He finally saw the girl with the sphere walking towards what looked to be her house. Benjamin and his sidekicks quickly hid behind a nearby trash can, which was next to the planter wall. They needed time to contemplate what to do next.

Seeing as though they had little time left before the girl entered her house, Benjamin and his animal sidekicks tried to think up a plan to get the sphere back from her.

“Alright, so what’s the plan?” Benjamin turned toward his companions and asked.

Harry looked puzzled at his master’s inquiry. “But I thought you’d be the one to—?”

“Why not jump at her and kidnap the girl?” Chi-Chi chimed in.

Harry and Benjamin looked at Chi-Chi with amazement. Had she, of all beings, said that?

Benjamin liked the idea and rolled with it. He would wait for the right time to strike and, with the help of his wand, to do the deed. After waiting, he rushed out from behind the planter wall and noticed that the girl had already gone inside.

Now, what should we do? Benjamin thought aloud.

“Aw man, we were too slow...” Harry scratched his head.

“Not to mention too late,” Chi-Chi added.

“Hey, uh, Master?” Harry pointed toward the horizon. “It’s getting late. Soon it will be close to bedtime. Where will we stay and sleep?”

Benjamin noticed the sun getting close to setting in the distance. Harry had a point. He would draw suspicion if he were out roaming the streets after dark.

“Hmm, I’m not so sure actually...” Benjamin scratched his chin in thought, “Perhaps we can stay at someone else’s house?” Benjamin muttered, his face brightening up. “Hey wait, why go to someone else’s house when we can just make our own?”

“What do you mean by that?” Chi-Chi inquired, blinking in confusion.

“I’ll just make a house appear right beside the girl’s so we can watch her carefully and not come across as creeps!” Benjamin replied with a smile. “And with my new technique, it’ll be done in a cinch!”

Benjamin shouted the word ‘house’ in his head multiple times so the wand could fully register that and make the place appear. It took a lot longer than expected to complete. Surprisingly, it managed to appear beside the girl’s house as he wanted. It was a good thing that beside her house lied an empty lot and not an actual house or there really would have been a problem.

Surprised and ecstatic that it worked, even making a rather lovely looking house, Benjamin, Chi-Chi, and Harry all ran across the street, but not before looking both ways for oncoming cars as Chi-Chi insisted. Benjamin turned the doorknob and discovered that it was already unlocked. He opened the door and eagerly walked inside.

.-.-.-.

After entering the place, the gang marveled at how normal and not suspicious-looking the house had turned out to be from the inside. The walls had a beautiful light-colored blue; there rested a yellow-orange chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and a red-violet staircase that could lead to more bedrooms and bathrooms. Hanging on the walls were mint-colored picture frames, which have no pictures inside of them yet, and a jade green carpet beside the door when you’d first enter that would be hard to miss. The place may have looked lovely, but the color choices could use some work.

“You guys can sleep there.” Benjamin motioned toward the living room, pointing at a regular-sized light green couch.

The hamster and guinea pig already got settled in on the cushiony couch that adorned the living room. Another sizable, colorful rug spread across the floor, decorated with large potted plants on both ends of the chamber.

“I’m going to go sleep in a nice comfortable bed in the next room,” Benjamin said over his shoulder as he heard the critters arguing over who would get the most massive cushion.

Benjamin went over to the chamber next to the living room to check out how the bedrooms looked. When he got there, he found a ‘shocking’ discovery. The bedroom looked cute and girly looking, with flowers on the bedsheets, a rainbow on the rug, and a stuffed bunny on the chair. It was everything a young girl could ask for in her room, not a dark magician such as himself.

“Ugh, not even if it was the only bedroom on this planet!” Benjamin exclaimed as he left the room to head back to the area where his sidekicks were. “Hey guys, I changed my mind. I call the couch for tonight.”

“Aw, but where are we supposed to sleep, the floor?” Harry looked pitifully at his Master while hugging the large cushion that he enlisted from his sister.

“Sure, why the devil not?” Benjamin shrugged. But then he scratched his chin as he noticed something that didn’t occur to him until now.

“Wait, we’re next to the girl’s house, right? Let’s go see what she’s up to.”

The three went over to the window and peeked at the girl’s house from a distance. Unfortunately, the house lights were off, and they couldn’t see a thing inside.

“Ugh, just what is she up to, and what’s she going to do with my sphere?” Benjamin whispered under his breath. “I won’t leave until I get it back from her, no matter what.”

“So... what now, master?” Harry asked, yawning, and stretching his back.

“Let’s call it a day. I’m tired,” Benjamin said as he returned the contagious yawn.

“Good idea,” Chi-Chi chimed in.

Benjamin slept on the couch while Chi-Chi and Harry slept on the rug next to the sofa. It was almost as comfy. It had been a long day for the three of them, and hopefully, it would be better tomorrow as they dreamt the night away.