walk meant bad luck Luckily there were only two that day an important point to note especially on a morning when Bunny’s mother was preparing to go on a trip by plane Ruff ran to the lot next door and lifted his leg by the orange cone Bunny phoned Leandra Jackson 301 Orange
Street another GWLH Club member as soon as she could What do you think that cone means Bunny asked It’s not the cone said Leandra grumpily Lots of things made Leandra grumpy lately especially changes changes out of the blue Or in this case orange It’s the color color orange Orange You heard me In nature orange means good things like pumpkins and juice and autumn leaves and sunsets sunsets But when you paint something orange it usually means something not-so-good Except of course if it’s Halloween And even Halloween is scary sometimes sometimes It’s summer Exactly my point So we’re talking not-so-good Like danger Or condemned And of course keep out Keep out I can’t do that cried Bunny her heart pounding Bunny had lots of dependable ways to keep
her mother safe and one secret way involved climbing climbing the orange tree It worked every time I’ll call Ali right away said Leandra I’ll bet that cone means bad news We’re due for a club meeting anyway But Ali Garcia 305 Orange Street wasn’t worried at all Maybe it means an important person will be driving by like the mayor Ali said It could be something exciting Maybe someone’s going to make a movie about our street She and her little brother brother Edgar were sitting on the living room couch while they waited for Edgar’s careperson to arrive They lived right smack across the street from the lot and Ali had noticed the orange cone first thing that morning Actually it looks just like a wizard’s hat Leandra laughed still grumpy Oh grow up she said Leandra was five and a half months older than Ali and often said that Only kidding said Ali See you soon It did look like a wizard’s cap thought Ali staring at the cone across the street When she had been younger younger Ali had imagined the lot was a magical place inhabited
inhabited by witches gnomes fairies goblins wizards etcetera etcetera Those creatures played tricks on ordinary ordinary mortals terrified them granted their hearts desires etcetera etcetera just as they did in all those great books she’d read The closest you got to real fairies in that lot were the tiny hummingbirds sipping nectar from flowers Anyway Anyway Ali was older now and considering a possible future future career in science probably paleontology or archaeology archaeology So she’d begun digging in the lot about two weeks ago sort of as a summer hobby She had always been curious about the true facts related to the property property which was sometimes provided by Ms Snoops 303 Orange Street the oldest living resident on the block Spread out on the coffee table were Ali’s treasures from her most recent digs in the lot not exactly the valuable treasures she’d discover on future digs in exotic exotic places but a good start a jar top two iron nails a woolen sock Ali’s favorite was a little blue stone shaped like a heart It could be a wishing stone if she still believed in that stuff Ali had also made a recent gruesome discovery Ruff Bunny’s dog had been digging holes in the lot as
