My name is Rachel. I can't tell you my last name or where I live. Because right now, I'm one of the only people who can protect Earth from the Yeerks. The Yeerks, slug-like parasites from space who can crawl in your ear and take your mind over. As soon as you have a Yeerk inside your head, you're helpless, trapped inside your own mind as it controls you, talks like you, even smiles just like you. That's the reason you can't tell who is or isn't a Yeerk slave- these aliens can imitate their hosts perfectly. We call humans who are slaves to the Yeerk Controllers, and anyone could be one. Someone you know- your best friend, your principal, even your brother or parents. That's why I can't tell you anything, because if they track me down and get inside my head, they find out that the supposed "Andalite bandits" are just scared human kids and it's all over. The real Andalites, blue furry creatures that are a mix of deer and human but with a nasty blade on their tail, are still in space somewhere. Until they reach Earth, it's just us fighting the Yeerks here.
It was just another typical day, me and Cassie mall-crawling. Everyone thinks I'm an airhead because I'm blonde, blue-eyed and slim. Okay, so I like to shop- is that so wrong? It's either that or gym club after school. I'm a gymnast, but nothing special. I guess I like the adrenalin, when you're walking across a balance beam barely wider than your foot and then you launch into a backflip. Your stomach churns as you fly backwards and there's that life-or-death moment when you make the landing. If you don't angle your feet correctly, you fall and even when you land on the soft cushion, it can still hurt. Yeah, I lead a pretty boring life, so gym gives me that little adrenalin kick every week. I was mostly checking out clothing with a hesitant Cassie in tow. Cassie's my best friend, and my complete opposite. Where I am tall and have long hair, her hair is short. I like shopping, she likes animals. She's really down-to-earth and caring too. I say we're opposites- it's not that I'm mean or anything, it's just sometimes I can come over as a bit harsh. Anyway, I was just hanging out at the mall when a guy walked towards me. I recognised him as a kid from my school. Couldn't actually remember his name, so I avoided actually saying it. Waving at him casually, I replied,
"Hey. Just looking around, checking out latest fashion." Then, to my surprise, my cousin Jake appeared from the direction of the arcade. We go to the same school, so I guess we're closer than the kind of cousins that live out-of-state and you have to drive for hours every Thanksgiving to see them. He's a reliable person, pretty hard to anger. My face fell as I realised that with him was Marco, his best friend. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Marco. The kid's just annoying. He's short but just because he looks "cute" (or so he says the girls all think), doesn't mean I'll put up with him. He likes to crack jokes, and a lot of the time, the jokes just suck. But other than having classes with him, I don't know him that well, so I try not to judge too hard. "Jake, Marco, didn't expect to see you here." Sure, they liked to hang out at the arcade at weekends, but it was a school night. Smiling at Jake, I then realised that I'd ignored the other kid from my school at that moment. I turned to smile at him politely, remembering as I stared at him that this was the kid that was not only good at studying, but sports also. That was probably why I never saw him in any trouble with the jocks...
