The Fellowship for Alien Detection (2 page)

“Earth to Suze,” AJ called. “Not awake yet, are ya?”

Actually, it felt like exactly the opposite. Suza felt
too
awake. Too aware. She turned back to AJ, her face blank.
He'll ask me
. . .

“You here for the AJ Special? Bacon and peanut butter on whole wheat?”

Suza started to shake. It was like she knew
everything
.

“What's the matter?”

“You're going to be out of peanut butter.”

“Nahh, we've got plenty of . . .” AJ reached down into the cabinet below him, then looked at her in surprise. “Well, I'll be darned . . . I—” AJ's eyes suddenly went wide. His voice lowered to a whisper. “Hey, where's the— the thing? Did you bring it?”

“The—” Suza suddenly remembered the piece of metal. “Oh no . . . I threw it away!”

AJ glanced around worriedly. “You were supposed to bring it, weren't you?”

“I was?” But yes, of course she was. That was the
plan
. “I'll go get it,” said Suza.

“Hurry,” said AJ.

Suza left the diner, running back up the street toward her bike. Understanding flooded through her.
We need that piece of metal, because there's something wrong with this morning. But, not just this morning
. Every
morning. And that piece of metal is a key to—

SUZA! the voice in her head thundered. Y
OU WILL COME TO SCHOOL
NOW! C
ALMLY AND WITHOUT DELAY
.

Suza stopped in her tracks. She slapped behind her ear. All of a sudden, she was calm again. Her breathing slowed.
Just get to school
, she thought.
Right
.

She grabbed her bike and rode slowly, arriving at school a few moments later. Buses were pulling up in a line, kids streaming off. Suza tossed her bike carelessly against the bike rack and walked straight through the double doors, down the hallway all decorated with pastel-colored murals of April flowers.

R
IGHT THIS WAY
, S
UZA
, the voice said approvingly.

She reached the office and walked inside, straight past the reception counter and directly into the principal's office.

“Suza,” Principal Howard's deep voice soothed. He sat reclined, filling the wide leather chair behind his dark wood desk, smiling kindly at her.

She started to think:
His smile is fake and I have to get out of—

S
TAY RIGHT THERE
, S
UZA
, the voice in her head commanded.

Beside Principal Howard stood another short man in an orange jumpsuit and yellow hard hat. He wore black boots and small, oval sunglasses that actually looked more like swimming goggles, except that they were pure black. He stepped toward her. Suza wanted to move, but she didn't. She couldn't.

“It happens, dear, now and then,” Principal Howard assured her. “But don't worry. . . .” The orange-suited man put his hand around her wrist. It felt neither cold nor warm. “We'll make everything just like it was.”

Suza looked down, and as the first pulses of neon orange light began to spread from the man's palm, that feeling of knowing the future overwhelmed her. “No, you can't do it again!” she screamed. Principal Howard stopped smiling. “This is all happening over and over! You can't! I won't—”

But her voice faded as orange light washed over her.

Juliette, AZ, April 25, 8:06 a.m.

A few minutes later, Suza walked out of the office. She headed straight to class, where she slid into her desk and sat at attention, eyes on Ms. Fells, her math teacher.

“Good morning, Suza,” said Ms. Fells, smiling sweetly. “Nice of you to join us. Do you have a note for your tardy arrival?”

“Huh?” Suza wondered what she was talking about. She glanced at the clock and found that she was eight minutes late. How had that happened? Sure, she'd popped into the office for a minute, but . . . Why had she even gone there, in the first place?

“Suza?” Ms. Fells was now beside her. “It's all right, you're not in trouble.” Suza watched Ms. Fells reach down and pluck a small, yellow pass out of her hand. “Now,” Ms. Fells said, striding back to the front of the room, “let's get started.”

Suza stared at her hand for another moment, then shrugged and began pulling her books out of her bag. What were they going to do in class today? She thought about it, but realized she had no idea.

After all, why would she?

JUST ANNOUNCED:

$25,000

AVAILABLE FOR

CREATIVE THINKERS!

