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  "So, how do you think this year's going to be?" Gina asked as she dug through her purse for some gum.

  "Well, I do have the most awesome boyfriend. And my schedule looks pretty decent. I'd say I'm off to a great start."

  Popping a stick of gum into her mouth, Gina replied, "Yep. And, you have the most awesome best friend ever."

  Crystal smiled. "Yes, I do." She stopped. "Well, here we are, geometry."

  Gina rolled her eyes. "I'm already tired."

  "Oh, come on. Math's not that bad."

  "Easy for you to say, my little math genius."

  Crystal shook her head and led the way in, the final warning bell going off at the exact second she stepped foot into the room.

  The teacher. Mrs. Hasley, pursed her lips at the girls as they sauntered in, but they didn't care. Ryan gestured to Crystal to a seat next to him. She smiled as she slid into it.

  Mrs. Hasley didn't waste any time. She had them all turning to the first chapter of the book and digging into the first set of exercises. A lot of groans filled the room, but Crystal anxiously went to work. She found herself entranced by the subject. She had always loved math, any form of it, and it looked like geometry was going to be one of those satisfying courses.

  When she glanced behind her, she noticed that Gina was bored out of her mind and dangling the pencil in midair above the equations.

  Smirking, Crystal turned back around and continued working out the problems, feeling pretty darn good about herself.

  ***

  She hated English. It was a boring subject about themes and symbolism in books that had nothing to do with her. Authors from decades ago writing about stuff that nobody cared about.

  Shrugging off her backpack, she dropped into a seat in the back row, between Ryan and Gina. David and Henry took the row in front of them. At least she had her friends to make it a little more bearable. Gina and David passed each other love notes the whole time.

  So immature.

  Like Crystal, Ryan was invested in his future, so he was busy hanging onto every word that Mr. Dyer, their teacher, uttered. She tried her best to listen, to find something that meant something to her.

  And then when she looked across the room, she blocked out the lecture. Raylee Johnson. The girl who had been so easy to put on edge was here again, only she looked different to Crystal. And she didn't like it.

  Why?

  What was different about her?

  Frowning, Crystal stared at the board behind Mr. Dyer's head. She'd never liked Raylee, but why was she suddenly so bothered by her?

  Paul

  P

  aul didn't think he'd care much for the new school. After all, Royal High School—where he had expected to continue attending, that is, until his mom's promotion transferred them to Silver Canyon—was the king of elite schools. It had everything any student could want. In its first year, the school had already received state recognition for top academic achievement in English and math, and a few universities had submitted partial scholarships for top achieving students across multiple subjects. He'd had a chance at one designed for business management, but then the move came, he switched schools, and now it felt like he was starting over because Silver Canyon didn't have all of these honors in place.

  It was Paul's dream to follow in his dad's footsteps, to run his own business, maybe even assist his dad one day in his auto dealership. The path to that dream had changed, now less clear and less certain. He wondered what this year would hold in store for him. Maybe it wouldn't turn out so bad.

  His stomach grumbled. As he made his way into the cafeteria, he was startled to see Raylee waving him over.

  "Paul!"

  He shifted direction from the food bar to her table. Katy was next to her and some boy was at her other side.

  Raylee said, "Why don't you grab your lunch? We'll hold your seat for you."

  "Thanks." Paul set his bag on the chair and went to order his lunch. With a tray of indecipherable meat and tater tots, he joined the group of friends.

  The lunch period turned out to be enjoyable.

  Conversation was lighthearted. The chemistry between them ran smoothly. Paul wondered if any of them might turn into more than just acquaintances; he could use a few good friends.

  “Why history?” Raylee asked him as soon as he sat down.

  He looked up. “Huh?”

  She opened a little packet of ketchup and squirted it on her meat. Because it was shaped like a hot dog, as was his, he assumed that’s what it was, but one could never be sure when it came to school cafeteria food.

  “That’s your favorite subject. I don’t get it.”

  “Hot dog?”

  It was her turn to utter a ‘huh?’.

  He gestured to her plate. “Is that what that is? Cause I’m not sure.”

  She chuckled. “I think so.”

  “Well, think about it. All of the people who came before us, they went through some of the things that we are going through. I figured, we could learn a lot from them.”

  Raylee hadn’t thought about it that way before. “Hmmm. Interesting.”

  “Why English?”

  “What?”

  “Isn’t that your favorite?”

  “Doesn’t literature fascinate you? All of the incredible stories, the way the language moves to form situations and develop characters.”

  Paul scooped a bite of tater tot into his mouth and arched his eyebrows. “Hmmm. Interesting.”

  Raylee swatted him, laughing as she finished her hot dog.

  “So, Katy, when do you think—”.

  “Donald, when will you ever learn? She’s beneath you.” Crystal stopped next to heir table and shook her head at Raylee.

  Donald cleared his throat, clearly a little intimidated by Crystal, though he sat up in an attempt to show her he wasn’t. Before he could even get a word in, Crystal placed her hand on his shoulder and smiled, one of those nasty insincere smiles that took pleasure in hurting others.

