If a Martian When to our High School Classes... by Julie Steimle (book recommendations website TXT) 📕

Zormna clenched her teeth as they listened to the Orson Welles’ Halloween broadcast of War of the Worlds. Mr. Humphries thought it was a great preliminary to their reading of the book. They had seen the musical Oliver! when they finished reading Oliver Twist, but that was enjoyable. Just the sound of Welles’s voice made Zormna’s stomach churn in disgust.
The class bell rang none too soon. Zormna huffily stood up, gathering her books and stuffing them into her bag. It didn’t help that Jeff was trying to keep himself from laughing. Brian kept poking Jeff in the head, and even Mr. Humphries seemed disturbed by Jeff’s reaction to the radio show.
Jeff wiped his tearing eyes. “That was the funniest….”
“Can it,” Zormna snapped.
He blinked at her and shut up immediately, trying to remove the smirk on his face. Sure, she would see it that way. Zormna got offended by the most innocent things. Ok, perhaps her sensitivity to alien war movies, especially where the villain was a Martian, was understandable, considering her military upbringing in a Martian academy. But really, the whole aliens-taking-over-the-Earth scenario was hilarious.
He shrugged and watched her go to class.
Jeff walked down the hall, shaking his head and walking with Brian. They passed Bradley Hershott in the hall. Bradley avoided Jeff’s gaze, still nursing his bruised nose and black eye. Michelle Clay passed them to go to her History class, giving pert winks and flirty eyelash flutters at the two. He even saw Kevin, Jennifer’s boyfriend, standing with his fellow preppies, chatting and glancing at Jeff. Kevin knew what Jeff was, but for Jennifer’s sake, said nothing. Jeff supposed that Kevin was still scared of him. He had threatened to flatten him if he said anything to anyone about Zormna’s and his secret. But then, who would believe him anyway?
Who would? Jeff felt that dark distant feeling in his chest again. It rose suddenly, making his head feel dizzy and oddly heavy.
An image pressed in his mind. Bones. Bones in the ground.
Jeff shook his head and tried to recover his focus. The school hall came back into view. Yes. Students, lockers, classes. His head was no longer spinning. What was that? Bones? Why did he see bones imbedded in rock? What was going on?
“Are you ok?” Brian asked, looking at him.
Jeff blinked and shook his head.
“You looked like you were going to pass out just now,” Brian said, staring at him.
Taking a breath, Jeff straightened up and shrugged. “Maybe I got up too fast back there.”
“Delayed reaction?” came Brian’s incredulous response.
Jeff chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, exactly.”

Zormna stared at her Biology teacher. It was the day of blasphemy, she had decided. After having to listen to the stupidest recording of the most absurd radio broadcast, she had to listen to Miss Bianchi ramble on about Groundhog Day and the groundhog seeing its shadow, which meant they would have winter six more weeks. After having to take in that load of nonsense, she just had to come to Biology, where Mr. Zeigler was preaching evolution once more. Only this time he was explaining to them in fervent testimony that Homo Habilus was the first man to ever use tools.
It was a made up theory. It was a made up theory. It was a made up theory, and we made it up to keep idiots like this away from our home—Zormna thought to herself over and over so that she wouldn’t go mad. It was a made up theory. It was a made up theory. It was a….ooh… Mr. Zeigler’s voice is so irritating!

“…Evidence proves that from this stage, man began to use stone axes and adzes and arrowheads…”
It is just a made up theory…. I really need to find and burn Mr. Zeigler’s textbook.

“…The next major stage of the evolution of man is…. Anyone? Can anyone tell me?” he asked, looking across the room.
His eyes fell on Zormna whom he had observed was not as enthusiastic about this stage of evolution as she had been about splitting paramecium. “Zormna, can you tell us the next evolutionary stage?”
Jennifer McLenna, sitting next to her, immediately covered her head in her hands. She had been dreading this moment, knowing it would come.
Zormna scowled.
The whole classroom full of eyes turned on her. Zormna had remained silent, rather unusual for a know-it-all. It had been entirely unusual that she had not offered any insight that whole month. She had been too busy biting her tongue from all the nasty tirades that flooded her mind when they started discussing evolution in the first place.
“Zormna? We’re waiting.” Mr. Zeigler stood up with folded arms, standing near a chart that already showed the evolutionary path he wanted to teach.
She gritted her teeth. Zormna didn’t want to say anything, yet he was provoking her.
Jennifer stared up at her, the color draining from her face in dread. Zormna looked set and ready to respond. Jennifer closed her eyes and waited for the blow.
“Well,” Zormna started, “According to your chart there, they claim the next evolutionary stage of that mannish thing to be Homo Sapiens Neanderthalis.”
Mr. Zeigler nodded.
Jennifer let out a sigh of relief.
“Yes, also known as Neanderthal man,” Mr. Zeigler continued. “As you can see, this man has a low forehead still, and he is larger and walks more upright, not quite as erect as Homo Sapiens Sapiens, but still a great advancement where….”
“And a load of garbage,” Zormna mumbled under her breath.
Jennifer looked up to see if Mr. Zeigler heard it, but he didn’t seem to. She shook her head and turned back to her notes.

