Alien In My Backyard

• Israel Buckley, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2021

It was a hot summer day. I sat in the loungeroom staring up at the ceiling. Mum was out, so I was home alone. As I headed to the fridge, the house started shaking, I had to grab the table to stop myself from falling. When the shaking stopped, I went and checked the backyard. As I stepped out, I saw a shiny metal ball lying on the grass. I headed over to check it out. As I walked towards the ball, it started to open and a weird looking little alien, about the size of my hand, stepped out. It glared at me. I took a step back as it jumped towards me trying to grab my leg. I darted back inside slamming the door behind me. The little alien banged on the door. I ran into the kitchen grabbing a saucepan, as I heard the front door slam open. I quickly slid down the hallway and up the stairs into my bedroom. I waited silently and listened. After a while, I heard a “SMASH” as something shattered onto the floor, then I heard small footsteps coming up the stairs. I slowly and quietly crept out of my bedroom to see where the alien might be. I looked towards mum’s room but turned quickly hearing a “CRASH” come from the bathroom behind me. I slowly inched closer to the sound, and saw a slimy, lumpy, blue figure with great big ears and a small shrub of orange hair on its head. It sat on the toilet seat eating toothpaste and using my toothbrush to scratch its back. It hadn’t seen me yet, so I crept up behind it. I lifted the pan above my head and swung down “gotcha!” I yelled, but before I caught it, it jumped from the toilet seat poking out a long green tongue at me. I followed the alien out of the door, and I headed to the kitchen leaving it upstairs. In the fridge I found some leftover cake, put it onto a plate, then I went to the cupboard, grabbed a container big enough to fit a small alien, and took some duct tape from a drawer. I put the cake at the bottom of the stairs and waited around the corner. I hid for a few minutes before I heard the alien creature cautiously sneaking down the stairs, snatching handfuls of cake, quickly shoving them in its tiny mouth. Taking him by surprise, I jumped out trapping him in the container. I raced out the back door, found the shiny metal ball, forced the container into the ball, securing the door with the tape. I kicked the ball into the air, as I did it turned bright green and disappeared. I sprinted inside the house to clean up the mess. I fell onto the couch with a big sigh just as mum walked through the door “how have you been?” she asked, “fine” I answered, “just fine”.