Amos and the Alien

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1

Amos Binder sat on the bench in the locker room waiting for his best friend for life, Duncan—Dunc—Culpepper.

Most of the boys had already finished their showers and were leaving by the time Dunc pushed open the double doors that led in from the football field. He pulled off his helmet. “I tried, Amos, but the coach just isn’t buying it.”

“Did you tell him it was a total accident and that everyone makes these little mistakes?”

“I’m afraid the coach doesn’t think having you knock him down, rip the cellular phone out of his hand, and push his head in
the team water bucket with your cleats qualifies as a
little
mistake.”

“You’d think he’d be more appreciative. I was only trying to save him the trouble of answering the phone. I was positive it was Melissa calling to find out how my day was going and if I would go to the Sadie Hawkins Dance with her.”

Amos had a problem with ringing telephones. He was madly in love with a girl named Melissa Hansen, and every time he heard a phone ring he was sure it was her calling him. Dunc still hadn’t figured that part out because Melissa had never shown the slightest interest in Amos. In fact, she had a way of looking through him as if he were part of the scenery.

But that didn’t stop Amos. Deep down, he knew it was only a matter of time before she dropped Biff Fastrack, the team captain and star quarterback, and realized her true feelings for him.

Dunc sat on the bench beside him. “Was it Melissa?”

“I don’t know. I lost my grip on the phone, and it flew through the concession stand window. I had to fish it out of the
pickle barrel. When I held it up to my ear, all I could hear was static.”

“Coach Sanders said it might be a good idea if you didn’t show up for practice for a while.”

“How long?”

“He said something about until the next ice age.”

“He was probably kidding.”

“Probably.” Dunc stood up. “I better get washed up so we can go. I can’t wait to go exploring for meteorite samples! Did you see that meteor shower we had last night? I think I saw one hit the earth not far from here and if I could find a real meteorite and locate traces of phosphorus in it … Of course, it would mostly be iron combined with an insignificant amount of—”

“Dunc.”

“What?”

“Let’s concentrate on my problem.”

“You mean finding a way to get Coach to let you come to practices?”

“No. Finding a way to get Melissa to ask me to the dance.”

“Amos, you’ve given it your best shot. The only reason we tried out for the team in the
first place was that you thought Melissa would notice you if you wore a uniform. So far, she hasn’t given you the time of day.”

“That’s because she hasn’t seen me play yet. If Coach ever lets me off the bench, you’ll see things start to change around here.”

“I wouldn’t hold my breath, Amos. The only time Coach ever let you handle the football was to carry it from the field house to the sidelines. And even then you dropped it four times.”

“What are you trying to say here?”

“Face it, Amos. Football just isn’t your game.”

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2

Amos was in the front of his house working in the yard. Actually he was clipping a giant
M
, for “Melissa,” in the top of the hedge between his house and the Grobowskis’.

“She loves me. She loves me not. She loves me.…”

“Amos, put that down and come on! You said you’d help me investigate that meteor shower I saw last night.”

“You’ve got enough rocks. Can’t you see I’m busy here?”

Dunc balanced on the pedals of his bike. “Think of it, Amos. If there really is something out there it
could
be the scientific discovery of the century.”

Amos faked a yawn. “Sounds real interesting.”

“It is. If we hurry and finish the testing, we’ll be the first ones ever to study this particular meteor shower—and who knows what important discovery we might make?”

“How exciting.” Amos held up his clippers. “Where was I? Oh yeah. ‘She loves me not. She loves me.…’ ”

“They’ll probably name the meteorite we find after us. The Culpepper-Binder meteorite.”

Amos stopped. “Would they do that? Name it after us, I mean?”

“They always name famous discoveries after the people who discover them.”

“That would make us sorta famous, wouldn’t it?” Amos dropped the clippers and edged toward his bike.

“Maybe.”

“And Melissa might hear about it.…”

“If it’s a big enough find, we’ll at least be on the local news. They might even put our picture in the encyclopedia.”

“What are we waiting around here for?” Amos jumped on his bike and powered down the street. At the end of the block, he turned
and rode back. “Where
is
this meteorite, anyway?”

“Didn’t I mention that part?”

“No.”

“It’s not too far from here.”

“Dunc.”

“Okay. I think it landed on the other side of the waterfront.”

Amos closed his eyes and sighed. “The waterfront? Are you sure?”

Dunc nodded.

“You know I hate that place! It’s full of rats and winos and people who aren’t happy unless they can rearrange the parts of your body.”

“It’ll be okay this time. We’ll ride right through, cross the bridge, and come out on the other side. No problem.”

Amos thought about it. “You could be wrong about where it landed. After all, it was probably moving kinda fast.”

“I tracked it.”

Amos sighed again. “Of course you did. Tell me, how come you’re the only one who knows anything about this? They didn’t even mention it on the local news.”

“Pure luck. I was looking through my telescope around twelve thirty last night—”

“What were you doing up at twelve thirty? If Coach knew about that, he’d be all over you.”

“I had a good reason. It was a clear night, and I was searching for a white dwarf.”

“Right. And how about the tooth fairy?”

“Amos, a white dwarf is the technical name for a star that’s losing its light and slowly fading away.”

“If you say so. But what does this have to do with me risking my life down near the waterfront?”

“Like I said, I was searching for this white dwarf that night when I saw the meteorite. At least, I think it was a meteorite. I heard a whistling noise and saw a light when it hit the ground.”

“You mean you’re not sure? You want me to put my life on the line for a hunk of rock, and you’re not even sure if that’s what you saw?”

“Have I ever steered you wrong before?”

Amos looked at him.

“Recently?”

Amos waited.

“Okay, since yesterday. But when I suggested you go back to the gym to find your lost gym shorts, how was I supposed to know the girls’ choir would be practicing in there? And it was your idea to wrap that towel around you because you were too lazy to get dressed. Besides, who would have thought Ms. Fishbeck would accuse you of dropping your towel on purpose?”

Amos turned his bike and started pedaling in the opposite direction—hard.

“Wait up, Amos! This time it’ll be different! Trust me!”

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