Rebekah--Girl Detective #2, Page 2

  When they reached science class Rebekah was very worried that she would get in trouble for not having her homework. She sat down at her desk and began scribbling together a design.

  "What is that supposed to be?" Libby asked as she peered over Rebekah's shoulder. Rebekah had drawn very tall stick figure aliens. She made their eyes as big as saucers and fished a green colored pencil out of her bag to give them a green glow.

  "Aliens," Rebekah shrugged.

  "Those are not aliens," Libby giggled. "Aliens are short."

  "How do you know?" Rebekah asked and looked up at Libby quickly. Maybe there was a reason she wore all those t-shirts and believed in aliens. Maybe it was because Libby was the alien!

  "I've read lots of books," Libby said proudly. "Aliens are short, and some are green, but some are gray. They do have big eyes though."

  Rebekah looked Libby over closely for any sign that she might be an alien. She did not have any green glowing skin. Her eyes were small and brown. Other than liking aliens, she really was not very strange.

  "Have you ever seen one?" Rebekah asked in a whisper.

  "Oh yes all the time!" Libby said happily.

  "Really?" Rebekah gasped.

  "Well, I mean in movies and on television," Libby said. "I've never seen a real alien in person."

  Rebekah sighed with disappointment. She pulled out the list she had printed out.

  "Does this make sense to you?" she asked.

  Libby read the list over and then nodded. "Yes, I'd say it's a good list."

  Mr. Woods walked into the room, and Libby smiled.

  "Good luck with your, uh, picture," she said as she hurried off to her desk.

  Rebekah looked down at her crude drawing and cringed. She hoped Mr. Woods would not be too upset with her. Before she could look up at him, he suddenly switched off the lights. The room began to glow.

  "Oh no!" Rebekah cried out. "The aliens are here!"

  Chapter 5

  “Rebekah!” Mr. Woods hollered as all of the kids in the class began screaming and hiding. “There are no aliens here,” he huffed and flicked on the light. “I was just trying to make it fun for us to show off our pictures. Is everyone okay?” he looked around at the still frightened students. Rebekah was the only one standing on top of her desk with her science book held above her head ready to smash some aliens.

  “Get down this instant,” Mr. Woods growled.

  Rebekah winced and climbed down off of her desk. “Now what in the world made you say something like that?” he asked.

  “Well, the room was glowing,” Rebekah muttered as a few of the other kids snickered at her.

  “Yes, well glow in the dark stars will do that,” Mr. Woods said as he pointed to the glow in the dark stars he had hung from the ceiling.

  “Oh,” Rebekah said quietly. Her cheeks were burning. She was usually so calm and could figure out any mystery, but this one had her on edge.

  “Now young lady, since you wanted to cause so much chaos, you can present your picture first,” he crossed his arms.

  Rebekah picked up her quickly sketched, half-finished picture.

  “Oh I see,” Mr. Woods said with a shake of his head. “You just didn't do your homework and were hoping that the aliens would save you?”

  Rebekah sighed as she looked at her shoes. “Well, I read something about aliens pretending to be people, and I-”

  “Rebekah,” Mr. Woods looked her straight in the eye. “I will not have you scaring the other kids. There are plenty of ideas about aliens out there, but this class is meant to be for fun. It is not meant to be scary. There are no aliens pretending to be humans.”

  Rebekah opened her mouth to say something else, but Mr. Woods shook his head.

  “Sit down,” he pointed to Rebekah's desk. Rebekah sat down. But not before she noticed that when Mr. Woods' sleeve pulled away from his wrist, there was a glimmer of green on his skin. Her eyes widened as she stared at him. Throughout the rest of class she noticed his wild hair, his oddly shaped eyes, and his rumpled clothing. He was a very strange teacher. Strange enough to be an alien?

  Chapter 6

  “Mouse! Mouse!” Rebekah chased him out of class. He stopped in the hallway and turned to look at her.

  “What is it?” he asked with a frown. He had been scared when she said there were aliens. He had also been annoyed that he did not get to show off his alien mouse planet because Mr. Woods decided the class was too scary.