  “Don’t bother.” She slowly looked around at Raylee and her friends before resting her eyes on Donald. “Maybe someday you will figure it out.”

  Gina wore the same smile as Crystal as she shot a look at the table before following her friend out of the room.

  Paul couldn’t help but notice that it was Raylee, not Donald, who seemed shaken up the most. He wanted to ask her about it, about what had happened between her and Crystal. He’d noticed how upset she was in English, once Crystal came into the room. But now didn’t seem the right time to ask. Maybe after school, when they weren’t surrounded by so many students.

  Katy patted Raylee’s arm. “Ignore them. I do.”

  Raylee managed a faint smile, but pushed the rest of her food away.

  “I’m sorry I was ever friends with them. You okay?” Donald asked.

  “Are you?”

  “Only if you are.”

  She nodded. Paul felt relief at how Katy and Donald helped her carry on in that moment. This was turning out to be a good group of friends. The sting of a missed scholarship opportunity was becoming smaller.

  ***

  The rest of the day went by quickly. Paul caught sight of Raylee just as she was getting ready to hop into Donald’s car.

  “Raylee, wait up!” He jogged over to the passenger’s side. “You got a minute?”

  She looked at Donald, who said, “Why don’t you come with us? We’re heading to her aunt’s burger joint for some shakes.”

  “Sure. That would be great. Thanks!”

  The drive over there was less than five minutes. Apparently, it was a hot spot for lots of students as he recognized many of his classmates scattered throughout the booths.

  Once they got their shakes and were situated at one of the tables, Raylee asked what he wanted to talk about.

  “Well, I noticed tension between you guys and Crystal, and I was just wondering what happened.”

  For so
me reason, Raylee seemed hesitant to respond. Maybe she didn’t want to talk about it. Maybe it was a mistake to have brought it up.

  “I’m sorry. If you don’t want to talk about it, I understand.” He felt terrible, regretting he'd said anything at all.

  “No. It’s okay. It’s just been. . .hard.”

  Why did she seem edgy? Not just upset or bothered, but actually on edge.

  "I'm actually tutoring her in chemistry," Paul told her. Before he could apologize, Raylee's mouth broke into a grin.

  "Actually, just give it a few days. I'm sure you will see here in action."

  "You're smiling about it?" Paul was confused.

  "Crystal knows how to get under people's skin.

  She's a real pro. I think she must have taken classes. How to Make Others Insecure While Turning Yourself into the Leader of Snobs 101."

  Paul turned to Donald for an explanation.

  "It's true. I used to be part of her group."

  Paul smiled at Raylee. "It's nice to see you have a sense of humor about it."

  "People think it's weird."

  He shook his head. "No, your sense of humor isn't weird. It's really weird. But that's beside the point."

  She raised an eyebrow at him.

  "We better go. Lots to study for the history exam tomorrow." He turned to Paul. "Why don't you join us?"

  Billy

  W

  hen his parents moved them out here from the east coast, he hadn’t protested. In fact, he’d been bored with the big city life for some time now and desired a change in pace anyway, just as his parents.

  His mom worked in real estate, so she was able to seamlessly transfer through the company easily. His dad had worked in politics Billy’s whole life. In this new town, he was already on the ballot for next year's mayor. His dad believed that change was possible through political outlets, but Billy was more theater-inclined. Through acting, he had found his niche. By the time he'd entered middle school, he'd discovered this new-found interest. It was where he could fully use his talents and knowledge. It was where he believed change had its most impact. He valued the ways in which audiences were impacted; the cheering, the laughter, the gasps of delight, people's emotions being affected in deeper ways than real life could offer.

  Acting came naturally to Billy, like a second skin, like taking a breath. Like his mother's expertise in real estate and his father's strength in politics, his talent was freely given and best revealed through theater. He didn't know that acting would necessarily be where he'd stay forever, but for now it seemed the thing to do, the world that he'd fallen into almost instinctively. Perhaps his new hometown would bring more clarity about his future.

  Silver Canyon was a small place set in an idyllic land. Though a flat valley of grasslands, it was enclosed by mountain ranges and ran parallel to a coastal sage scrub, giving the outlining of the town an emerald carpet appearance. Running inland from the Pacifi

  er patterns were dominated by cooler temperatures and less dry hot weather than Southern California. Canyon Beach was where the locals went, about half an hour south of town. But the beach interested him less than the miles of farmland and fields of wildflowers that surrounded Silver Canyon. The main wildflower was the Baby Blue Eyes, though its full bloom wasn't reached until the spring, its seeds planted during the fall season. The cool violet color attracted him, reminding him of the mystery of life.

  He'd always been drawn to mystery, whether in real life or in movies. Mystery was at the core of reality.

  Entering as a junior in a new school had its own spin of mystery. Having come from a highly populated city in New York to a low-key environment, he hadn't been quite sure what to expect. The movies set in small towns tended to contain stereotypes of simple living, simple in every way—simple-minded citizens, simple way of living, not much to do, a place where everybody knew everybody. But Billy had found none of the stereotypes to be true.

