Sunday arrived; the weekend was almost over. I just have to call Amy and Pam to meet Dainu. I can imagine the looks on their faces when they see him. I don't know if Amy will still disbelieve or not, but once I prove it to them, then I won't be the only one. I'm still anxious about introducing Dainu into the public. Should I take Dainu to school tomorrow? Should I introduce him the whole town? To our society and culture? No. Not yet. I don't think the community is ready yet. Everyone will stare, freak out, or even attack Dainu. I know they'll do all that. Every alien movie has people panicking and attacking the harmless alien (you probably might agree to this too). Right now, I'm just going to keep him hidden until the time is right.

As soon as I got up from bed, I quickly changed my clothes and went down stairs for breakfast. Mom was in the kitchen, washing some dishes. Dean was nowhere in sight. Thank God I can finally have my peace and quiet without him. Mom finished washing the silverware and sat next to me.

"Did you sleep well?" she asked.

"Yes," I answered. "Where is that Mr. Jackson guy? Is he out of here? He's not coming back anymore?"

"No, Dean is in your father's study room doing some work."

Darn! I thought.

"By the way," Mom continued. "I talked to Dean this morning about what you told me about him, and he said he didn't ask any personal questions to you. He told me he was just asking what your friends were like and what your school was like."

"No, he wasn't, Mom" I said. "He's lying! He was asking a lot of weird, personal questions. I swear."

"Kaley, you're overreacting. Stop all this nonsense. I don't understand why you don't like him."

"Because he's a pest. He keeps pouring question on me so that I will give out what he wants. He's putting too much pressure on me. Can't you see it's driving me crazy?!"

"Kaley," Mom reassured gently. "I'm sure Dean is not doing any of that to you. He's a good man. He just wants to get to know you. So stop overreacting. And besides,  are you covering something up?"

I can't believe it! Now she's suspecting I'm hiding something from her. How can she suddenly distrust me, but trust a total stranger? Now both Dean and my mother are going to pour billions of questions on me, until I give in. I will never, even if Dean tortures me, give up my secret. Dean will never know, even if it will take him 100 years.

"No, Mom," I lied. "I am not hiding anything. Now will you please give me some space?" Mom looked at me with hurt. I had disrespected her and she doesn't like it when I disrespect her. "I'm sorry, Mom. I'm just so angry and annoyed."

"I'm sorry, too," Mom said. "I didn't mean to question you and get you more hyped up. Let's just drop the subject, OK?"

"OK," I agreed.

I heard Dean was coming down the steps. Great, my peaceful moment was about to be ruined. He put on his trench coat, put on his shoes, and grabbed his suitcase.

"I'm going to be working outside today," he said to Mom.

"Alright, but make sure you make it in time for dinner," she joked.

Dean chuckled. "Don't worry, I will. Bye, Kaley." He gave me another fake smile. I fake smiled him back. He went out and closed the door behind him. I'm glad that he's gone.

"Mom, is it OK if I go out too?" I asked.

"Sure, you can," she said. "Be back until lunch. Don't get into any trouble."

As soon as I headed outside, I called Pam and Amy to meet me by my house. It took them about 10 minutes to arrive on their bikes, so I didn't have to wait long.

"This better not be a joke," said Amy. "I'm not in the mood for practical jokes."

"Girl," Pam told Amy. "You got an attitude! You woke up on the wrong side of the bed or something?" Pam was right. Amy did look like she got up on the wrong side of the bed. Her hair was in tangled mess. Her eyes were still heavy and her expression was pitiful. She seemed a little grouchy today.

"Don't worry, Amy" I said to her. "I'm not joking. You can trust me. What you are about to see is a real life alien."

"What does he look like?" Pam asked excitedly.

"I'm not going to spoil the surprise," I said, "but I'll tell you this, his looks are beyond your imagination."

Pam and Amy looked at each other. They couldn't comprehend what I said. I lead them to Kyle's house. Kyle answered when I knocked on his door, and he didn't look to pleased when he saw me with my friends.