  “I think Mr. Woods is the alien,” Rebekah said, out of breath from calling his name so many times.

  “What?” Mouse groaned and slapped his own forehead with his palm. “Rebekah what has gotten into you? Mr. Woods is not an alien! Libby is not an alien and I am not an alien!”

  Rebekah pouted a little. “But how do you know?” she asked, her heart beating fast.

  “Like Mr. Woods said, there are no aliens pretending to be humans,” Mouse said firmly.

  Rebekah bit into her bottom lip and tilted her head to the side. She squinted her eyes and tapped her chin.

  “But don't you think that's what an alien pretending to be a science teacher would say?” she asked in a rushed whisper.

  “Rebekah, Rebekah,” Mouse shook his head.

  “What about the light I saw?” she reminded him. “I know the difference between stars and light hovering over the school,” she said.

  “Well,” Mouse frowned, he was not sure what the light had been.

  “Just trust me,” Rebekah pleaded. “I saw Mr. Woods wrist, and it was green!”

  “Like my hands,” Mouse showed her his palms again.

  “Yes, but, it was glowing!” she said quickly. “I really saw it this time.”

  Mouse frowned. Rebekah was one of the smartest people he knew. She could solve just about any mystery. But he had never known her to be so afraid.

  “Alright Rebekah,” he nodded. “Let's figure this out together. But how?”

  Rebekah tugged Mouse around the corner in the hallway before Mr. Woods spotted them. “We'll have to check out what he does after school. I bet if he is an alien there will be plenty of evidence in his classroom.”

  Mouse was used to getting into investigations with Rebekah, but this one was a little different. She was talking about spying on a teacher.

  “Don't worry,” Rebekah said when she saw his frown. “When we save everyone from an alien science teacher, they will call us heroes!”

  Mouse nodded, and from his pocket Whiskers squeaked.

  Chapter 7

  After school they camped out behind some cars in the staff parking lot. They knew that most of the teachers stayed after school to work on grading and preparation, and that Mr. Woods would do the same. They passed the time by feeding smelly cheese to Whiskers.

  "Why is he so afraid?" Rebekah asked as the little mouse ducked back inside of Mouse's pocket.

  "He is the littlest mouse of them all," Mouse explained. "The other mice are always getting to the food first, I think he is just used to getting pushed around."

  "Poor Whiskers," Rebekah said and offered him some extra cheese. As the sun began to set many teachers started leaving the school.

  "Now we just have to wait for Mr. Woods to leave and get in before the janitor locks the doors," Rebekah said quickly.

  "What if we get locked in?" Mouse frowned.

  "We'll find a way out," Rebekah said firmly.

  "Good because I don't want to spend the whole night stuck inside the school," Mouse warned. "I bet it is spooky after dark."

  "Oh Mouse, there is no such thing as spooky," she rolled her eyes at the very idea.

  "Uh, really, then what do you call a glowing science teacher?" he asked as he pointed to Mr. Woods. He had taken off his lab coat and was walking toward his car. His arms were glowing green!

  "I told you!" Rebekah hissed and had to stop herself from doing a happy dance.

  "I can't believe it," Mouse gasped. "Our science teacher really is an alien."

 
"Shh," Rebekah ducked down further behind the car they were hiding behind. As soon as Mr. Woods sat down in his car, they made a quick run toward the back door of the school. Luckily it was not locked yet. They slipped inside.

  The empty halls were actually a little spooky. There was no noise of kids laughing, or teachers yelling. There was an eerie quiet.

  "Hurry up," Rebekah said as she headed down the hall. Mouse chased after her. When they reached the wing of the school that had the science classrooms, the hall light had already been switched off. It was dark. Except for the door to Mr. Woods' classroom. It was glowing!

  "Ugh," Mouse shuddered. "I don't know if we should go in there."

  "We have to be brave," Rebekah insisted. "We have to get some proof that Mr. Woods is an alien or no one will believe us," she said and continued down the hall.

  When they reached the classroom, they peaked inside. It was glowing green, and in the middle of the glow, also glowing, was a young girl. They could not see her face at first. Then the girl slowly turned around.

