together mixing and laughing over forkfuls of cake As Gemma ran her fingers across the spiral galaxy patch on her sleeve the symbol of the Galaxy Games she swelled with pride What an honor it was to represent Earth at these Galaxy Games she thought What a responsibility it was to be captain of the team What a time to be alive Hey You want the cake or not Gemma snapped out of it She’d gotten so lost in thought she didn’t realize she was at the front of the line A grouchy Garanzi glared down at her with his bug-like eyes his neck gills flapping So what will it be The cake of course Gemma blurted You’re a very lucky Earthling the Garanzi said You got the very last slice Enjoy As Gemma stepped away with her plate she scanned the great room for her team A strange and throaty voice spoke to her from behind You’re going to eat that 8
Excuse me she said spinning around A short red creature with pointy teeth and giant ears smiled at her with a strange glint in his eye You don’t know the first thing about Garanzis do you the alien asked I guess not she said They’re not the cleanest people in the galaxy he said Bad grooming habits Never wash their hands Fond of spitting And of course you know about snurkle rats Uh Nasty little creatures The Garanzis keep them as pets But not in cages or outside They keep their snurkle rats in their pockets I just happened to see a snurkle rat taking a nibble from the same slice you have Ew Gemma cried Here let me throw it away for you he said and took the plate from Gemma who was glad to let him have it Gemma ran to her table Don’t eat that 10
cake she screamed It’s filled with snurkle rat droppings Who told you that Jones asked taking a huge bite That little alien over there she said looking around Finally she spotted him He was at a table with a few others of his kind And he was gobbling down her slice of Garanzi cake A deep laugh came from across the table where a group of two-headed Zoins were dining Never trust a Klaxian one of them said We learned that ages ago Klaxians are not strong or fast or agile But they are smart and tricky Devious They live to cheat To cheat with cunning and skill is their highest virtue Aren’t they ashamed of themselves Felix asked Only if they’re caught the Zoin said from her second mouth There is nothing more shameful to a Klaxian than cheating poorly 11
