I Am the Walrus by Neal Shusterman

Author:Neal Shusterman [Shusterman, Neal and Elfman, Eric]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2023-04-11T00:00:00+00:00

Arbuckle’s old water tower had been swapped out for a newer, shinier model some years earlier, but when the town council discovered how much it would cost to demolish the old one, they decided to leave it standing. The drum of the old tank soon became a free billboard for anyone daring enough to climb the ancient ladder so they could slap up advertisements, tag it with graffiti, or just draw something rude. But Sahara and Ogden were the only ones messing with it today.

“Is this really a good idea?” Sahara asked as she followed Ogden up the tower’s old ladder. “Anyone looking up will see us climbing.”

“You’re thinking like a human, not an alien.”

“How do you know how aliens think?”

“Practice.”

They reached the platform that supported the water tank, and Ogden led Sahara around the tank to a hatch secured by an extremely rusted padlock.

“Great,” said Sahara. “How are we supposed to get in?”

“Like this.” Ogden took off his left shoe and smashed it against the rusted lock over and over until the lock broke off.

“Ferrous oxide!” he said, flicking away some of the rust. “Gotta love it!” Then he opened the hatch and stepped in as if he was walking in his own front door.

“I get the feeling you’ve been here before,” Sahara said as she followed him in.

“Yeah,” Ogden said. “When I was little, I ran away from home and hid out here for three days.” He kicked a fast-food bag near his feet. “And I think this was mine, so I doubt anyone has been in here since.”

“That was you?” Sahara said. “I remember that—it was all over the news.”

“I know! My fifteen minutes of fame lasted a whole three days!” Ogden said with a bit of pride in his voice. “Which reminds me—give me your phone.”

Sahara hesitated, then reluctantly gave it to him, and she watched over his shoulder as he entered a phone number and sent a text.

Mom. Prime. Phone died. CU2morrow

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sahara had to ask.

“Exactly!” said Ogden. “Confusion is my superpower.” And he handed her back the phone.

Sahara took an uneasy breath. Even though they were now concealed in an unlikely place, she didn’t feel any better about their situation.

“I still don’t feel safe here, Ogden. I don’t know if we’ll be safe anywhere!”

“Okay, okay.” Ogden pressed his forehead into his hands and started breathing deeply.

“What are you doing?”

“Quiet! I’m tapping into the universe.”

Ogden took one more deep, snuffling breath, then said, “Got it!” and opened his eyes. He went back out to the rusted ladder. Sahara stared in disbelief as Ogden kicked it over and over until it broke free and arced gracefully away from the water tower, like a gantry falling back from a rocket about to launch, then landed with a muffled crash against a stand of trees.

“Ogden!” Sahara shouted. “What did you do that for?”

“Think about it!” Ogden said. “Now this is the last place the aliens will look for us! They won’t think that we’re

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