Angela's Aliens

By Janet Taylor Lisle

When their best friend changes drastically, the Investigators suspect extraterrestrial trouble

Georgina and Poco should not be climbing an apple tree in the dark. But Poco, who talks to animals, has recently developed a serious crush on a robin, and she gets worried when the bird doesn’t return to his nest one night. Poco convinces her friend to come with her to check on the nest, and while they’re peering through the tree branches, they see strange glowing objects in the sky. The array of lights can only mean one thing: aliens. The next morning, Poco’s robin returns and, more importantly, so does Angela. Angela had been the girls’ best friend before moving to Mexico a year ago, but she comes back totally changed. Before, she was short, chatty, and imaginative. Now she is tall, sullen, and cold. When Georgina reminds her of their former club, the Investigators of the Unknown, Angela shrugs her off. Paco and Georgina realize that the aliens have claimed their first victim, and they will have to move fast to save their friend. This ebook features a personal history by Janet Taylor Lisle including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author’s own collection.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Media
• Release date: Jan 29, 2013
• ISBN: 9781453271872

Janet Taylor Lisle

Janet Taylor Lisle (b. 1947) is an author of children’s fiction. After growing up in Connecticut, Lisle graduated from Smith College and spent a year working for the volunteer group VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) before becoming a journalist. She found that she loved writing human interest and “slice of life” stories, and honed the skills for observation and dialogue that would later serve her in her fiction. Lisle took a fiction writing course in 1981, and then submitted a manuscript to Richard Jackson, a children’s book editor at Bradbury Press who was impressed with her storytelling. Working with Jackson, Lisle published her first novel, The Dancing Cats of Applesap, in 1984. Since then she has written more than a dozen books for young readers, including The Great Dimpole Oak (1987) and Afternoon of the Elves (1989), which won a Newbery Honor. Her most recent novel is Highway Cats (2008).

Book preview

Angela’s Alien

Investigators of the Unknown

Janet Taylor Lisle

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

A Biography of Janet Taylor Lisle

chapter one

GEORGINA RUSK WAS CERTAIN WHAT they had seen that night were helicopters.

She said they were helicopters at least ten times, until her friend Poco began to peer at her strangely.

Are you sure? Poco asked. You can say if you’re not.

Trust me, Georgina said.

But of course Poco wouldn’t.

There had been sightings near the old Wickham Reservoir before. It was one of those places where people saw things: spinning saucers and dancing points of light and shadows that hovered in the dark above the water. Over the years, all sorts of stories had grown up.

Poco said, Remember those dogs they never found? The ones that disappeared from their own backyards? Mrs. Anthony from down our block thinks her Rambler was sucked up by a giant light beam.

Oh, Rambler, Georgina said. That yapping mutt. Someone let him out and strangled him probably. People will believe anything if you let them. And please don’t bring up that stupid flying doll.

Why not? said Poco, who had just been about to.

In this strange tale, the doll of a younger girl they both vaguely knew had been surrounded by light before her eyes one night, and then floated out her bedroom window. The girl had insisted her story was true, though no one believed her—until two days later.

They found the doll in a ditch, Poco recalled now, far across town—too far to walk. It makes you wonder.

About what? Georgina asked.

Well, what if aliens were after that girl but somehow, in the rush, they picked up her doll. Then they saw their mistake and dropped it.

Georgina looked away, disgusted. Sure, if you believe in aliens. Personally, I don’t. They’re not scientific. I think that little girl made everything up. She wanted attention and she got it.

Scientific? Poco squinted in her foggy way. Does that mean what we saw was—

Nothing! Georgina roared.

Poco Lambert had become an embarrassment that fall. The chief trouble was, she never seemed to grow and by now had turned into such a small person that Georgina disliked going about with her. Georgina was sure people would think she was younger than she was, or that, having no friends, she was settling for toddlers.

And there was something else: Poco’s endless bird chats with a robin that lived in the Lamberts’ backyard. Over the summer, Poco had grown more and more attached to him. She couldn’t go for five minutes without wondering where he was or what he was doing, or if he was thinking fondly of her … which he never was, of course, being only a bird, with a brain fixed mainly on warm baths and worms.

Poco, you can’t expect him to feel anything back! (Georgina was forever having to cheer her friend up.)

Really, Poco, don’t worry, he’ll come home again. He has not crashed into a sliding glass door!

Eventually, he would return. Then he would parade in front of Poco’s nose without a thought for the agonies she had suffered. But she was always so thankful to find him safe that she only tried harder than ever to please him, in hopes that he wouldn’t go off again … which he did anyway. He was heartless. Heartless!

In fact, as Georgina might have pointed out, the bird was the reason they’d been awake that night, and had seen what they had in the still, black sky. Helicopters probably. Or was it something else?

chapter two

POCO HAD BEEN SITTING rigid on her bed, keeping watch for the robin out her window. Georgina, who was spending the night, lay yawning beside her. Across town, a church clock had rung twelve slow strokes, each one answered by a dismal echo. Midnight, times two. Poco stood up.

He’s always here by now. Something’s happened, I know it.

No it hasn’t. Georgina yawned again. I’m sure he’s all right.

He’s not. He’s fallen. He’s broken his wing.

He’ll be back by morning. Come on, let’s go to sleep.

George, how can you be so uncaring? Poco whispered in a furious voice. Everyone else in the house had gone to bed hours ago. I can’t stand it anymore. I’m going out to find him.

You can’t do that! It’s the middle of the night.

But Poco had done it. She had gotten up and tiptoed down to the kitchen, where she let herself out the back door. Georgina, as her guest, was forced to follow.

They stepped off the porch and walked across the grass, feeling strangely light in their summer pajamas. It was early September but still quite warm. Under the old apple tree, Poco came to a stop.

George, hoist me up! I can’t reach the branch.

Okay, okay. Stop kicking.

Sh-sh! Mom will hear. Just push me up … there! Now let me step on your shoulders. …

Okay, but wait Ouch!

After this, there was silence, except for the noise of Poco scrabbling upward in the tree.

Georgina, I can see his nest!

Good grief.

He’s not in it.

Big surprise.

I thought maybe he’d come home and fallen asleep at the bottom. Robins do that sometimes.

Really. By now, Georgina had climbed up, too. She sat back indignantly on a branch. They were quite high off the ground, she noticed, glancing down.

Let’s just stay here for a while, Poco whispered from above. Maybe, if he sees me, he’ll figure out I’m worried and fly home.

Oh sure.

He does care about me, whatever you think.

Georgina did not even bother to argue. She turned her eyes upward to the stars and thought of going home. But her parents were away at an overnight party. That was why she was staying with Poco.

The air in the apple tree felt thick and still.