CHAPTER 3

Silence.

Oh, except for Jack, who looks up at Molly and barks, like he’s adding something to what she’s just said.

Molly gives him a stern look. ‘No,’ she says. ‘Not yet.’

I glance down at him as I try to take in what she’s just said. ‘Sure, okay. Whatever you say. I take it Jack’s in on this, too, then?’

‘Yes, he is “in on it” as you like to put it,’ Molly answers evenly. ‘Jack is my companion.’

I snort. This is too much. Right there by the side of the road I start laughing, really laughing. I laugh so hard I even do that thing where you slap your legs. I laugh until the birds get fed up and fly off the wires overhead. I laugh until Jack gets fed up and lies on the ground with one of those ‘I’m a dog who’s had enough’ noises. He puts his head on his paws and his floppy golden ears trail in the dust.

Meanwhile, Molly waits.

When I’m finally done, I take a deep breath. ‘Seriously. You don’t need to get me anything else for my birthday. That was more than enough.’

‘Fine. That works for me.’

I pause, loving that Molly is still playing along. This so isn’t her – she’s not usually into practical jokes. She’s not usually into any sort of jokes. I check around me for the camera crew. Maybe we’re on one of those hidden camera shows? How awesome would that be? I look down the road – nothing. Not a car or person in sight. Then I look the other way. In the distance, I can see Mrs Tippler, our town’s oldest resident, on her mobility scooter. But that’s it. Nothing else of interest.

Next to us, however, is a large tree. I guess they must have hidden the camera in there somehow.

This is fantastic! I can’t believe I’m going to be on TV. Wait till I tell everyone at school. But, for now, I remind myself to keep cool and play along. People always look like such idiots on those shows – I need to be careful here.

I grin at my sister. ‘So, tell me about my special powers.’

Molly frowns. ‘You don’t have any special powers. You’re human.’

‘But I must have. I must be, like … I don’t know … Superman, or something. And Jack is my Wonderdog.’

‘Trust me, you’re nothing like Superman and Jack is no Wonderdog.’

Again, Jack barks.

I frown. Interesting timing there.

Molly continues. ‘However, if you’d like to start wearing your underwear outside your clothes, I’ll completely support your wish to embarrass yourself.’

I roll my eyes. ‘So, maybe I’m like Spider-man, then? Should I watch out for radioactive spiders?’

‘If you like.’

This isn’t as much fun as I thought it would be. I sigh. If Molly’s going to play a practical joke, she should at least put some effort in. ‘Let’s get this straight. I’m human, you’re alien.’

Molly nods.

‘And what, this is just your human form? So you can protect me from these … bounty hunters?’

She nods again.

‘You couldn’t do any better than that? Really?’

‘Hilarious as ever,’ Molly answers.

‘Look, your story doesn’t even make sense. You’re meant to be protecting me, right? I wasn’t even going to come with you on this walk. I’d still be at home if you’d had your way.’

‘No,’ Molly says calmly. ‘You were always going to come. I gave you the idea that you could go to Ethan’s afterwards.’

I snort. ‘Sure. You implanted it in my brain. Because I couldn’t come up with the idea of going to Ethan’s by myself.’

‘Cooper, to be truthful, every day I’m amazed with what you can’t come up with. Even you were surprised that you came up with that idea. So much for your “brilliant strategic manoeuvring”.’

I frown. Did I say those words out loud? I guess I must have. ‘All right, then. So if you’re some kind of alien, what do you really look like?’

I’m getting ready for Molly to launch into some lame description of a little green alien with goggly eyes and a huge head when a sort of … image pops up in my mind wiping out all of those thoughts instantly. It isn’t like anything I’ve ever seen before. It’s kind of light and bright and all around me – circling me. Somehow I know it’s Molly, even though it isn’t anything solid. It doesn’t have a face, or a body, but it’s definitely Molly-ish, because it has that same big-time cranky feel. Then, just as fast as the image appeared in my head, it’s gone. I squint up at the sky, which is clear and purple with black streaks today – a perfectly normal day. It’s still bright, even though the first sun, the largest one, has already set. I should have brought a hat, I guess.

‘That’s my true form,’ Molly says. ‘My people are … well, think of us as a United Nations–like organisation. But universal. And effective.’

‘What? You’re saying you did that?’ I stop looking at the sky. ‘That’s a good trick. You’ll have to tell me how it works. You know, after the cameras come out.’

‘Cameras?’ Molly looks confused, but then she waves my comment away with one hand. ‘Cooper, we need to keep moving. It’s not safe to stay out here in the open for too long. Not anymore. I’ll walk you to Ethan’s.’