CLUNK!

The three of us land right on the basement floor. Home, sweet home.

I’ve never been so happy to see the basement of our house in my entire life.

“Should we try to talk to Maryrose?” Jonah gasps as we scramble to our feet. “To find out where Hansel and Gretel are?”

I look around the basement. It’s empty. No Hansel and Gretel here.

“Let’s just show our faces to Mom and Dad and make sure we’re not in huge trouble or that the police aren’t searching all over Smithville for us,” I say.

But they must be. We’ve been gone all day.

“Right,” Jonah says. “Let’s go. Come on, Prince!”

Jonah and I go racing up the stairs. I hear voices coming from the kitchen. My mom and dad. Are they talking about us? Wondering where we could possibly be?

No. They’re not, actually.

“I’ve always loved creamed spinach,” my mom is saying. “Even as a kid. I could eat an entire bowl of it!”

I hear laughter.

“I was like that with mashed potatoes,” my dad is saying. “I could eat two bowls full. Especially with sour cream. Mmm. I’ve always loved sour cream.”

I stop just to the side of the kitchen doorway, out of sight. I look at Jonah and hold a finger up to my lips.

Now my dad is telling some story about getting caught feeding his Brussels sprouts to his dog when he was a kid.

Huh? Why are they talking about vegetables? Why are they laughing? Shouldn’t there be a search party out looking for us?

We’ve been missing for almost nineteen hours! Has my horrible class picture not been featured on the nightly news?

“Abby, honey, can you pass the steak?” I hear my mom say.

Wait. What? Did she just say Abby? Who is she talking to? There is no way my mom can see me from where I’m standing. I inch closer to the doorway.

“Sure, Mom!” I hear a voice say. A voice that sounds a lot like mine. Except it’s not my voice. Obviously.

It’s GRETEL’S.

I stare at Jonah. He stares back, his eyes huge.

We peer around the edge of the doorway. My parents are sitting at the table in their usual spots.

Guess who are in our usual spots?

HANSEL AND GRETEL!

They’re wearing our clothes.

They’re eating our dinner.

They’re talking to our parents.

And is it my imagination, or does Gretel’s hair look exactly like mine now? She must have used my brush! And I can’t see her mole. She must have covered it up with powder or something. And Hansel’s eyebrows look less bushy! Did Hansel pluck his eyebrows? What is wrong with these people?!

“Jonah!” my dad says. While looking at HANSEL.

Uh-oh. What did Hansel do? He’s going to get Jonah — the real Jonah — in even more trouble.

“You ate an entire helping of spinach!” my dad says. “Awesome! And you didn’t even need ketchup.”

Hansel, who is definitely not Jonah, holds up his palm for a high five. Seriously? He totally stole that from the real Jonah!

My dad slaps him five.

The real Jonah grumbles.

“This is the best spinach ever,” fake Jonah says. He looks totally serious, too. I watch Hansel — happily — eat another forkful of the green stuff.

“Wow,” my mom exclaims. “You two sure know how to make up for bad behavior. I’ve practically forgotten all about the broken lamp from last night. You came home from school, did your chores, and did your homework without being prompted. And now you’re eating your veggies. I’m impressed.”

“Does that mean I can have my golden ball back?” fake Jonah asks.

The real Jonah’s eyes go huge, and his face scrunches up. Is Hansel trying to get his hands on my brother’s prized ball? The one he told him all about?

“Yes, Jonah,” my mom says. “But no more playing ball in the house. Right?”

“Right!” Hansel and Gretel say together. “We promise.”

Real Jonah’s cheeks and ears turn all red the way they do when he’s really, really mad about something. He’s about to go charging into the kitchen.

I grab my brother’s arm. “We can’t let Mom and Dad see us yet,” I whisper. “They’ll totally freak out.”

Jonah’s face is still scrunched up. “But Hansel is stealing my stuff!”

“We’ll stop them,” I whisper-promise.

