Needless to say, her mother and father are not amused. They came here to Traders’ Court as well, and they were pretty shocked to find that their daughter had become a veccir.
“I feel like you got married or something!” cried Mrs. Vanderhof in dismay.
Bur is certainly not what the Vanderhofs had in mind for a son-in-law. On the other hand, it could be worse. They could have ended up with Jordan!
I didn’t say that out loud—which may be a sign that I’m getting smarter.
The night before Linnsy vec Bur left, they came to my room to say good-bye.
“I can’t believe you’re going away like this,” I said, trying not to cry.
“How can Linnsy go back to what she was?” they asked, speaking with both their voices at once.
I didn’t answer.
They leaned forward, and Linnsy reached out to take my hands in hers. “Listen, Tim,” she said, speaking with only her own voice. “I know things now that I didn’t know before. The truth is, I know more than I wanted to know yet—stuff about being an adult. It’s all stuff I wanted to know eventually, I guess. But I sure didn’t need to know it this soon.” She paused, then said, “I want you to do something for me when you go back to Earth.”
“What?”
“I want you to take Misty aside and talk to her.”
I snorted. “Next to Jordan, Misty is the kid in our class least likely to listen to me. She thinks I’m cornstarch.”
“Tell her you’re bringing a message from me,” insisted Linnsy.
I sighed. “All right, what is it?”
“Tell her… tell her ‘Linnsy says not to be in such a hurry.’ Tell her that all the stuff about growing up is exciting and interesting and she’s going to be glad to get to it. But tell her this, too—”
Linnsy paused, and I saw tears in her eyes. “Tell her that once you know it, you can’t not know it ever again. You can get there anytime you want. But once you’re there, you can’t go back. Tell her I said there’s no hurry.”
I nodded, not sure of what to say. “Is that it?” I said after a while. “Any other messages you want me to deliver?”
“Tell the class I said good-bye.”
“What about Jordan?”
“Just tell the class I said good-bye.” She leaned over and kissed me on the forehead. “See you around, Tim,” she whispered. “Try to stay out of trouble.”
Then she gave me a little punchie-wunchie.
After Linnsy vec Bur left, I sat in my room for a long time, not moving.
* * *
Tomorrow morning we leave for home—Mom and I, Pleskit, his Fatherly One, Mr. and Mrs. Vanderhof, and Eargon Fooz.
I’ll be glad to get back to Earth.
More from this Series
There's an Alien in My…
Book 9
The Revolt of the…
Book 10
Aliens, Underwear, and…
Book 11
Sixth-Grade Alien
Book 1
More from the Author
Goblins in the Castle
Goblins on the Prowl
ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR
Bruce Coville has published more than one hundred books, including My Teacher Is an Alien; Into the Land of the Unicorns; and Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher. He is a frequent speaker at schools and conferences, and has presented on five continents. He is also the founder and producing director of Full Cast Audio, an audiobook company that creates recordings of the best in children’s and young adult literature. He lives in Syracuse, New York, with his wife, author and illustrator Katherine Coville. Visit him online at BruceCoville.com.
Glen Mullaly is an award-winning illustrator whose work can be found in books, magazines, greeting cards, and posters. He has also created puzzles and paper crafts for McDonald’s, and his Star Wars kids comics with legendary artist Ken Steacy have been released by Marvel Comics in graphic novel format. In addition to the Sixth-Grade Alien series, he also illustrated Bruce Coville’s My Teacher Is an Alien series. He lives on the West Coast with his wife and cat. Visit Glen at GlenMullaly.com and follow him on Facebook at glenmullalyillustration.
Aladdin
Simon & Schuster, New York
Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids
www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Bruce-Coville
www.SimonandSchuster.com/Authors/Glen-Mullaly
DON’T MISS THE REST OF THE SIXTH-GRADE ALIEN SERIES!
Sixth-Grade Alien
I Shrank My Teacher
Missing—One Brain!
Zombies of the Science Fair
Class Pet Catastrophe
Too Many Aliens
Snatched from Earth
Coming Soon: There’s an Alien in My Backpack
A GLOSSARY OF ALIEN TERMS
Following are definitions for the alien words and phrases appearing for the first time in this book. Definitions of extraterrestrial words used in earlier volumes of Sixth-Grade Alien can be found in the book where they were first used.
For most words, we are only giving the spelling. In actual usage many would, of course, be accompanied by smells and/or body sounds.
The number after a definition indicates the chapter where the word first appears.
ANGO-DABBIK:
A stupid person, one who does not think clearly. Literal translation: “bonehead.” (17)
BYPRIEMM:
A rodent-like creature found in the northern wampfields of Hevi-Hevi. What makes them especially dangerous is their ability to charm hapless travelers by appearing cute and friendly. As soon as the intended victim is lulled into complacency, the bypriemm latches on and sucks the life out of its victim, growing hideous and bloated in the process. (13)
GORTZWUMP:
A nourishing but vile gelatinous substance, this “food” has inspired countless jokes by stand-up comedians across the galaxy, as well as at least 4,500 tall tales. First created on the planet Gortz, it has been credited with saving millions of lives in emergency situations. “And at least ten of those beings are glad they survived,” is the standard response whenever this figure is cited. (4)
IKBU:
A declaration of peaceful intent. The word can be used as a question or as a statement. Standard Galactic. (8)
KERBLECK:
(plural: kerbleckki) 87.4938 Earth minutes. A Standard Galactic measure of time, used for convenience when beings from different planets are discussing how long something might take. (7)
PHWOOPER:
A lie or untruth. The word is slightly slangy, and is generally reserved for occasions when the person telling the phwooper has not merely fibbed but has stretched the truth well past the breaking point. (4)
TWEEZIK:
(plural: tweezikkle) A nerve-rich appendage through which several varieties of intelligent symbiotes are able to make the connection with their vec partners. Tweezikkle come in many shapes; generally they are hard-shelled and look somewhat like a leg or a claw. A typical tweezik has more nerve fibers than a human spinal cord. Most tweezikkle have special—and quite delicate—fibrous tips that are used to make the neuron connection to their partner-beings. (4)
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
This Aladdin paperback edition July 2021
Text copyright © 2000, 2021 by Bruce Coville
Illustrations copyright © 2021 by Glen Mullaly
&n
bsp; Also available in an Aladdin hardcover edition.
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
ALADDIN and related logo are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or business@simonandschuster.com.
The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.
Book designed by Tiara Iandiorio
The illustrations for this book were rendered in a mix of traditional and digital media.
Cover illustration copyright © 2021 by Glen Mullaly
Library of Congress Control Number 2020952034
ISBN 9781534487284 (hc)
ISBN 9781534487277 (pbk)
ISBN 9781534487291 (ebook)