Chapter 15

Chapter 15 What's Wrong with Maxwell? Evan kept his promise to her. But it took a while. First there was the commotion of Mrs. Treski hugging them both about a hundred times. Then Pete phoned the police to call off the search party. Then Evan told everyone how they'd found Grandma because Jessie had figured it out, because Jessie was so smart. She liked that part. Then there was dinner, which was just canned soup and cold sandwiches because no one had the energy to cook a real meal but everyone was starving. And then Mrs. Treski said she wanted to get Grandma to bed early, never mind that it was New Year's Eve. Which is when Jessie said she wanted to go see Maxwell, and Evan said he'd walk her over. The snow had stopped falling and a bright moon had broken through the

clouds, so Mrs. Treski said yes. But be back soon. When Maxwell's house came into view, Evan stopped on the path. "I'll wait back at the house, okay? Just call when you want to come home." Evan had never been inside Maxwell's house, so maybe he felt funny about going in. Or maybe Evan just didn't want to talk to Maxwell's mom about what had happened that afternoon. Jessie could understand that. She had hoped to avoid Mrs. Cooper altogether—somehow slip inside unnoticed. Maybe she wasn't even home? But instead, Maxwell's mom answered the door and asked Jessie to sit in the living room while she finished loading the dishwasher. Jessie sat down on the couch and looked at the photographs on top of the piano. There were dozens of them, and they were all of Maxwell. Mrs. Cooper walked out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a dishtowel. She sat on the couch next to Jessie. Usually, Jessie felt comfortable

around grownups—sometimes more comfortable than with kids. But not this time. Mrs. Cooper stared at her, with a look as hard as granite. "So. What happened this afternoon?" Jessie took a minute to think. Should she tell the whole story? Or would Maxwell get in trouble? Had they broken any rules? What if she just left out the part about spying? In the end, she figured the whole story was going to come out anyway. She might as well give it up now. So she told Mrs. Cooper everything, from the very beginning. About the missing bell. And what Maxwell overheard on the bus. And the stakeout and how wrong it had gone. She described the frog and then the rock through the window and how Maxwell ran away screaming. Mrs. Cooper listened without saying a word. When she was done talking, Jessie waited for Mrs. Cooper's response, but all she said was "I wish those boys had never moved to the

neighborhood." "Me, too," said Jessie, thinking about the missing bell. She was sure the boys had it hidden somewhere. "But why is Maxwell afraid of them? He's bigger than they are." "They tease him. Play mean jokes on him. About a month ago, they tricked Maxwell into climbing inside a cardboard moving box. They said it was a game. But instead of a game, they taped him up inside the box and left him like that—for hours. Maxwell doesn't like tight spaces." "That's horrible," said Jessie. She couldn't imagine being trapped like that. It made her legs and arms feel twitchy just to think about it. Mrs. Cooper looked across the room, then shook her head slowly. "They're just mean boys." They sure were. But why? Were they born that way? Were some people born one way and some people another? "You can go see Maxwell now, if you want,"

said Mrs. Cooper, standing up and snapping the dishtowel over her shoulder. "He's in his room playing a video game." Jessie jumped off the couch and headed for the stairs that led down to the basement, which was where Maxwell's bedroom was. She was on the third step when she stopped and turned around. "Mrs. Cooper?" said Jessie. "What's wrong with Maxwell?" Mrs. Cooper paused in the doorway to the kitchen and looked at her. "He's just different, that's all. He sees things differently than we do. He feels the world in a different way, too. Things bother him that wouldn't you or me, like loud noises or changes in his routine or new people. To us, they're no big deal, but to Maxwell, they're a very big deal. And even though Maxwell's incredibly smart, there are some things he has trouble understanding. Like feelings. He has a really tough time understanding feelings."

"Oh," said Jessie. Like me, she thought. She found Maxwell leaning against the giant gorilla pillow that sat at the head of his bed. The arms of the gorilla wrapped around Maxwell, as if the big furry ape were trying to reach the game controller Maxwell held in his hands. Maxwell didn't even look up when Jessie walked in. "Hey," she said. Maxwell nodded his head, his eyes never leaving the screen. Jessie stared at the TV! The game was one of those questing games, where dwarves and dragons and giants and other magical characters fight each other and collect treasure. Pretty soon she was sitting on the edge of the bed, as caught up in the game as Maxwell was. "Can I try?" asked Jessie. "No, I'm right in the middle of a quest. Later." "When, later?"