The Alien Next Door 2: Aliens for Dinner?!
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.