“Does anyone want more salad?” Mom asks, lifting up the polka-dot bowl. “Oh, no, the salad bowl has a chip in it! How did that happen?”

I watch Gretel take some more lettuce. Then she eats her final bite of steak. She dabs her mouth politely with her napkin.

Wait a minute. WAIT A MINUTE. Is Gretel wearing my FRA necklace? The one I made with my BFFs? She is! HEY!

“May I have more steak?” Gretel asks my mom. “It’s sooo good.”

“Of course, Abby,” my mom says, beaming at her children.

Who are not her children.

OMG. Hansel and Gretel have been pretending to be us all day!

And they’re really, really good at it.

How are we supposed to get our lives back?

“Who wants some fruit?” my dad asks.

Hansel yawns.

“Tired?” Mom asks.

Yeah, he’s exhausted from pretending to be my brother all day.

Hansel nods. “You can make my bedtime an hour earlier if you think I could use the extra sleep on school nights,” Hansel says as my dad hands him a bowl of fruit.

Jonah’s cheeks and ears turn even redder.

“WHAT?!” Jonah whisper-yells. “NO WAY AM I GOING TO BED AN HOUR EARLIER. That’s it, Abby, I’m going in there and telling them —”

“No,” I whisper-yell back. “Not yet!”

“That is very mature of you, Jonah,” my mother says to Hansel, winking at my dad.

Gretel smiles and pops a piece of cantaloupe in her mouth. “Frankie and Robin and I decided we’re all going to wear orange tomorrow,” Gretel says. “And Penny thinks it would be SO cute if we all wear pigtails, so we are.”

Now my cheeks and ears are steaming red. Gretel is stealing my friends now? She must have been hanging out with Robin and Frankie all day. In my FRA necklace.

And there is no way I’m wearing pigtails tomorrow. NO. WAY.

“Okay, that’s it!” I say, ready to charge in and tell our parents that the Abby and Jonah sitting at the table are impostors.

But now Jonah holds me back.

“Abby, we can’t go in!” Jonah says. “Like you said, Mom and Dad will freak. How would we explain that there are two Abbys and two Jonahs? We’d have to tell them everything. And we can’t!”

Crumbs. He’s right.

“I’m so glad you’re wearing that sweater Nana bought you, Jonah,” my dad says to Hansel. “I thought you didn’t like it.”

Real Jonah’s face scrunches up again. “I don’t. It’s itchy,” he whispers.

I bet I know why Hansel put on that sweater. Because it’s so bulky it makes him look less scrawny.

“What boy wouldn’t like a cardigan sweater with little sailboats on it?” Hansel asks.

He looks totally serious, too.

Then again, it’s probably the first warm sweater he’s ever had on. Which makes me feel a little bad.

But Hansel and Gretel are trying to steal our lives. We have to do something to get those lives back.

Dad laughs. “Who are you two and what did you do with our children?”

Seriously?

Ruff! Ruff-ruff!

Oh, no! Prince is barking like crazy. He runs past us right into the kitchen.

He’s sitting right behind Gretel’s chair and going nuts.

“There you are, Prince!” my mom says. “We were looking for you all day. We almost sent out a search party.”

Oh, sure, for him they were going to send out a search party. I bet they would have used a great photo for him.

Ruff! Ruff-ruff! Prince barks even louder, and runs over to Hansel. He keeps barking.

“That’s enough, Prince!” my dad says. “I know you’re excited to see Abby and Jonah now that you’re back from wherever you ran off to. But no more barking.”

Prince lets out one more tiny ruff, then drops down with a scowl. He’s keeping his eye on Hansel and Gretel, though. Good dog.

“Come on, Jonah,” I whisper. “Let’s go hide upstairs in our rooms. We’ll confront our impostors when they come up. If anyone is going to wear orange tomorrow, it’s going to be me.”

“And if anyone is wearing that ugly, itchy sweater, it’s going to be me,” Jonah whispers back.

I raise an eyebrow.

Jonah wrinkles his nose. “Fine, he can keep the sweater.”