I first read this series in fourth grade. I had a best friend who read the series alongside me. My best friend had a sense of humor.

One day, when we were walking home to Best Friend's house, Best Friend made a sound of pain and dropped to the ground. He said that a yeerk was crawling into his ear. I ran over to help him, but it was too late. My best friend was now a controller.

I spent the rest of the walk home talking to the yeerk in Best Friend's head. He said resistance was futile and that the Yeerk Empire was going to turn all of humanity into controllers. I told him that was wrong. I asked him what his existence as a yeerk was like.

Just before we got home, Best Friend knelt by a stream and declared the yeerk had crawled out of his ear. It was swimming away, but he was free now. I asked what it felt like to be a controller and why the yeerk had left.

Best Friend laughed at me and said he'd made the whole thing up. He made fun of me for being gullible enough to believe him. At 10 years old, after all, we were big kids. Much too old for that sort of thing.

I never believed him, though! I knew he was kidding. But the idea of talking to a "real" yeerk seemed like so much fun that I played along.

Best Friend didn't believe me and thought I was trying to save face.

21 years later? Tabletop roleplaying games are one of my biggest hobbies as an adult. I pretend to be fantastical and alien life forms around my friends all the time now.

And they don't make fun of me!