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entirely comfortable with the idea. “Sure, I guess,” I say.
    “Brian, please return to the gatehouse. Lyla will rejoin you when she’s through here,” Pioneer says. Brian looks disappointed, but he heads back to his post anyway.
    Pioneer gives me a look that’s heavy with meaning. “Make sure he gets a thorough tour.”
    I can tell by the way that he emphasizes “thorough” that he means the opposite. I turn back to Cody. Pioneer is already ushering the older men toward Mr. Brown’s house. Cody’s standing beside me with his hands in the pockets of his low-slung jeans. I let my eyes linger on his chest just long enough to see that it’s muscular. He’s smiling widely now, obviously aware that I’m studying his chest, so I focus on the faded words spread out across his T-shirt.
    “ ‘Save Ferris’?” I ask.
    He looks down. “Yeah. It’s from this old eighties movie.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
.”
    When I don’t respond, he looks a little embarrassed. “It’s kind of a joke. My mom used to play it whenever I was sick. My sister and I’ve always sort of liked that movie. She bought me the shirt.”
    “I don’t get it, what’s the joke?”
    “My sister calls me Ferris sometimes. And since I want out of Culver Creek as soon as possible … she just thought it was funny, like I need saving from our town.”
    “Oh,” I say, but then I still don’t totally understand. “Why do you need saving from Culver Creek?”
    I think about the neatly painted shops downtown with their hanging baskets filled with flowers and the old homes lining the main road, all elaborate Victorians complete with gingerbread trim. It’s beautiful there. I’ve always thought it was bizarre that inherently evil people would want to live in such pretty places.
    Cody seems to consider my question as he looks up and down our street. It’s oddly empty for this time of day, but I can feel a dozen or more pairs of eyes peeking at us from inside the houses.
Are my parents watching, or even worse, Will?
The thought makes me nervous and strangely guilty, like talking to Cody is somehow wrong, even though Pioneer told me to.
    “I want to work in movies and they don’t exactly make them in places like Culver Creek,” he says. “At least not so far.”
    “As an actor?” I guess. That’s what Marie’s brother wanted to do when he left us. It makes sense. Like Drew,Cody’s every bit as cute as any of the actors I’ve ever seen on movie night.
    He looks at me strangely. “No. I want to work in visual effects.”
    “Huh?”
    H width="1em" align="justify">“Think
The Wolfman
or
Lord of the Rings
—the makeup and creation of characters—monsters and stuff.”
    “Those are movies … right?”
    “Um, yeah. You haven’t seen them, huh?”
    “We see movies,” I say quickly. “But not lots.”
    “What’s the last movie you watched?”
    “The
Day After Tomorrow
and
The Terminator
. Last weekend. Double feature. You know—‘Are you Sarah Connor?’ ” I try to say the last part with the proper accent, but it comes out sounding utterly corny. Cody laughs, though, and once my initial embarrassment wears off, I join him.
    “Wow, okay, those are good examples, albeit
old
, of movies with visual effects.
Day After Tomorrow
’s a little more current, though. I’m hoping to be one of the guys who makes characters like the Terminator look realistic. So, you don’t go to the movies while they’re in the theater?”
    “We don’t leave Mandrodage Meadows very often,” I say, and hope he’ll let it go at that.
    “I kind of knew that,” he says quietly. “You like to keep to yourselves out here, don’t you?”
    “Something like that.” I look away. “Ready for yourtour? I’m afraid it won’t be overly interesting.” I’m anxious to get started and focus on a less dangerous topic.
    “Really? ’Cause I’m convinced that it’ll be
very
interesting,” Cody says, and winks at me. “You guys are kind of a hot