Gordy sat on a stool at the counter in Adilene’s kitchen, while Adilene and her mother cooked pupusas on the stove. Flour splotched Adilene’s caramel-colored skin as she flattened circular lumps of dough in her hands. The Riveras made pupusas at least once a week and sold them at the local Farmer’s Market. Gordy insisted on being present because Mrs. Rivera always let him sample a few of her delectable creations, free of charge.

“You want first?” Adilene’s mom asked, plopping a doughy patty on the paper plate in front of Gordy. Gordy’s mouth watered as the scrumptious smell of seasoned beef and cheese filled his nostrils.

“Thank you, Mrs. Rivera,” Gordy said.

The cheering chatter from a baseball game carried in from the next room where Mr. Rivera dozed in front of the television.

“So, what did she find?” Adilene asked. “This Ms. Faustus? Do you think she suspects your mom of something?”

“It’s hard to tell,” Gordy said. “My dad finally kicked them out before they broke through the basement door. But my mom doesn’t keep everything locked away in the lab.” Though he didn’t know for sure what constituted an invasion of privacy, he was positive Ms. Faustus’s and Yeltzin’s visit fell into that category.

“Why did she come to your house in the first place? Who made the complaints?” Adilene asked.

“I don’t know,” Gordy said. “It could’ve been the Judds. They’re pretty nosy.” The Judds were the elderly next-door neighbors. Mrs. Judd was pleasant enough, but her husband was quite the grump.

“Your mom does grow weird things in the yard. Someone must’ve finally noticed.” Adilene dipped her fingers into the bowl of masa batter and brought up a handful, which she expertly formed into a patty. “I almost forgot. Mi madre told me something interesting about that asteroid crater in Chicxulub.”

Adilene turned to her mother and asked her something in their native tongue. Gordy understood only a few words and simple phrases in Spanish. He tried to listen, but the two Riveras spoke way too fast to follow. For most of Gordy and Adilene’s conversation, Mrs. Rivera seemed to pay no attention.

When they were finished conversing, Adilene turned back to Gordy. “She said that the entire crater gives off a magnetic field.”

Gordy crinkled his brow. “Really?”

“Yeah. Airplanes have to fly around the area because the energy causes their instruments to fail.”

Gordy bit into his pupusa, the warm bread dissolving like butter in his mouth. He wasn’t sure if a magnetic field had anything to do with his mom’s connection with Chicxulub. It was possible that all asteroid craters gave off similar energy, and as far as he knew, magnetism didn’t play much of a role in potion making.

Gordy’s phone buzzed as a call came through. It was from his dad.

“Hey, Gordo! I’m taking the twins to the store to get some water filters. Then I’ll probably pick up Chinese food for dinner. Sound good?”

“Sure,” Gordy said. “Could you get another can of air freshener for Bawdry?” The mummy had gone two days without a good spray, and the toxic smell was about to breach the basement door.

“Already done,” his dad answered. “Picked up a can this morning. Ocean Breeze. That should be a nice change. You see, son, I may not have the skills like you and your mother, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve. That reminds me, you haven’t signed for any packages lately, have you?”

Gordy swallowed. He glanced over at Adilene and her mom, but they were too busy making another batch of pupusas to notice his worried expression. “Uh, no, I don’t think so,” Gordy said. “Why?”

“No reason. Just checking. I’ll be back in an hour with dinner.” Mr. Stitser hung up.

Gordy wanted to throw up. Why had he lied to his dad? He had never done that before, at least, not on purpose. But something had felt wrong about his dad’s question. And truthfully, Gordy hadn’t signed for anything. The delivery man had left the package on the front porch before driving off.

Gordy suddenly bolted off the stool. “Do you want to come over to my house?” he asked Adilene. Now more than ever, Gordy had to know what Aunt Priss’s vials contained. Too much mystery had built up around them, and he needed to discover if they were dangerous potions or not. Especially since Gordy’s mom had been gone for two days and had yet to check in.

Adilene’s hands were sticky with masa. “What’s wrong?”

“I need to check something . . . downstairs.” He raised his eyebrows and Adilene gave a knowing look.

She turned to her mother, but Mrs. Rivera was already grabbing the ball of mixture away from her.

“It’s okay,” her mom said. “I will finish.”

“We don’t have a ton of time before my dad gets home,” Gordy said as he and Adilene hurriedly raced across the street.

“What are we doing?” Adilene asked, breathing heavily as they ran.

“I need to test something in the lab. Just to make sure . . .” Gordy plowed face-first into Max who had been hiding behind the bushes next to the Stitsers’ porch. Gordy reared back in surprise, clutching his chest and plopping on the ground with a thud.

“Ha!” Max shouted. “Totally scared you. You should have seen the look on your faces!”

“Maxwell, sometimes you don’t think, do you?” Adilene helped Gordy to his feet.

“Yeah, well, at least I don’t have dough in my hair.” He started to chuckle, but then sputtered to a stop. “Wait a minute. Is that what I think it is? Is your mom making pupusas? Why wasn’t I invited?” Max demanded.

“Because you were grounded for flunking your math exam,” Adilene said. “Why aren’t you in your room, studying?”

A mischievous grin cracked Max’s lips. “I paid my dad off.”

“You did what?”

Max snickered. “I gave him a bag of Cheetos from my personal stash. He was super hungry, so he decided to pardon me of my punishment. Cheesy snacks—it’s the Pinkermans’ undoing.” He shook his head. “So, what’s going on? Are we mixing a new potion? Something explosive?”

“I’m going to try something on the vials my Aunt Priss sent. See if I can figure out what’s in them.” Gordy entered the house, headed for the kitchen, and was about to open the door into the basement when he remembered Bawdry and paused. Gordy turned and jumped back with surprise.

Max stood behind him, already with the gas mask fitted over his head.

“Pretty please, dude,” Max said, reaching for the can of air freshener. “I really need to do this.”