"Kaley," Kyle began, "I promised to keep Dainu in my house as long as I can. And now you're bringing some guests over? I'm not running a freak show here."

"They're just here to believe," I said.

"Alright," he sighed. "Come in. But you're not having anymore, are you?"

"No, I just brought them," I said. "I won't bring anyone else. I promise."

We entered. Kyle directed Amy and Pam on the sofa and served them water.

"Where is it?" Amy said impatiently.

"He's probably getting up or something," I told her. "And besides, it's a he, not an it."

"Yeah, yeah," she said lazily. I don't know what her problem was today, but she better snap out of it. It really ruins our mood when she's like this. When Dainu saw me as he exited his bedroom, he immediately hugged me like he hadn't seen me in hundred years.

"Amy, Pam, this is Dainu. He's the one I've been talking about," I told them.

I saw their eyes lit up with amazement. They were motionless, breathless, and speechless. They didn't jump on him like he was a famous celebrity; they were extremely awed with his gorgeous, amazingly beautiful face. This was the moment they will never forget.

"Good golly!" exclaimed Pam.

"Hallelujah," Amy said with amazement.

"Dainu," I said to him. "These are my two best friends, Amy and Pam."

"Salutations," he greeted to them.

"Hi there!" said Pam. She got up and shook his hand uncontrollably. Then she reached out her hand and touched his face. Dainu didn't flinch or snarl. He allowed her to touch his face. Pam was so excited and astounded by his appearance that she couldn't speak at all. I just heard a little squeak from her throat.

"Pam, you better back off. I saw him first, you know," I joked.

Pam and Amy giggled.

"Amy, don't you want to greet Dainu? Don't be a sour head," I told her.

"Um, hi there," she greeted shyly. Dainu bowed his head.

"Well," I said, "what do you think of him? Isn't he beyond beautiful?"

"Like, heck yeah, he is," said Pam. "He's, like, drop-dead gorgeous. You were right, Kaley. His beauty is beyond imagination." Dainu smiled his sweet smile at her.

She blushed.

"Yeah, I think so too," Amy said. "He is gorgeous. But how do I know if he really is an alien and not a guy in green make-up?"

I frowned. "Amy, don't tell me you still don't believe me?"

"I just want more proof, that's all," she said.

I rolled my eyes at her. "Amy, how many guys you know are incredibly beautiful? He is an alien from another galaxy, right, Dainu?"

"Yes. You speak the truth, Kaley," he said.

"Thank you, Dainu." I turned to Amy. "And I will prove it to you, Amy."

I picked up a small sculpting knife that was lying on Kyle's coffee table. I cut my arm real deep until blood oozed out. It stung badly like prickly cacti. Everyone looked at me like I was insane.

"What the heck?!" Pam exclaimed. "What did you do that for?"

"Yeah, you emo," Amy said. "That was really unnecessary."

"No, it wasn't," I remarked. "I'll show you what Dainu can do whenever someone is wounded." I hold out my arm to him, waiting for his miracle.

"Are you all right, Kaley?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," I said. "Now do your stuff so Amy will believe." He nodded. He placed his hand on my arm and slowly stroked it over the cut. I felt it pulling itself together to heal, but it didn't hurt. When Dainu was done, he rubbed off the rest of the blood on my arm and it vanished. The cut vanished too. I showed my arm to my friends and their mouths dropped. I rubbed my hand over my arm to prove to them it was no magic trick. Amy and Pam touched my arm too. They examined it closely to find any scars or anything fake on my arm.

"Oh, my God! I'm so sorry I didn't believe you," Amy blurted out. "Please forgive me. I was the one who was mistaken. You're not crazy. You were telling the truth all along. You're new friend is awesome!"

We spent most of our time sitting on the couch, talking and drinking coke. Kyle was in his room watching TV. Dainu was talking about his home planet and all the beautiful things about it. Pam and Amy were looking at him with amazing and admiration. They couldn't stop looking at his beautiful, angelic, gorgeous face. I asked them if they wanted more coke, but they didn't answer. I even tried fooling Amy by telling her she has a big pimple on her nose, she didn't even freak out (Amy hates pimples and she'll always freaks out about it). I was glad my friends and Dainu like each other.

