STEWART

"Are you excited, sugar?" Stewart's mother asked. "I am. You're going to do so well, don't you think?"
  
Stewart gave her a blank look, then turned his eyes back to the road. It stretched in front of them for miles, but only a few feet were lit up by the headlights of the car. The night was dark and thick. Ominous gray clouds loomed above the tall treetops. It's going to rain, Stewart thought.
  
His mother's eyes looked as if there were a storm brewing in them as well. "What do you think, honey-bear? I asked you a question. Are you going to answer?"
  
Stewart shook his head.
  
Her lip quivered in frustration. "You're so smart, Stewart. Why do you refuse to talk? It would make everyone, especially you, so much happier."
  
It's not necessary, he thought. I would talk if I had to, but in all other circumstances it's a waste of time and energy. Some people just talk and talk, and in doing so they accomplish nothing.
  
The time passed in silence after that. In is head, Stewart went over what he had packed and counted the minutes it was taking them to get to the mansion. His mother fumbled around with the map in her lap while trying at the same time to keep her eyes on the road and her hands on the wheel.
  
He looked up at the stars, at the trees, at the map, and then at the road. We're lost. She took the wrong turn.
  
Stewart didn't say anything, though, and his mother kept on driving. She was becoming more confused every second. The crease in her brow deepened, and she slowed the car slightly. Eventually, she pulled over and stopped completely.
  
"Don't be alarmed, sweetie-biscuit. I think were just a little lost," she assured him.
  
I'm not alarmed.
  
She studied the map closely and sighed. "Now were did I take that wrong turn? Was it back at Ruby Drive or the bridge?"
  
Stewart sighed irritably.
  
"Stewart, darling, can you make sense of this?" she asked, holding the map out to him. "Do you know where we are?"

Of course I can make sense of it. We're only a few miles away from the highway. Stewart nodded.

His mother smiled. "Of course you do, you smart boy. Can you tell me what to do?"
  
Stewart shook his head.
  
"Then how are we supposed to get there, baby-kins?"
 
Without warning, Stewart pulled the map out of his mother's hands. He unbuckled his seat belt and hefted his backpack of luggage with him out of the stopped car. I'm tired of this. I am not a baby-kins.
  
Once his mother had recovered from the shock, she yelled after him. "Stewart, lamb, where are you going?" Stewart didn't turn back. He held the map spread out between his hands and began to follow the road back to where they had taken the wrong turn.
  
"Stewart, where are you going? This isn't funny. Come back!"
  
Stewart looked up at the stars. With luck, I'll be at the mansion around sunrise.
  
"Stewart, get back here right now!" his mother screamed, starting up the engine. It ran for a moment and then died. Stewart was fading from her sight.
  
I'd rather walk; the car was out of gas anyway.
  
"STEWART!"
  
But he had melted into the darkness of the night.

AMANDA

The mansion was quiet and dark, as strange within the walls as the outside had been. There were red carpets embroidered with intricate clubs, hearts, diamonds, and spades. All other furnishings were oddly shaped to match, and instead of faded family portraits hanging on the walls, there were enlarged pictures of queens and kings, the kind that you would find on playing cards.
  
Amanda was deeply fascinated with every detail. She had been sitting in the empty lobby for an hour as she waited for the other students to arrive. Coming early had given her plenty of time to observe all she could about the mansion and the people who lived in it. She knew that there was some mystery surrounding the mansion. There had to be. Why else would it look so strange, and why would she have never heard of it before?

Her head was spinning with questions. Why did J. Q. King love cards so much? Was he mentally unstable? The thought sent a thrilling shiver down Amanda's spine. A summer with a madman. It sounded like something out of a book.
  
Even if the mansion wasn't decorated so strangely, Amanda would still have been intrigued by the cold lifelessness of the dark and empty halls. The mansion was huge, with passageways that seemed to stretch out endlessly into murky blackness in all directions. The only light came from oil lamps and candles, and the only movement was the flickering of those flames and the wind-tossed leaves outside the windows. There seemed to be barely anyone living in the vast place. Amanda had only seen one person since her arrival--the maid who had opened the huge doors for her and ushered her to her seat in silence. She had welcomed and seated Amanda with gestures and nods and then vanished through a door as quickly as she had appeared. Just thinking about it made Amanda grin with the beauty of it all.
  
She picked a leather bag off of her suitcase and opened the flap to gaze at its contents--nine of her favorite mysteries which she had brought along to read over again if she had any free time from her studies. She took one out and flipped through the pages gently. It was an old Nancy Drew story full of twists and suspense. There was no more to observe in the old room, and she still had time to spare before the others arrived. So she opened the book and started to read.