From the desk of Alex J. Hoover

Oak Street.

Quiet.

Unassuming.

The kind of street that makes you glad to be alive.

The kind of street you'd find neat lawns and smiling faces.

The kind of street that Mom and Dad are always talking about because it's just the kind of street they grew up on.

But in different houses.

And different towns.

And different states.

Oak Street.

There's probably one in every town.

It's the kind of street that anyone would want to live on.

Oak Street.

Two blocks down.

I don't live on Oak Street.

I live on Beech.

Beech Street is not Oak Street.

Beech Street has a dark side.

There's evil here.

That's right.

Evil with a capital E.

Just don't let it know that you know and you might survive.

But I do.

I know.

I know what evil lurks beneath the trees.

Ash trees.

Not beeches.

Come to think of it, there isn't a single beech tree on Beech Street. Weird, huh?

But back to the street.

Yup, Oak is the street to live on, but it you don't, if you can't, if you happen to find yourself living on Ash or Elm, then you've got to be on guard, and if you live on Magnolia, well, I don't have to tell you about evil, do I? Nope. Not at all.

Be on guard. That's the key to survival.

Not many people remember that. I do.

That's why I know what's really going on around here.

Sometimes I think I'm the only one that does, but it's my job to know.

You see, I'm spy, but not just any spy. I'm a spy of the Sixth Grade, and that's pretty darn impressive.

One more grade will make me a Seven, but that's going to take some time.

I've got to learn to drive first.

And find a genius to make me all sorts of inventions.

And get a jet pack.

Yup, it's going to take some time, but I can wait.

I just have to be careful not to blow my cover because there's evil here on Beech, and wouldn't evil just love to get its claws on a spy?