"Well, I live here. For now. Mom and Dad told you that."
"I know. But it's so far away. You get to have all the fun. It's not fair."
"I'm sure you have fun, too."
"I do not. Not like you. You get to meet a lot of people. You get to do what you want."
"I'm eighteen," he said. "When I was twelve, I didn't get to do everything that I wanted. Besides, I could be going to college soon, anyway. You have to get used to my being away."
"But this is different," she said.
"Why?"
"You know why...." she hinted.
"Maybe we should talk about this later? You just got here."
I thought it best to divert the conversation. "Are you homeschooled like Alexander?" I asked Stormy.
"Yes."
"Do you like that?" I wondered.
"I guess so," she said. I was surprised she wasn't more excited.
"I'm jealous of that. I think it would be so cool. Hanging out at home. Getting to watch TV."
"I don't get to watch TV."
"You don't?"
"It's like jail."
"It is not," Alexander said with a laugh.
"Not to you," she said. "You are here."
"I call this town Dullsville," I said, "and I say that for a reason."
"C'mon. You have a great time," Alexander said. "You study, you travel. You have a lot of friends."
"I do not!" she said. "I don't even have a boyfriend."
"Well, you have plenty of time for that." Alexander was emphatic.
"I'm twelve! I get just as thirsty as you do."
Alexander cleared his throat.
"I can't believe you don't have friends," I said. "I bet you have tons."
"Yes, a few. But I don't have a boyfriend, and the only guy I get to hang out with is Valentine."
"Valentine Maxwell?" I asked, referring to the Maxwell twins' younger sibling. He was my brother Billy's age. Billy, his friend Henry, and Valentine had hung out together when Valentine came to Dullsville in search of his older siblings. Instead he found a friendly clique with Billy and Henry and tried to become blood brothers with them. But soon Valentine grew thirsty, and without another to feed on or a bottled-blood-filled cellar like the Mansion's, Valentine grew weak.
Alexander returned Valentine to a thankful Jagger in Hipsterville, and the feud with the Maxwells was over.
"Ooh, do you like him?" I pried.