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them off?”
    “With what?” I whispered. “Our backpacks?”
    The steel-plated giants came within inches of Frank and me. Before I could ask what they wanted, they made a sharp right turn. We watched as they headed straight up the front walkway of a large Colonial-style home.
    “Who are those guys?” Frank asked.
    One warrior rang the doorbell with the handle of his sword. While the two stood facing the door, Frank and I inched closer to the house and hid behind a shrub. We peeked out and watched as a woman wearing a white uniform opened the door.
    “Hello, ma’am,” one warrior said. “Is Stacy Chung here?”
    The woman looked super nervous as she stepped away. In a matter of seconds a girl of about sixteen came to the door.
    “Does she go to our school?” Frank whispered.
    “I don’t think so,” I whispered back.
    We watched as the other warrior held up what looked like a large square envelope. “Stacy Chung, lend us your ears!” he boomed. “By orders of the royal empire, you are hereby invited to the Sweet Sixteen of Empress Lindsay Peyton!”
    The two then beat their chests and declared, “Veni, vidi, Versace!”
    Stacy stood with her mouth open. Then, without warning, she let out an earsplitting shriek.
    “Lindsay Peyton’s Sweet Sixteen—no way!” Stacy screamed happily, jumping up and down. “No way! No way!”
    I leaned over to Frank and said, “I get it. Those guys are the gladiators Lindsay was talking about at our interview.”
    “Yeah, but why is she getting an invitation today?” Frank said. “The party is this weekend.”
    We ducked behind the tree trunk as the gladiatorsstomped by. I could hear one of them saying, “Was she the last on the B-list?”
    “Yeah.” The other one sighed. “Let’s ditch these tin cans and get some pizza.”
    Stacy was still shrieking as the gladiators walked up the street.
    “B-list,” Frank scoffed, shaking his head. “No wonder her invitation’s late.”
    “Let’s go,” I said. “Before Stacy detonates my eardrums.”
    “Not yet, Joe,” Frank said. “If Stacy goes to Bay Academy, she might have some info on Colin.”
    Frank slipped out from behind the tree. I raced to catch up with him as he approached the house.
    “Um—Stacy?” Frank called as she began to shut the door. “Can we ask you something?”
    Stacy was still smiling from ear to ear as she said, “I think I’ve seen you guys around.”
    “I’m Frank Hardy, and this is my brother, Joe,” Frank said. “You go to Bay Academy, right?”
    “Right,” Stacy said. She wrinkled her nose impatiently. “Um . . . is that all you want to know? I’ve got to text my friends and tell them the awesome news.”
    “Real quick,” Frank promised. “Do you know a guy at your school named Colin Sylvester?”
    Stacy rolled her eyes. “Unfortunately,” she groaned, before holding up the invitation. “He won’t be going to this party—that’s for sure.”
    “How come?” I asked.
    “Du-uh!” Stacy said. “Everybody knows Lindsay can’t stand Colin.”
    “Why doesn’t she like him?” Frank asked.
    “It’s complicated,” Stacy said. “Look, I can’t hang around and talk right now. I’ve got a gazillion things to do!”
    “But—” Frank started to say.
    “I’ve got to call Elise, Lily, and Beth, make a hair appointment, shop for a new dress and shoes. . . .”
    Stacy’s voice trailed off as she shut the door in our faces. We stood staring at the door before Frank said, “So Lindsay can’t stand Colin.”
    “Can you blame her?” I said, walking away from the door. “Now can we forget about Colin for a minute and try to figure something out?”
    “Like what?” Frank asked.
    I turned to my brother and said, “Like—how did the Scaredevils get my e-mail address?”
    •   •   •
    “See?” I said, holding out my tablet. “More and more videos are going viral, and they’re coming straight to me.”
    Frank, Chet, Iola, and I were holding court