"Are there other gorgeous, hot-looking guys like you on your planet?" asked Pam.

"Yes," said Dainu. "We are all beautiful. We are all equal to one another."

"Your planet sounds so cool, Dainu," swooned Amy.

"Yeah," said Pam. "Can we come and visit your planet someday? Will you take us?"

"Time will tell," answered Dainu. "But I do not know if my ship will function again."

"You're thinking about leaving?" Pam pouted. "We don't want you to go real soon. We haven't shown you around yet."

"I will be honored to your guidance," Dainu said, "but Kaley feels uncomfortable about me bonding with your society."

"What?" Pam said. "Kaley won't take you anywhere?"

He shook his head.

"Kaley, are you, like, paranoid?" she said. "Why won't you show him around town? He's missing out all the fun."

"I can't, Pam," I told her. "People aren't ready for him yet. If I take him, people will freak out and shoot him or something. You know how in the movies people freak out every time there's an alien who doesn't mean any harm. I just want to keep him safe for now."

"But you're keeping him in a box, Kaley," Amy remarked. "He is like an adorable, little puppy and you're his mean owner that keeps him in a cage all day."

"Hey!" I exclaimed. "I'm not mean."

"She is correct, Kaley," Dainu said. "I want to see the sights of your planet. I cannot spend my time living in a box. Let me look upon your world. I have come to explore and learn, not to be enclosed in a box."

"Dainu, I can't," I said. "I am afraid for you. You never know what people will do here. People might hate you, fear you, torture you, and probably shoot at you. I don't want to cause you any trouble. And there's this weird, annoying guy living in my house and he's trying to find some proof that you live here."

"What guy?" Pam asked.

"There's this guy staying at my house and he says he works for the government. He keeps asking me questions about anything I saw weird and unusual. Yesterday, after I was talking to Amy on the phone, he asked me where she was from and what did she look like. He's all over my business, and it's ticking me off."

"What the heck is this guy?" Pam said with a shocked expression.

"Has this man personally threatened you?" Dainu asked.

"Well, no," I said. "Not while my mom's around. He acts so nice to me whenever she's present. But when she's not, he will give me a suspicious, mean, dirty look and it bothers me. It's like he's looking straight through me just to read my thoughts. He's on to me. I'm really, really scared of him. I wish he went away."

"So you're not only protecting him from society, you're protecting him from that weird man?" asked Amy.

"Yeah," I said.

"Can't you try to get rid of him?" asked Pam.

"I can try," I said, "but my mom will feel pity for him, and let him stay."

"Bummer," said Amy.

"I know. I don't know what else to do." I dropped my head to my hands.

Then Pam thought of idea. "Why don't you take him to school tomorrow?"

I shot up. "Pam, no! School is part of the society. I can't take him there. Everyone will freak out, teachers will call the police. They'll close down our school. I just can't. I'm too worried about Dainu."

"Kaley," said Pam. "You are too paranoid. Just take him and see what will happen. No one will call the police; they'll be too busy looking at his beautiful face. Take him to school tomorrow. He wants to go, don't you, Dainu?"

"It would be satisfying to visit your school," he said. "I adore education and it would be very honorable of you to take me to your school."

"See?" Pam told me. "He wants to go to school. He would love it. Take him tomorrow and see how it turns out."

"OK," I breathe.

"Great," said Amy. "He'll be there tomorrow. And make sure that government guy doesn't see him. Man, this is so exciting! You'll have real proof that aliens walk among us. You'll show everybody, you'll even show that witch Carmen."

I smiled at that thought. "Yeah, that'll be great. I'll show her that I'm not crazy."

"Who is this Carmen?" Dainu asked.

"Oh, some girl you don't wanna know," I said.

"I would like to know her," he said. "She sounds like a hummingbird with honey-sweet lips."

