text: [Themes: Crocodracula, ghost, teenagers]
  
  > Go down
  The walls of the living room are lined with dolls: Your mother's unsettling handiwork.
  
  Your bedroom is upstairs.
  
  EXITS: UP OUTSIDE
  
  Your brother is sitting on the carpet (even though the couch is right there), strumming the same three chords over and over on his guitar.
  
  > give the pick to drew
  "Hey, Drew. I found your guitar pick."
  
  Drew stops strumming. It's as if he's woken out of a dream. "Yeah? Where was it?"
  
  You toss it to him. "It was in my room, for some reason."
  
  "Weird. Well, thanks!" He starts to pick out a melody to match the chords he'd been strumming for the past several hours.
  
  "Uh, Drew?"
  
  "Yeah?" He doesn't stop playing.
  
  "Could I maybe borrow that baseball cap?"
  
  "What? Sure." He hands it over, eager to focus on his music.
  
  > check what you're carrying
  You are carrying:
  a baseball cap
  
  > Go outside
  A stucco wall hems in the wilderness of trees and other plant life
  that surrounds the Drapkin residence.
  
  EXITS: WEST INSIDE
  
  Lindsay is wandering aimlessly around the yard, her shoebox cradled under her arm.
  
  > go west
  School is out for the day, but the doors remain open for various after-school activities. On the other end of the yard is a sign that says "BUCHANAN HIGH - CHESS CLUB CANCELED" in big black letters.
  
  Your house is just a short walk to the east.
  
  EXITS: NORTH EAST WEST INSIDE
  
  Your trusty bicycle is chained to a nearby bike rack.
  
  Zoe is sitting on a bench near the door.
  
  > give the cap to Zoe
  "Hey, Zoe, I've got something for you."
  
  Zoe snaps out of her reverie. "Is that Drew's hat?"
  
  "Well, he didn't need it, and I thought you might like it."
  
  She utters a tiny gasp as she accepts the gift. She presses it to her chest. Then she looks at you, frowning: "I'm not being weird, am I?"
  
  You don't roll your eyes. "No, no. It's just a hat."
  
  "Right. It's just a hat. It happens to be a hat that Drew used to
  have, and now it belongs to me."
  
  She puts on the hat, pulling her ponytail out the back. "See? It keeps the sun out of my eyes. Nothing's weird."
  
  "Great. Do you have our chemistry assignment?"
  
  "Of course I do!" She pulls it out of her bag and hands it to you. "Could you turn it in for us?"
  
  "I'd be happy to."
  
  > examine the assignment
  A ten-page report about carbon bonds. You stayed up until 2 AM writing your part, and now you never want to see another carbon bond for the rest of your life. You just hope Zoe put anywhere near as much effort into her half.
  
  > give the assignment to the mister
  "Here's our assignment, Mister Sarducci."
  
  "Ah! At long last," he says, plucking the papers from your hand. He glances over your work. His nostrils flare slightly.
  
  "I anticipate that grading this piece of scholarship will be a very, shall we say, memorable experience," he mutters, and he sticks it in a drawer.
  
  "Now, now, don't be impatient," he goes on, although you haven't said anything. "I well remember what promises I was forced to make, to compel you to fulfill your academic duty. Here you are."
  
  He tosses your bike key across the desk, and you manage to catch it.
  
  > look at the bike key
  A tiny steel key.
  
  > unlock the padlock with key
  At long last, you release your bicycle from its manacles. Then
  you decide not to worry about bike chains and bike keys for a while.
  
  > Ride bike
  You mount the bicycle.
  
  > go to the west
  You zoom down the road and begin your trek to Miss Muriel's.
  
  Water's Edge (on the bicycle)
  Eddie Lee's dad's airboat rental business is situated here at the edge of the Opasassa Swamp. A gravel path connects the buildings to the dock.
  
  The front door is guarded by a motionless plaster alligator.
  
  EXITS: NORTH SOUTH EAST WEST INSIDE
  
  An airboat is floating at the dock.
  
