How I Stole Johnny Depp's Alien Girlfriend Page 14

  Zelda puts her baton away and sits beside me. “You have so much to learn to earn this.” She takes my arm and checks the octopus tattoo. She says the key will transform me, in time. Make me more like her. Like, I might even be able to bend time and Space Splash one day.

  “But you need to practice, practice, practice!”

  I reach for the plastic bag and take out the pint of perfectly melted vanilla ice cream and two spoons.

  “You think you’re going to win me over with ice cream again?”

  “Negative. I know I’m going to win you over with ice cream again,” I say, opening the lid. “It’s like a Vahalalian trap.”

  “Clever boy,” she says, and we start spooning away, admiring the bats shooting out of the cave and then quickly flying back in to escape the sun. She leans against me and rests her head on my shoulder. I smile. I’m the key to her world. I might be slow, clumsy, and still unable to block her side blows, but I’m with her forever.

  And, who knows? One day she might give up running on rooftops, smashing policemen’s heads, and destroying cities searching for her chosen one. And I’ll be right here waiting for her, eating vanilla ice cream and watching bats dance in the wind.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Thanks to Mary Colgan at Chronicle Books for her commitment and exceptional insights; Kathryn Lye, Lynda Curnyn, Maria Ahlund, and Ruben Gerson for their kindness and warm support.

  Also thanks to my wonderful agent, Marlene Stringer at the Stringer Literary Agency, for her unlimited enthusiasm and hard work.

  About the Author

  Born in Paris to an international family (one part French, two parts Spanish, one part Strange), GARY GHISLAIN grew up between Paris and the French Riviera. After obtaining a master’s degree in literature and linguistics at the University of Paris, he packed his pass-port, a few reasonably clean T-shirts, and his beloved Converse shoes, and headed out to travel the world, work odd jobs, learn boxing techniques, and write young adult novels. He now lives in Antibes on the French Riviera, enjoying the sun and the sea while working on his novels.

  Text © 2011 by Gary Ghislain.

  Illustrations © 2011 by Jillian Tamaki.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

  Library of Congress Data is available.

  eISBN 978-1-4521-0845-2

  Book design by Jennifer Tolo Pierce.

  Jacket illustration © 2011 by Jillian Tamaki.

  The illustrations in this book were rendered using digital medium.

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  San Francisco, California 94107

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