The class let out, and after that long lecture, which strangely had taken the whole class period, all the students were relieved to go. They had all learned that evolution was Mr. Zeigler’s pet project. They had created the huge time line and the science fair was that Saturday. Luckily for Zormna, she only had to do parts of the early stages of evolution or she would have thrown a fit. It was that fit Jennifer was waiting for.
They stood to leave to their next class.
Mr. Zeigler was waiting by the door when Jennifer and Zormna passed by. His expression was one of disappointment.
“Zormna, can I have a word with you?” he said.
Jennifer winced.
Zormna turned to her and said, “You go on.”
Shrugging, but hesitant to go, Jennifer walked backwards, watching them.
“What is it, Mr. Zeigler? I have to hurry to Chemistry.” Zormna’s voice sounded tetchy.
“Really, Zormna,” her teacher said, shaking his head. “Your attitude lately has been appalling. What happened during Christmas? Did you lose your scientific objectivity?”
Zormna blinked. “What?”
Mr. Zeigler shook his head. “You know what I am talking about. Why are you making derisive remarks in my class? I have been ignoring it up until now. But today your behavior was unacceptable.
Zormna blinked at him again. Then she choked on a laugh and shook her head. “Oh. You mean that stuff you’ve been teaching.”
Mr. Zeigler frowned.
She shrugged nonchalantly, or tried to. “I just don’t agree with you.”
His jaw dropped. “I would have thought a girl with a scientific mind such as yours would appreciate the dynamics of this chapter. I am sorely disappointed in you.”
“It’s a load of rubbish,” Zormna snapped back. Her ears were burning, and she could feel her heart pounding in her ears.
Her teacher clamped his mouth shut and then opened it again. “It is science. Fact. I do not teach fiction here in this school. Nor theology.”
Zormna laughed. “Fact? Mr. Zeigler, evolution is a theory. A theory. You may not agree with those that believe other than you. But I happen to know that your theory is not fact.”
“Now see here, Miss Clendar!” he started, but the late bell rang.
“I’m going to be late!” Zormna gasped. Without listening to another word, she slung her book bag onto her shoulder and she ran down the hall.
Mr. Zeigler glared after her.

Zormna fumed to herself, much like the chemical solution in their beaker she and Darren had been working on. She could not get Mr. Zeigler’s words out of her head.
A fact—nonsense. It was a historical fact that all humans came from Arras. It was in every history book Zormna had ever read before she came to Earth. In fact, they had history and myths that were collected before any humans were on Earth.
She growled and stared at the beaker.
“Zormna, are you even going to help?” Darren’s voice broke into her thoughts.
She looked up.
“Oh, sorry, Darren. Where were we?” She tried to be more helpful, but Zeigler’s argument pounded in to her brain.
“Get the newspaper and roll it up into a tube.” Darren was wearing goggles that made him sound rather nasal when he spoke.
Zormna nodded and grabbed a thick stack.
“Not that many. Jeez, Zormna, you’ve been spacey lately. What’s with you?” he asked.
Zormna placed the newspapers on the table and sighed.
“Mr. Zeigler.” She groaned.
“What about him?” Darren took the top sheet of the newspapers and rolled it in a tube, motioning for her to do the same. She mimicked him, but not really focusing on the papers.
“He’s a moron,” she said, handing Darren her first tube and starting on another one.
“Next we put the three tubes in the chemical beaker, touching the bottom,” he said, reading the sheet his instructor had handed them. “Why is he a moron? What did he do?”
“It’s what he said.” Zormna shoved her tube way into the beaker until it was halfway down.
“Well, what did he say?” Darren asked, shoving the other two tubes into the beaker.
“What’s next?” Zormna glanced at the sheet.
“And that’s what made you mad?” He glanced at her sideways.
“No, stupid. I was asking what do we do next.” She glared at him.
“Oh, we dump in each of the three powders into the center of the tubes, so they don’t mix, but they do go into the solution.” He opened up one of the white plastic containers and handed her a metal measuring scoop. “You know, I’m going to nag you until you tell me what happened, so you just had better give now before I nag you during lunch and every day until you do tell.”
Zormna scowled at him, scooping out the first powder. “You know, you’re as bad as Jennifer.”
“And you are avoiding the question,” Darren replied, opening the next container.
Shaking her head, she scooped out the second powder and placed it in the next tube in the beaker.
“Alright! Scrapes, you’re irritating. He just said that evolution was fact, and I got mad. That’s all.” She scooped the last powder out of its container and dumped it into its cone.
“Now we write down our observations about what is happening in each tube.” He pulled out his pencil and peered into the first tube nearest to him.
Darren glanced up at Zormna, who was still red in the face but busy putting down her notes. “So, Mr. Zeigler is a moron for believing in evolution? Is that it?”
Zormna glanced at him and nodded.
Darren chuckled and shook his head. He nearly laughed. “Honestly, Zormna, what did you expect? He’s