Read Alien in My Pocket #5: Ohm vs. Amp for Free Online

thinking I could reach them faster than Mr. Jinxy if I took a better angle.
    Unfortunately, the Erdians tried to use my aunt’s tripods to cover their retreat, which didn’t work on the darting Mr. Jinxy, but worked pretty well on me.
    I heard my aunt scream as I scampered under her food displays on all fours, sending the tripods crashing and her posters falling in every possible direction. I can’t be sure, but I think she whacked me on the back with her pointer, trying to get me back on the couch.
    Luckily, I managed to block Mr. Jinxy with my shoulder and grab up an Erdian in each hand, a split second before Mr. Jinxy would have swatted them into the carpet with his paw. He meowed in frustration, showing me his tiny, sharp fangs.

    With my back turned, I stuffed the Erdians into my sweatshirt pockets, knowing that they may have forgotten to make themselves invisible to my aunt during all the excitement.
    The chase could not have taken more the three seconds, but the living room was now a disaster. My aunt stared at me like I was a gorilla in a tuxedo. I smiled crookedly. Teary-eyed, she walked past me without saying another word, obviously eager to tell my mom that I was the rudest boy ever to walk this planet.
    â€œDarn, I wanted to hear the rest of that,” Amp said inside my head, “but I suppose we have more pressing matters.”
    â€œWhat now?” I sighed.
    â€œOhm’s spaceship was damaged like mine,” Amp said. “We need a new initial launch system, and we need it fast.”
    â€œOf course we do,” I groaned.

Beard Boy
    I was grounded.
    Mom said I could not leave my room until I had grown a beard.
    I think she was kidding.
    But once she had seen Aunt Joni crying, somebody had to pay.
    â€œThis is Zack One, over,” I said into my walkie-talkie. “I repeat: this is Zack One. Come in, Twinkle Fairy Pants. Over.”
    â€œTwinkle Fairy Pants?” Amp squawked. “What on Erde is that?”
    I dropped the walkie-talkie into my lap. “It’s Olivia’s new call sign. I know it’s stupid, but she won’t answer to anything else. I think she just likes to make me say it. Trust me, I feel like an idiot.”
    â€œClever girl,” Amp said to Ohm with a chuckle.

    Ohm seemed to not get any of it. “Perhaps we could use this crude communication device to contact Erde—”
    â€œNo,” I said, cutting him off. “We already tried that, to disastrous results.”
    I was sitting in my closet, both Erdian spaceships parked in front of me. The Erdians were between the ships, each sitting on a marshmallow. Amp had started nibbling on his seat every minute or so, and now a chunk of his marshmallow was missing.
    â€œSo now you like marshmallows?” I asked.
    â€œLook, I’m an emotional eater,” Amp exclaimed, repeating something he must have heard my mom say. “This whole situation is giving me the munchies.”
    â€œMunchies?” Ohm said, shrinking back in alarm. “Is that contagious?”
    â€œZack One,” my walkie-talkie blurted out. “This is Twinkle Fairy Pants. Over.”
    â€œWhere have you been?” I said, leaning into the microphone more than I needed. “We’ve got a problem with the boys and their car.” I gave Ohm a wink or two, letting him know these werethe secret code words we used when talking on the walkie-talkie.
    â€œIs something stuck in his eye?” Ohm asked Amp, not getting the wink thing.
    â€œI was helping my grandpa replace the condenser unit in the refrigerator, Wacky Zacky. What did those two blue bummers break now? Over.”
    Both Erdians looked offended. “Uh, the two bummers can hear you,” I said, pressing the button. “Over.”
    â€œOh, sorry, guys, no offense,” Olivia said matter-of-factly through the tiny speaker. “We still blasting off at perigee?”
    â€œPerigee?” I asked,