It all started on a rainy Thursday. I was walking to school with my hood up, earbuds in, and my backpack bouncing on my shoulder. Everything was normal … until it wasn’t.
I reached the school door, pushed it open, and suddenly I heard a voice.
“Ugh, not another math test.”
I turned around. No one was there.
“Did you hear me?” the voice asked again, this time louder.
I yanked out my earbuds and looked around. The hallway was empty. I took a slow step forward.
“Down here, genius,” the voice growled.
I looked down. My backpack zipper was moving. I froze.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHH!” I screamed, dropping my backpack like it was on fire.
“Okay, rude,” the backpack snapped. “I carry your books everyday, and you don’t see me complaining.”
I stared in horror. “You … you talk?”
“Obviously,” the backpack said, rolling its zipper like an eye. “Name’s Zack. I’ve been stuck in backpack mode for five years, ever since a science fair accident turned me into a living school backpack.”
“You were a person!?”
“Kind of. I was a lizard. Then a person. Now a backpack. It’s a long story.”
I blinked. “This is not happening.”
“It is happening,” Zach said. “Now let’s ace that test. I’ve read your math notes like fifty times. You just need help with fractions.”
I should have run. I should have screamed for the school counselor. But instead, I picked up Zack and headed to class.
That’s when things got weirder.
Zack whispered answers to me during the math test loud enough that everyone heard.
“Number 7 is C! No wait, B! Wait nope, definitely C!”
Mrs. Taylor stared at me. “Is … your backpack talking?”
I laughed nervously. “ Um … no?”
Zach belted out. “YES, I AM!”
I was sent to the principal’s office.
While I waited, Zack started humming show tunes. I hissed, “Stop! You’re going to get me in trouble!”
“I’m already in trouble!” he whined. “Do you know how hard it is to be a backpack that no one listens to?”
Just then, Principal Jefferson walked in. He took one look at Zack, narrowed his eyes, and said, “Not again.”
“Wait, you know him?”
Principal Jefferson sighed, “He used to be my backpack.”
“What happened?” I asked.
“He tried to run for Student Council and got disqualified for being … a bag.”
Zach sniffled. “I would have been a great president.”
Principal Jefferson nodded. “I agree. But backpacks don’t belong in politics.”
Suddenly, the room glowed. A beam of green light shot down from the ceiling, and a strange alien voice boomed, “RETURNING SUBJECT ZACH TO PLANET ZYGLAR.”
“NOOOOOO!” Zach cried as he floated up into the light. “Tell the cafeteria lady I’ll miss her grilled cheese!”
And just like that, he was gone.
The room was silent.
I looked at Principal Jefferson. “Did that … really happen?”
He sighed. “Yes. And I’m giving you an ‘A’ for staying calm. Now go to lunch.”
I walked out of the office, wondering if anyone would ever believe me.
Spoiler alert: they didn’t.
But I’ll never forget the day my backpack talked, ran for president … and got abducted by aliens.
