Traveller - L.W. Samuelson (free e books to read online TXT) 📗

any help."
"Why Traveller, are all Benwarians so full of flattery?"
"What is flattery?"
"It's praising someone to make them feel good about themselves."
"Does it work?"
"Of course, all humans want to hear something positive about themselves."
"In that case, you are even more beautiful with the cream on."
"Yeah right. It doesn't work unless people think you're being sincere. I'm going to bed now. The T.V. stations go off at midnight, push the button marked on/off when the screen goes fuzzy."
"Lori, you are acroluminous. I'm not using flattery either. Thank you for everything. Good night," the alien said.
Lori smiled. She had never thought of herself as pretty, but Traveller's sincerity was genuine. She smiled as she left the room.
Traveller watched the television, translating and trying to make sense of what was happening until twelve o'clock. He turned the television off before climbing under the blankets Lori had provided.

Chapter 15- Flag Football
Lori let Traveller sleep in. Her first class started at nine o'clock. She woke him up at eight thirty. "I'm leaving now. There's cereal in a bowl on the table. Open the white box next to it. There's some milk to put on it. It's in the red and white carton. Jesse will come and get you at some time after eleven," she said pointing to the clock to show him. "I'll turn the T.V. on. You can watch it until he gets here."
Suddenly Traveller started singing in an exact imitation of Grandpa Jones, "Where, oh where, are you tonight? Why did you leave me here all alone?"
Lori smiled. "I'll see you later. I hope you'll be okay you old lonesome hound dog."
"Good bye. I'll fight off the gloom and despair until I see you again."

Jesse knocked on the door at eleven-thirty. When no one answered, he barged in to find Traveller in front of a blaring T.V. "Hey Traveller. How ya doin'?"
"I am fine."
"Did you eat?"
"No."
Jesse turned the T.V. off. "Here I brought you some clothes. Put'em on so you don't look like Spock. I stole them from my roommate. He's about your size."
Traveller put on the Levi's and sweatshirt Jesse gave him. The tennis shoes were a little too small but he slipped them on anyway to please Jesse. There was also a Levi jacket that fit except the sleeves were a little too short. "Thank you," Traveller said as he shrugged into it.
"Come in the kitchen. I'll fix breakfast," Jesse ordered.
Traveller followed him. Jesse pulled a chair out. "Sit down," he said.
When Traveller was seated, Jesse filled another bowl with frosted cornflakes before pouring milk over them. He handed Traveller a spoon then poured milk into the bowl Lori had put on the table. Jesse took several bites before he noticed that the alien wasn't eating. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"I don't want to upset Lori again."
"She won't be upset. She wants you to eat."
"No. I will not make her house smell bad."
It suddenly dawned on Jesse what the problem was. "Cereal won't give you gas. It was the beans that got to you. Come on try some."
Reluctantly Traveller took a bite. They tasted sweet and crunchy with some kind of plant kernel flavor that was completely different from the beans and rice. He swallowed before taking another bite before speaking into the translator, "These are good!"
Jesse finished his second bowl before pushing his chair back. "I have a tag football game. My roommate sprained his ankle and we need one more to make a team. Do you want to take his place?"
"I don't know. What is flag futbal?"
"Football. It's easy. Just watch us for a minute then I'll explain everything. Try not to say anything so no one knows you're an alien. I'll tell them you’re from Russia."
"Okay Jesse."

