Curiosity {Joshler}

26. Sneak - To creep or steal away privately.

The night of the Fourth of July, Tyler snuck out to the trees with a single serving of apple pie in his hands. The family had eaten together before sitting in the living room to watch television and talk before the fireworks began. Tyler's mother had made everyone promise to leave him be while he had his headache, so he had stuffed a few pillows under his blanket to make it look like he was actually there. Jay usually made a point of leaving Tyler to sleep when he wasn't feeling well, so he was fairly sure he'd be safe on that count.

Tyler had managed to sneak the piece of pie from the table. Since it was America's birthday, his mother had assembled an all-American meal of hamburgers, potato chips, and apple pie. His mother made the best pie around, and he wanted to bring some to Josh as a surprise.

Carrying the plate, Tyler entered the forest. Josh was there, as always, sitting on top of the vessel. He smiled at Tyler when he climbed up the rungs of the ladder which led to the roof. "Hi."

"Hey, Josh." Tyler set the plate down, and the alien boy eyed it curiously. Tyler no longer found his completely black eyes alarming; now, in fact, he actually thought they were kind of sweet. "What's that?"

"I'll get to that in a second." Tyler sat next to Josh. "Tonight is a special night here on Earth. Well, special for this area, anyway."

Josh perked up. "What's that?"

"It's called the Fourth of July," Tyler explained. "It's to celebrate our freedom. People eat certain foods, and celebrate with fireworks?'

"Fireworks?"

"Big lights in the sky. They're a sort of explosion," Tyler added.

Josh frowned. "Are they safe?"

"Not if you're very close to one, but we should be fine." Tyler picked up the paper plate holding his mother's pie. It had two forks. "And this, my friend, is apple pie. You're in for a treat."