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The boys looked at the sky. Caleb smiled and said: "Long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away..." Then they all started to laugh. They'd all just watched Star Wars on TV. Now, out in the back yard, they were getting ready to campout in a tent. Mitchell asked Caleb, "What are you trying to do... scare us?" "Yeah" said Jerome, "I'm not afraid of something that happened in any old movie..." as he turned on his light saber flashlight, he said, "I've got my Luke Skywalker light saber with me anyway". "Hey, what's that?" yelled Andy. "I think I just saw a UFO!" All the boys got quiet. "There's another one", shouted Caleb. "And another", Mitchell said. "Wow, it looks like the sky is full of UFOs tonight. Let's go get dad." Jacob suggested. They went inside to get Jacob and Andy's dad, but he was already asleep on the couch. "Maybe mom's awake", said Andy. Then he remembered, "Mom's at missus Johnson's tonight. They're baking cookies for the PTA bake sale." Jerome said, "Let's just go back outside. There isn't anything to worry about, anyway." The boys went back to the tent and tried not to look up into the sky. But, they couldn't help it… they all saw hundreds of lights darting across the sky. "Maybe they're just airplanes", said Mitchell, as they walked back outside. "Have you ever seen an airplane move that fast?" asked Andy. "I didn't hear any airplanes", said Jacob. "They must be UFOs" offered Jerome, as he switched on his light saber flashlight. "I wish C3PO was here with us. He'd know what those lights are." said Caleb. "Let's get in the tent", said Andy, "They can't see us there." "How do you know?" Caleb asked. "I don't, but I can't see them, from inside the tent." Andy said, as he ran to the tent. The boys followed him in. "Don't turn off the lantern", yelled Mitchell. "No, turn it off, then they can't see us", said Jerome. "Leave the tent flap open" suggested Andy, "Then we can see if one lands." Jacob said: "I don't think those are UFOs." "Why not?" asked his brother Andy. "They're only going one way", answered Jacob. "Maybe they're attacking in another place", whispered Caleb. "What makes you think they're attacking?" asked Mitchell, "Maybe they're the Rebel Alliance, coming to look for Luke Skywalker, or even Yoda!" "Yeah right", Jerome said, "Like Yoda would be in the United States". "Why not? He lives in a swamp doesn't he?" said Mitchell. "There aren't any swamps around here... and besides, don't you think we'd have seen a little green, long eared creature, if he lived near here?" said Andy. "We do too have swamps. There's Cedar Bog, I read about it in School", said Jerome."... Do you think an alien could live in Cedar Bog?" a trembling Andy asked. The tent grew quiet... as the boys thought about it.... Jacob remembered he forgot his flashlight and radio. He asked if anyone wanted to go in the house with him to get it. "Why don't you go get it yourself, are you afraid?" asked Jerome. "Jacob is afraid, Jacob is afraid", the other boys chimed in, "Jacob is afraid...." "I am not!" Jacob exclaimed, "I'm goin' in by myself. I'll show you guys I'm not afraid." Jacob held his breath as he climbed out of the tent. He looked at the sky and saw a couple more lights falling across the sky. "It looks like stars are falling." He thought to himself. He hid behind a tree for just a little longer. He looked around the backyard. He didn't see anything moving, so he ran to the back door. Once he was inside, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Hey, who's that?" his dad asked. "It's just me, dad." Jacob said as he shivered. He forgot his dad was asleep on the couch, so he was startled when he heard him. "Are you boys enjoying the show?" his dad asked. "What show?" Jacob wondered aloud. "Come in here", dad said, "they're talking about the meteor shower on the news." Jacob wondered, ‘what's a meteor shower?’ as he walked into the family room to see the news with dad. "Tonight is the best chance we'll have to see the meteor shower in this area." the woman on television said. "With tonight's clear sky, we'll be able to see them all night." Jacob asked his dad, "What's a meteor shower, dad?" "The lady on the news said it's when a lot of cosmic trash is close enough to the earth, that gravity causes them to enter our atmosphere. What we see is when that trash burns up as the friction of entering our atmosphere makes it hot. She said we don't have anything to worry about, because nothing will hit the ground. The rocks are too small." "Wow, wait till I tell the guys, they thought we were seeing UFOs." Jacob told his dad. "They tried to scare me and teased me when I came in to get my radio and flashlight. I'll go get them now." As he ran back down the steps, his dad met him and asked, "Do you want to scare the other boys, like they tried to do to you?". Jacob said "Sure." "It's a little mean, but I haven't played a trick on anyone for a long time." his dad said. "Let's do it." Jacob said. "Not so fast, we have to have some kind of plan." his dad whispered. "Let's think about this for a little while." "Okay, but not too long, I can't wait." an excited Jacob whispered back. In a little while, Jacob and his dad tip-toed out the back door with flashlights and a bunch of tin cans tied together. They began to shine their lights on the tent. Jacob's dad had two lights and Jacob was on the other side of the tent with one light. They moved the lights all around, so they made circles on the tent. Just as the boys began to yell, asking "Who's there? Is that you Jacob?", dad rattled the cans. One of the boys screamed and Caleb shouted, "The droids are attacking us, the droids are attacking, I can hear their metal feet!". Then Jacob's dad began to shake the tent. The screaming and yelling got louder. Jacob's dad put one of the cans over his mouth and breathed in and out 'he sounds a lot like Darth Vader', Jacob thought, this is fun. Then, they stopped and ran back into the house. Jacob waited a few minutes, then he went back outside. Just as he walked out the door, his mom drove up. The car's headlights shined on the tent and the boys started yelling again. So... he decided he'd better get his mom and hurry back into the house. When the boys calmed down a little, Mitchell whispered, "Jacob was out there!" Jerome said, "I hope the droids didn't get him!" Andy looked scared and asked, "Who's goin' with me to look for him?" The tent was very quiet. "Come on guys, we've got to see if Jacob's okay... we have to make sure the droids didn't get him!" "Wait", Jerome said, "We don't know there were any droids! We don't even know if a Star Ship landed anywhere!" "Okay", said Mitchell, I'm goin'.... Who's with us?" "We're all goin", said Jerome, as he switched on his Light Saber Flashlight, "We're all goin' to look for him!" One by one, they poked their heads out of the tent. As they looked into the sky, they could still see the lights as they streaked across the sky. They began to look around for Jacob. Sticking close together, they shined their lights on the ground, looking for clues, to try to figure out what had happened. "I don't see any footprints from any droids", Mitchell whispered. "I don't hear them clanking around any more either", Caleb quietly said. "Hey guys, I think I found Jacob's radio. It's laying here on the ground by the tree." Jerome whispered. "Yep, that's his radio alright", a worried Andy answered. "So, what happened to Jacob?" Mitchell wondered aloud. Inside the house, Jacob and his dad were telling his mom about how they'd just sacred the other boys. She shook her head and clicked her tongue, "Tsk, tsk, tsk, aren't you a little old to be playing tricks on the boys?" she asked Jacob's dad. "Aw mom, they tried to scare me first." Jacob told her, "And, besides, we thought the meteor shower was UFOs in the sky." Just then, they heard the cans clanging together again, outside. "Whoa, what's this", shouted Caleb, "I tripped over some cans tied together. It sounded just like the noise we heard when I thought the droids were attacking." "Yeah, and the lights on the tent must have come from Jacob's flashlight." Mitchell said. "But there were lights on both sides of the tent." Jerome added. "He must have had some help. I wonder who it was?" Mitchell said, "I think I know. Don't look, but I just saw Jacob and his dad peeking out the window at us." "Why that rat", chuckled Andy, "Dad plays tricks on us all the time. He can be lots of fun." "Should we let them know we're on to them?" asked Jerome. "No, let's think this over, maybe we can get them back." Andy suggested. So, the boys walked to the back of the yard, where they couldn't be seen, as they planned their revenge. As they stood by the back fence, Caleb picked up a big stick, got down on his knees and with his best growling imitation of Yoda... said, "Revenge, we will have... A plan, we must have." Mitchell laughed and commented, "You're crazy, Caleb." Jerome asked, "What are we going