The game took place on a baseball field located west of Holt gym. The other team had eight players with white strips of cloth dangling from the back of their pants. Jesse introduced Traveller to his teammates before stuffing a piece of cloth in the alien's pants. "We'll play without you until you can see what's going on," he said. “Just stand here and don’t say anything.”
Jesse grabbed an oblong object that resembled the shape of Traveller's space pod. He kicked it so that the ball went end over end for several mezures. A person on the other side caught the ball and ran. His friends tried to keep Jesse's friends from taking the flag of the human with the ball by pushing them away. Jesse finally grabbed the guy with the ball long enough to pull the flag out. After that, everyone stopped running. Traveller watched as the other team gathered together and hugged each other. He could hear someone whisper, “Everyone block but Tim. You go deep. On two.” They clapped their hands, said, “Break,” then all of them lined up along the ball but the one who told everyone to block. One of them straddled the ball and held it between his legs looking forward with both hands on it.
The leader of the other team held his hands up, “Hut one, hut two,” he said. At two, the guy holding the ball threw it between his legs into the hands of the signal caller. The guy called Tim ran as fast as he could down the field while everyone but Jesse tried to get the flag from guy with the ball. The quarterback ran sideways, stopped then threw it in a perfect spiral downfield. Jesse hadn’t reacted in time to keep up with Tim. He was a couple of mezures behind when the ball flew over his head into Tim’s arms. Tim passed a line on the far west side of the field before yelling, “Touchdown!”
The two groups separated again and lined up. This time Tim’s team kicked the ball. Jesse caught it. He ran hard to the right while the other team converged on him. Tim ran across the field while his mates slowed Jesse down. One man held Jesse while Tim pulled his flag out. Traveller could see that having one less player gave the other team the advantage.
Jesse’s team arranged themselves in the hug group. He gave instructions, the huddle broke, and everyone lined up. When the ball was “hiked”, that was the term they used, Jesse dodged around in the backfield. Just before he was cornered, he threw the ball. One of the pursuers tipped it making it wobble end over end. Tim caught it. Jesse’s team watched as he ran the other way across the same line as before. Tim crossed it then held two hands straight up in the air and yelled, “Touchdown!” again. “Twelve zip.”
“Timeout,” Jesse said making a T with his hands. “We need someone else. You guys are killing us. Is it okay if my friend from Russia plays? His name is Travorsky.”
“Sure,” said Bill, the other team’s quarter back. “It’s not going to make you run any faster though.”
“That’s alright, we just need another blocker,” Jesse said.
Jesse beckoned everyone over for a quick conference. First he introduced Traveller, “This is my friend, Travorsky. I call him Travis.”
Each member of Jesse’s team held their hand palm up. “You slap it Travis,” he demonstrated. Traveller followed suit. That’s six new friends the alien thought after the last slap.
“Travis, when they kick the ball, you push the other team away from whoever catches it.”
“Boni bon bon.”
Everyone got a funny look on their face, but no one said anything about “Travis’s” comment. They broke huddle to line up across the field.
“You ladies ready?” Bill called before he kicked the ball. It sailed end over end toward Traveller. He watched it. Mesmerized by the motion, he put his arms up at the last second to catch it. It bounced off his chest and into the arms of the charging Tim. When Travellet tried to stop him, a stiff arm knocked the alien down. Again Tim ran across the finish line to yell touchdown.
Jesse ran over to his friend, “Are you okay?”
Traveller held his head down in shame. “Bletah,” he said the Benwarian word for sorry.
Down eighteen to nothing, Jesse’s team lined up again. This time he caught the ball. Traveller who had been over twenty yards away suddenly appeared before him. Jesse stayed behind the alien as Traveller used both arms to push the other team away. The would be tacklers flew backward as they were shoved hard to the turf. Only when Tim cross-bodied Traveller and Jesse fell over the two bodies was anyone able to get his flag.
In the hug circle everyone congradulated Traveller. “Good blocking.” “Man you really knocked Bill on his butt.” “Way to go, you animal.” He didn’t understand what they were saying, but it was good.
In the huddle Jesse told everyone to block so he could run the ball. “Travis, you stay in front of me.”
“They’re going to run it!” Tim yelled when they broke huddle.
Traveller had picked up the meaning of throw and ball as he watched the game. When everyone was lined up, he patted himself and whispered just loud enough for Jesse to hear, “Throw ball.” He pointed to a spot on the field.
“Hut one, hut two,” Jesse called. He caught the ball and ran right. Traveller magically appeared behind the other team. He was so wide open that Jesse lofted the football in a lazy spiral. Traveller snatched it with both hands squeezing it hard. Only Tim who was playing safety had a chance of tackling the alien. He came up just as Traveller turned to run. The alien shifted the ball to his left arm to meet his dive with a hand to the face that stopped all forward momentum. Tim collapsed hitting the ground hard. He lay groaning on the ground as Traveller ran for a touchdown. The alien crossed the goal line, spiked the ball, and yelled, “Touchdown!”
Jesse and the whole team ran to Traveller. They hugged each other, jumped up and down. It was the first time a team had scored against Bill’s team. When the celebration broke, Traveller saw Tim writhing in the grass with the other team gathered around him.
Traveller pushed his way through the other players then knelt down beside the fallen player. Instinctively, he knew Tim’s neck was jammed. He sat behind Tim’s head to gently roll the injured man onto his back then he held Tim’s head in both hands to pull and knead the neck muscles. Fourteen football players watched in awe as the alien healed the injured man.
Tim sat up with his pain gone. “How did you do that?” he asked in awe. “I could have sworn you broke my neck.”
“Boni, bon, bon,” Traveller replied.
“We’ve got fifteen minutes left. Let’s get after it,” said Bill helping his friend up.
The two teams faced off again. The ball was kicked and caught by Tim. He ran cautiously this time as he watched “Travis” run through his blockers knocking them aside. He was so intent on not letting the tall strong Russian destroy him that he failed to see Jesse burst forward to grab his flag.
On the next play two of the other team’s biggest players lined up in front of Traveller. When the ball was hiked, one tried to cut his legs while the other went high. An elbow caught Traveller in the eye. He went down with the two players on top of him. The play ended with Jesse taking the flag of the receiver twenty yards down field. It also ended with an angry Benwarian.
The opposing team lined up again. Again the two