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CHAPTER TWO

A Strange New Teacher

Everyone at school had lunch at 12:30 in the cafeteria. I always had lunch with Barbara and Walter Andrews, a sixteen- year-old boy. He was tall and had dark brown hair and dark eyes, and I liked him. He was a quiet boy and didn’t have many friends. His favorite subjects were math and science, and he liked computers a lot.

His parents were divorced and he lived with his father and his cat, Tootsie. He was often lonely because he never saw his mother and his father was always at work. He loved Tootsie and spent a lot of time with her.

“What do you think of our new teachers” I asked Barbara and Walter.

“Well, I think Mr Kent is really cute. He’s friendly too,” said Barbara.

“But did you see the way he looked at the airplane? The sun didn’t hurt his eyes,” said Walter.

“Did you hear Mr Wilkinson’s voice” I asked. “He talks like a robot; his voice is so cold.”

“And he’s unfriendly,” said Barbara.

“Hey, look over there. Look at what he’s drinking” whispered Walter. We all looked at Mr Wilkinson who was sitting by himself in a corner of the cafeteria. He had a strange lunch. There was a glass of green juice in front of him, and on the table there were some black pills.

He put two of them into the glass and the green juice started to make bubbles. Then suddenly it changed color and became red. Mr Wilkinson took the glass and slowly drank the mysterious red juice.

We looked at each other nervously, but then started laughing.

“How can he drink that” I said.

“Perhaps it’s a new diet,” said Barbara, “and that’s why he’s so thin!”

“I don’t think so,” Walter said.

“There’s something strange about our English teacher,” I said.

The next morning during the English lesson Mr Wilkinson started asking us some personal questions.

“Andrews. Walter Andrews,” said Mr Wilkinson. “Tell me something about yourself.”

Walter was surprised because teachers didn’t usually ask personal questions.

“Well, I like computers, and my hobby is astronomy,” he said.

“I have a small telescope and I like looking at the stars. I have a pet called Tootsie; she’s a black and white cat.”

“Good! You have an interesting hobby. Thank you, Walter,” said Mr Wilkinson. He then asked other students about their life and hobbies.

“H mm,” I thought, “perhaps he wants to know more about us. How strange!” Then I looked at him carefully and I noticed something: his eyes were not green anymore. They were a different color today! I suddenly had an idea.

I put up my hand and asked, “May I go to the bathroom, please?”

“Yes, of course,” Mr Wilkinson answered.

As I walked towards the door I looked at his eyes again. I was right - they were blue! They looked like the sea. I was surprised and a little scared.

That afternoon I decided to go to Walter’s house. He was sitting in front of his computer. He was very interested in aliens and life on other planets. There were posters of the solar system and the constellations on the wall of his room.

“Did you hear about the alien alert last month” I asked.

“Yeah, in the Cascade Mountains, right near Seattle” said Walter. “The news was exciting, but the police and the newspapers never tell us the truth. I’m sure there are UFOs and aliens in the universe.”

“What are you looking at now” I asked.

“I’m on the Internet, on the International Space Club site,” he said excitedly. “Listen to this, Karen. Something very important is happening. A comet is passing through the Virgo constellation. When a comet and a constellation meet, aliens can travel to our planet! Everything is right for intergalactic voyages!”

“What are intergalactic voyages” I asked.

“They’re when you can travel from one galaxy to another,” Walter said. “They can take place only at special times, for example, when a constellation and a comet meet. Some people say aliens come to Earth to attack us. But I think they want to study us.”

“Wow, you know everything about space!” I said.

“I love space,” said Walter, smiling. “I want to become an astronaut. I want to go to another galaxy and perhaps meet aliens!”

“Wow! That’s interesting and dangerous,” I said and started thinking. Suddenly I had an idea. “Perhaps Mr Wilkinson is– an alien” I said slowly.

“What” he cried, looking at me. “Oh, Karen, you read too many science fiction books! He’s not an alien.”

“Well, his voice doesn’t sound human, his eyes change color and he has a very strange lunch,” I said.

“What do you mean, his eyes change color” he asked surprised. “Didn’t you notice” I said. “Yesterday they were green and today they were blue!”

“Are you sure” he asked.

“Of course I’m sure,” I said excitedly. “Listen, Walter, there was a UFO sighting last month and Mr Wilkinson is a new teacher at Washington High. No one knows where he comes from! Perhaps he arrived on that UFO.”

Walter looked at me with his big, dark eyes and said, “Well, it’s possible! He has got a very strange face and his voice is really cold. Perhaps he is an alien! And that’s why he asked us those personal questions - he wants to study us.”

“Exactly” I said. “But let’s study him, too! We can follow him and see were hi lives.