1 Red Hearts, Pink Streamers

THE ALINE NEXT DOOR THE MYSTERY VALENTINE

one Red Hearts Pink streamers. ZEKE WALKED INTO JEFFERSON Elementary School. Since his arrival on Earth from the planet Tragas a few months ago, he began to feel more and more comfortable with Earth customs every day. At first, everything on this new planet seemed strange to him.

Now, even something that was scary at first, like walking into school, was no big deal. Except for today.

When Zeke entered the building this February morning, he was shocked by what he saw. The walls were covered with bright red and shiny paper hearts. Curly pink ribbons dangled from the ceiling. Zeke saw pictures of babies with wings soaring through the sky shooting arrows. I haven't met any human babies yet, Zeke thought. Do they really have wings?

Signs hung everywhere saying: Zeke was confused. Normally, the school hallways were filled with posters and signs about school plays, sports competitions against other schools, or class projects. But this? This seemed unusual, even for humans.

Zeke stopped a boy who was hurrying to his class. "Um, excuse me, but why is all this stuff up on the walls?" he asked. The boy shook his head, rolled his eyes, and kept walking. Looking back over his shoulder he said, "What planet are you from, man?"