The Fellowship for Alien Detection Read Online Free Page B

she’d found, won her that fellowship, and . . .
    And . . . it had done more than that. Because if Haley were really honest with herself, she would have to admit that the story of Suza Raines had consumed her so much so that she had totally rushed her applications to the JCF and Thorny Mountain and had barely gotten them in at all.
    It was this story, this mystery that her Sixth Sense had been powerless to ignore, that had not only led to her winning the FAD, but also to missing out on those other opportunities.
    Of course Haley had wanted to win them all, but, when compared to her discoveries about Suza Raines, those other opportunities felt . . . safe. They were official, known, whereas the FAD was risky, wild. Its mysteries were uncharted, and it felt like it had the most potential for something Haley could only describe as “new map.” Worlds unseen, horizons unexplored . . . the FAD had the potential to change the topography of her whole life. Getting that story assignment from Garrett Conrad-Wayne when she was in college? How about getting a huge story next week? And then who knew what the future might hold after that, what undiscovered worlds Haley might be able to get to. New map. That was the thing. And even if her theory ended up being bunk, there was still the road trip and its promise of sights, sounds, and country that she’d never seen. Everything about the FAD was literally over the horizon from the life she knew. And that was what Haley wanted more than anything.
    But the price had been losing out on those other opportunities . . . and having to stand in front of class and defend the FAD’s oddities, now.
    â€œYou didn’t write anything?” asked Ms. DeNetto, sounding perplexed.
    â€œNo.”
    â€œWell, can you tell us what you’ll be doing anyway?”
    Someone snickered. It was Kaz. She and Dawn and Carl were grinning at Haley now like hungry hyenas.
    â€œLittle green men,” Haley heard Dawn mumble to Kaz.
    â€œLittle green boyfriend,” Kaz replied. They both cracked up.
    Haley wondered yet again at her classmates’ ability to think they were so old, and yet act so completely juvenile at the same time.
    The doubt demon seized control again. They might be right , it said. How can there really be aliens out there? And if there are, how is some thirteen-year-old from Connecticut going to find them?
    This was a good point. One that had tripped up Haley more than once. Generations of scientists, not to mention crazy RV-driving, ham radio–operating, aluminum-foil-helmet–wearing freaks, had come up empty in the search for evidence of extraterrestrials and UFOs.
    But no. . . . No , she told the doubt demon. None of them had what she had: an actual story. And so, no, she was not going to stand up here and be a joke. She was not going to give in to doubting herself, because she knew what she had. And in fact, she remembered now that she had her keys in her pocket, and on her key chain she had something that was better than a notebook essay. Oh yeah , she thought to herself, that’s what a real journalist would do . And so after one last check-in with Abby’s encouraging eyes, Haley went for it.
    â€œOkay,” she said brightly. “So, I won something called the Fellowship for Alien Detection, and while most of you might think that sounds silly, you won’t after you hear my winning theory.”
    She dug into her pocket, pulled out her keys, and held her thumb drive out toward Ms. DeNetto. “May I?” she asked.
    â€œOh, um, sure,” said Ms. DeNetto.
    Haley slid the drive into a port on the computer at the front of the room. It was connected to the projector. She scrolled through and clicked on her files, stopping on a slide-show presentation called INTRODUCTION . She’d made it for when she was on her research trip, for introducing herself to interviewees, and on the off chance that