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Marcos parted ways with Cisco at the first opportunity. He made his way upstairs, looking for the refuge of his room, but Ramira appeared in his path with a question.

“What did you do?” She was a tiny thing, this girl, skinny even for a nine-year-old. Her overalls and wild black hair made her look almost as boyish as he did.

“What are you talking about?” he said.

“You did something bad and got in trouble.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Liar. I heard Mama telling Cisco to keep an eye on you this morning. Why would she do that if she didn’t think you did something wrong, huh?”

“I don’t know. But I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Yeah, right. I bet you put a frog in Emy’s bed again.”

It was actually going to be slugs next for Emy, but Marcos hadn’t gotten around to it yet. He’d never been brave enough to try anything on Cisco, but he was thinking it was about time to rectify that. Maybe replace his shampoo with vinegar. Or write him a fake love letter from a secret admirer. And include instructions on where to meet. And then the admirer would turn out to be a bull terrier with a pink bow on its head.

He might’ve been putting a bit more thought into that second one.

“Tell me,” said Ramira. By the eager look in her eyes, she was about to pester him to let her help with his next prank.

“I really didn’t do anything.”

“Hmph. That’s boring.”

He tried to move past, and she stepped in front of him.

“Are you going to do anything?” she asked.

“No.”

“Really? Because Emy has a boyfriend now, so...”

That caught his attention. “She does?”

“Yeah!”

A beat passed as Marcos stared at his little sister. “Alright, what can you tell me about him?”

“It’s Alex Belos. Cisco’s friend. His favorite color is green. He has a pet turtle named Frank. He walks to school, because he doesn’t like the bus. He hates broccoli, and he’s scared of dogs. And Cisco.”

“How the heck do you know all this?”

She gave a confident grin. “Because I’m a spy. Duh.”