A Giant Problem (Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles Series #2)

Chapter TwoIn Which Nick and Laurie Are Surprised by Their VisitorNick pressed his finger down harder on the controller, making his car on the screen accelerate. He swerved it in front of Laurie's Volkswagen, knocking into its side and making virtual sparks fly.She scowled, biting her lip in concentration.Rockets shot out of her bumper. His car exploded in a whoosh of orange flame as she crowed with laughter. "I'm getting better," she said with a huge smile.He grinned too. He didn't mind her winning. He was having fun. The air-conditioning filled the house with cold, sweet air, and just breathing it in made him feel safe. Rain smeared the windows, making the outside blurry and far away. And the more he concentrated on the game, the less he had to think about the nixie waiting in her pond for him to find the rest of her sisters, or all of the giants that might be waking up, or how some blind old guy thought that they could do anything about it. This was how summer was supposed to be.Besides, this could be considered a kind of training. Maybe. Laurie's reflexes were definitely improving.Downstairs, a door slammed and his father shouted. "That's not what I said!"Nick stopped smiling."You didn't say you would be home early?"Charlene demanded. "You said you would call if something came up. The kids ate hours ago.""I said I wouldtry.The weather, the rain, it's making things hard."Didn't they realize that just because they couldn't see anyone else didn't mean they couldn't be heard? His father was a contractor; shouldn't he be aware of vents?Laurie put down the controller with a sigh, looking at Nick's face. "Everybody fights.""You tell me everything will be different after the development is done, but there's always going to be another crisis," Charlene yelled. "I don't think you're ready for this. For being married again."Nick didn't hear the rest because he clapped Jules's headphones over his ears and plugged them into the game. He turned up the sound and set it to single player. He didn't want to hear anyone say anything about his mother. Didn't Charlene know you were supposed to shut up about the dead?He blew up three of his own cars before Laurie tapped his arm. He shook her off."Nick," she said, pulling one side of his headphones down. "Jack's here."He blinked at her in confusion. "What?" Nick looked around, like Jack was hiding somewhere in the room."He's downstairs. Says he has something to show us." She wore a satchel on her hip and had her flip-flops on. "Your dad is freaking out.""Uh..." Nick hadn't even realized she'd left. He took off the headphones and followed her downstairs.Charlene's back was toward them, her shoulders hunched and shaking slightly as if she were crying. She walked into the study and slammed the door.Jack stood in the front entrance. He was grinning like a loon."Come on, kid," he said. "We got work to do.""Do you know this man?" asked Nick's dad.Laurie smiled and started in on one of her elaborate lies. "He's my friend's dad. From where we used to live. Turtle eggs are hatching at the beach and he promised to take us.""It's very late," Nick's dad said, but he glanced toward the room Charlene was in. Nick bet he wanted to get back to his fight. "Where are you all going? And what did he mean about work?""Down to the beach," Laurie said. "My friend Emily is waiting in the car. Her dad thinks we can do a science project about it."Jack smirked in a way that seemed too amused to be parental.Nick cleared his throat. "Isn't Jules there? Maybe we can meet up with him."Jules was always at the beach. It didn't matter if it was sunny or raining, early or late. He could be counted on to surf until his skin wrinkled up and he got hungry or tired enough to come home.Nick's dad looked at Noseeum Jack's bare feet and the machete at his hip."It's for cutting open fruit,"Black, Holly is the author of 'A Giant Problem (Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles Series #2)' with ISBN 9780689871320 and ISBN 0689871325.