8 A Surprise

8 a surprise THE NEXT DAY ON THE BUS RIDE to school, Zeke told Roxy and Harris about what happened with Debbie.

"Sounds like you tried to do something nice," Roxy said, hoping to comfort her friend. "Building something from scratch that you designed yourself says a lot about how much you care for the person you give it to."

"Yeah, too bad it blew up," added Harris. Roxy glared at Harris. "What? It did!" said Harris. "I think I'm just going to give up on Valentine's Day and trying to figure out who sent me that chocolate," Zeke said as the three friends reached school. "I'd probably mess things up even if I knew who it was."

"No, you wouldn't," said Roxy. "Any kid would be lucky to have you for a friend." "Yeah," added Harris. "Just look at us! We're both happy you're our friend." Zeke nodded, but remained quiet the rest of the way as they walked into school.

At recess that day, Zeke sat by himself in the playground, feeling sad. And, for the first time since he became friends with Roxy and Harris, Zeke felt homesick. As kids ran and played all around him, Zeke thought about his life back on Tragas.

I always knew what was what on Tragas, he thought. I knew what all the holidays were and how I was supposed to celebrate them. I knew the customs and I didn't feel embarrassed by not knowing what the right thing to do was. And, for the first time in a long time, Zeke thought about going home. Maybe it's time to go back to a life we know. Maybe my parents' research on Earth will end soon and we can all go home.