The Alien Next Door 4: Trick or Cheat? Read online

  Jeremy waited.

  “What makes you say that, Roxy?”

  asked Ms. Milton, still in her kangaroo

  costume.

  “He tried to ruin Zeke’s costume by

  spilling juice on it,” Roxy said.

  “And he also tried to get Zeke to

  take his costume off during recess

  so he could steal and hide it,” added

  Harris.

  “And then he propped a sack of

  flour over a door so it would fall on

  me and ruin my costume,” said Zeke.

  “Well, it fell on me, instead,” said

  Mr. Mulvaney, still obviously annoyed.

  “But how do you know that Jeremy did

  all those things?”

  “I overheard him talking about his

  plan,” Harris added.

  “That’s a lie!” said Jeremy, who

  came running out onto the stage.

  “Really?” asked Mr. Mulvaney,

  getting up to take a closer look at

  Jeremy. “Then why do you have flour

  all over your shoulders? Zeke and I

  were the only people who got hit with

  it. But someone who lifted a sack over

  his head would most likely also have

  flour on him. . . .”

  Jeremy looked down at his shoulders.

  He cringed at the sight of flour stuck

  to his purple fur.

  “You, young man, are disqualified

  for cheating!” said Mr. Mulvaney.

  “You and your flour can go wait in the

  principal’s office!”

  Jeremy, still in his monster costume,

  hung his head and shuffled out of the

  auditorium.

  The contest finally began. One by

  one, kids in their costumes paraded

  onto the stage and past the judges.

  Roxy marched across the stage,

  her long gown flowing, her magic orb

  glowing. As each kid had their turn,

  the audience of students, teachers,

  and parents applauded. The judges

  scribbled notes about their costumes.

  A gasp filled the auditorium as a

  huge dragon lumbered out onto the

  stage. It was eight feet long. Its tail

  waved back and forth. Streams of red

  ribbons flickered from the dragon’s

  mouth, giving the look of flames

  coming from the fire-breathing beast.

  It was the Reynolds twins, one

  wearing the dragon’s head, the other

  its body. The audience applauded

  wildly. The judges scribbled furiously.

  “Wow!” Harris whispered to his

  friends backstage. “That is a great

  costume. I guess we didn’t see it

  before because they couldn’t wear it

  at the same time in class!”

  “You’re next,” Zeke whispered.

  Harris clunked and clanked his way

  across the stage stiff-legged, with his

  antenna blinking brightly. Again, the

  audience applauded wildly and the

  judges made some notes.

  Then it was Zeke’s turn. He floated

  across the stage waving his tentacles

  in the air. His eyes bounced up and

  down, and he wiggled his antennae.

  Zeke got a nice round of applause, too.

  When the last costumed student

  had crossed the stage, the judges

  gathered in a huddle. A few minutes

  later, they were ready to announce the

  winners.

  Mr. Mulvaney stood up and spoke:

  “Third place goes to Zeke for his alien

  costume. Second place goes to Harris

  for his robot costume. And first place

  goes to the Reynolds twins for their

  amazing dragon costume!”

  The audience gave another loud

  round of applause, and the winners

  were all given their medals.

  “I DIDN’T WIN,” ZEKE SAID,

  sounding surprised and a little

  disappointed.

  “Sure you did,” said Roxy. “Just

  because you didn’t come in first

  doesn’t mean you’re not a winner.”

  “I’m happy,” said Harris, pulling off

  his robot head. “I never won anything

  before. This is so cool!”

  Roxy smiled.

  “And Roxy,” Harris continued. “I

  promise, next year, the three of us will

  make our costumes together.”

  “Yeah, and maybe next year, the

  three of us will win the top three

  spots!” said Roxy.

  That night, the three friends,

  wearing the same costumes they

  wore to the contest, went out trick-

  or-treating together.

  “Ooh,” said one woman as she

  put candy into Zeke’s bag. “That is a

  wonderful costume. Why, if I didn’t

  know any better, I’d say you just

  landed here from another planet!”

  “Thank you,” said Zeke.

  “I heard that Jeremy was grounded

  by his parents for that stunt with the

  flour,” Harris said, as they moved

  onto the next house. “He’s missing

  Halloween this year.”

