Chapter 1. Once “Duck,” Jack said, squirming and twisting. The boy wasn’t as tall as Jack. He still had sandy blond hair and green eyes. His own parents hadn’t paid much attention to him. They had a daughter and son they were busy with. He didn’t take his own interests too seriously. “Don’t squirm!” “I’m not!” “How did you get your head stuck in that hole?” “What hole?” “What hole?” Jack repeated. “What hole?” “The well hole.” “There’s a well hole?” “There’s a hole there!” “How did you get your head stuck in it?” “I was swimming.” “Who else was swimming?” “I don’t know.” “Who was there?” “I don’t know, but I was with Michael.” “That is your brother’s name, right?” “Who are you?” “He’s our friend, Jack. He says he’s a police officer.” “I can tell!” Jack squirmed in the well and got no higher. “I can tell who you are because you look so nice! You’re a movie star!” “Oh, is that what I am?” “Yes. We’ve been to all the movies,” Jack said. “The last one I saw was two days ago.” “It’s a movie where the characters never get old,” Jack said. “There’s a bunch of new characters in it and they are new every time you see it. We saw it twice.” “Who was there when you were swimming?” “I was with Michael, but we weren’t swimming. We were just sitting in the waves.” “Was Michael a cop, too?” “No, a private eye. He can tell when things are wrong.” “That’s good,” the boy said. “Michael and I talked about the hole. He said it was illegal to be in the hole.” “What hole?” “The hole in the water, the one near the house.” “That’s a swimming pool,” Jack said. “I’ve swam there plenty of times. We can’t swim in a pool.” “We used to swim in the rain,” the boy said. “We did?” “Mm-hmm.” “I’ll tell the boss about this,” Jack said. “You will?” “I’ll go to the chief.” “You are the chief.” “I’m the boss. He’s the secretary,” Jack said. “The boss isn’t very big. He’s only two inches tall, so he can’t get the secretary’s attention. I will get the attention of the boss, you wait here.” Jack went inside to his boss, a six-foot wall. “I just saw the boy.” “He was in the swimming pool with Michael,” Jack said. “They are talking about illegal swimming and a well hole, the one near the house. I am going to go check it out.” “Be careful,” the boss said. “The law is the law, but the law is written by people. Not everyone follows the law.” “How do I get the law from the laws?” “You find a book.” “Oh,” Jack said. He left the office and looked for a book. “I’ll look for a book,” he said. He found a book, or at least the front cover of one. He didn’t need to read it to tell it was the law book. He knew the title of the book. It was a law book. It was only four years old. He put it down and went into the ocean and found the well hole. It was a hole in the sea. It looked like a normal hole, but the water coming out of it was muddy. Jack climbed down into the hole. He looked down the hole. It was about twelve feet deep. It had a narrow ladder attached to the wall. A dark blue cover was over the hole. It looked like thick foam. The water was coming from a small pipe that had holes in the cover. The holes led to the pipe under the surface of the ocean. They were only about three inches wide. A greenish light could be seen coming through. He climbed the ladder, and put his head under the cover. It was hot. The water seemed like it came from the ocean, not a well. But the water looked like it was coming from the ocean. He reached over and felt on the wall. The wall was rock. No foam was there. Jack came up from under the cover, and looked down. “It is an ocean well hole!” “You sure?” “Yes,” Jack said. “Where are your friends?” “Michael was with me. I can’t find them.” “Are they down there, too?” “I don’t know, but I’ll go look.” Jack climbed down the ladder, and down to the bottom. He walked along the wall. The water was green and dirty. Jack could feel something slippery and wet under his foot. He put his hand on it and pulled it out. It was a fish. “I’ve found a fish!” Jack said. “Let’s look around. The boy might be down there,” the fish said. “You can talk?” Jack said. “Why not?” the fish said. “I can breathe, and breathe air, too.” “I don’t think it’s polite to talk,” Jack said. “I’ve never had to think about it.” “Would you talk to Michael about it?” “Why not?” the fish said. “I don’t know. I guess I don’t want to ask him about it,” Jack said. “You shouldn’t stop me from talking,” the fish said. “You can’t take away someone’s right to talk.” “What’s your name?” “Frodge.” “How old are you?” “Two thousand, nine hundred, and ninety-seven.” “A million years,” Jack said. “That’s not a good thing to say,” the fish said. “Yes, it is,” Jack said. “No, it’s not. The big people like to say bad things. Why do they do that?” “It’s because it makes them feel big.” “But why do they want to feel big?” the fish asked. “It makes them feel special.” “Are you special?” “No.” “Why not?” the fish asked. “It’s the way things are. You are the same as the rest of the people. You can’t be special. If you were, I wouldn’t be here, would I?” “Do you feel bad when you don’t think you are special?” “Sometimes,” Jack said. “Who do you feel bad for?” “All the people who are sad because they feel bad,” Jack said. “Oh. Why do they feel bad?” “I don’t know. They just do. Why do you feel sad?” “Because people say it’s the