It was the best thing about Griffin, and also the worst. That was the whole point behind the plan.”

Why do you think I came up with the fake sleepover idea? I wanted to make sure everybody had an excuse to be here. “Sometimes you have to prove to yourself that you’re more than just a slab of meat under the shrink-wrap in your grocer’s freezer. “We’ll know,” Griffin said stoutly, sticking out his jaw. “What difference does it make if two people or two hundred people spend the last night in a condemned building? How does that show the adults that we’re standing up for our rights? They’re never even going to know about it.” Only loyalty to his best friend had brought him here tonight. Don’t they have any self-respect? This is like saying it’s totally fine for the adults in this town to walk all over us.”īen would have dearly loved to be No-Show #29. “Maybe they’re just late,” Ben offered lamely. “How could we get nobody? Twenty-eight people said they were coming!” Griffin trained the beam of his flashlight on his wristwatch: 10:34 p.m. All around them, the cavernous old house creaked and groaned with hollow, eerie noises. They were surrounded by shredded drapery, remnants of ancient furnishings, and mounds of dust. Griffin and Ben sat cross-legged on their sleeping bags in what had once been an elegant living room. “We probably shouldn’t have put in the part about no TV,” Griffin’s friend Ben Slovak said glumly. All except one: What if nobody showed up? He’d agonized over every fine point and possibility.

When a plan came from Griffin Bing, even the tiniest detail had to be perfect. There will be no beds, no running water, no furniture, no lights, no TV…. The old Rockford house is a CONDEMNED BUILDING that will be demolished TOMORROW MORNING. (iv) Enter through missing planks in BOARDED-UP WINDOW, first floor, east side. (You can’t miss it there’s a CRANE with a giant WRECKING BALL parked in front.) (iii) Meet at the OLD ROCKFORD HOUSE at 8:30 p.m. (ii) Make sure you ask permission to attend the correct FAKE SLEEPOVER. (i) When lying to your parents, maintain EYE CONTACT.

To learn more, come to the Ballroom at 3:30. You have been chosen for your special skills to do something that urgently needs to be done.

Swindle by gordon korman