The Alien Next Door 2: Aliens for Dinner?! Read online

  If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware

  that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and

  destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher

  has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical

  events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other

  names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s

  imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or

  persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  An imprint of Bonnier Publishing USA

  251 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010

  Copyright © 2018 by Bonnier Publishing USA

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or

  in part in any form.

  Little Bee Books is a trademark of Bonnier Publishing USA, and

  associated colophon is a trademark of Bonnier Publishing USA.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Newton, A. I., author. | Sarkar, Anjan, illustrator.

  Title: Aliens for dinner?! / by A.I. Newton; illustrated by Anjan Sarkar.

  Description: First edition. | New York, NY: Little Bee, [2018] | Series: The alien next door; #2 |

  Summary: Harris and Roxy visit Zeke’s house after school, then Harris’s parents invite Zeke’s family

  to dinner, but trying to convince anyone that they are aliens only gets Harris grounded.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2017023253 Subjects: | CYAC: Extraterrestrial beings—Fiction. | Ability—Fiction. |

  Family life—Fiction. | Friendship—Fiction. | Science fiction. | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION /

  Readers / Chapter Books. | JUVENILE FICTION / Science Fiction. | JUVENILE FICTION / Action &

  Adventure / General. Classification: LCC PZ7.1.N498 Ali 2018 | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017023253

  ISBN 978-1-4998-0562-8 (hardcover)

  First Edition 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  ISBN 978-1-4998-0561-1 (paperback)

  First Edition 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  ISBN 978-1-4998-0563-5 (ebook)

  littlebeebooks.com

  bonnierpublishingusa.com

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  1.

  The Invitation

  2.

  Excited Parents

  3.

  Zeke’s House

  4.

  Playtime!

  5.

  Moms and Dads

  6.

  Showing Off

  7.

  The Very Special Visitors

  8.

  Dinner with Aliens!

  9.

  Grounded!

  10.

  The Truth at Last!

  HARRIS WALKER RAN OUT

  onto the Jefferson Elementary School

  soccer field. It was Friday afternoon,

  and practice was about to begin.

  Harris’s best friend, Roxy Martinez,

  trotted up next to him.

  “It was fun having Zeke over last

  weekend, right? I hope you’re done

  with that ‘Zeke is an alien’ nonsense,”

  she said.

  Zeke was Harris’s new next-door

  neighbor. He had only been at their

  school for a couple of weeks.

  But Harris believed that Zeke

  was an alien—a real-life alien who

  somehow came here from another

  planet. Harris saw Zeke do things that

  would be impossible for any human

  kid to do, like move things with his

  mind, make rainbows suddenly appear

  in the science lab, and even balance

  on his fingertips.

  “I did have fun. Zeke’s a nice kid,”

  Harris replied.

  But I still think he’s an alien, Harris

  thought.

  Coach Ruffins blew his whistle.

  “Okay, everyone, let’s get this

  practice going!” he shouted.

  Harris, Roxy, and rest of the players

  spent the next hour working on

  passing, shooting, and defense.

  When the practice was nearly over,

  Harris saw Zeke walking onto the

  field. A soccer ball flew right toward

  the front of Zeke’s head.

  “Look out!” Harris shouted.

  He watched in amazement as the

  ball changed direction, all by itself.

  It swung around Zeke’s head and

  continued into the goal.

  Harris turned to Roxy.

  “Did you see that?!” he asked her,

  sure that she must have seen Zeke

  control the ball with his mind.

  “Yeah,” said Roxy, “the ball came so

  close to hitting Zeke’s head! I’m glad

  he didn’t get hurt.”

  Drats! Harris thought. From her

  angle, it must have looked normal.

  “What’s up, Zeke?” Harris asked

  casually as the three friends walked

  back toward the school.

  “I just wanted to thank you again

  for a great time hanging out at your

  house, Harris,” said Zeke. “And

  also to invite the both of you to my

  house tomorrow.

  We could hang

  out and play. And

  my parents are

  anxious to meet

  you.”

  “Sounds great!”

  said Roxy. She

  looked at Harris,

  waiting for him

  to accept, too.

  This is the perfect opportunity to

  research Zeke’s alien family, Harris

  thought. I can finally find out what’s

  behind those dark curtains and prove

  once and for all that he’s an alien!

  “I’d love to come over, Zeke,” Harris

  said, giving Roxy a look that said: See?