  > examine the alligator
  It's just a lawn decoration, and not very realistically sculpted. Its expression is either sleepy or devious, depending on which eye you're looking at.
  
  > look at the airboat
  One of Mister Qualmsley's rental boats: A flat-bottomed hull with an engine attached to a huge fan on the back.
  
  > get off the bike
  You dismount the bicycle.
  
  Eddie Lee's dad's airboat rental business is situated here at the edge of the Opasassa Swamp. A gravel path connects the buildings to the dock.
  
  The front door is guarded by a motionless plaster alligator.
  
  EXITS: NORTH SOUTH EAST WEST INSIDE
  
  Your trusty bicycle is parked here.
  
  An airboat is floating at the dock.
  
  > lock the bike
  What do you want to lock the bicycle with?
  
  > go inside
  The AC is cranked so high that you begin to shiver. Mister Qualmsley doesn't seem to notice: He just sits at the cash register, waiting for quitting time to roll around.
  
  An unfortunate fish is mounted on a plaque on the far wall.
  
  EXITS: OUTSIDE
  
  An airboat key is hanging on a hook behind the counter.
  
  > examine the fish
  An irate red snapper, gutted and shellacked.
  
  > look at the Mister
  There's a sort of blank look of contentment on his face. Mister Qualmsley is not a complicated man, and today he is even less complicated than usual.
  
  > talk to the mister
  "Howdy, Becca. How are you doing?"
  
  "Just fine" is always the right answer when a friend's parent is the one asking.
  
  "Do you know if Eddie Lee is done with his piano lesson? I've been itching to hear that kid play, for once."
  
  "Um, I can check," you say.
  
  > Exit
  Eddie Lee's dad's airboat rental business is situated here at the edge of the Opasassa Swamp. A gravel path connects the buildings to the dock.
  
  The front door is guarded by a motionless plaster alligator.
  
  EXITS: NORTH SOUTH EAST WEST INSIDE
  
  Your trusty bicycle is parked here.
  
  An airboat is floating at the dock.
  
  > examine the airboat
  back.
  
  > look at the fan
  For your safety, the fan is encased in a wire cage.
  
  > go north
  At the center of Opasassa is its water tower, a massive white bulb supported by a web of steel beams. Giant letters are printed on the side: From as far away as Glenburn, you can see them spell out "OPASASSA." From right underneath, though, they barely look like letters.
  
  A narrow ladder is well-hidden among the bars.
  
  EXITS: NORTH EAST SOUTH WEST UP
  
  > Go upwards
  You take a deep breath and begin your ascent.
  
  A narrow catwalk circles the bulb of the tower. Beneath you in every direction are the streets of Opasassa. On the north edge of town is a dense forest; to the south is the swamp.
  
  EXITS: DOWN
  
  A man in a top hat and bow tie is here, leaning against the bulb, looking down on the city.
  
  > examine man
  He's dressed like a magician, and he has a magician's calculated nonchalance.
  
  He smiles as if he's been expecting you. "Good afternoon, young miss. My card:"
  
  A cream-colored card appears between his fingers; he hands it to you.
  
  "You may call me J.M. I'm visiting your little burg hoping to add to
  my collection. You see, I have it on good authority that at some point today you'll find a sixteenth-century sword, about this size." He
  holds his hands a sword's-length apart. "Since it has been abandoned
  by its owner, and a friendly young lady like yourself has no use for such a thing, I hope that once you retrieve it you'll return here and give it to me. I can promise that you'll be duly rewarded."
  
  You don't know what to say, except: "Uh, okay."
  
  > look at the card
  The initials "J.M." are written in silver ink on the front. The back
  is blank.
  
  > talk to the man
  "Mister J.M.?"
  
  "Yes?"
  
  "What was it you wanted me to find again?"
  
  He rolls his eyes. "A sword. A very old sword. You don't have to worry about it, my dear. I know for a fact that you'll find it eventually."
  
  > look at Swamp
  The Opasassa Swamp is full of secrets.
  
  > examine bulb
  from this vantage point.