  "Libby!" Mouse shrieked.

  Rebekah clamped her hand over his mouth. "Shh!" she hissed. They heard footsteps coming down the hall.

  "We have to help her," Mouse said. "Mr. Woods must have turned her into an alien!"

  "Someone's coming," Rebekah whispered and pulled on Mouse's hand.

  "Who is it?" Mouse asked with a frown. Rebekah peered down the hall. Out of the darkness, Mr. Woods was walking toward them.

  "Ah!" Rebekah covered her own mouth to keep from screaming.

  "Run!" Mouse squeaked and they both began running down the hall.

  “Rebekah, get back here!” a voice called out loudly.

  But neither of them stopped running. They tried every door until they found an open exit. As they ran out across the football field, the sun had set all the way. The football field was dark. Except for a bright light that seemed to be chasing them!

  Chapter 8

  “Keep running Mouse!” Rebekah called out, trying to hide from the light. It was swinging back and forth across the field.

  “I am, I am!” Mouse called back, and then suddenly he stopped. “Oh no,” he grabbed the pocket of his shirt. “Oh no! Whiskers is missing!”

  “What?” Rebekah stopped running and spun around. “Where is he?”

  “I don't know!” Mouse cried out in a panic. “He isn't in my pocket. He must have fallen out while I was running!”

  “Find him, find him,” Rebekah said quickly. The back door to the school was opening. She could see Mr. Woods standing in the doorway.

  “Rebekah!” He called out again when he spotted her on the football field.

  “Hurry Mouse,” she pleaded.

  “I'm trying,” Mouse sniffled. “But he's green, and so is the grass!”

  “Come on let's just go,” Rebekah said and tried to grab Mouse's hand.

  “No Rebekah!” he protested. “I can't, I can't leave him here. Mr. Woods will turn him into a real alien mouse. Just like he turned Libby into an alien girl!”

  Mr. Woods was running across the field, and Rebekah was very scared. But she knew that Mouse would not leave without Whiskers, and she was not going to leave Mouse behind.

  “Okay let's look,” she said quickly. They both dropped down to their hands and knees and began searching the grass for the tiny green mouse.

  “Looking for this?” a voice asked from right above them.

  Mouse and Rebekah looked up slowly to see a green mouse squeaking and sniffing on the green palm of Mr. Woods' hand.

  “Oh no, it's too late!” Mouse cried out dramatically and threw himself on the grass. “Mr. Woods turned him into an alien mouse! Look he's glowing!”

  Rebekah was too stunned to even try to run. Mr. Woods' hands were glowing a bright green, which made Whiskers look like he was glowing too.

  “Stay back alien!” Rebekah shouted as she jumped to her feet. “You might have gotten Whiskers, but you'll never get Mouse!”

  Mr. Woods sighed and shook his head as he looked at Mouse pounding his fists on the ground and Rebekah waving her hands in karate chops in his direction.

  “I think you two are a little confused,” he said calmly and pet the mouse in his hand. “Maybe we should talk about what you think is going on here?”

  “You're an alien pretending to be a science teacher,” Rebekah said as if it were pretty clear.

  Mr. Woods stared Rebekah straight in the eye and slowly lifted one eyebrow.

  “I am not an alien Rebekah,” he said sternly.

  “But your hands,” she pointed to his glowing green hands.

  “And the light?” Mouse pointed to the bright light.

  “And your arms,” Rebekah pointed to his glowing arms.

  “And Libby!” Mouse cried out. “Oh poor Libby!”

  “I’m not an alien,” Mr. Woods folded his arms. “I am a science teacher trying to plan a surprise for his students.”

  “A surprise?” Rebekah asked.

  “Yes,” he smiled. “I wanted you all to have a taste of some alien fun. So I decorated the classroom with some glowing paint, but,” he showed her his hands again with Whiskers still wriggling in them. “Some got stuck on my hands and arms. I have the spotlight hooked up because I want us to be able to come out here and stargaze, and see if we can spot a space ship. But we need to have some light so that no one trips or gets hurt.”

