The Sound of Shooting Stars

by Heather Allen

  I sigh not wanting to get into this. Sam is my only friend here and now that I have her, I don’t want to lose what we have.

  “Come on Jamie, I know you and usually it takes a lot for you not to like someone. Is it because of what I told you about him and Beckett?”

  “Sam, do we really have to talk about this?”

  “Yes, so just answer me.”

  “Yes, the Beckett thing but Sam, there’s something else. I really don’t want to talk about this with you.”

  “Well you just started so fess up. Jamie, you know you can be real with me.”

  Dammit, why does Sam do this shit?

  “Fine, I don’t like the smug look on his face when he looks at you. It’s like he’s so sure that you’re his and I know it sounds corny when I say it out loud.”

  I take a deep breath before exasperation colors my words, “Can’t I just not like the guy?”

  She giggles, “Yes, you’re entitled. No one ever said you were Shakespeare huh? You have a special way with words Jamie Grey.”

  “Shut up Samantha!”

  She pulls up to the edge of the sand and jumps out to fill the meter. I take my shoes off and step out into the barely moving air. I bend to roll up my pant legs and make my way down to the water’s edge. It surges toward me overtaking my feet all the way up my calves. Sam steps up beside me and claims, “Well now that we’re having words, I’ll tell you something. I don’t really think Beckett is as much of a slut as everyone thinks she is.”

  I’m surprised by her choice of topic. Beckett is the last person I thought Sam would want to talk about.

  She continues, “I think she’s a slut alright but not for sex. I think it’s all about attention.”

  I shift my feet and start to walk along the water sinking occasionally as the coolness envelopes my feet. Sam comes up beside me and loops her arm through mine. We walk for a few minutes and she starts the third degree again, “Jamie, you like her don’t you? I can see it in your face when you look at her.”

  I stop walking and look up relishing the warmth on my skin from the afternoon sun. When I open my eyes again I glance down at her with as little emotion as I can and tell her, “No Sam, I don’t. She has done nothing but make my life difficult since I’ve been here. I’ve tried three times now to come to some sort of truce with her and she’s backed out each time. I’m finished being nice. If I can’t stay here, I go back to a group home for the rest of the year. This is the last stop. I don’t want that to happen.”

  She’s quiet for a few minutes before she relents cheerfully, “Okay, I understand.”

  She turns backing up into the crashing waves and kicks water at me soaking my pants through. I rush at her throwing both of us under the rushing swell.

  Chapter Twenty

  Beckett Chase

  Virgo – The Young Maiden

  Dike lived in the Golden Age of mankind. She was born a mortal and placed on Earth to rule over human justice. The Golden Age was marked by prosperity and peace, everlasting spring, and humans never knowing old age.

  ~*~

  A few weeks pass pretty much the same as that first day back after Gabe’s party. I spend some of my classes in the bathroom and very few people talk to me in the classes that I do attend. The unfortunate people that do speak to me are the nerdy girls who suddenly think they are better than me. I’ve quickly gone from the top to the very bottom with no stops in between. That fallen star from my ceiling reminds me of my departure and it depresses me each time I think about it. But after the Monday incident in the cafeteria I vowed not to let any of them know how it all affects me.

  One of the biggest things has been Jamie. He doesn’t even bother looking at me now. During dinner with my parents he talks to them as if everything is fine but he never glances my way. He even made plans with my dad to go to the beach and look at the stars. This depresses me the most. Somehow this guy has wiggled his way into my life and now my family. I’ve been over and over how to figure things out but I’m clueless. Without the girls I’m literally lost. So the days come and go leaving me with more contempt for my life but unable to do anything about it.

  On Friday I am just getting to my car after school when a text comes onto my phone. It’s from Marla and it says:

  Beckett, please come straight home today. We need to talk. - Mom

  The last time I got this same text was probably the worst day of my life. I’m very reluctant to follow her wishes at this point but what else is there that could go wrong? I can’t get much lower.

  When I get home, I slowly make my way through the house to the family room doorway. Almost the same sight from weeks ago greets me, except for one very big difference. Jamie is sitting on the other side of the room, in the oversized chair where I sat on that first day that we met.

  Marla breathes impatiently, “Well come on in Beckett, we’ve been waiting for you.”

  I frown and check my watch realizing that it took me a lot longer to get home today. David is sitting on the other couch preoccupied with a stack of papers. Marla stands up as a soon as I sit on the edge of the couch.

