Chapter 1.       The dry leaves crunched under our sneakers.       "I just love autumn, don't you?" said Mallory Pike.       "Yup," I replied. "Well, actually I like all seasons. And I like them even better now that I live here in Stoneybrook." "How come?" "Because the seasons seem more real in the country. In New York they get sort of flattened out. Do you know what I mean? You can barely tell one from the other. In the autumn, you don't see the leaves change color unless you live near a park. In the winter, hardly any snow falls, and most of what does fall melts, because the city is so warm. Especially the streets and sidewalks." "What with the subways and all," added Mal knowledgeably, even though she has been to New York, like, three times.       It was a Monday afternoon. Mal and I were walking home from school together. We go to Stoneybrook Middle School. Mal is in sixth grade and I am in eighth.