  I don’t think he’s an alien anymore.

  “Great!” said Zeke. “See you

  tomorrow!”

  ZEKE BURST THROUGH

  the front door of his house.

  “Xad! Quar! I have something

  to tell you,” he shouted.

  “I’m up here, Zeke,” said his father,

  Xad.

  Zeke looked up and saw his dad

  floating near the ceiling. He sat in a

  cross-legged position. A metal helmet

  rested on his head.

  Xad then drifted down, landing on

  the floor.

  “I was just mind-transferring some

  of my latest research,” Xad explained.

  “Did you know that humans wear

  different shoes in the rain and snow

  than they do on a sunny day?”

  “I guess they don’t have adap-a-

  fiber here,” said Zeke.

  “What is it, Zeke?”

  Quar, his mother, called

  out. She appeared in a

  shimmering haze to

  them, holo-projecting

  her image. “I’m out

  in the garden.”

  “Harris and Roxy

  have agreed to come

  here tomorrow,”

  Zeke said.

  “That’s great, Zeke,” said Quar. “We

  are so glad
that you made two new

  friends so quickly.”

  “Yes, and it will also be the perfect

  chance to do some research on

  humans—up close!” said Xad.

  “Don’t forget you have to be as

  ‘human’ as possible, too,” said Zeke,

  crossing his arms. “I don’t want my

  friends to wonder what you’re doing.”

  “Don’t worry, Zeke,” said Quar. “We

  will be careful and respectful.”

  Zeke nodded, then settled down to

  mind-project his homework.

  At the same time, next door in

  Harris’s house, Harris told his parents

  about Zeke’s invitation.

  “That’s wonderful!” said Harris’s

  mom.

  “Well, I’m just glad you’ve given up

  on that crazy alien stuff,” said his dad.

  Harris nodded to reassure his

  parents, but thought: Tomorrow, I’m

  finally going to prove that Zeke really is

  an alien!

  THE NEXT DAY, HARRIS AND

  Roxy arrived at Zeke’s house.

  “Can I take your coats?” Zeke asked

  them.

  Harris looked around the front

  hallway. He was surprised at how

  normal everything looked, almost like

  his own house. But when he started

  to slip off his coat, he felt someone

  take it from him. Zeke and Roxy were

  standing right in front of him.

  So who took my coat?

  Turning around, Harris saw a pair

  of mechanical hands extending from

  the wall. They grabbed his coat, then

  Roxy’s, and pulled them into an open

  panel in the wall.

  “What was that?” Harris asked.

  “Cool! So high-tech!”

  said Roxy.

  Before Zeke could

  respond, Xad and

  Quar joined them.

  “Roxy, Harris, I’d

  like you to meet

  my Quar and

  Xad,” said Zeke.

  “I mean . . . my

  mom and dad.”

  “It’s a pleasure,” said Quar. “You

  both have been very kind to Zeke.”

  Zeke noticed that Xad was staring

  at Roxy’s sneakers. They were bright

  blue with orange laces.

  He leaned in and whispered. “Xad,

  try to not be so obvious about studying

  my friends’ clothes!”

  “Why don’t we have some lunch?”

  suggested Quar.

  Everyone gathered at the kitchen

  table. The table had no legs. It was

  just a clear disk hanging in midair.

  How does that work? wondered

  Harris. This must be alien technology,

  too! How is Roxy not bothered by this?

  “So, Harris, Roxy, what do you like

  to eat?” asked Xad.

  “Burgers and hot dogs!” replied

  Harris.

  “I like sandwiches and burritos,”

  said Roxy.

  Xad and Quar looked at each other,

  worried. They mind-projected their

  thoughts to each other so no one else

  could hear them.

  Can our food replicator create these

  Earth dishes? Xad thought.

  I don’t know. It is only set to create

  Tragas food, Quar replied.

  Zeke overheard this conversation

  in his mind. He jumped up from the

  table.

  “I’ll take care of lunch!” he said.

  Zeke walked over

  to what looked like a

  huge floor-to-ceiling

  refrigerator. He pulled

  open the door. What

  only Zeke could see

  was that behind the

  door was actually a

  panel of switches,

  buttons, and blinking

  lights—the Tragas

  Food Replicator 3000.

  The Tragas Food Replicator 3000 can

  create any food you ask it to . . . as long

  as it’s served on Tragas! Zeke thought.

