STUCK: IT'S ABOUT TO GET VERY WEIRD

I'm stopped dead in my tracks by what I see.

Tom and I pull open the gate to his back yard. The entire yard is a massive colorful jungle of weeds as high as the house. I can't even see the house. It's like a huge green leafy monster house. The path leading to the house is just a dark, narrow, green tunnel, with huge plants and flowers hunched over the walkway like monsters. It creeps me out and I don't waste time following directly behind Tom.

Tom looks up at the weedy walls and grins. He asks, "Hungry?" and opens the door to the house.

We step in the back door and begin down the hall to his room, and Tom calls out, "Hi Mom, I'm home."

A woman's voice comes from the other side of the house. "Oh hi honey!" It's a cheery and friendly sounding voice; so that's a good sign. Then the voice says "Don't be too long, we have a wonderful dandelion salad for supper tonight! And your favorite, stinkweed stew!"

My jaw drops. "Did she just say stinkweed stew?" I whisper.

"Yup."

"And that's your favorite?"

"No," Tom replies. "I hate it. But it's easier to go along with it. They're complete fruitcakes. It's like living with Willy Wonka, except it's weeds instead of chocolate."

I look at Tom like he's kidding me, but I can see from his expression that he's serious. We go down the hall on the right to a room, and I catch glimpses of family photos on the wall. Tom and his parents at the park, or at a lake, and everyone is always smiling. It is the first time I feel some hope, some relief that there are good people in this dimension. Tom opens the door at the end of the room and I read the sign: "ENTER AT OWN RISK."

"Is it safe in there?" I ask.

"Yeah, this is my room."

Tom sees me looking at the sign and says "I put the sign there so they still think I'm a normal kid."

I had almost forgotten that Tom has been here a long time, trying to get by, trying to get home, trying not to get found out. I can't help but wonder exactly what it is he has to hide from, and who will "take him away."

Just then his mother, the mother I mean, calls out from the kitchen. "Supper's ready!"

"C'mon," Tom says, "let's go eat, and I'll take you to the lab after supper."

We walk back down the hall and around the corner to the kitchen, and I'm floored at what I see. The whole table is filled with pots and platters of every kind of plant-like dish I could imagine. I don't recognize anything, but it looks and smells wonderful. The room is thick with the aroma of roses, berries, corn, beans, and sweet sauces. Then it hits me: I AM STARVING! I wait for Tom and he signals for me to sit down beside him at the near end of the table. Tom's mom turns around and I am immediately at ease: she looks like anybody's mom. She has long, brown, curly hair and soft eyes. She is wearing a flowery an apron that says "More Peas!" and she is humming as she brings a steaming bowl of dandelions to the table.

"So Tom, are you going to introduce us to your guest?" she asks, as Tom's dad strolls into the kitchen. He's holding the newspaper and pushing his glasses up on his nose. He also looks friendly and he smiles as he sits down. He is wearing a plain sweater over a shirt and tie. He could be a math teacher from the old days, with his short cropped black hair and neat outfit.

"Oh yeah, this is a friend from school. She really likes science too, so she's going to help me with my projects," Tom says as he scoops some green slimy broth into both our bowls.

"Do you like stinkweed stew?" his mom asks.

"Oh, uh, sure, yep," I answer. "I mean, it doesn't beat a good steak but your stew smells great!"

I wait for the friendly laugh I expect, but it doesn't come.

I see Tom's mom and dad are frozen still, and they are staring at me like I just popped a bird out of my ear.

Tom's dad looks at me sternly and asks in a cold, level voice: "You aren't one of those, are you?"

Tom's mom is looking nervously from me, to Tom, and back to the dad. I'm petrified. What did I say? What did he mean by one of those?

Suddenly, the warm fuzzy family atmosphere just got really, really, cold.