asked Ms. Milton, still in her kangaroo
costume.
“He tried to ruin Zeke’s costume by
spilling juice on it,” Roxy said.
“And he also tried to get Zeke to
take his costume off during recess
so he could steal and hide it,” added
Harris.
“And then he propped a sack of
flour over a door so it would fall on
me and ruin my costume,” said Zeke.
“Well, it fell on me, instead,” said
Mr. Mulvaney, still obviously annoyed.
“But how do you know that Jeremy did
all those things?”
“I overheard him talking about his
plan,” Harris added.
“That’s a lie!” said Jeremy, who
came running out onto the stage.
“Really?” asked Mr. Mulvaney,
getting up to take a closer look at
Jeremy. “Then why do you have flour
all over your shoulders? Zeke and I
were the only people who got hit with
it. But someone who lifted a sack over
his head would most likely also have
flour on him. . . .”
Jeremy looked down at his shoulders.
He cringed at the sight of flour stuck
to his purple fur.
“You, young man, are disqualified
for cheating!” said Mr. Mulvaney.
“You and your flour can go wait in the
principal’s office!”
Jeremy, still in his monster costume,
hung his head and shuffled out of the
auditorium.
The contest finally began. One by
one, kids in their costumes paraded
onto the stage and past the judges.
Roxy marched across the stage,
her long gown flowing, her magic orb
glowing. As each kid had their turn,
the audience of students, teachers,
and parents applauded. The judges
scribbled notes about their costumes.
A gasp filled the auditorium as a
huge dragon lumbered out onto the
stage. It was eight feet long. Its tail
waved back and forth. Streams of red
ribbons flickered from the dragon’s
mouth, giving the look of flames
coming from the fire-breathing beast.
It was the Reynolds twins, one
wearing the dragon’s head, the other
its body. The audience applauded
wildly. The judges scribbled furiously.
“Wow!” Harris whispered to his
friends backstage. “That is a great
costume. I guess we didn’t see it
before because they couldn’t wear it
“You’re next,” Zeke whispered.
Harris clunked and clanked his way
across the stage stiff-legged, with his
antenna blinking brightly. Again, the
audience applauded wildly and the
judges made some notes.
Then it was Zeke’s turn. He floated
across the stage waving his tentacles
in the air. His eyes bounced up and
down, and he wiggled his antennae.
Zeke got a nice round of applause, too.
When the last costumed student
had crossed the stage, the judges
gathered in a huddle. A few minutes
later, they were ready to announce the
winners.
Mr. Mulvaney stood up and spoke:
“Third place goes to Zeke for his alien
costume. Second place goes to Harris
for his robot costume. And first place
goes to the Reynolds twins for their
amazing dragon costume!”
The audience gave another loud
round of applause, and the winners
were all given their medals.
“I DIDN’T WIN,” ZEKE SAID,
sounding surprised and a little
disappointed.
“Sure you did,” said Roxy. “Just
because you didn’t come in first
doesn’t mean you’re not a winner.”
“I’m happy,” said Harris, pulling off
his robot head. “I never won anything
before. This is so cool!”
Roxy smiled.
“And Roxy,” Harris continued. “I
promise, next year, the three of us will
make our costumes together.”
“Yeah, and maybe next year, the
three of us will win the top three
spots!” said Roxy.
That night, the three friends,
wearing the same costumes they
wore to the contest, went out trick-
or-treating together.
“Ooh,” said one woman as she
put candy into Zeke’s bag. “That is a
wonderful costume. Why, if I didn’t
know any better, I’d say you just
landed here from another planet!”
“Thank you,” said Zeke.
“I heard that Jeremy was grounded
by his parents for that stunt with the
flour,” Harris said, as they moved
onto the next house. “He’s missing
Halloween this year.”
“It’s funny, he was so concerned
about Zeke’s costume, but even Harris
and the Reynolds twins beat Zeke!”
Roxy said.
said, and they all laughed.
At the next house, a man opened
the door and said, “Nice costumes!”
He turned to Zeke and asked, “What
are you supposed to be?”
“I am supposed to be holding out
my bag and getting candy from you,”
Zeke replied, straight-faced.
Harris and Roxy cracked up. Zeke
didn’t understand what was funny.
He still has a ways to go to understand
humans! Harris thought.
“No, Zeke,” said Roxy. “He means
what is your costume.”
“Oh,” Zeke replied.
“He’s an alien,” Harris said.
Zeke smiled at Harris.
This is one time I can say that without
giving away Zeke’s secret, Harris
thought. He could tell that Zeke was
thinking the same thing.
Then the sorceress, the robot, and
the alien, laughing and talking, moved
on to the next house.
Read on for a sneak peek at the fifth
book in the Alien Next Door series!
HARRIS WALKER AND HIS BEST FRIEND
Roxy Martinez burst out the front door
of Harris’s house. They clutched baseball
gloves, a bat, and a ball in their hands.
The sun shone brightly. The last few
patches of snow had melted. The first
flowers had started to sprout, and a
warm breeze mixed with the last of the
chilly air.
“It’s finally nice enough outside for
the First Catch of the Year!” Harris said
as he and Roxy ran to opposite sides of
his front lawn.
The First Catch of the Year had been
a tradition for Harris and Roxy since
they were both old enough to throw a
baseball.
Roxy took a few practice swings with
her bat.
“I got this new bat for Christmas,”
she said. “I can’t wait to use it!”
“And I got thi
s new catcher’s mitt,”
Harris said, pounding his fist over and
over into the hard leather. “Time to
break it in!”
Roxy put down her bat and slipped
on her glove. She picked up the baseball
and threw it right into Harris’s mitt. It
landed with a crisp, cracking sound.
“I can’t wait for tryouts!” Harris cried.
“I hope I get to play catcher this year.”
Harris skipped a ground ball across
the lawn. Roxy took two steps to her
right, then reached over to field the ball
backhanded.
“And I hope I get to play shortstop,”
Roxy said.
“Keep making plays like that and
you’ll be on the team for sure!” Harris
said.
Harris and Roxy planned to try out
for the Chargers, the local youth baseball
team. The Chargers played against other
teams from nearby towns.
Roxy tossed the ball high into the air.
“Pop-up!” she yelled.
Harris looked up, raising his glove to
shield the sun from his eyes. The ball
started to come down.
“Hey, what are you guys doing?”
asked a voice from behind Harris.
It was Zeke, Harris’s new friend and
next-door neighbor, who just happened
to be an alien from the planet Tragas.
Harris knew his secret. Roxy did not.
“Practicing baseball,” Harris replied
without taking his eyes off the ball. The
pop-up landed in his glove with a soft
thud.
“Base . . . ball?” Zeke asked.
“You don’t have baseball in Tragas?!”
Roxy asked.
Harris and Roxy gave Zeke a quick
explanation of the sport. They talked
about pitching, fielding, hitting, and
running the bases.
Zeke smiled. “This sounds a lot like
a game I used to play in Tragas,” he said.
“It’s called Bonkas. Only in Bonkas, the
bats are thinner and ten balls are put
into play at the same time!”
“Ten balls!” Roxy exclaimed. “Boy, I
have got visit Tragas some time.”
“Well, it is pretty far away,” Zeke
said, glancing slyly at Harris.
If Roxy only knew how far! Harris
thought.
“Hey, do you want to play catch, too?”
Harris asked Zeke.
“I do,” he said. “I miss playing Bonkas.
But I don’t have a glove.”
“No problem,” said Harris. He ran
into the house and brought out one of
his old gloves. “You can use this.”
“Great!” said Zeke, slipping the glove
onto his hand.
“Play ball!” shouted Harris.
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