Foreign Exchange Student

by Joe Ballarini

When I was eleven, I was a pretty lonely kid. Because I couldnt play sports like the others did. In the outfield I dropped every fly ball. When I shot for the basket, Id trip and fall. I bombed at tennis, When my racket hit my doubles partner Dennis, I failed at lacrosse, When my swing injured poor Ross. And when I ran track My shoe flew off and hit Jack, Thus I was picked last on every ones team And no one wanted to play with me. My accidents, though I meant no offense scared away all my potential friends. To everyone in class, I was less fun and more danger. So I just sat safely on the sidelines and became a quiet stranger. My parents saw my sadness and decided to bring my misery to an end. They had a brilliant solutionthey would import me a friend! A foreign exchange student, that was the plan. To bring over a kid from a foreign land. He would stay at our house, we would show him our country And most important, he would hang out with me. They filled out the paperwork and submitted the forms, And in a week there was a knock on our door. My heart jumped. Where would my new friend be from? France, India or some distant kingdom? I swung open the door and was astonished to see My new friend standing there before me. He was skinny, my size, with straight black hair He wore the oddest clothes I ever saw a kid wear.

His shirt and pants sparkled like they were made from metal And his shoes reminded me of my bike pedals. Even his plastic suitcase looked oddly brand new His eyes were enormous, light bright and blue, His small smile looked nice and luckily not mean Oh, and did I mention, his skin was green? Green skin! my mom gasped and looked at my dad. Our visitors grin dropped and looked very sad. He knew he was different and not like us But he wanted to fit in and not make a fuss. He extended his hand, and shook my nose I thought it was all a joke, but my parents froze. Then, with a voice that sounded oddly French and prudent, The boy said, My name is Remus. I am your foreign exchange student. Where are you from? my father stuttered. And as he pointed to the sky, my heart fluttered. I hail from the Triagulum Galaxy, In the Xebar system, planet number 3. Oh was all my mother said before she passed out, bumping her head. Theres been a mistake, said dad as he fanned mom. I think we might have filled out the wrong form-We were expecting a kid from Africa, Italy, or Cameroon Not someone from beyond the moon! Remus nodded and shrugged Then I shall return to the stars. Dont leave, I objected, youve come light years this far! I begged my parents to please-please let Remus stay And not send off someone with whom I could play. Imagine how cool I would be to have a friend who was green, Certainly now all the kids at school would want to play with me! My parents went into the next room where they had a whispering chat While I showed Remus our fat tabby cat. But when Remus went to pet it-what happened next, Ill never forget it-The cats hair suddenly stood on end, As if shot by electricity from my new friend. Just then Mom and dad returned,

While the poofy-haired cat looked very concerned Mom and dad decided to let the martian stay. Remus and I jumped and shouted Hooray! We showed Remus the basement where he would be sleeping, He then opened his suitcase which had begun beeping. Inside was a pair of spare metallic underwear, And a holographic picture of his parents that had been packed with care. At dinner, instead of the meatloaf, Remus ate the knife and spoon I watched, amazed as he chewed, humming a happy tune. Mother tried to stop him, thinking he could get hurt-But then he ate the toaster for desert. And when he burped, his stomach went clank. He excused himself and simply said Thanks. That night, I asked Remus about his home Were there purple trees and green rivers or was everything silver and chrome? Did spaceships fly at a million miles and hour? Did everyone have extraordinary powers? I asked him a million questions, gosh, I was so wired. But traveling across the galaxy had made him so tired. Remus yawned and drifted to sleep. And I wondered if in his dreams he counted alien sheep. The next day, I showed him the tree house I planned to build But since I was alone and not very skilled The tree house was just a pile of nails and wood And all I had was a hand-drawn blueprint that wasnt very good. But before I knew it, Remus set to it. He sketched up a design, So elegant and fine, He removed fantastic tools from his backpack Which he used to give the nails a good whack. Together we worked, hammering nail in wood Sweating and building as hard as we could. And by nightfall, the magnificent tree house was done And Remus said he had never had so much fun.

At school, I introduced Remus to my class But every one was scared of his green skin and avoided him en masse. In math class his skills stunned the teacher, As his string of equations stretched into the bleachers, English was a whiz for Remuss brain, He recited all of Shakespeare in Spanish without any strain And, yes, he took apart all the computers in science But he rebuilt them into a super robot appliance. The principal didnt approve When the robot destroyed the lockers after it got loose, I explained, its a super robot, thats what super robots do! In gym class, however, Remus went beyond clever. Since he was on such a brilliant roll, I asked him to help me score just one goal, Or maybe two or three, Maybe through telepathy? Remus smiled and nodded and stood aside on the grass While I charged the ball, running fast. Remuss eyes sparkled as he intensely stared. And when my foot kicked the ball, it soared through the air, It arced cross the sky and in circles it spun around, It dodged all the players, then zoomed across the ground. Bouncing along with a life of its own Until it rocketed into the goal causing the net to groan. I cheered for myself and my first victory Until I saw no one, except Remus, was cheering for me. You cheated! the others cried. You didnt even kick the ball, dude. You lied! The kids started to boo and gather around While I just swallowed and stared at the ground. Suddenly, a dozen soccer balls soared in the sky, They whipped into a tornado, chasing kids like flies, While kids ran to safety, screaming their cries. The soccer balls pelted everyone but me-I have to admit it was fun to see. Stop, Remus! I said.

And all the balls dropped dead. The kids yelled at Remus and called him a freak. They shoved him around until he could not speak. Then the worst thing happened so fast Remus black hair fell off and onto the grass. He was bald with two giant antennae sprouting from his head, I was so embarrassed for him I turned bright red. Remus shook with anger and his antennae buzzed. The sky went dark and I could feel the lightning fuzz. Everyone backed away with fear in their eyes While storm clouds boiled in the skies. BOOM! Lightning zapped from the clouds And zig-zagged down in the crowd It struck Remuss antennae with a zap The lightning crackled and clapped While Remuss eyes rolled over white Then everything stopped and he was alright. Everyone just stared in fright. I handed Remus back his wig-And we just laughed and danced a happy jig. Soon after, the teachers and parents took a vote And though I insisted no no no The PTA and the Principal and Students unanimously voted that Remus had to go. What if he gives the signal for his martian people to attack? What if he takes Earths resources and never gives them back? Havent you even seen a science fiction movie His kind fries your brains and makes them gooey! But I knew different, Remus was my friend. My only friend, whom I would forever defend. I tried to explain my alien friend was harmless and cool But they kept treating Remus cold and cruel. Why could they see Remus was no freak? Sure he ate metal every day of the week, And sometimes it was hard to understand him speak. Okay, so maybe Remus was different, maybe even strange But which one of us wasnt a little deranged? I knew Dennis would pick his nose and eat it

Ross would smell his feet and his desk seat And Jack did things so gross I would never repeat. We could learn from Remus now matter how bizarre, He could help us find our place, no matter how far. Even if someone comes from across the stars, Cant we open our hearts to those from Mars? No one at school seemed to feel the same way And so the next day, We sat in the treehouse we made Watching the sunset fade, As his spaceship came to take him away. I tried not to cry when we said goodbye, But Remus began to sigh. He mumbled, sounding rather glum: My parents sent me here because I dont have friends where Im from. Thank you for being mine, even if for just a few days. Ill never forget you and all your strange, alien ways. With a tear in my eye, I watched him vanish into the sky, And I was thankful with all my soul, Because of Remus I scored my very first goal. And though we were worlds apart, I knew he would forever be in my heart.