Chapter 5

Chapter five As I pushed open the door to my room, my heart sank all the way down to my shoes. I could see the screen cover lying on my bed. It was definitely not where it was supposed to be. But maybe Fred was still in there. I ran across the room to get a closer look. Everything in the tank was just as I had left it... except that Fred wasn't there. I pushed aside all the plants to see if he was hiding in the leaves. He wasn't. I picked up the hollow plastic log to see if he had wiggled inside it. He hadn't. He was just plain gone. "Fred!" I called out, looking desperately around my room. "This isn't funny. Come on out from wherever you're hiding."

There was no answer. Not even the smallest croak. I got on all fours and looked under my bed and under my desk. I even picked up my wastebasket and looked in. There was nothing there but a plastic spoon with chunks of last night's strawberry yogurt crusted on it. What had I done? Had I lost Fred forever? What was wrong with me that I couldn't even follow the one most important rule? I knew that rule, I really did. I went over it and over it. But somehow, it just fell out of my brain. I pounded my forehead with the palm of my hand, hoping to get my brain working again. That must have shaken something loose, because an idea suddenly popped into my head. I crouched into my best frog position and tucked my legs up next to my chest. Then I

started hopping around my room and croaking, trying to sound just like Fred. I hoped that I was saying something cool in frog talk. Something like, "See, we can have a lot of fun together. We can hop the night away, so come on out." I hopped and croaked for what must have been five minutes. My legs and throat were getting really tired, but I couldn't give up. That frog was my responsibility, and I wasn't going to stop until I found him. I did stop, though, when I heard a hissing sound at my bedroom door. I looked up to see my sister, Emily, standing there, with Katherine draped around her shoulders like a scarf. Although Emily has been known to hiss, this time it was Katherine making the noise.

"Katherine is annoyed by your stupid frog imitation," Emily said. "Tell your lizard I'm not stupid," I shot back. "Then why are you acting stupid?" "I really need to find Fred, and you're not helping the situation. He got out." Emily glanced over at the tank and saw the screen cover lying on my bed. "He didn't just get out," she said. "You let him get out. And you say you're not stupid? You

didn't even put the cover back on." "Emily, I don't need your comments right now. So just take your hissing friend and go. I've got to call Frankie. At least he's someone who's willing to help." As Emily turned to go, Katherine looked at me and let out another hiss. "And I don't appreciate your advice, either," I said to the iguana, just in case she could understand English. I ran into the living room, picked up the phone, and called Frankie. It took me three times to get the number right. I know his phone number by heart, but in my mind, the numbers always get flipped around. "Frankie," I said as soon as he answered. "I have a problem. Can you come here right away?" "No can do, Hank. It's family game night. I'm stuck here." "Then come tomorrow first thing. And bring Ashley. It's an emergency." "What's the emergency?" a voice from

behind me said. It was a voice I was hoping not to hear. The voice of my dad. I hung up and turned to him, trying to smile in a real casual way. "Oh, it's nothing important, Dad. Just kid stuff." "Hank, don't lie to me. Your voice didn't sound like just kid stuff." "Okay, fine. I'm in trouble. It's Fred—I've lost him." My dad sighed. I'd heard that sigh a million times. "It's always something with you, Hank. Your