Do Those Tumbleweeds Look Like Aliens To You?

Do Those Tumbleweeds Look Like Aliens To You?

Caeli Harman and Delaney Gauthier

“In the deserts of Texas there sits a dubious-looking town named Dahlonega. Under the cover of a bright blue sky, men and women in tailored suits walk the sidewalks with grim expressions, wearing sunglasses so black they seem to absorb the sun. With authority reserved for people allowed to read redacted documents, they stake out a perennial Halloween store that looms dark shadows across main street, tastefully called Extraterrestrial Attire. Year round they showcase the best of their stock through the store windows, which rarely changes from an odd assortment of human disguises. While the Men-In-Black sit out in the heat of the day, they curiously avoid reading the missing posters littering the light posts from City Hall to Milo’s Cactus Conservatory (albeit, most of them are for Farmer Berg’s favorite cow Buttercup). The conclusion?

   Aliens have taken over Dahlonega. Proving this, however, is easier said than done. The townspeople were sleepy-eyed and quiet, content with their lemonade and closed-in porches. 

  “Aliens?” They would drawl. “I think you mean Ted o’er there, he only’ got eight fing’ers.” Then they would turn back to their game of Hearts, gossiping to each other like buzzing bees. In spite of their denial, not everyone inside the syrupy town was so dismissive. 

  Enter three students of Montgomery High School and their extracurricular activity, Saving the World Club (SaW©). Founded on the pursuit of knowledge and the goal of ridding aliens from their home, each one of them had a reason to be there. 

    First, there’s Jessica Wang, a non-believer in aliens until she saw a Vampire (©) retrieve a sample of blood from her best friend’s collarbone, with his teeth–like a syringe. Then he warped back into the space-time continuum without anyone else the wiser. Clad with long nails and a blinding highlight, her wickedly good people skills (when she chose to use them) complemented her suspiciously realistic disguises. With these abilities in hand she was a much needed addition to the club.

   Next, we have Khari Crane, the President’s best friend since the fifth grade after the latter chucked a basketball at a bully who’d called him a burnt dinner roll. Shy and bumbling, Crane made up for his non-existent field skills by being a computer genius, his days spent building and rebuilding computers until his eyes stung. While not particularly into aliens, once his parents started a new job at an “office” and began to wear tailored suits and sunglasses, his curiosity was piqued. 

   Finally, there’s me, the President, a hard-core conspiracy theorist who hungers to expose the aliens in my town (along with the government who seems bent on hiding the fact aliens exist). With J.W. and Crane at my side, we go against Vampires –bloodsucking, alien scientists– giant frogs that stand on two feet and camouflage into the night, and a new wave of human-alien hybrids, who for all we know, could be my next-store neighbor Cathy.”

   [J.W: You’re so dramatic.]

 [President: … You’re ruining the moment J.W.]

  [J.W: Could you’ve just started with today’s agenda? Why go into this vigilante-level backstory? I have a history test tomorrow.]

   [President: …]

  “Jessica also had a bad habit of interrupting others. Regardless, the trio of teens were on a mission of utmost importance, one that held the very life of their town in its hands. Their first task? Infiltrate Extraterrestrial Attire.” 

   [Crane: What!?]

   [J.W: You’ve got to be kidding me.]

  [President: What’s the big deal? It’s nothing we haven’t done before.]

  [J.W: Except we’re walking straight into a building where we’re 95% sure aliens run an underground business of smuggling exterrestrial creatures out into the world beyond.]

  [Crane: Not to mention my parents are parked out front…]

  [President: Who said we were walking in? And through the front for that matter?]

   [Crane & J.W: …]

   [J.W: Whatever you’re planning, let’s not.]

   [President: What do you mean? I have the perfect idea: we’ll sneak in through the secret entrance hidden inside the dumpster outside with some out-of-this-world disguises.]

  [J.W: *sigh* Whatever. I’m just not wearing tentacles.]     

   “Jessica said, without knowing I had bought cthulhu masks with the club’s monthly budget.”

   [J.W: Wait, what–]

  “Until next time, the President of Saving the World club signing out!”