  “It’s funny, he was so concerned

  about Zeke’s costume, but even Harris

  and the Reynolds twins beat Zeke!”

  Roxy said.

  “Thanks for reminding me,” Zeke

  said, and they all laughed.

  At the next house, a man opened

  the door and said, “Nice costumes!”

  He turned to Zeke and asked, “What

  are you supposed to be?”

  “I am supposed to be holding out

  my bag and getting candy from you,”

  Zeke replied, straight-faced.

  Harris and Roxy cracked up. Zeke

  didn’t understand what was funny.

  He still has a ways to go to understand

  humans! Harris thought.

  “No, Zeke,” said Roxy. “He means

  what is your costume.”

  “Oh,” Zeke replied.

  “He’s an alien,” Harris said.

  Zeke smiled at Harris.

  This is one time I can say that without

  giving away Zeke’s secret, Harris

  thought. He could tell that Zeke was

  thinking the same thing.

  Then the sorceress, the robot, and

  the alien, laughing and talking, moved

  on to the next house.

  Read on for a sneak peek at the fifth

  book in the Alien Next Door series!

  HARRIS WALKER AND HIS BEST FRIEND

  Roxy Martinez burst out the front door

  of Harris’s house. They clutched baseball

  gloves, a bat, and a ball in their hands.

  The sun shone brightly. The last few

  patches of snow had melted. The first

  flowers had started to sprout, and a

  warm breeze mixed with the last of the

  chilly air.

  “It’s finally nice enough outside for

  the First Catch of the Year!” Harris said

  as he and Roxy ran to opposite sides of

  his front lawn.

  The First Catch of the Year had been

  a tradition for Harris and Roxy since

  they were both old enough to throw a

  baseball.

  Roxy took a few practice swings with

  her bat.

  “I got this new bat for Christmas,”
<
br />   she said. “I can’t wait to use it!”

  “And I got this new catcher’s mitt,”

  Harris said, pounding his fist over and

  over into the hard leather. “Time to

  break it in!”

  Roxy put down her bat and slipped

  on her glove. She picked up the baseball

  and threw it right into Harris’s mitt. It

  landed with a crisp, cracking sound.

  “I can’t wait for tryouts!” Harris cried.

  “I hope I get to play catcher this year.”

  Harris skipped a ground ball across

  the lawn. Roxy took two steps to her

  right, then reached over to field the ball

  backhanded.

  “And I hope I get to play shortstop,”

  Roxy said.

  “Keep making plays like that and

  you’ll be on the team for sure!” Harris

  said.

  Harris and Roxy planned to try out

  for the Chargers, the local youth baseball

  team. The Chargers played against other

  teams from nearby towns.

  Roxy tossed the ball high into the air.

  “Pop-up!” she yelled.

  Harris looked up, raising his glove to

  shield the sun from his eyes. The ball

  started to come down.

  “Hey, what are you guys doing?”

  asked a voice from behind Harris.

  It was Zeke, Harris’s new friend and

  next-door neighbor, who just happened

  to be an alien from the planet Tragas.

  Harris knew his secret. Roxy did not.

  “Practicing baseball,” Harris replied

  without taking his eyes off the ball. The

  pop-up landed in his glove with a soft

  thud.

  “Base . . . ball?” Zeke asked.

  “You don’t have baseball in Tragas?!”

  Roxy asked.

  Harris and Roxy gave Zeke a quick

  explanation of the sport. They talked

  about pitching, fielding, hitting, and

  running the bases.

  Zeke smiled. “This sounds a lot like

  a game I used to play in Tragas,” he said.

  “It’s called Bonkas. Only in Bonkas, the

  bats are thinner and ten balls are put

  into play at the same time!”

  “Ten balls!” Roxy exclaimed. “Boy, I

  have got visit Tragas some time.”

  “Well, it is pretty far away,” Zeke

  said, glancing slyly at Harris.

  If Roxy only knew how far! Harris

  thought.

  “Hey, do you want to play catch, too?”

  Harris asked Zeke.

  “I do,” he said. “I miss playing Bonkas.

  But I don’t have a glove.”

  “No problem,” said Harris. He ran

  into the house and brought out one of

  his old gloves. “You can use this.”

  “Great!” said Zeke, slipping the glove

  onto his hand.

  “Play ball!” shouted Harris.

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