I stared as cake flew everywhere. Bree’s hair was covered with white. She saw me watching and threw a chunk of cake at me. I turned away, but the cake smacked right into my ear. Bree just smiled.

And right there, in the middle of the birthday cake fight, the Earth’s sun shone straight through me and filled me up. And that still surprises me a lot when that it happens.

For a while, kids threw cake everywhere. What a magnificent mess!

When Mom and Dad realized that no one was mad, they just stood back and watched. When the cake was gone, they helped hose off sticky hair and dry off clothes. Then they hosed off the deck.

Quick, I ran to the kitchen to make a new cake in the replicator. But the bag of white cubes was empty. I searched, but there were none anywhere in the cabinets.

Mom came in and said, “We are all out of cubes. The replicator won’t work.”

And it really hit me. We were on our own here on Earth.

“Don’t worry,” Mom said. She had made a large, eggless chocolate cake for Bree and an extra, eggless cake—just in case kids ate a lot. Quickly, she wrote words with icing on the second cake for Freddy.

After everyone was cleaned up, Mom and I brought out the two new cakes—slow and careful—and everyone sang, “Happy birthday!”

Bree pointed at her cake and asked, “What does that mean?”

Bree’s cake said: “Happy Breeday!”

Mom said, “Isn’t that right? Today is the day of your birth. It is Bree’s Day.”

Bree grinned. “I guess it is Bree’s Day.”

Then, Freddy pointed at the other cake. “What does that mean?”

Written on the cake was this:

“Happy Birthday.

Then Underneath,

We love you son,

Mom and Dad.”

Everyone laughed.

Frowning, Mom pulled out a paper from her jeans pocket. “That’s what your Mom said to write.”

“That’s funny,” Freddy said.

Later, I would explain to Mom that it was funny because she was supposed to leave out the instructions, “Then Underneath.”

The full moon had risen during the party, and now it shone a golden light on our deck. Bree and Freddy blew out all nine plus nine candles on the birthday cakes.

Then, I worried. Would they like eggless chocolate cake?

Bree took the first bite.

With her mouth full, she tried to talk, “Mmsss.” But I knew what she meant: Magnificent.

For a few minutes everyone ate cake. Except Mrs. Lynx. She just walked around and bent to look at kids’ faces. I could not relax till this party was over and she was gone.

Just then Mary Lee’s Dad came over to talk to Mom and Dad. “I’m Chief Glendale, the Chief of Police.”

“Oh,” Dad said.

I didn’t know Mary Lee’s dad was a policeman. Were we in trouble?

Mrs. Lynx came over to listen.

“This is such a great party,” Chief Glendale said. “Do you do other events? The Friends of Police need someone to organize a school parade. We have a small budget to pay you.”

Mrs. Hendricks overheard that and turned around. “I think I have something to say about that.”

I held my breath. This was it.

“I can’t believe that cake fight,” Mrs. Hendricks said.

I groaned.

She went on, “My twelve-year-old party had a cake fight, and it was the best party I ever had. I’m just glad this party wasn’t at my house, so I don’t have to clean up the mess. And Freddy’s cake was so funny.”

“You liked the party?” I asked.

“Oh, yes,” Mrs. Hendricks said. She told Chief Glendale, “I can give them a good reference.”

We had done it. The aliens had thrown a magnificent Alien Party.

Mom told Chief Glendale, “Sure, we can help with the parade.”

Dad put his arm around Mom’s shoulder and pulled her close. “Yes, a parade should be as easy as flying from star to star.”

I groaned. Now I needed a Parade List.

Mrs. Hendricks laughed. “You need to start a company. I can help you with the legal papers. What will you call your company?”

I knew the answer to that one. “Aliens, Inc.”

Looking around the alien landscape with the swirling green glow, everyone agreed it was a good name.

Now it was time for presents.

Mom and Dad piled everything on a table on the deck.

I stayed close to Mrs. Lynx, though, because she was talking to Chief Glendale.

“Someone in the third grade used telekinesis,” she said. “Mr. Smith didn’t fall hard enough. From now on, I will be watching the whole third grade.”

Chief Glendale patted her on the back. “When you find the aliens, you just let me know.”

I didn’t know if he believed her or not. But from now on, we had to worry about Mrs. Lynx and Chief Glendale.

Now Freddy and Bree opened their presents. There were lots of toys, games and books. Last, Bree opened my present, a framed picture of Jupiter.

“Thanks. This is magnificent. But how did you get this picture?” Bree’s forehead wrinkled. “It’s taken from space.”

I was ready for that one. “The space program takes pictures from their space ships. It’s easy to find them on the Internet.”

“Oh,” she said. “For a minute, I thought you took the picture yourself.”

Then came the best part of the Alien Party, the tree houses. All the parents and teachers and Mrs. Lynx left. Bree and Mom and the girls climbed up to one spaceship for a sleep-over. Freddy and Dad and the guys and I climbed up to the other spaceship for a sleepover, too.

But just as I was climbing up, I sneezed. And suddenly, the itching was really bad.

“Dad, I have to go inside for a while,” I whispered in his ear.

Dad nodded. “The worst time for this to happen.”

I sprinted up to my bedroom. Sitting on the floor in front of a mirror, I scratched at the top of my head until a piece of skin came off. What a bad time to have to shed my skin, but it would only take an hour to get it off my face and hands. The rest would be covered up with clothes, so no one would see.

I wiggled a finger into the small hole and started stretching and pulling at the skin on my face. I had just loosened a long piece from my forehead to chin when I heard my bedroom door open.

Was it Chief Glendale? Was it Mrs. Lynx?

“What are you doing?” said a voice. “And I want the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”

It was Bree.

So, I told her, “I am shedding my skin.”

And Bree said, “Alien boys are weird.”

THE END