From that day on, the battle over food between the two began. Of course, the round pumpkin was no match for Mr. Raven, and most of the time it ended with Jack-O running to Luther in tears.

  Until one day, Aaron leaned close and whispered something to him. That dinner, just as Luther set the plate of stir-fried noodles down in front of the round pumpkin, Jack-O opened his mouth wide.

  “Phhbbtt, phhbbtt, phhbbtt.” Three blobs of spit landed on top of the noodles, sitting there like some kind of slimy sauce.

  Acher had been halfway to spreading his wings for another snatch-and-grab attempt when he froze stiff, beak slightly open. Aaron’s shoulders shook as he struggled not to laugh.

  “You little brat, you taught him that, didn’t you?!” Acher squawked.

  Jack-O picked a fork and started eating happily without a care in the world for his own spit.

  And Luther’s patience snapped at last.

  “No stealing Jack-O’s food anymore! And no spitting on food! Or it’s plain rice for a whole week! Got it?!” His voice rang through the room, loud enough to make Acher, Aaron, and all three pumpkins shrink back.

  “Alright, alright, no need to blow up like that,” Acher muttered, shrugging.

  The first time Luther lost his temper, even Mr. Raven had to tread with care.

  “Don’t be mad. Here, have some more lemonade.” Aaron smiled as he slid the glass toward Luther.

  “Squeak squeak.”

  “Squeak squeak squeak.”

  The pumpkins scrambled to offer him bits of food and drinks as well; it was plain to see who really ruled the household.

  Luther lowered his head slightly and said, “Sorry. I raised my voice.”

  “Hahaha, what are you apologizing for? With Mr. Archer, you have to talk like that, or he won’t listen!”

  “Hey?!!”

  …

  As days went on, Luther and Aaron were learning the hard truth: raising pets with the intelligence of four- to five-year-old kids was no easy job for two teenagers who still had school to attend.

  The first morning they had to return to class after coming back from Mariana Market went like this:

  “Acher, we need to go to school. Please keep an eye on them,” Luther said.

  “I’m not a babysitter!” Acher shook his head so hard his feathers ruffled, eyes glued to the TV.

  Aaron checked the clock.

  “We’re gonna be late. Only forty-five minutes left before class starts.”

  The three pumpkins had no idea what was coming. They bounced around the living room, chasing each other without a care.

  “Squeak squeak squeak!”

  Aaron swung his hand, summoning a soft halo of light that expanded to wrap around the entire house.

  “I just put up a light barrier. With this, they won’t be able to sneak out onto the street. Mr. Acher, please make sure they don’t wreck the house, and I’ll order pizza for lunch. Can you go outside to pick it up and feed them? I’ll pay you three tubs of Oreo ice cream.”

  “Four tubs.”

  “Deal! Thanks, Mr. Acher. Bye, guys! See you later!” Aaron called as he tugged Luther out the door.

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  “Squeak squeak! Wait me!” Jack-O hopped after them, vines waving.

  Pompo and Squashy hurried to join him.

  “Stay home and play. We have to go to school now, and when we’re back this afternoon, we’ll take you to the park,” Aaron said.

  “School?” Jack-O blinked in confusion.

  “School’s boring and tiring. You wouldn’t like it. If you came along, you’d just end up crying to go home,” Aaron warned.

  It didn’t work.

  “Bring me.” Jack-O wrapped a vine around Luther’s leg, clinging tight.

  Pompo and Squashy followed suit, climbing on Aaron’s body.

  “Be good, stay home, and later I’ll get you ice cream,” Aaron offered.

  “Ice cream!” Jack-O perked up in an instant.

  He remembered that cold, sweet treat they’d been given before. Letting go of Luther’s leg, he bounced in place in excitement. The boys seized the moment to dash off. Luther glanced back and saw the three pumpkins standing at the doorway, watching them until they were out of sight.

  That afternoon, when they returned from school, the pumpkins came barreling toward them like cannonballs.

  “Squeak squeak!!”

  They chattered nonstop and clung tightly to the two boys.

  “Let’s head to Central Park then grab dinner,” Aaron said.

  “Acher, you coming?” Luther called.

  “Wait, let me finish this episode first!” Acher shouted back.

