by Disney Books
Freaking out, Gabby pulled her friend from the depths of the crowd and led her to the principal’s office. Admitting she’d screwed up, especially to Principal Swift, was not high on her bucket list, but she had no choice. She had to put Sky’s safety first. It was what any good babysitter would do.
Gabby burst into Swift’s office with Sky in tow. He took one look at the girls and his face contorted into bewilderment. “Oh, Gabby. What on Earth?” he asked, standing up behind his desk.
Sky was muttering incoherently. “Hairy legs. No one likes me. I miss you, Nana.”
Gabby’s eyes pleaded with Swift; she was desperate for help. “I broke Sky.”
Swift and Gabby darted into the comms room, where blob Jeremy and the Orb were circling each other in a face-off.
“You can’t make me learn,” snapped Jeremy, his giant mouth wide open.
The Orb swiped at the blob with its laser scalpel. “Care to test that theory?” it threatened.
“Nice try!” shouted Jeremy triumphantly. “Tests and theories are both learning!”
Gabby stared at the unlikely sparring partners. “What is going on?”
Swift, who held the rambling Sky in his arms, had greater tasks to attend to. He brushed by the bickering duo. “Don’t mind them. This happens literally every day. Jeremy! Orb! Cease at once.”
Jeremy morphed back into human form. The Orb retracted its scalpel with a whirl. “Sorry,” it said to Jeremy, who cocked his head inquisitively when he noticed Sky sputtering.
“I hate math. Jockstraps. Grounded for life,” she muttered as her head swiveled back and forth.
Swift set Sky in the command console chair and removed her stylish wig. The lights on her head flashed with irregularity, switching between red and green at random.
“Whoa. Cool . . .” said Jeremy, enjoying the light show.
“No, not cool, Jeremy,” corrected Swift. He turned to Gabby, his lips forming an angry line. “This is why we don’t bring aliens to school.”
Gabby felt awful as she watched Sky’s spasms. “I know, I get it! But we have to help her. What can we do?”
“Our Orb is programmed with medical procedures for a variety of life-forms,” Swift informed her. He turned to the Orb with specific instructions. “Initiate synaptic clearance protocol.”
A medical apparatus popped out of one of the Orb’s panels and emitted a red energy-beam scan.
“Mind scan initiated,” reported the Orb. The moment the beam hit Sky’s forehead, she froze in place. Not even a blink. For the first time since the hallway incident, Sky went silent.
Gabby, Swift, and Jeremy watched with anxious anticipation as the scan attempted to relieve Sky’s overcrowded telepathic receptors. The Orb disengaged its probe and floated backward. “Protocol failure. Too many synaptic pathways to clear.”
Sky’s friends were overcome with the gut punch of disappointment and defeat. Swift threw up his arms, frustrated by his inability to help the young girl. Gabby brought her hand to her forehead in disbelief. There had to be a way to save Sky.
Sky’s rambling continued to accelerate. “Friends. Rainbows. Tests. Fairies.”
Gabby looked down at her shoes, her heart heavy with shame. “This is all my fault. The bell rang and all those kids banged into her—it’s like there were too many thoughts and the pressure got too much.”
“The pressure is too much,” said Jeremy, trying to recall why that sounded familiar. His eyes shone with a look of realization. He knew this one! “You need somewhere for all those thoughts to go! Like some sort of pressure-release matrix!”
Swift and Gabby stared at Jeremy, amazed. His idea was genius.
“Jeremy, that’s it!” said Swift, his face lighting up like a spaceship at takeoff. Not only did they have a solution, but the brilliant notion had come from none other than his nephew. He couldn’t have been prouder.
“Orb, download Sky’s thoughts and emotions into your digital matrix,” instructed Swift. He’d never felt so relieved.
“Not possible,” answered the Orb. “My neural core cannot absorb human brain patterns. We require a human host.”
All eyes turned to Gabby. “What?” she asked, not liking the way Swift and Jeremy were looking at her.
The Chow Down delivery guy thought it had been an odd request and rechecked the special instructions. Yup, it definitely said to bring the food directly to the first-floor bedroom window. Do not stop at the front door. Do not ring the bell. The good news was special instructions usually resulted in a nice fat tip. He rubbed his hands on his navy vest, then knocked on the window and held up the brown paper bag. “Steamed broccoli for Brisket?”
“Yep, thanks,” said Wesley, grabbing the food and turning away.
The delivery guy waited a beat, but nothing happened. “Lemme guess. No tip?”
“How about a tip of the cap?” suggested Wesley, tipping an imaginary cap on his head.
The delivery guy was about to express his displeasure when someone knocked on the bedroom door. Wesley pushed the delivery guy away and scrambled to shut the curtains.
