At school the next day, Ben’s outburst certainly hadn’t been forgotten. He tried to stay out of everyone’s way and be as quiet as possible, but people still laughed at him and called him names. On top of that, Mr. Kersh gave him some really hard math problems to do during the lunch hour.
It was a pretty miserable day that seemed to go on forever, but when it was finally over, Ben breathed a huge sigh of relief and jumped on a double-decker bus for the short ride to Grandpa’s apartment. He showed his pass—travel for Ben was free, but adults had to pay, another reason not to grow up—and sat down.
Five minutes later he was standing outside Grandpa’s apartment in the retirement block where he lived.
“Yes,” thought Ben. “It’s definitely time to tell him everything that has happened.” He pressed the doorbell and was soon inside with a glass of lemonade, or pop, as Grandpa called it, by his side.
“So, let me get this straight, Benny,” said Grandpa, sitting back in his favorite chair, a big, old leather armchair that he seemed to have had for a hundred years. “You say that you saw two aliens by the bottom of your yard.”
“Yes,” said Ben.
“And you think they were talking about making things vanish and taking over humans.”
“Yes.”
“So they made the shul disappear and took over your mom and dad’s bodies.”
“Yes.”
“But then they left your mom and dad’s bodies.”
“Yes.”
“Now you believe they’re planning something at the shul in two days’ time, the day of your bar mitzvah. Something to do with taking over humans and Earth.”
“Yes.”
“Hmm,” said Grandpa, scratching his chin.
Ben stared at his grandfather nervously. Grandpa was well known for chewing things over in his head. He had once spent twenty minutes deciding whether to have a pastrami bagel or a smoked salmon and cream cheese one. (He chose the smoked salmon and cream cheese in the end.)
Ben was waiting to see if Grandpa was going to take him seriously or not. He didn’t think Grandpa would tease him, like Mom and Dad had, but it was such an unbelievable story that Grandpa might think Ben was making it up for some reason. Or worse, he might think Ben was not well and suggest he see a doctor.
Guessing what was going on inside Grandpa’s head wasn’t easy. He blinked three times, rubbed his right ear, then his left ear, sniffed and shifted his position a little in the chair. None of those things gave Ben any clues as to what he might be thinking. He would just have to be patient and wait.
Eventually, after sniffing again, scratching his ankle and burping, Grandpa said, “Okay. So the big question is: why?”
“Why what?” said Ben.
“Why exactly did the aliens make the shul disappear?”
“Erm, I’m not really sure.”
“And why did the aliens take over your mother’s and father’s bodies?”
“Well, I don’t exactly know.”
“And why did they then leave your mother’s and father’s bodies?”
“You got me again,” said Ben.
“And what are they planning to do at the shul on the day of your bar mitzvah?”
“That’s a what, not a why,” said Ben.
“Ach, they can’t all be whys,” said Grandpa.
“I don’t know all the exact details, Grandpa,” said Ben. “I just know they are planning to take over the Earth, and if they do, then, then … that’ll be terrible. They might only need half of all the humans and eat the rest! Or maybe when they take over bodies the real people will end up in a dungeon on the moon!”
“Okay, Benny, calm down,” Grandpa said. “Let’s just say that we don’t know too much now, but we do know they are planning something at the shul, right?”
“Right,” said Ben.
“So answer me this: How can they do something at the shul if the shul is not there?”
Ben gasped suddenly and opened his eyes very wide. Grandpa was right. It seemed to make no sense, unless …
“Grandpa!” he shouted. “I need to go to the shul!”
“But you said it wasn’t there,” said Grandpa.
“I know,” said Ben. “But I think they must have put it back. And that’s something I can definitely check and find out.”
“No, Benny,” said Grandpa.
“Why not?” said Ben. “If I go there and it is back, that will prove that I’m right, and that they are planning something. I have to go and check.”
“You are not going to the shul, Benny,” said Grandpa. “We are.”
“You mean …”
“Yes, I’m coming with you.”