  Her voice takes on a harsh tone, “We’ve been patient with you two. But we are drawing the line right now. This is going to work whether you want it to or not.” Her accusing stare meets my gaze. I look to the floor wondering where she is going with this.

  “Jamie, Beckett, I don’t know what is going on with you two but I am ordering both of you to put aside whatever it is and make this work. Beckett…”

  I look up into her serious eyes, “Jamie is staying whether you want him to or not. We’ve had this discussion and I thought I made myself clear. Obviously you didn’t get it. Do not cause any more problems, alright?”

  My blood surges at this reminding me of how this went very wrong the last time when I stormed off to my bedroom. I wonder what he has told them and glare his way. My blood starts to flow causing me to stand up and plead, “Marla, can you tell him the same thing, please. It’s not all my fault.”

  I look over to meet an angry glare. But I turn away wanting my mom to see that he needs the same lecture.

  She strolls in front of him and asks, “Are we clear?”

  He looks up and nods uncomfortably, his voice coming through clenched teeth, “Crystal.”

  As she turns he glares daggers at me. I sink back into the couch and place my arm over my face. I can feel the air rush past me as he quickly leaves the room. Marla sinks into the couch beside me. She second guesses herself, “Beckett, is everything alright? He didn’t do anything to you, did he?”

  I could ruin him right now, but the words that leave my mouth are the opposite; resigned and tired, “No mom, he’s a nice guy. I think I’ve made him mad, that’s all.”

  “Well Beckett, try to get along, okay?”

  “Yes, Mother.”

  She smiles and claims, “That has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”

  I smirk under my arm and mutter, “Don’t get your hopes up, Marla.”

  She gets up with a frustrated sigh. A smile creeps across my lips, the first in a long time.

  After dinner, that Jamie conveniently missed, I stroll up to my room to finish the homework I have from missing too many classes. I have to go to all of them tomorrow as hard as it will be.

  Once I’m finished, I lie back on my pale pink comforter and dim the lamp on the bedside table so a shallow glow lights the room. My eyes scan the stars above, seeing the constellations I know so well now. Of course my ceiling doesn’t mirror the night sky exactly, but it does have some of the constellations that are visible for part of the year, not that I can find any of them in the real sky.

  I remember when David and I were looking through books trying to decide which ones to put up there. He insisted on the ones more easily found like the Big Dipper and the Great Bear but I insisted that we put Cassiopeia up there. I loved hearing her story. She boasted that she was more beautiful than the Nereids. They went to Poseidon and appealed to him to do s
omething about her conceited comments. He was married to one of the nymphs so he sent Cetus, a sea monster to ravage Cassiopeia’s kingdom. Cephus, her husband turned to the oracle for help in trying to save his kingdom. He was told that he and his wife had to sacrifice their daughter, Andromeda, to the sea monster. They decided the sacrifice of their only daughter was worth it but Perseus rescued Andromeda and later married her. It was the happily ever after, prince and princess story, of my childhood.

  My dad thought I was silly for liking that one because Cassiopeia is destined to spend half the year upside down in the stars as punishment for her vanity, according to the story. Now thinking about the tale I cherished as a child, I feel tiny tentacles of dread. I resemble Cassiopeia more than I would like to admit. I have been vain and turned my back on others more than once. And even though I didn’t really do anything this time, my past has come back to haunt me. I know I deserve every glare and whispering remark directed at me. My lids start to droop as my mind clouds with visions of beautiful maidens and gods rescuing them.

  My eyes pop open suddenly to find my room blackened. A glance at the clock reveals that it’s still early morning, two o’clock but my mind is wide awake with a clear idea. I know what I need to do to regain the girls’ trust. A smile creeps across my lips as I formalize a plan and thank Cassiopeia. Finally, I just might get my life back.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Jamie Grey

  Vulpecula- The Little Fox

  Vulpecula with the goose, represented a fox carrying a goose to Cerberus, the dog that guarded the entrance to the Underworld in Greek mythology.

  ~*~

  Beckett Chase will go to any lengths to get what she wants. That is a fact. I was so sure Marla would come up to my room after I stormed out to explain that I would have to leave now. Just to prolong the inevitable, I skipped dinner and stayed in my room for the night. Marla or David never came.

  The next day I woke early and snuck out before I could encounter anyone with bad news.