“Sky?” called Sky’s dad from the other side of the door.
Wesley raised his voice two octaves, trying to sound like Sky. “One second! Don’t come in!” he sang.
“I heard strange sounds,” said Sky’s dad. “Is it danger?” The lights on his head started to glow a menacing red.
Wesley grasped for an answer. “That was me!” he responded in his girly voice. Then he switched to his normal, lower voice. “I’m practicing my male Earthling voice.” He knew as soon as he’d said it that it was a lame excuse. Sky’s dad would never buy it.
“That is quite silly!” her dad responded, the red pulsing lights on his head subsiding. “But it does not sound real. Continue practice.”
Phew, that had been close. But for Wesley, when it came to Brisket, no risk was too high. Wesley turned his attention to the dog, who sat waiting obediently. The dog’s tail wagged back and forth with excitement as Wesley kneeled next to him on the floor.
Wesley scratched the dog’s ears, then opened the takeout container and set it in front of the pup. “Go ahead, boy. Eat.” Wesley knew Brisket would leap at the sight of the big box of broccoli.
But the dog stared at the food, uninterested.
“It’s your favorite,” Wesley reminded him. “Come on. Like this.” Wesley lowered his head to the box and ate the broccoli straight out of it like a dog.
Unimpressed, Brisket set his head down on the floor. Wesley studied the canine. It was the same eyes, the same light patch on the ears, and the same happy tail. And yet something was off. “Brisket would never turn this down,” Wesley said sadly. “You’re not Brisket, are you, boy?”
The dog rolled onto his back. Wesley scratched his tummy lovingly. Then Wesley noticed: “Plus, you’re a girl!”
Jeremy and Swift positioned Gabby and Sky in side-by-side chairs. The Orb zipped around in front of them, its medical beam device at the ready.
“Gabby, are you sure you want to proceed with the thought transfer into your brain?” asked Principal Swift. Gabby’s actions were commendable, but he felt obligated to remind her of the risks. “It may relieve the pressure on Sky, but there’s no telling what might happen to you.”
Gabby looked over at Sky, who was still mumbling nonsense. “School. Happy. Homework. Gym class.”
There was a chance Gabby would end up in the same state. But what kind of future did she have if she had to spend it knowing she’d ruined Sky? Gabby shuddered. Nope, there was no question about it. “I got Sky into this mess. I’m getting her out of it.” Besides, she told herself, if there was one thing Gabby Duran was, it was tough. She could handle this brain-transfer thingy no problem, right?
Principal Swift smiled, proud of Gabby’s choice. What a special teen she was. Once again, she reminded him why, of all the humans he’d met in Havensburg, he’d entrusted Gabby to babysit the unsittables.
Gabby looked ove
r at Sky. The lights on her head pulsed rapidly as she continued to mumble. Gabby reached out bravely and grabbed hold of Sky’s hand. The probe activated, sending dual beams of pulsing energy into each of the girls’ foreheads. The beams crackled and snapped as they penetrated the teens’ brains, causing both subjects to freeze. Within moments, Gabby was reading all the thoughts Sky had collected from students earlier that day:
I love Ted. I’ve got to steal his sweater so I can smell him.
I haven’t brushed my teeth in days. Does my breath smell?
Crybaby Duran has cool sneakers.
I hate football. I just want to dance.
Did she really cry for a whole week?
The thoughts of Havensburg Junior High’s population kept coming at Gabby, faster and faster. Gabby’s brain whirled as the students’ fears and concerns swirled through her neural pathways.
How could I fail science?
I have fat ankles.
Do people like my backpack?
Nana’s never coming back.
Finally, the floating Orb halted the blazing energy beams and withdrew its medical device. “Thought transfer complete.”
Swift and Jeremy ran to Sky’s side as she opened her eyes. The lights on her head had returned to normal. She looked around the room with a refreshed smile on her face, as if she’d just awoken from the most delicious nap. “Hi, everyone. What’s going on?”
Swift clasped his hands together in front of his chest. “Thank goodness. Now I don’t have to write a lengthy apology to Sky’s parents,” he said. But it was clear from his overjoyed expression that he was grateful for much more than that.
“Oooooh, Gabby, how are you?” Swift asked.
In contrast to Sky’s cheerful demeanor, Gabby was bawling her eyes out. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably and her voice caught in her throat. “Jessica thinks she has fat ankles. That’s why she wears tube socks. And Isaac likes Samantha, but she doesn’t like him back. And there are so many grandmas who died,” she sobbed.
Sky put her hand on Gabby’s arm, hoping to bring comfort to her friend. Swift reached into his pants pocket and retrieved a silk handkerchief. Always the gentleman, he handed it to Gabby.
