6 Showing Off

Six showing off HARRIS WAS LOOKING forward to having Zeke's family over for dinner. This would be his big chance to prove to his parents and Roxy that Zeke was an alien. The dinner was set for the following Saturday. At school that week, Zeke almost seemed to be showing off.

In gym class, everyone had to climb up a rope. Harris struggled to pull himself even halfway up. He glanced to his left and saw Zeke scurrying up his rope—with his hands behind his back!

"Wow! That kid sure has strong legs!" said the boy who was climbing the rope to Harris's right. Zeke smiled at Harris on his way down the rope after touching the ceiling Is he showing off? Harris wondered. Could he be getting too confident now that I've been in his house, met his parents, and seen his Tragas technology?

Later, during arts and crafts, Harris worked on building a birdhouse. He started gluing Popsicle sticks together. As he waited for some of them to dry, he looked over at Zeke and saw that he had already completed a big birdhouse. It had a hole cut in the front, a perch, and a completed roof. Harris had barely begun, and Zeke was already finished. How did he do that so quickly? Harris wondered.

The next day, Harris was sitting in math class. "Okay, class, here's your brain- buster problem for the day," said Ms. Milton, their teacher. She proceeded to write a long list of four-digit numbers on the board. Then she wrote a five-digit number right below it. "I'd like you to add this list of numbers together, then divide the result by the number on the bottom," said Ms. Milton, Zeke's hand shot into the air. "Yes, Zeke. Do you have a question?" asked Ms. Milton.

"No, Ms. Milton. I have the answer," Zeke said. His fellow students giggled. Zeke looked around, puzzled. Then he told Ms. Milton the answer. "Why... that's correct, Zeke," she said. "Very good! You certainly have a flair for math." Should I be surprised that an alien's brain works faster than a human's? Harris thought. I can't wait for Saturday night. Then everyone will finally know.