Amos and the Alien

42 Pages·2016·0.31 MB·English

by  Paulsen Gary

OTHER YEARLING BOOKS YOU WILL ENJOY: THE HAYMEADOW, Gary Paulsen
THE COOKCAMP, Gary Paulsen
THE VOYAGE OF THE FROG, Gary Paulsen
THE BOY WHO OWNED THE SCHOOL, Gary Paulsen
THE RIVER, Gary Paulsen
THE MONUMENT, Gary Paulsen
HOW TO EAT FRIED WORMS, Thomas Rockwell
HOW TO FIGHT A GIRL, Thomas Rockwell
CHOCOLATE FEVER, Robert Kimmel Smith
BOBBY BASEBALL, Robert Kimmel Smith
YEARLING BOOKS/YOUNG YEARLINGS/YEARLING CLASSICS are designed especially to entertain
and enlighten young people. Patricia Reilly Giff, consultant to this series, received her
bachelor’s degree from Marymount College and a master’s degree in history from St.
John’s University. She holds a Professional Diploma in Reading and a Doctorate of
Humane Letters from Hofstra University. She was a teacher and reading consultant for
many years, and is the author of numerous books for young readers.
For a complete listing of all Yearling titles,
write to Dell Readers Service,
P.O. Box 1045, South Holland, IL 60473.

Published by
Dell Publishing
a division of
Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.
1540 Broadway
New York, New York 10036
Copyright © 1994 by Gary Paulsen All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of
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The trademark Dell® is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
eISBN: 978-0-30780386-3
v3.1
Contents
Cover
Other Yearling Books You Will Enjoy
Title Page
Copyright
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
•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.”
•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!”