Mr. and Mrs. MacAvoy

Mack MacAvoy’s parents aren’t what you’d call attentive. Tell them you have a new BFF and they’ll gasp: “You got two F’s at school?” Mention the ancient man who showed up at school and spoke to you in some foreign language, and they’ll nod and say: “Well, you’ve always done well in language class.” It’s no wonder Mack doesn’t bother talking to them much anymore.

They’re not exactly bad parents, though. They just gave up on understanding their son a long time ago—after they tried everything they could think of to free him from his phobias and talk some sense into him. (For example, although he shouldn’t fear puppets, he probably should fear bullies.) But when nothing at all worked, they backed away. And they’ve been distant ever since. It’s a good thing too. Otherwise, they might have noticed when their son was replaced by a slightly deformed, not so bright golem who likes to sleep on the ceiling.