  “And Libby?” Rebekah asked nervously.

  “Libby has a lot of information about aliens, so she offered to help me with the surprise,” he sighed and shook his head. “We had the lights out to make sure the classroom would really glow.”

  “Oh,” Rebekah said quietly. She thought for a moment, and then looked up. “Of course, I knew that all along. It was Mouse that thought you were an alien. I mean, after all, aliens are not real!”

  Mouse rolled his eyes as he took Whiskers from Mr. Woods.

  “Maybe next time you want to investigate something Rebekah, the first thing you should ask, is Mr. Woods, are you an alien?”

  Rebekah giggled. “Okay, I will,” she said.

  “At least we know the glowing paint works,” Mr. Woods said with a grin. “Why don't you two come inside and help Libby and I finish up the surprise, okay?”

  Mouse and Rebekah nodded and followed Mr. Woods back toward the school.

  “Now Mouse, there is a little matter of a little green pet,” Mr. Woods said with a frown.

  “Uh, it was just part of the surprise?” Mouse said.

  “Oh I see,” Mr. Woods laughed and patted him lightly on the back. “We'll make sure he's the star of the show!”

  Next Steps

  This book is part of the children’s series, “Rebekah - Girl Detective”.

  I’d really love to hear from you!

  I very much appreciate your reviews and comments so thank you in advance for taking a moment to leave one for “Alien Invasion”.

  You can join Rebekah’s fun Facebook page for young detectives here:

  http://www.facebook.com/RebekahGirlDetective

  Sincerely,

  PJ Ryan

  Now Available in Audio

  Rebekah - Girl Detective #2: Alien Invasion is now available as an audiobook!

  You can listen to a free sample here:

  http://pjryanbooks.com/books/alien-invasion/

  More audio versions coming soon!

  Visit the author website at:

  PJRyanBooks.com

  Please enjoy the following preview for #3 Magellan Goes Missing

  Chapter 1

  “Oh yes I see,” she muttered in her best detective voice. She leaned her hands on the windowsill and stared out the window. It was an ordinary day in her ordinary neighborhood. She had been staring out of her window for quite some time, just hoping to spot something suspicious. She wanted to have an adventure, but she did not think anyone else did. Everyone seemed to have something to do, or something they were interested in. It was the beginning of summe
r and she was ready to have some fun. Sadly, she had a bit of a cold and could not go swimming just yet. So she decided to do her other favorite activity, detecting. Her mother called it spying. Her father called it being a little nosy. But she called it paying very close attention. She was paying very close attention to the older couple walking down the street with their tiny dog. She was certain that these people must not be as sweet and nice as they looked. She was just about to launch an investigation when her phone rang. She ran over to the stand beside her bed where she charged it.

  "Hello?" she said hoping it would be an adventure calling.

  "Oh ---- I am so glad you answered," Mouse gushed into the phone. Mouse was her best friend. He collected little mice as pets, so everyone called him Mouse. Actually, maybe she had been the one to start it, but either way, he was now known as Mouse.

  "What's wrong?" she asked.

  "It's Magellan," he sighed. "He's gone."

  "Is that a mouse?" she asked.

  "Yes! My favorite mouse!" he cried out.

  "Really?" she frowned.

  "Alright, they're all my favorite," he said. "But Magellan is so tiny, I am so scared he's lost or hurt somewhere."

  "Have you checked all your pockets?" she asked. Mouse liked to carry his pets around with him in his pockets from time to time.

  "Yes, and all the usual hiding spots- under the bed, in the closet, in the hamper-"

  "In the hamper?" she gasped.

  "Yes," he answered.

  "Brave mouse," she giggled.

  "Listen!" he said, getting frustrated. "It's not funny, I have to find Magellan!"

  "I know you do," she said. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have teased. This sounds like an investigation," she said firmly. "I'll be over in ten minutes."

  "Please hurry," Mouse squeaked.

  When she hung up the phone her mind was already spinning with ideas. As she walked out of the house she spotted the older couple with their tiny dog. They smiled nicely at her. She smiled back, but she knew they were up to something.