1 The Invitation

The Alien Next Door Aliens for dinner

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.