CHAPTER 14 [TIM] MISSING: ONE ALIEN

As I was about to leave for school on Monday morning I found a folded-up paper lying on the floor. Clearly, someone had slipped it under the door in the middle of the night.

I picked it up, opened it, and felt a wave of relief. Pleskit was safe! But I was also frustrated, for two reasons. First, I still had no idea where he was. Second, I knew I needed to get this information to Pleskit’s Fatherly One as soon as possible.

But I had no way of reaching him!

I headed for school. Before I even got there I could see more protestors than ever. At least the cops were keeping them a good distance from the school grounds.

When I got to our room I saw that Miss Weintraub looked tired and unhappy. I was pretty sure it was because she was in danger of being transferred out of our class. Only, I couldn’t say anything about that, because I wasn’t supposed to know.

Adding to the gloom, Larrabe was in mourning because Harold was still missing.

Linnsy and I had been warned to keep our mouths shut about Pleskit being in a similar condition. We would have done that anyway, since it was clear the embassy was sitting on the news. We sure didn’t want to be the ones to spill it.

But I had that note itching in my pocket, and I needed to get it to Meenom! I was considering taking it to Ms. Weintraub when the room phone rang. She picked it up, listened for a moment, then said, “You’re wanted in the office, Tim.”

“Nice to know he’s wanted somewhere,” said Jordan.

Brad Kent’s snicker was cut dead by Ms. Weintraub’s patented glare o’ doom. She turned back to me. “You’d better go,” she said gently.

Wondering what I had done now, I trudged out of the room. Mr. Grand was waiting for me. “There’s someone here to see you,” he said. Then he led me into the conference room next to his office.

I heaved a sigh of relief. Sitting at the table was Pleskit’s Fatherly One.

Mr. Grand stepped quietly out of the room. Meenom motioned for me to sit across from him.

“I need to talk with you, Tim,” he said. His voice was firm, but filled with sorrow.

“I think I need to talk to you, first,” I said. Taking the note from my pocket, I slid it across the table. Meenom unfolded it, then read it. His face grim, he said, “Why did you not bring this to me immediately?”

“I don’t have any way to reach you, sir.”

His sphen-gnut-ksher spit out a few sparks. “You could have gone to your principal.”

“Yes, sir. But I suspected you might not want him to know that Pleskit is missing.”

Meenom sighed. “You have a point. And it is good to learn that my childling is safe. But we do not know how long that will last. Do you have any idea where he is?”

“No, sir, I don’t.”

He leaned forward and looked at me intently. “Have you seen him since he disappeared?”

“He came to my apartment for a while last night.” I spoke slowly, trying to figure out how to reveal this without getting Linnsy in trouble too. “But he slipped out during the night without telling me where he was going.”

Meenom sighed again.

“He was awfully upset, sir. He’s afraid of what’s going to happen to the Veeblax, and he feels really guilty about it. But he also thinks it’s completely unfair. I do too, for that matter.”

I sat back and blushed. I had said more than I’d intended.

“It is unfair,” said Meenom quietly. “But one of the things my childling has to learn—and, I think, you as well, Tim—is that life is not always fair. I wish it could be. I wish I could go back to the time in my own life when I thought that was possible. I do not want to see the Veeblax taken from Pleskit. I do not want the creature to be hurt. But there is a great deal at stake here. A great deal.”

He stood, then reached into his robe and withdrew a shiny purple object about the size of a yo-yo. Engraved on its top was the symbol of the Hevi-Hevian embassy.

He gave it a slight twist. The top flipped back, revealing a tiny screen. Handing it to me, he said, “Please use this to contact me if you learn anything about Pleskit’s location.”

He showed me how to work the device, then left, looking so sad and worried that I realized even a purple alien can get the blues.