  …

  The next morning, when Luther picked up his school bag, he felt something odd right away. The weight seemed a little off. He opened the bag, and there they were, three pumpkins crouched inside, completely still as if they thought they could hide forever.

  “School!” Jack-O piped up.

  Luther just stood there.

  “…”

  Aaron burst out laughing.

  “No wonder it was so quiet. I thought these little troublemakers were sleeping in today. I was just about to check on them,” he said.

  “No fooling around at school. No being noisy. You should stay at home and play,” Luther told them.

  “School!” all three pumpkins shouted together in unison.

  Aaron shook his head with an amused smile.

  “Alright, fine, just let them come along. I bet you anything they’ll last only a few days before deciding they never want to go again.”

  So Luther ended up hauling all three of them along, plus a whole load of snacks to keep them occupied.

  And sure enough, just as Aaron had predicted, by the time the second period ended, the pumpkins were slumping like wilted flowers. They weren’t allowed to wander around, only to sit still on top of Luther’s and Aaron’s desks.

  “Squeak… go home,” Pompo muttered, face down.

  “Three more periods,” Luther replied without sympathy.

  “Hahahaha! Told you it’d be boring,” Aaron chuckled from the next seat; this was one of the classes he shared with Luther.

  Too bored to fight it, all three pumpkins ended up curling up and dozing off.

  From that day on, apart from Jack-O, who still often insisted on tagging along, Squashy and Pompo only came to Lincoln High with them once or twice a week.

  ….

  One evening, while Aaron and Luther were playing Xbox.

  “Squeak squeak, what’s that?”

  The pumpkins shuffled closer with great curiosity in their eyes; it was their first time ever seeing Aaron and Luther with such a thing.

  “We’re playing a video game. This one’s Mario Kart,” Aaron explained. “It’s a race to see who can drive the fastest. You control it like this.”

  He demonstrated as he played, fingers moving over the buttons.

  All three pumpkins stared wide-eyed, mouths hanging open.

  “Here, you guys try,” Aaron said.

  He switched to four-player mode, chose the simplest map, and handed out the controllers. The pumpkins used their vines to wrap around and hold them, pressing buttons in a random way.

  “Oh, that’s pretty handy. They can just grow how many ‘fingers’ they want,” Aaron noted.

  “It’s not that simple. Controlling too many vines at once isn’t as easy as it looks,” Acher remarked from his perch.

  Just like human children trying a game for the first time, the pumpkins were clumsy at the beginning. Their karts bumped into walls, collided with each other, and even drove the wrong way.

  But once they started to grasp the rules and tricks, the game completely won them over.

  “Whoosh!”

  In the seventh match, Princess Peach made a skillful turn and crossed the finish line in first place.

  “Wow! Pompo, you’re good at this!” Aaron praised.

  Pompo’s eyes lit up, almost as if tiny stars had appeared inside them, while Jack-O and Squashy landed in fourth and fifth place.

  “Play again!” Jack-O demanded.

  He couldn’t accept it. Pompo had to have won by pure luck!

  And that was how two brand-new game addicts were born. Squashy enjoyed playing too, but she wasn’t as hooked. Pompo and Jack-O, on the other hand, became so obsessed that Luther eventually had to limit their gaming time, but that’s a story for later.

  …

  One morning.

  Aaron studied Luther for a moment and said:

  “Your hair’s long enough. This afternoon we’re going for a haircut. I already booked the appointment.”

  “Squeak, going out? I’m coming too!” Jack-O hopped over from the couch, followed by Pompo and Squashy.

  “We’re just going to get Luther’s hair cut. If you come, you’ll have to sit still and wait for a while,” Aaron said.

  “Come too, pleaaaaase,” Jack-O begged.

  “Pleaaase.”

  “Alright, fine. But I’m telling you now, you’ll be staying in the waiting area with me, no running around,” Aaron said.

  “Squeak, okaaay!”

  “Acher, come along too. Everyone is going. No fun staying home alone,” Luther said, picking up the raven.

  “Oh, come on. Alone, boring? Really?” Acher grumbled.

  But Luther was still determined to bring the raven along.

  “Bring my phone too! You’re all such a handful, you know that?!” Acher squawked.

  “After the haircut, we’ll go get pizza,” Aaron said.

  “Now that’s more like it,” Acher nodded with satisfaction.

  Pizza was one of his absolute favorite things in the world.