Gabby dabbed at her eyes. “I guess I am Crybaby Duran after all.” She blew her nose so loudly she jumped at the noise.
She considered all she’d discovered during the thought transfer. “The sad thing is, all anyone was thinking about is what other people were thinking about them. So if you think about it, it doesn’t make sense to worry about what other people think about you because all those people are thinking about is what other people are thinking about them.”
Principal Swift and Jeremy stared at her, both wearing blank expressions. “I didn’t understand any of that,” admitted Swift. He hadn’t pegged Gabby for the philosophical type. That girl was just full of surprises. “But I’m glad everyone’s okay.”
Sky looked at Gabby with newfound respect. “Gabby, you deal with all those crazy thoughts and gossip and rumors every day?”
“Pretty much.”
Sky nodded in admiration. “Wow, being a teen girl is harder than I thought!”
“Tell me about it,” Gabby said. She had always thought she was the only one struggling at school. She hadn’t realized until that day just how hard it was for everyone else. “We still didn’t find out who started the whole Crybaby Duran thing.”
“Oh, yes. Ha-ha. Oh, that was me,” said Swift, raising his finger in the air, full of false modesty.
Gabby and Sky stood up from their chairs simultaneously.
“Why would you do that?” gasped Sky.
Swift turned to Gabby. “You’ve been such a big help to me these past few weeks that I wanted to return the favor in kind.” He appeared quite pleased with himself for thinking up such a clever plan.
Gabby’s mouth fell open in shock. “By telling everyone I cried like a baby?”
“Yes, well, humans seem to adore their babies, so I assumed if I told people that you cried like one, everyone would think you were dope to the max.”
Gabby wanted to be mad at Swift’s baffling actions, but she couldn’t help smiling. “That’s actually kinda sweet. But please don’t ever try to help me like that again.”
Sky and Gabby quickly returned to Sky’s house. They’d been gone much longer than intended, and the chances of them not getting caught sneaking back in were rather slim. They scrambled through Sky’s bedroom window, where they found Wesley sitting on the bed, waiting.
He popped up when he saw them. “Where’ve you guys been? Sky’s dad has checked in on me ten times,” he said. “That guy gives you no space.”
“Long story,” said Gabby. She’d fill Wesley in on all the details later. She put her hand on Sky’s shoulder. “Listen, Sky, I’m really sorry for short-circuiting your brain today.”
“Are you kidding?” gushed Sky. “I got to go to school, dress like a teenager, and do gossip. Aside from almost dying, it was the greatest day of my life!” Her eyes danced with glee.
“That’s actually pretty typical for a day with Gabby,” confirmed Wesley. His life had improved massively since Gabby got to town.
“You think you’d wanna hang out again sometime?” Sky asked. “But, you know, not as a babysitter. If you want to. I mean, we’re friends, right?”
Lucky for Sky, Gabby Duran took her friendships very seriously. “Sky, c’mon. After what we just went through, we’d better be!” In truth, it was Gabby who felt lucky to have made a new friend as amazing as Sky. Something told her they had a lot of adventures ahead of them.
After saying good-bye to Sky, Gabby realized she was starving. She and Wesley grabbed their usual booth at Luchachos Taqueria. The restaurant had sombreros on the wall, Mexican wrestlers in the logo, and the best quesadillas in town. Maybe the state.
“Sorry Sky’s dog wasn’t your dog,” said Gabby, her arms folded on top of the table.
“Yeah, me too.” Wes nodded. “I guess I just have to face the fact that Brisket’s gone and he’s never coming back.” He shrugged with reluctant acceptance.
As Gabby reached for a sip of water, the waitress brought their order: one large quesadilla. Wesley stared at the food in front of him, his eyes wide with wonder.
“What?” asked Gabby, her eyes also wide but with hunger.
“The quesadilla! It’s Brisket! It’s his face!” said Wesley, spinning the plate so Gabby could see for herself.
Sure enough, the quesadilla had an image of a dog’s face burned into the tortilla.
“Gabby, this is a sign,” Wesley said, all fired up. He gestured wildly at the miracle quesadilla. “Brisket’s still alive. And I’m never going to stop looking for him. And when I find him, I’m—”
Wesley stopped midsentence, his eyes burning into Gabby as she took a huge bite out of a quesadilla wedge. The melted cheese strung from her mouth. “Sorry, I was hungry,” she said with her mouth full. “It’s been a long day.” Besides, the best babysitter in the galaxy deserved the best quesadilla in the galaxy—mysterious dog face or not.
Gabby looked across the booth at Wesley, thrilled to have found such a fun and loyal best friend in her new town. Between that and her intergalactic babysitting gig, Gabby had to admit her life in Havensburg was pretty dope.