Danny Flash and the Alien Crash

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Mr. Greigson sat there, looking at my little alien friend, with his face slack-jawed, his mouth slightly open and his eyes frozen.  For a moment I thought perhaps my little alien friend had cast some kind of spell on Mr. Greigson, not allowing him to move, but then he blinked, and I realized he was just in a state of shock.  Mr. Greigson extended a finger towards my alien.  Suddenly it leapt into action, taking a defensive stance and barring its sharp teeth, that I'd only learned about a few moments before, back at the house.  It was the only thing scary about my little alien friend that I was aware of, but it was enough to make Mr. Greigson back his finger off, retreating slowly, like a turtle going back into its shell.

"Sorry," I said, apologizing on behalf of my little alien friend. "We've had kind of a rough day. He's probably not sure if you're one of the men trying to take him."

"You've shown him to other people?" Mr. Greigson asked, sounding almost offended that he wasn't one of the first to see him.

"Not exactly," I said. "Other people must have seen his ship land or known about it somehow. Maybe radar?"

"Oh, they know alright," he said, emphasizing "they" as if it was a group he'd dealt with before. "Will you let me hold him?"

"It's not really up to me," I said. Mr. Greigson's eyes moved from my little alien friend back to me. "But could you ask him for me?"

"I'll try," I said, standing up slowly. My alien friend loosened his stance.  I walked around the table, over to Mr. Greigson and put my hand on his shoulder.

"Friend," I said.

"Friend," my little alien repeated back, now dropping his lips and hiding his sharp teeth again.  "Friend," he repeated again, this time more confidently.

I wouldn't normally have thought to find myself in a situation where I was calling Mr. Greigson my friend, but I think at this moment, in this situation, he was perhaps the best friend I could have.  Well, don't tell that to Andrew, he'd get jealous and disagree.

"I have so many questions," Mr Greigson said.  He leaned in and looked closely at my little alien friend. "So, so many questions."

I explained to Mr. Greigson, as best I could, how I had found the spaceship in the forest; how strange men had come to my house; how we had nearly gotten away; how we had bought fruit to try and get seeds; and how that was a disaster; what we thought we knew about why the alien was here; how it needed food for its planet.  By the time I was finished, Mr Greigson had tears in his eyes.

"I always knew I was right," said Mr Greigson.  "People called me crazy but I knew I was right."

"I never called you crazy, Mr Gregson," I lied.  I had called him crazy on a few occasions, but I wasn't going to bring it up now.  Mr. Greigson turned to me, wiped his eyes and said, "You can go out there and pick out three packets of seeds."

"Just three?" I asked.  "This is for the alien," I reminded him.

"I know," Mr. Greigson said "But I'm still running a business."

I nodded my understanding, thankful that the outcome was we were getting seeds and not getting hauled off to the authorities or worse. I turned to Annabelle, Andrew and my little alien friend.

"Wait here, guys," I said. "I'll be right back," and I stepped out of the room.