Elliot rose his bicycle up to his house and parked it by the garage. He found E.T. waiting for him there.
"Elliot, what is wrong?" asked E.T. concerned. "You look so downhearted."
"I told Erin about you, but she thought I was making it all up just to make fun of her," Elliot sighed.
E.T. looked like he understood. "She just wasn't ready to believe yet," he said gently. "Most of this Earth isn't ready to believe yet, but they will eventually, just give some time my friend."
Elliot was about to reply when suddenly a large white SUV pulled up into the driveway, and he recognized it instantly.
"Keys!" he exclaimed happily.
Sure enough when the left front door opened Keys stepped out of it and ran over to embrace E.T. and Elliot.
"I had to be here!' he said as he hugged them both. "Mary told me you had come back again."
Elliot looked up as he heard the door on the right side of the SUV slam shut and he saw a tall older man with lots of gray wispy hair and a pair of glasses on over gray eyes wearing a pale brown suit with an ID card pinned to the left breast walk towards them.
"Allow me to introduce my new friend and colleague," said Keys rising up to the older man. "This is Professor Meisner. He went to the same University as I did and he is a renowned professional in the research of extra-terrestrial life and he is a very nice gentleman and wanted very much to meet you two as I've told him so much about you."
"Hello there, young fellow," the old gentleman said as he shook Elliot's hand. He spoke in a noticeable German accent. "I hear you are a very bright and inquisitive young man. Your name is Elliot Taylor, right?" Elliot nodded and smiled and then Meisner turned to E.T. "And you no doubt are E.T. the extra-terrestrial who I've heard so highly about from our friend Keys here." He reached down and patted E.T. on the head in very friendly manner. "I must say you sure are cute my dear little friend," he said in a courteous voice.
"Now," he said in a more formal and buisnesslike tone, "I've come to see you because I have a small favor to ask of you. I need yours and especially E.T.'s permission to run some tests on him for purely technical research purposes only. I promise there will be nothing that will harm him in my care and it will be just like when you Elliot go to the doctor for checkup."
Elliot looked from Meisner to Keys and then to E.T. and then back to Meisner again. "Alright," he said finally. "As long as you promise not to let anything hurt him."
"I promise," said Meisner. "You have my word. Cross my heart."
So they all got into the SUV and drove out to the Medical Clinic where E.T. first had his blood drawn and Elliot held his hand all through it. He then had a EKG scan in which he laid down flat on a board while wires and tubes were attached to him up to his neck as a machine photographed his insides. Then Meisner touched a cotton swab into his mouth and took a slight sampling of his saliva from his tongue. Then finally he was placed underneath a highly sophisticated machine with a large helmet attached to his forehead as pictures were taken of everything inside his head, namely his brain.
"There, that will be all," said Meisner at the end of the day. "Thank you very much for your cooperation, E.T.."
He patted E.T. lightly on the head and then shook hands with Keys and Elliot and then they went their separate ways.
Meisner went into a private laboratory in which all the lights were turned off and he locked the door securely to ensure his privacy. He then took from his back pocket a walkie talkie and turned it on and spoke into it in a low whisper.
"Chief, this is Meisner. Come in chief. Over," he said in a voice with a distinctly American accent.
"Roger deputy," came an equally low voice from the walkie talkie. "So, tell me, what did you find out about the alien?"
"We did all the tests on him, sir," he replied gleefully. "We did the catscan and you wouldn't believe it about his brain. It's the size and shape of a ripe grapefruit and slightly smaller than a human's and yet his neurons are even more dense than that of Einstein's and it has these peculiar canals running through it which seem to process some kind of mental energy waves. I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't seen it, but I have the test results to prove it!"
"Ah! Excellent!" came his chief's deviously enthusiastic voice. "If what you're telling me is indeed true than his brain is a true universal treasure and it should be worth a fortune!"
"A fortune! Why I'd be willing to bet all the money in the world on it!" Meisner replied with a low chuckle.
The chief returned the chuckle. "So how is that fellow everyone calls Keys? Does he like you alright?"
"Oh yeah! The poor fool really thinks I'm a professor who went to the same University as he did! The fake degree really pulled it off, and the accent went over well too!" here he impersonated the German accent.
"Very good," said the chief. "And what about the boy?"
"He is so naïve it's adorable!" he laughed. "It seems his mom never taught him to never trust strangers who ask for favors!"
"Somehow that doesn't surprise me!" the chief laughed with a hint of triumph.
"Well, I'd better go now," he said. "I'll talk to you again when I get some more information on how to go about our business."
He turned off the walkie talkie and quietly unlocked the door and walked out of the laboratory.
When Keys got back with E.T. and Elliot Mary invited him to stay for dinner and over dinner E.T. told them all about his home planet and all the wonderful plants and creatures on it. There were the jumpums which were trees that liked to jump around and play with you, and the shrieking Ja which shrieked at anyone who tried to bother it, and the Igigi Gyrums that played music from their fluteroots, and he also told them about his pet Flopglopple.
Later that night when all the kids were in bed asleep Keys and Mary sat cuddled up together on the couch watching Casablanca.
"You know, I am really so lucky to know an alien like E.T.," said Keys, "and I'm even luckier to know you and your kids because of it."
"We're so lucky to have you with us," said Mary. "You've made such a difference in their lives especially Elliot."
"Elliot is growing to such an intelligent young man," said Keys. "I will do everything to make sure that he has the best science education there is."
"We'll be forever grateful to you," said Mary relaxing in his arms.
"It's the least I can do," said Keys. "I feel like I owe it to him for seeing that my hopes and dreams were not proved in vain."
"Elliot is doing so well in school now but he has also been having a difficult time there," Mary said.
"I know, it hasn't escaped my attention," Keys said. "And so I have a proposal for you."
"Yes? I'm listening," said Mary looking up at him in anticipation.
"I know of some land up North where I used to go camping with my family when I was a kid, and that was where I met E.T., and now I would take you and your kids there along with E.T. for their Spring Vacation," Keys explained."
"Oh! Well, I'm sure they'd love it. Thanks," said Mary with a slight trace of disappointment to her voice. Though the disappointment was short lived as just then Keys pulled her up to him and gave her a long and warmly welcomed kiss.