Aje woke up tired the morning he was starting first class. He didn’t want to start school but his parents had told him this was the way of the humans and as they were visiting from another planet they had to do what humans do to fit in. “Aje, it’s time for you to make human friends now,” his parents told him at breakfast. Aje had loads of friends, but no human friends, despite having lived on planet Earth since the day he was born. He wasn’t sure how long his parents had lived on Earth but they often seemed more human than of his own species to him. “I have friends, loads of friends, good friends,” Aje protested. It wasn’t his fault no one else could see them. “Aje, your imaginary friends have served their time, it’s time to become fully human now,” his mum and dad said. “I don’t want to be human. I want to keep my friends.” Aje made a sour face and stood up from the table.

       “This is Aje,” said his teacher later the same morning. He stood in front of the class who all knew each other from playschool. Aje was glad to hold the hands of two of his good friends. Some boys started whispering straight away. A few girls started giggling. The negative attention made Aje droop, but his friends picked him up and helped him to his seat. 

At first break the whole class gathered around Aje. They started asking questions. “Why do you talk to yourself?” “Why do you dress like that?” “Why are you smiling all the time?” Aje couldn’t answer. He had never seen himself like they did. He didn’t talk to himself. He talked to his friends. He loved colourful clothes. He was always smiling because he was happy. Everyone on his planet was the same. But not here. “You are strange,” said a girl. “Yes, strange and weird,” said a boy. And then everyone laughed; everyone except Aje.

Aje was left on his own. His only friends disappeared too as he wasn’t his real self. For the first time in his life Aje wondered who he really was. He didn’t like the feeling of not knowing.