I hadn't really planned on writing more, but somehow it just happened. So here's a another little moment in the life of young Dib. Enjoy!

Seven-year-old Dib watched from his spot on the living room couch as his father strode into the room, flipping through a stack of letters he had gotten in the mail.

"Hmm...fan-mail,...fan-mail,...letter of recognition,...Nobel prize," His father listed of each item as he tossed it on the living room table. "Junk mail,...letter from the president,...hmm..."

He paused when he reached a rather thin looking magazine, and then let out a slight snort before shaking his head.

Interested, Dib used the remote to turn the TV off and hopped down.

"What is it, dad?" he asked.

His father looked over at him startled.

"Oh, hello son," he replied, just noticing the little boys presence. "Shouldn't you be in school?"

Dib looked at his dad strangely.

"It's not time for school," he stated. "Dis is summer."

"Oh, so it is." His father nodded and then turned his attention to the rest of his mail, disregarding Dib's previous question.

However, the little boy felt somewhat hopeful when his father absentmindedly handed him the magazine from the top of the pile.

"Why don't you get rid of this for me, son."

Dib eagerly accepted the magazine, ignoring his father's request as he scanned the cover with his thick round glasses. The background was dark blue, dotted with white to represent stars, in the center was an image of a disk-like saucer with small windows and fire shooting out the back like a rocket. Dib squinted to better understand the bright yellow lettering above the picture.

"Fly'n saucers...and UFOs," He read each word carefully and felt a strange warmth rise in him.

His father took this moment to glance down, and while most parents would be thrilled to see their child reading at such a young age, the professor felt somewhat disturbed by his son's choice of material.

"Now, son," he said in his best fatherly voice. "You don't need to be filling your head with this kind of nonsense."

Dib looked up and frowned.

"But I was just-"

"About to put that in the trash?" His father finished, carefully taking the magazine from his son's hands, and trying not to sound too demanding.

"We have plenty of books around here that you could read instead."

Dib scrunched up his face in thought.

"But they're boooring." he complained, "And the words are big and there's no pictures like dis one."

His father bent down, about to stress the importance of educational reading material to his son, when his wrist watch started beeping frantically.

"Hm, looks like I'm late again," His dad mumbled down at the device before pressing a button on the side of his goggles.

"Simons," he called, and Dib already knew that his father attention was elsewhere. "Stall for time and tell the committee that I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Yes, Sir!" Came a voice from his dad's goggles. "We can't go on without you, Sir!"

He pressed the side of his goggles again, switching them off, and gave Dib a brief look before standing.

"I'm about to attend a very important meeting, son, and I might not be back til late," He explained. "See that you and your sister are at the table by six and the automatic dinner system will be active."

Dib nodded, finding this to be the usual routine in his life; In fact, he couldn't even recall a time when his father had actually cooked them a meal on his own. With a pat on the head, his father walked toward the door without so much as a goodbye, tossing the magazine into a small trash bin by the door before leaving.

Dib found himself studying the bin for quite some time, knowing he shouldn't disobey his father, but wanting to retrieve the magazine for himself.

"Where's Dad?"

Dib jumped and looked over at his little sister Gaz who was now standing at the bottom of the stairs, a red crayon clutched in one hand and a piece of paper in the other.

Dib pointed toward the door. "He had a meeting."

Gaz looked at the door for a moment and then shrugged as she made her way toward the table. She paused in front of him to stick out her tongue, and Dib returned the gesture with crossed eyes.

"I bet dad left 'cause you was bein' dumb," She told him as she set her things on the table next to the mail.

"Nuh uh," Dib protested. "Probably smelled you comin' down."

Gaz glared over at him and, even at the age of six and with a cute pink bow atop her head, she still looked threatening enough to silence his teasing.

"So, um, watcha draw'n?" Dib asked trying to peer over his sister's shoulder to see what she was working on.

"A monster," Gaz replied glancing back at him. "I'm gonna let it eat you."

Dib took a step closer.

"Dad says there's no such thing." He stated, matter-of-fact.

Gaz just shrugged and turned back to her paper.

With a sigh Dib found his eyes travel toward the trash bin once again, and he bit his lower lip momentarily before venturing over. The magazine laid neatly upon some crumbled trash, it's title still managing to capture his attention with only one glance. Carefully the little boy peered into the bin and scanned over the cover, noting for the first time the smaller subtitle below the bolder print.

'Are You A Believer?'

Those four words had him mesmerized, the question echoing softly in his mind. He didn't even notice that he had reached into the bin and that the magazine was held in his small hands once again.

Blinking, he shook his head and turned the magazine over to check the back; expecting to find a clue as to where it had originated from. To his surprise and curiosity, there was no corporation visibly listed, no number to contact, and no address to write to.

He sighed and turned it back over, only to find that the subtitle had changed.

'Do You Still Believe?'

Dib's eyes grew large and he found his head nodding 'I do'.

He turned the magazine over a second time and could hardly control his excitement upon seeing the simple information glistening in front of him; just a name, a number, and web site.

'The Swollen Eyeball Network.'

Yep...made Dib a little older so that the reading thing would be more believable (He's a smart kid anyway). Don't hold out for a third chapter...but if inspiration strikes, who knows.

Thanks for reading and just let me know what you thought.