An ordinary boy discovers he is Extraterrestrial
Aaden could hear his name being called, but it seemed to be from a distance. The tugging on his sleeve finally brought him out of the fog of his half-sleep state. His eyes focused in the direction of the voice. “Aaden … answer the teacher,” Fleur said in an urgent whisper. The chuckles from the others in the schoolroom finally brought him to his senses and Aaden looked around, dazed. His eyes settled on the man at the front of the room. He hadn’t seen the man before and he assumed this was the replacement teacher he’d heard was coming. But how had he missed the man’s entrance? Either he’d fallen asleep or it was another one of those missing moments in time. He decided not to think about it for the time being – all eyes were now on him.The man was in his early forties, with tight curly dark hair, graying at the temples. His expensive jeans and stylish open-necked shirt showed he was trying to look cool, but his choice of frames with his glasses betrayed his more natural nerdy side. He had a bemused expression, surveying Aaden with one eyebrow raised. “Nice of you to join us,” the man said in a comical tone. “I’m Brian Masters, your new teacher for this term.” He glanced at his watch. “I officially start tomorrow, but I wanted to briefly introduce myself before classes finished today. And now, it’s your turn … tell me your name.” “Dreamer Greene,” quipped one of the other students.Aaden wasn’t surprised to see that it was Simon Damon who had made the remark. Although offended, the image in Aaden’s mind of Simon as a yapping Chihuahua dissipated his anger at the boy. He even had to suppress a grin. “I’m Aaden,” he stammered, looking back at the teacher. “Aaden Greene.”“Well Aaden,” the man replied, “just so we understand each other, I expect my pupils to pay attention in class.” “He can’t help it,” said Fleur. Aaden did his best to conceal his smile. Yet again his pixie princess was jumping to his defense. It was always a sure thing, especially when Simon Damon was leading the charge. “Of course it’s his fault – he’s a dreamer,” said Simon.“He was struck by lightning,” Fleur snapped back, fire flashing in her eyes. “Yeah, and it fried his brain,” said Simon. “He’s never been the same since.” “You only know the half of it,” said Aaden, the words coming out as though he was talking to himself. The teacher raised his hand.   “What do you mean by that?” the teacher asked Aaden, his eyes narrowing.  Aaden stared back at him. Very few knew the full story of that strange day. He’d told only the two people he could trust – his sister Tiffany and his best friend Fleur, both of whom he swore to secrecy.“When Simon said you’ve never been the same since,” Masters repeated, “you said that he didn’t know the half of it … what did you mean by that?”Aaden concentrated on the energy field surrounding the man, which was a pale lemon color, a much more refined aura than the murky red and green aura that surrounded Simon Damon. He wasn’t sure what to say, or how much to say. “Sometimes … I know things … that others don’t.”Brian Masters leaned forward. “Like what?”Aaden hesitated. Despite the pressure of all eyes in the classroom on him, he fixed his gaze solely on Brian Masters. The man held his gaze without blinking, the two of them studying each other for some moments, oblivious to the others in the room.“One thing I know,” Aaden said slowly. “You recently put money into a finance company. It’s not a good investment. If you don’t get your money back soon, you’ll lose it.”Masters was dumfounded. He simply gaped at Aaden. Even Simon Damon was too flabbergasted to say anything.The teacher recovered quickly. To Fleur, he said, “Struck by lightning … you’re joking … right? Most people being struck by lightning have ended up being very dead.”Aaden was amazed at how quickly he’d changed the subject, but he saw the confusion in the man’s eyes.“Not this time,” said Fleur.“H’mmm. Okay,” said Masters as he surveyed Aaden. “Tell me about it.”With all eyes again on Aaden, Simon Damon gave a loud yawn. Two other boys, his closest friends, chuckled in support, but Masters promptly waved his hand to quiet them. Aaden took a deep breath. He’d told the story so many times before, but each new person who heard of it always wanted to hear the details.  “I was climbing a tree in the park,” he began, glancing over at Simon, “trying to get my prize baseball after that guy threw it into the branches where it got stuck.” Simon raised his arms in a gesture that indicated he was proudly accepting an honor. His friends laughed. “Okay,” said Masters, waving his hand to quiet them. “Then what happened?”“There was a storm. I knew I shouldn’t be near trees in a storm, but I thought I had time to get the ball before the lightning got closer. I got it wrong. I don’t remember anything after that.”“The whole tree lit up,” Fleur said. “I was there in the park – I saw it happen. Aaden was thrown from the branch he was on and he landed on another smaller bush that broke his fall before he hit the ground.”The teacher’s expression was typical of everyone who heard the story for the first time – a mixture of amazement tinged with disbelief. “You’re seriously telling me that you were struck by lightning and you survived?”Aaden nodded. “Because I was in the tree, not grounded, I got a jolt and was thrown from the branch … I woke up later in hospital.”The bell sounded, interrupting Aaden’s story. The pupils filed out of the room a lot slower than usual, with many of them glancing back at either Aaden or the teacher. Brian Masters indicated to Aaden to stay, and waited for the room to empty. When finally it was just him, Aaden and Fleur in the room, he sat on the edge of a nearby desk and leaned towards Aaden.“That was a strange thing you said earlier,” he said in a low tone. “What amazes me is how you’d know that I’ve invested money in a finance company that was recommended by a friend. I checked into it – they’ve had good returns over many years. It seems like a good investment.”“You should get your money back,” Aaden repeated.“We’ve got to go,” said Fleur, standing and pulling at Aaden’s arm. “We’re meeting Tiffany … remember?”Aaden glanced at her. There was no rush to meet his sister – they always met after school to walk home together. Fleur immediately turned towards the door, glancing back at him, but with her face turned slightly away so Master’s couldn’t see her insistent expression. Aaden raised his hand to Masters in a brief wave and followed her out of the room. “Why did you do that?” said Fleur as they walked down the hallway.  “I had to warn him. He’s going to lose his money. I didn’t think it was right not to.” “But in front of the whole class!” Aaden grinned. “They’ll forget it soon enough. They’re all too caught up in their own lives. But Masters won’t forget – the message was for him. It’s up to him now what he does with it.”Fleur flashed a critical parent look. “You have to be more careful not to show your powers. People will fear you like you’re a freak … or they’ll hound you for predictions of the future.”Aaden didn’t bother to answer – he was sure she’d know he wouldn’t take any notice of that one. The exasperated look on her face showed him she’d picked up his thought.Exiting the main building, they descended the large stone steps to an open courtyard that was now buzzing with students and teachers, all heading in different directions. The beautiful park beyond, which was always a welcome scene at the end of the day, was already teaming with people milling along the many walkways amongst the tall trees and sculptured gardens.Even with the horde, Aaden was able to spot Tiffany waiting for them by the fountain. It wasn’t only her trademark bright top that made her stand out in a crowd - Tiffany had a presence, a quality that Aaden was always able to spot. Perhaps it was simply their close bond as siblings, but Aaden was sure others could also see that special quality about his sister that made her different. 


******************************This is an excerpt of Aaden BlueStar – check back soon for the next installment… or you can download the full story HERE!