Monday at 2:59pm, school was out for the day as Mr. Bently, the English teacher, approached his student from the hallway, grabbing the young man's arm. It wasn't a tight grip, but firm enough to stop him in his tracks.

Clearing his throat, Mr. Bently spoke up, his other hand rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

Mr. Bently: "I'm sorry to stop you on your way home. I just wanted to inform you that I have talked with your mother earlier about asking permission for you and your family to watch over Poe this week. I hadn't gotten the chance to tell you personally yet..."

The teacher was a middle-aged man with graying hair and glasses, the typical kind of guy you would see teaching English at a high school. He lived in the same neighborhood and knew the student's mother from community meet ups. Poe was the class pet miniature octopus – a strange choice for a class pet, but everyone thought it was cool.

Mr. Bently: "I know your father used to be into Marine Biology before he passed and your mother said that you still had the old tank from his aquarium. I'll be back to get him on Friday."

**

When he got home, his mother had already filled the tank with water and moved it to his bedroom. Mr. Bently would be over any minute to drop off Poe, so she was prepared.

Mother: "I'm going to have Poe stay in your room since there isn't much space in the living room. You used to love your father's fish and sea slugs, so I don't think it will be much of a problem."

She left the room as the doorbell rang. Mr. Bently handed over Poe in a small container before departing. When she placed the small octopus inside the tank, its purple tentacles curled and flexed as it explored the plants and rocks.

Mother: "There you go little guy, have fun bunking with my son, he's a heavy sleeper."

**

That night, the student was fast asleep in his bed with the TV still playing softly. In the tank, Poe watched intently before using his tentacles to climb out. Approaching the bed, he gently tapped the student's cheek, confirming he wouldn't wake up.

Satisfied, the octopus made its way to the student's stomach, pulling up his shirt to expose his belly button. Climbing onto the sleeping boy's abdomen, it positioned its beak over the navel as a weird tongue-like appendage emerged, tipped with a small needle that it inserted into the navel.

Poe began pumping a strange substance into the student's stomach. The appendage throbbed as the liquid flowed, making the student flinch slightly but not wake. This wasn't an octopus at all, but an alien that had long watched the student in class, drawn to him by instinctual urges.

From a planet where males fatten their mates for comfort and reproduction, Poe had selected this human as his partner. The student's metabolism converted the substance into fat as his belly slowly swelled into a small paunch. His chest lost definition, arms and legs gained softness, and the smallest double chin began forming.

After adding 50 pounds to the unsuspecting teen, Poe returned to his tank, already planning the next night's feeding. With four more nights before being returned to school, the alien intended to continue this secret transformation.