to do, to get our revenge?" Andy wondered too. "We've got to come up with a good plan, they really got us." They began to think about it. While they were planning, Mitchell looked up at the lights streaking across the sky. He wondered out loud, "What are those lights up there... shooting stars?" Andy said, "I don't know, but it is kind of neat thing to see". Caleb said, "They've got to be Star Ships. But... I wonder where the Death Star ship is?" Jerome said, "Those aren't Star Ships, they're stars or somethin'." Andy suggested, "I remember reading something in one of Dad's Science magazines about something called a Meteor Shower. I wonder if this is it?" Growling again, Caleb said, "Meteors, falling they are." The other boys laughed again. "Caleb has a good imagination, doesn't he?", his buddy Mitchell said. "Yeah, but we have to come up with a good plan to get dad and Jacob", Andy urged. As the boys watched the meteors, their plan began to come to them. "Let's make em' think a meteor crashed into the roof!", an excited Jerome said. "How are we going to do that?" the rest of them asked. "I don't know, but we'd get em' good that way", said Andy. "I Know", Mitchell said, "Let's throw rocks on the roof, so they'll think it's Meteor's falling out of the sky." Jerome said, "That won't work, they'll just think it's us". Then Andy suggested, "Not if one of us is in the tent moving his flashlight around, They'll see the light and think we're still in there." Caleb, still trying to sound like Yoda, said, "This big rock, to the steps we will carry. By the steps, they will find it." He was standing on a big rock near the fence. So, armed with their plan, the four boys picked the rock up and sneaked along the neighbor's fence, carrying it to the grass near the back door steps. It was just visible in the glow of the porch light. Caleb found a few rocks about the size of a baseball. "We can throw these on the roof", he said. Andy said, "No, those rocks might hurt the roof and, if we miss, we might break something. Let's bounce the basketball off the wall instead. I've got another idea," he said, "Jerome, you've got a red lens for your flashlight. You climb up the tree and shine the light on the big rock, when they come out. That'll make it look hot. The rest of us will hide behind the tree and the bushes, till after they come out." So, Andy gave Mitchell the basketball and said, "Hit that spot in the corner of the porch. That will sound like something hit the roof and, there's no window there to worry about breaking. Then, run over to those bushes and wait for em'. Okay, Jerome, get in the tree and get that light ready. Caleb, will you go in the tent and move your flashlight?" "Yeah, I can do that." Caleb answered. Andy asked everybody to be quiet and said, "I'll hide behind the tree and you can hit the wall when you're ready, Mitchell." Inside the house, Jacob, his mom and dad were tasting some of the cookies she and Mrs. Johnson had baked earlier. "I'll take some of these out to the boys, when I go back outside." Jacob said. Just then they heard a loud 'thump'. "That sounded like something hit the house. Let's go see what those boys are up to." Jacob's dad said. "Be nice", mom said. As they opened the door, Jacob said, "They're in the tent dad, it wasn't them. But, what's that red glowing thing by the steps?" As they walked toward it, Jacob shouted, "It's a Meteor, dad. One of them must have bounced off the roof." His dad said, "I don't know... but...." When they got close, Andy, Mitchell, Jerome and Caleb yelled, "Got ya'! got ya' back! Got ya' back!" "Wow, you guys really pulled a number on us." Jacob and Andy's dad said. "How'd you boys get that big rock by the steps?" The boys began to tell them everything that happened. Caleb even began growling again, "Got you, we did." They all walked back to the fence and watched the meteor shower. Jacob's dad explained, "You boys are seeing a really great show tonight. We may not get a chance to see another shower like this for a long time. It's a really good thing we have such a clear night." They all laughed about the jokes they played on each other, as they shared the cookies and milk Jacob and Andy's mom brought out to them. They were proud of themselves for finding and figuring out the clues again. "We're getting real good at finding clues." Mitchell said. "We really are the Clue Club!" |
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© Steven Green 2007 |
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