What at first seems like a harmless Halloween scavenger hunt turns dangerous for eleven-year-old Alyssa J. Renae Harvey-more commonly known as AJ-and her twelve-year-old best friend, Khristian. When AJ snaps a photo in front of the home of the local neighborhood bullies, she doesn't know she's captured the face of a terrorist. That terrorist will do almost anything to get that camera and destroy the photo. AJ and Khristian receive help from a most unexpected source-Max, the Harveys' collie-German shepherd mix. Max risks being shunned by all the other animals and breaks the Animal Code of Silence to warn the kids they are in danger. He informs them that the scruff y men, who are hiding out at the yellow house on the corner, are after them. Max, AJ, and Khristian work to uncover what the men at the bullies' house are up to and try to stop them from hurting anyone. Max may be kind of lazy, and he may be afraid of thunder, but when it comes to his humans, Max risks everything to save them.

AJ and Friends

The DiscoveryBy Cheryl Wylie-Harvey

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2011 Cheryl Wylie-Harvey
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4620-1574-0

Contents

Dedication..............................................................viiForward.................................................................ixScavenger Hunt..........................................................1The Discovery...........................................................13Retreat—Don't Run.................................................33Max and the Hurricane...................................................49To Tell—or Not to Tell............................................67What's Face Recognition Software?.......................................80Help!...................................................................102They're Gone!...........................................................113The Big Game or the Big Boom............................................119What Now?...............................................................133Coming Soon—AJ and Friends: The Secret Tunnel.....................135

Chapter One

Scavenger Hunt

AJ can't believe her luck. This has to be the best escape from punishment in the history of the world. She hurries to the phone, her faithful dog, Max, following close on her heels. At seventy-pounds, Max is part collie and part German shepherd, but he looks more like an Irish setter, only bulkier. Well, make that fatter. AJ's grandma calls him coffee table because she says his back end is so wide she could put a plant on it. But Max is a handsome, brownish-red with a black muzzle, and intelligent brown eyes. He and AJ are BFFs.

"K, guess what? You'll never guess. Never in a million years. Try to guess, anyway. But you'll never guess. Not even if I give you fifty clues. Not even if you'd been listening in. Not even if I gave you a hundred clues. I bet you can't guess, can you?"

"I might be able to, if you'd take a breath and give me a chance," was Khristian's sardonic reply. Khristian was twelve, a year older than Alyssa, and he never seemed to get too excited about anything.

"Sorry. I'm doing it again, aren't I?" AJ answered.

"It's OK, Jabbermouth. I'm used to your never-ending sentences."

"Don't call me that. I hate it when you call me that."

"Then don't talk so much, and don't talk so fast. What's up, anyway? When I talked to you after school, you were afraid your mom was going to ground you for getting a bad grade. Did you hide that note from your teacher?"

"No, I didn't hide the note. If I did that and my mom found out, I'd really get in trouble. But you'll never guess what happened."

"Just tell me, Alyssa." Alyssa J. Renae Harvey, known to everyone as AJ, was a sunny child. Her long blond hair, big blue eyes and ready smile that displayed big dimples, quickly won her many friends. Well, they used to, anyway.

"Well, Mom asked me why I'd gotten such a bad mark, and I couldn't help it. I started crying."

"Just like a girl."

"I am a girl."

"Yeah, but you don't usually act like one."

"Very funny! Do you want to know what happened or not?"

"Go ahead, I'm listening."

Max was looking up at AJ, and he seemed to be following her end of the conversation. He tilted his head and even whined at times.

"Whatever. Mom asked me what was wrong, and I finally told her how unhappy I am in my new school."

"I thought you weren't going to tell her."

"I wasn't, but I was upset and it just sorta popped out. I feel bad that my mom is spending so much money to send me to this private school, but I had to tell her." AJ's eyes filled with tears just talking about it. She swiped them away with her hand.

"Take a deep breath. If you start crying, I'm hanging up."

AJ took a deep breath and started over. "I told Mom how none of the kids at school talk to me, and how I eat lunch by myself every day. I told her I don't have one single friend there."

"What did she say?"

"She asked if the kids are mean to me. But they're not. You know I've told you that. They're not nasty to me, they just ignore me. It's like I'm not even there."

"So what did your mom say?"

"This is the part you're not going to believe. She said a lot of stuff about my grades being my responsibility and stuff like that, typical Mom stuff. But then Mom said she thought it might be a good idea if I have a Halloween party. She said I can invite kids from my old school, kids from our bowling team and youth group, and kids from my new school. She said that once they get to know me, I won't have any problems making friends."

"Wow! How did you pull that off? I thought you were going to get grounded, for sure. Now you get to have a party?"

"Yeah, can you believe it? And it's going to be a costume party. Mom said my grandma knows lots of great games we can play, and we'll have a costume judging, and eat pizza, and even have a scavenger hunt ... she said ...". Max stood up and barked, as if he were as excited as AJ.

"Whoa! Slow down. Your mouth is racing again."

"Khristian, sometimes you make me so mad." The kids talked about the party for a while and even decided they would dress as Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. Khristian loved Harry Potter.

Later, Max jumped up on her bed while AJ was getting her pajamas on. She sat on the bed and hugged the dog. "Max, I'm so happy. I still can't believe it. I get to have a party. Isn't that great?" AJ always talked to Max like he could understand everything she said and like he just might answer her back. Maybe she had some intuitive knowledge about the adventure they were just beginning.

"I'll never understand adults, will you, Max?" Max rolled over for AJ to scratch his belly. "Is that a no?" AJ said and laughed. She rubbed Max's tummy for a while, then lay down next to him with her fingers intertwined behind her head to think about the party. Max lifted his head and gave her cheek a big, wet, sloppy kiss. He sure loved his human.

* * *

The night of the Halloween party arrived warm and humid—a typical Florida October night. The family decorated the entire front yard and the front of the house. A huge spider web with a gigantic green and black striped spider dangled from the garage eave. Bats and glow-in-the-dark skeletons shimmered from every surface. A fog machine spewed murky vapor, and an old tape player screeched from the window sill.

Only Max wasn't cooperating. AJ was trying to put a tutu on him. It was left over from when she used to play dress up as a little girl. "Max, stand up. I want to put this on you," AJ complained. But Max stubbornly sat right where he was. It's not easy to dress a 70 pound dog if he doesn't cooperate.

"What are you doing?" Khristian asked. AJ explained that she wanted Max to be dressed up for the party and Khristian roared. Max growled at him.

"Hey, down boy! I don't blame you. I wouldn't wear it either," Khristian laughed.

AJ finally gave up on her dog. "Fine, you can't be in the costume judging then."

"Yes he can," Khristian said. "He can pretend he's a dog." Max growled again.

The kids began arriving, and they naturally separated and stood in four distinct groups. The kids from St. Marks, AJ's new school, stood near the fog machine. The St. Paul church youth group kids chose the punch bowl, while the kids from her old school and her bowling...