  I hope it can make something close to

  these Earth foods! He began pushing

  buttons and entering commands.

  Harris leaned over to see what Zeke

  was doing, but Roxy poked him in the

  shoulder.

  “Don’t be rude!” she whispered.

  “What someone else keeps in their

  fridge is their business!”

  A few minutes later, Zeke returned

  to the table with his arms full.

  Harris stared at the steaming plates

  of food. How did Zeke heat those up in

  the fridge? he thought.

  “Why does the burrito have purple

  polka dots?” he asked. “And how come

  the hot dog is a big circle?”

  “These are the Tragas versions of

  those foods,” Xad said quickly.

  Harris bit into his hot dog and was

  surprised. It tasted sweet, like a candy

  bar.

  Roxy tasted her burrito. She looked

  at Harris, and her face scrunched up.

  He could tell that her burrito must

  have tasted as weird as his hot dog.

  Roxy smiled at Zeke. “Well, it sure

  is different. But good!” she said.

  When everyone finished lunch,

  Zeke stood up.

  “Why don’t we go to my room and

  play some games?” he suggested.

  The three friends headed to Zeke’s

  room.

  I can’t wait to see what kind of alien

  stuff he has in there! thought Harris.

  THE THREE FRIENDS

  stepped into Zeke’s room. Wow, it looks

  similar to my room, Harris thought.

  They all sat down on a couch.

  “Want to play a game?” Zeke asked.

  He pressed a button under the couch,

  and a large screen blazed to life on the

  ceiling. The three of them looked up at

  the screen, and Harris’s jaw dropped.

  “I thought you didn’t have video

  games in Tragas,” said Harris.

  “Well, not like the ones we played

  at your house,” Zeke said.

  “I’ve never seen a screen like that!”

  Roxy said.

  That’s because it’s alien technology!

  Harris thought.

  “We have a lot of high-tech stuff

  in Tragas. This game is called Monster

  Mania. You battle all kinds of monsters.

  But here’s the coolest part.”

  Instead of giving Harris and Roxy

  hand-held controllers, Zeke placed a

  helmet onto each of their heads, and

  then placed one on himself.

  “You create and control your avatar

  onscreen with your mind, not your

  fingers!” said Zeke. “And the monsters

  you battle also come from your own

  mind.”

  Zeke’s avatar was a giant bird.

  When a fire-breathing, three-headed

  dragon appeared, Zeke controlled his

  bird with his mind and defeated the

  dragon.

  Roxy’s avatar was a warrior with a

  sword, shield, and armor. She battled

  a T. rex, but the dinosaur quickly

  clobbered her.

  “This is hard!” she said.

  “Keep playing. You’ll get the hang

  of it,” said Zeke.

  Harr
is’s avatar was a superhero

  with bulging muscles and a long cape.

  He fought a cyclops who swung a big

  wooden club. Despite his superpowers,

  Harris’s avatar was overcome.

  An army of trolls soon rushed at

  the three avatars.

  “Work together!” said Zeke. “If we

  focus our thoughts on each others’

  avatars, we can defeat these trolls as

  a team!”

  Harris concentrated really hard.

  After a few seconds, his avatar began

  fighting alongside the others, and they

  soon defeated the trolls.

  “Cool game, Zeke!” Harris said. He

  was so caught up in the fun that he had

  stopped thinking that this game—like

  Zeke—might be from another planet.

  “How about a movie?” asked Zeke.

  “Sure,” said Roxy, removing her

  game helmet.

  Zeke pressed another button. The

  screen spun around and around. When

  it stopped spinning, a movie started.

  “Danger in the Deep!” said Zeke.

  “It’s one of my favorites. And it’s a 4-D

  holo-projection! You feel like you’re in

  the movie.”

  “Let me guess,” Harris said. “High-

  tech stuff from Tragas?”

  “Yup,” said Zeke, smiling, and then

  they settled in for the movie.

  Harris suddenly felt himself

  surrounded by yellow water. A giant

  sea creature with twelve tentacles

  swam past him.

  “Wow!” he said. “I feel like I’m at

  the bottom of the ocean!”

  “I hope that sea monster doesn’t

  bite me!” Roxy said.

  When the movie ended, the three

  friends headed downstairs. It was

  time to go home. Zeke’s parents met

  them in the hallway.

  “Thanks for having us over,” said

  Roxy.