He'd just finished eating, just finished reading about star athletes and nutrition on the back of the cereal box, when there was a knock at the door.
"It's Tess!" someone - a girl - shouted. "Don't be afraid."
"Who's afraid?" Gabriel shouted back.
"You should be. This isn't BowWowville or wherever it is you're from. It's the city. And you don't have one of those peepholes in your door yet. But it's okay this time. Let me in."
When the door swung open, Gabriel looked right into the lens of a bulky camcorder, the kind daddies are always using to remember baby's every burp forever.
Tess peeked out at him from behind her eyepiece. "Close your mouth. You look like you were raised by sparrows."