THE

GAVIN KELLER FOUNDATION

PROUDLY ANNOUNCES

THE FIRST ANNUAL

FELLOWSHIP FOR ALIEN DETECTION

OVERVIEW

The Gavin Keller Foundation is pleased to offer this unique fellowship award and field research experience to creative-thinking teens nationwide.

AWARD

Winners will receive a fully funded, two-week research fellowship grant, publication of their field study report in
New Frontiers Mag-Zine
*, and a $25,000 college scholarship annuity.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Applicants must submit a standard application and a detailed field study proposal, including:

a)
A well-researched hypothesis supporting the idea of extraterrestrial visitation

b)
A plan to research your theory in the field over a two-week period

BACKGROUND

Founded by Gavin Keller, a former NASA scientist and editor in chief of
New Frontiers Mag-Zine
, the Keller Foundation is dedicated to raising awareness of alternate narratives and credible scientific study in the fields of plausible phenomena and speculative forensics.

ACCREDITATION

The FAD is accredited by the NFUO (New Futures University Online) and endorsed by the CCN (Coalition for Crystology and Numerology), the NAP (National Academy of Phenomenonics), NHIP (Network of Highly Involved Parents), the RHSA (Rebel Home School Alliance), and over three other forward-thinking academic and parent associations.

APPLICATION

FINAL DEADLINE:

APRIL 1st

*
New Frontiers Mag-Zine
is America's most popular online zine, devoted to illuminating our place in the cosmos as well as showcasing new culinary trends for the informed intergalactic palate.

Greenhaven, CT, June 30, 2:14 p.m.

Haley Richards gazed at the writing prompt on the board:

“My summer will be . . .”

“One more minute,” Ms. DeNetto announced. “Please finish up the sentence you're on.”

Haley glanced around. Most of her classmates had written a couple of paragraphs and were now sitting back in the stuffy air, waiting for these last few minutes of the school year to tick by. She looked down at her own page and saw nothing but light blue lines on a vacant landscape of white. Normally, she was one of the best writers in her eighth grade class, but today she hadn't written a thing. How could she? Haley had no idea what her summer would be. She knew what it was supposed to be; she'd had it all planned out in what everyone knew was very typical Haley fashion. But then, as everyone in class also knew, things hadn't quite worked out. And now, not only was Haley's summer a blank page, but it felt like her very future was unwritten.

“Okay, time's up.” Ms. DeNetto walked to the front of the room. “And . . .” she said dramatically, “it looks like we will have time for a few last readers to end the year.” A fluttering sound came from her hands. Ms. DeNetto was shuffling her Deck of Fates. Groans and sighs sounded from around the room.

Haley sat up, propelled by a rush of nervous energy in her gut. It was a feeling she knew all too well: a wriggling anxiety just below and behind her belly. She sometimes imagined that it was caused by a tiny creature, a parasite or maybe some kind of stomach gnome. The feeling had been with Haley her whole life, like an old friend, or maybe nemesis was more accurate, a little doubt demon riding shotgun inside her, questioning every move and pointing out every possible flaw.

She slapped her notebook closed. A playing card was taped to the front: eight of diamonds. Each kid had a card, and Ms. DeNetto had a matching deck. If she picked your card, you had to read aloud to the class. And while a blank page might get some of her classmates out of reading, Haley knew that if she got picked, Ms. DeNetto would just ask her to talk about her summer anyway.

If she had to, Haley could talk about it, but she didn't want to. Didn't want to deal with everyone's judgment about what she
wasn't
doing, and didn't want to bother trying to justify what she actually
was
doing.

She glanced at the clock. 2:15. Fifteen more minutes. That was about five readers.
Please don't pick me
, she begged the Fates.
Really, it's the least you could do
.

Ms. DeNetto drew the first card from the deck. “Five of spades.”

Okay, one down. Little whispers of “Yes!” escaped around the room. Haley shared in that wave of relief, but only for a moment, because then she realized who had just been chosen. Madison Blake.
Well played
, Haley sneered to the smiling Fates. It looked like, as payment for not being called on, the Fates had decided to remind Haley of this summer's failings.