"No really, you don't wanna know her," I said. "She is not what you think. And she is not a hummingbird with honey-sweet lips. She is a crow with bitter, harsh lips."

Dainu frowned. He was about to say something but Pam said, "Dainu, make sure you eat a good breakfast so that you'll be energize and ready for school."

"I will," Dainu said.

"And wear something nice," Amy said with lovesick eyes.

"Of course," Dainu smiled back.

It was time for Pam and Amy to go home. They said their good-byes to Dainu and they shook his hands, pinched his cheeks, touched his soft hair, and blew kissed him. They were blushing and giggling when they did that. We also said good-bye to Kyle but he just waved while his eyes were glued to the TV. When we were out the door, Dainu gave us a bow and Pam and Amy curtsied. They giggled some more. When I entered my house, Dean was at the kitchen table having some lunch, while reading the paper. I walked quietly so that he won't notice me. But his eyes caught me anyway. I paused at my tracks as if I was the prey and he was the predator. He greeted me with a smile, but his eyes were fiery and cunning. I was about to go up my room when my mom called me.

"Kaley," she said. "Come have some lunch."

"I'm not hungry," I said.

"Oh, come on, Kaley," she said. "You must be starving. Come and eat. And besides, I know how much you like fish sticks and pizza rolls."

My mouth watered like an oasis. I was hungry, but I do not want to sit next to Dean who stares at me half of the time while I'm trying to eat peacefully. I came back down, took my plate from my mom's hand, and sat on the couch in the family room. Now I can eat peacefully without Dean looking at me strangely.

When I was finished, I headed straight to my room. "How was your day, Kaley?" Dean said when I walked past him.

"It was good. Thank you for asking," I said blandly .

"What did you and your friends do?" he asked.

He was doing it again.

"We just hung around and stuff," I said.

"What kind of stuff?"

My frustration broke out. "Will you get off my back and stop asking me so many dang questions?!"

"Kaley, that's not very nice," Mom corrected me.

"He's bothering me with all these questions, and I'm tired of it. Mom, this man is like harassing me, and you are too blind to notice it!"

"Kaley!" she yelled, slapping her hand on the table. "Don't you talk to me like that! What's gotten into you?"

"But Mom," I said, "you have to believe me. He keeps bothering me and won't stop. Will you–"

"Enough, Kaley!" she interrupted. She looked at Dean apologetically. "I'm so sorry, Dean. My daughter's probably not in a very good mood today. She might be PMS-ing."

Why would she do that? Why did she tell Dean that I might be PMS-ing? This is unbelievable!

"It's OK, Patty. I understand," he said to her. "Every girl has her day." As he said this he was looking straight at me with those eyes. I gave him a dirty look.

"I'll be happy when this freak leaves our home!" I said.

"Kaley, go to your room!" she said firmly.

"Fine, I was going there anyway!" I talked back. I stomped up the stairs and slammed my door.

I was so mad at them. I wasn't PMS-ing (you know that) I was just plain mad at my mom and Dean. First, Dean tries to harass me with questions so that I will tell the truth, and now my own mom won't believe that Dean is harassing me and hating me. She's taking his side now just because he's our guest and I should "treat him with some respect." That really ticks me off. I just wanted to shove my fist down his throat so he can shut up.

I heard my mom and Dean talking to each other. My mom was constantly apologizing to Dean for my attitude. She was talking about how I had never had an attitude with her until now. She was saying that I'm never crabby unless I'm PMS-ing. Dean was telling her I might be under pressure about something and to give me a little space. Since when did he became a therapist? He was the one putting pressure on me; he's the one that should give me a little space. Correction: a lot of space. Then my mom started mentioning my dad. I felt my heart weighing down on me when she mentioned his name. She mentioned to Dean that he died in the Iraqi war five years ago and how much we miss him. She missed how he comes home with a smile on his face and how funny and romantic he use to be. There was a sniff and a shaky breath from her. I think she was crying from mentioning him too. But she continued on with the story. My eyes poured out the waters of pain and sorrow.