  People in Silver Canyon were of an eclectic variety. His teachers were well-verses in their fields and full of passion. Even the grocery store clerks to the gas station attendants expressed an intellect beyond their skill sets. But what most appealed to him were the students at Silver Canyon High. Like him, they were teenagers eager to learn, excited about their future prospects. But unlike him, they didn't see the enigma that was life. Perhaps, part of the stereotype held true in that the world could be explained away in simplistic terms. He'd noticed how so many of his peers found satisfaction in the local hangouts, in venturing to the beach, in hiking in the mountains, but they seemed to only observe the

  surfaces of these places.

  Billy, on the other hand, found that the world was rich in details and imagery that begged to be understood. He saw such purpose in things that others might completely overlook. The mountains, for instance, spoke to the idea that there was something greater than them, no, someone greater.

  He didn’t get that so many people, throughout history, didn’t believe in God. How else could the existence of people, animals, plant life, everything be explained? When it came down to it, whether people wanted to accept it or not, life itself proved that someone larger than one’s own self was out there. There was a tremendous amount of meaning, uniqueness, and complexity in each person, in nature, for it to be otherwise.

  Crystal: The Break-up

  G

  ina was right. Ryan wasn't worth her time. She had to go through with it. On time, just like she'd requested, he was waiting for her on the front porch of her house. Crystal opened the door and let him in. On the phone, she'd told him that they had to have a serious talk, so Ryan wasn't looking good. When she told him to have a seat at the kitchen table, he swallowed hard as though he knew what was about to happen.

  "Ryan, I'm just going to get right to it. It's time we see other people."

  He looked at her in silence for what seemed a very long time. Crystal felt guilty. Was she doing the right thing?

  "Why?" he asked.

  "Come on, you know that we're only in high school and shouldn’t' get tied down to one person." Those were the exact words that Gina had given to her, but they felt dirty as they passed through her lips. And then he looked at her again, nodded, and walked out the door.

  Crystal cringed. This felt. . .dirty. And for a moment, she felt shallow. She'd watch Gina dump Henry so easily and hop onto David freshman year. And Ryan hadn't done anything. In fact, he'd been good to her, but Gina had convinced her that it was time to move on, and that Billy was the perfect choice. And Crystal couldn't really argue with her, not when Billy was so good-looking. It wasn't just his looks, though. Something about him set him apart from any other guy. It was like he knew things no one else did, like he possessed a special understanding of life, an appreciation of it that most guys totally missed. From the moment he'd stepped onto the campus grounds, she knew

  that she had to make him hers.

  But it wasn’t that easy. because Raylee Johnson, the most pathetic loser in school, was in her way. Gina said that Billy seemed to be watching Raylee a lot. Crystal didn't like that. Not at all. There was no way that she, the most catch-worthy junior at Silver Canyon, was going to miss her chance because of some skinny geek who had the grace of a drunk chicken.

  She could her body temperature rising. The thought of such a loser taking what was rightfully Crystal's was unbearable, unacceptable. A sour taste filled her mouth.

  The clock on the kitchen counter showed that it was ten minutes past six. She was supposed to have met Gina and David half an hour ago. Grabbing her purse off the counter, she hurried out to her car and headed to the main road.

  At the intersection, she turned right into the parking lot of The Blinking Light, a teen hangout with a mini bowling alley and pool tables. It was the only hangout in Silver Canyon, so as usual, it was packed. Gina and David were waiting inside for her. She hurried in and found them in the back playing a game of eight ball.

  "Hey, there yo
u are." Gina looked up as she smacked the number six ball into one of the pockets. "We were wondering if you were going to make it."

  Crystal dropped her purse on one of the high-back chairs. "Don't get me started," she grumbled.

  David took his turn as Gina rounded the pool table. "What's up?"

  "Raylee. He was there for her when I left the bathroom the other day. She was in tears and he was there to rescue her."

  "I told you. You have to make your move.

  Homecoming is the perfect excuse."

  Crystal frowned. "What do you mean?"

  "You're going to be queen. That's a given. And did you hear that they've pushed the dance back to December?"

  "They did?"

  "Yeah, something about the rainstorm flooding the football field. The forecast is calling for more rain over the next week, and November's calendar is already overloaded, so Principal Grabisch rescheduled the dance for December."

  "Oh."

  Gina shook her friend, her eyes alighting with excited frenzy. "Don't you understand what this means?"

  Crystal was confused, shaking her head.

  "We have plenty of time to plan!" A crash of thunder shuddered the building just then. Both girls turned to look through the window near the snack bar. Gina raised her eyebrows at Crystal. Crystal grinned. It was time to plan.

  Paul: Halloween

  R

  aylee was right about one thing. There wasn’t much to do in this town.

  Eighties music spilled from the oversized speakers inside of The Blinking Light. Most of the crowd were teenagers, but Paul recognized a few faces. Ryan, the quarterback, and David, the guy who was known for kicking everybody’s butt in pool. He was so good that he was part of a teen international championship team. Paul had exchanged a few words with Ryan and David in class. They seemed like okay people, despite the fact that they ran in the same circles as Crystal and Gina.