Monday morning, I rushed around the school halls looking for someone in particular. Charlie and Willa had such busy schedules, I’d decided last night that I would have to find someone else to help me catch the rest of the Vegans. And I found him leaning against the wall outside the computer lab.
“Marcus?”
He stood up straight, looking surprised to see me. “Oh, hey, Bex.”
I could tell Marcus about the aliens. He’d believe me. And he might even have some solid ideas how to help. But first, I had to make sure he wasn’t still upset. I hated to think that Marcus was mad at me for not joining the group. Not because I had a huge, raging crush on him (though I did), but because I didn’t like anyone to be mad at me.
“I hope you’re not still upset about—”
He shook his head quickly before I could finish the sentence. “You have the right to join or not join whatever club you want.”
“Okay.” I smiled sheepishly. “Is everyone else mad?”
“Everyone else?” he repeated.
“The rest of the Gamer Squad,” I whispered. Then, out of curiosity, I asked, “Who else is in the group, anyway?”
“I can’t tell you that,” he said quickly, guarding their identities like it was the World’s Biggest Secret.
“Oh, okay,” I said with a shrug, trying my best to make it look like I didn’t care. But I did. Even more so because of how secretive he’d been. I really wanted to know who else was in the group. Maybe they could help.
But before I could even start to tell him about the alien issue, he blurted out, “Look, I really need to get to class,” and took off down the hall.
The bell rang soon after, and then I had to try to push my problems to the back of my mind and pull schoolwork to the front. Easier said than done. Turns out it’s hard to concentrate when you’re hiding a bunch of aliens in your best friend’s grandfather’s garage.
In science class, Mr. Durr got sidetracked talking about the possibility of wormholes in space. That guy loved science, and he tried his best to get students enthusiastic about it, too. Aside from his penchant for annoying pop quizzes and his dorky “Funny Tie Fridays,” he was my favorite teacher. And that was how, after the last school bell rang, I ended up outside his classroom.
One of Willa’s friends was already in there, getting extra help for the test later in the week. I waited patiently for my turn. She came out, gave my outfit the once over, and wrinkled her nose. Then Mr. Durr called out, “Next!”
I entered the classroom and closed the door behind me.
“Bexley?” Mr. Durr said with surprise. “How can I help you?”
I took a seat opposite his desk and fiddled with a pencil someone had left there. “Um, it’s not about science really. Or not anything we’re going over right now.”
He looked at me over the top of his eyeglasses. “Okay … ”
“I’m writing this short story,” I began. “And it’s about aliens. But I want to make it as realistic as possible.”
He rubbed his hands together. “I’d love to help. What question do you have?”
I opened my mouth to speak, but then a strange bumping sound came from the ceiling over my head. I looked up and saw nothing—just ceiling tiles.
“It’s the air ducts,” Mr. Durr said. “They really need to get the HVAC system tuned up before we need to turn on the heat.” He shook his head in judgment. “Anyway, continue.”
I cleared my throat. “In my story, some aliens land on Earth. Not to, like, invade us or anything. They didn’t even mean to come here. But now they’re kind of stuck. My main character is a human who is trying to help them. What should she do?”
He snorted. “She should run for the hills!”
“Aliens could be carrying viruses or bacteria that our immune systems are not prepared to handle, and they could infect—”
I interrupted. “Okay, but let’s say it’s been a couple days and everything seems cool. Then, what would you do to help the aliens get back home?”
“It would be best to turn any alien over to the appropriate government agency.”
“Would they find a way to get her home? Or, um, it, home?”
He shook his head. “Definitely not.”
Dread formed in the center of my belly. “What would they do?”
“Perform experiments. Try to find out as much as they could about the alien’s biology and psychology. And then, eventually, an autopsy. It would be a great learning opportunity.”
I pictured Vera tied down to some stretcher. Surgical-masked men leaning over her with instruments of torture. Needles. Pain. The little Vegans held in cages, crying for their beloved teacher.
“Did you hear me?” Mr. Durr said, breaking into my horrifying vision.
“I asked if you needed to know anything else.”
“Oh, no. Thank you. That’s everything I need to know.”
I had to keep Vera and the others a secret. Accident or not, I brought them here. I was responsible. I would find a way to safely get them back home. I couldn’t risk some agency grabbing them. Well, they could have Bob. But Bob would give up the others in a second. The Vegans were mischievous little jerks, but I didn’t want them cut up and experimented on. Just the thought of it made my breath go ragged. I had to save them all.
I wandered back into the hall, lost in my own thoughts, when a hand clamped down on my arm.
“Bex,” Marcus said, his hazel eyes flaring with intensity. “There’s something you need to see.”