Jason, trying to impress his classmates, is instrumental in a prank against Mr. Blake, who kept their football when it went into his yard. Jason ties a dark string to Mr. Blake’s doorknocker while the boys and Dawn Madden wait across the street with the spool. When Pluto Noak pulls on the thread, the doorknocker knocks, and Mr. Blake comes out, confused. When the trick is repeated, Mr. Blake confronts them. Jason is horrified that something he is involved with could have a dangerous consequence, but his participation wins the respect of the boys, and he is a hero at school the next day. Opening his pencil case, he finds a note with letters clipped from newsprint telling him to go to the graveyard at eight that night, signed by the Spooks.

Jason knows immediately what this means. “Spooks” is a secret group of boys in Black Swan Green who stick up for each other. The boys Jason idolizes are part of this group; being part of this group would secure him the social status he covets.

At dinner that night, while Jason worries about his upcoming meeting with the Spooks, his mother reveals that her friend Yasmin has asked her to manage one of the interior design shops she owns.