By animeninjaNIPPON

After "Mysterious Mysteries," Dib went into his bedroom. "I am so exhausted," he proclaimed to the otherwise vacant room as he flopped down on his bed, "and I have absolutely no idea why."

Gaz peered into Dib's room. "If you don't stop talking to yourself, they're going to send you to the Crazy House for Boys. Otherwise, I'll rip your spleen out."

Dib ignored his sister, and she went away as quickly as she came. He put his hands behind his head and stared blankly at the ceiling, wondering why his life was so boring. Every day was the same, it seemed – his peers ignored him, his sister hated him, his father just didn't have the time…and all the while the hapless honey-eyed boy chased the illusions of the paranormal and supernatural, with less-than-stellar results. Perhaps it was time for a change…

"I'm going to clean my room!"

"Shut up!" Gaz called from her bedroom.

Paying no heed to the purple-haired girl's demand, Dib hoisted himself off the edge of his bed and went to the closet. I'll start by organizing my magazines, he thought, opening the closet. Inside, he stored an outfit identical to the one he was wearing (blue, smiley-faced shirt and black pants), a stealth cat suit, a dark blue T-shirt with the Z? emblem, and a huge stack of paranormal research magazines in slight disarray. On top of the magazines sat a thick, black notebook, which immediately caught Dib's attention.

He picked up the book and read the first page aloud. "The Zim Files. Property of – wait a minute, I remember this thing. I found it at skool about a year ago, then I guess I forgot about it…" He flipped to the second page.

"Today at skool I met a REAL LIVE ALIEN," he continued to read. "He has light green skin, no ears or nose, and is trying to pass himself off as a human with a skin condition. He calls himself 'ZIM' – a lot. Everyone else thinks I'm crazy, but I know the truth." He looked up. "Dad! Gaz! Come quick! I've found proof that aliens exist!"

Two minutes later, Gaz trudged in. "What are you ranting about this time?"

"Look, Gaz! Some girl has kept a journal on her encounters with an alien! See?" He pointed to the first entry.

She glared at it suspiciously. "That's probably just a story or something."

"But…it's dated and everything!"

Gaz ripped the notebook out of her brother's hands and flipped through it. "It's also dated for today. The girl you stole it from was probably doing it for Creative Writing." She tossed the book to the floor and made her exit. "You're weird, you know that?"

Dib picked up the notebook with a sigh. "Well, if nothing else, it'll give me an idea of what to expect when I meet a real alien for myself." He opened it again and read silently. Actually, I'd describe Zim as more of a sea green. Anyway, today I found out that he has a green dog. GREEN? Who has a GREEN DOG? And it has a ZIPPER? Come on – who does that Zim think he's kidding? I'm going to watch him…

"An alien with a green zipper dog," Dib mused. "This is interesting..."

End of part five