  After school I went to Sam’s after dropping my things off at the Chase house. I found out that Sam lives two streets away. I know it’s avoidance but I’m not quite willing to give this up yet. I finally got Sam back, I don’t want to say goodbye to her.

  I asked Sasha to tell Marla where I was off to. It won’t matter anyway when she decides to break the news that she’s kicking me out like so many other homes I’ve lived in. Each place has had varying circumstances but in truth I think Michelle is tired of it. Two years ago I was kicked out of the Fair’s house because I kept getting into fights with their son. He was a dick though, sabotaging things in the house and blaming it on me. The next home was tiny with a family of four. The parents had two small daughters and as much as Michelle will deny it, they were uncomfortable having a fifteen year old boy that they didn’t know around the girls. I was sad about that one because the girls really did get attached to me quickly.

  This is just another home that I can put down as barely there on my long list. I quicken my pace down the road and turn the corner toward Crepe Street. I called Sam before I left to make sure she is home. Her voice took on a concerned air when I told her I was on my way over. She has a hard time masking her concern about me. This is the Sam I know so well. I was never very vocal about things but with Sam I didn’t need to be. I remember one day when we were eleven, her mom came home to find the house in complete disarray. I had arrived home from school and lost it when my case worker, Jenny, called and explained that I would have a new case worker the next day. She said she was moving away. I knew it was just another excuse and she was leaving me. Sam calmed her mom and explained that her best friend, Sadie wasn’t talking to her and she was upset so she had lashed out and made the mess. I was thankful that I didn’t have to talk about it. That was just one of many times when Sam came to my rescue.

  When I approach the sprawling two story home on acres of land, it amazes me again that such a small amount of people live in such a large home. When I walk up to the foreboding heavy wooden door, I reach to knock but it’s yanked open to reveal a smiling Sam. Her short blonde hair is pulled tight into a floppy pony tail on top of her head. She is dressed in a grey tank top and black yoga pants.

  “Well, are you gonna come in?” Her voice comes out cheerily.

  I step in as she closes the door behind me. She pulls on my hand encouraging me to follow her up the stairs leading to the second floor. I hesitate taking in the large room, “Uh, what about your mom?”

  I’m still uneasy about being in the house with her mom. She rejected me years ago and I’m still hurt from that fact.

  “She’s not home yet.” She pulls on my hand again, “Come on.”

  I climb the stairs behind her and notice that this house is very different from Beckett’s. The floor below sprawls into a wide open space with the kitchen overlooking the living room. A huge brown couch takes up the center of the space with a brick fireplace in the adjoining wall. The far wall is covered in floor to ceiling picture windows framing the pool deck and a thick wall of bushes at the edge of the property. We walk down a short hallway to an open doorway. She turns and tells me, “So you are about to enter my sanctuary.”

  I smirk at her description. Sam could always cheer me up with just a smile and a quirky comment. The room is generously furnished with white antique furniture. A four poster bed stands in the center covered in discarded piles of clothes. Sam skips across the room and pushes the clothes onto the floor. She climbs up and crosses her legs patting a space along the edge. I surge forward and take the spot she indicated. She starts in with a contorted expression, “Jamie, I think Jake is cheating on me again.”

  I look over surprised by her sudden mood shift. I wait for her to elaborate but she doesn’t so I ask, “Why do you think he’s cheating?”

  “Well, he was sketchy this afternoon making excuses about why he can’t come over. He used to be over here every day after school but lately he seems to be avoiding me. Today was like the icing on the cake. I know something’s up.”

  I can’t say I’m surprised. Over the past few weeks getting to know him better hasn’t put away my reluctance about the guy. I really don’t like him but I put on my best sympathetic face and tell her, “I’m sorry Sam. Maybe he’s just busy.”

  She shakes her head with emotion flooding her face, “No, that’s just it, he isn’t. He doesn’t have to work and he doesn’t really like to do anything else. We always hang out after school. Do you think it’s Beckett?”

  Again, I’m shocked at her words. Could it be Beckett? I’m not sure why but I don’t think it is.

  I shake my head and tell her, “I don’t think it is.” I remember Beckett’s expression while she spoke to her mom yesterday afternoon. She was more reserved almost as if she’s given up.

  I add, “I don’t think anyone is talking to her right now.”

  “I know. Trina and Dani are avoiding her like the plague.”

  She continues, “That’s it, maybe Jake felt sorry for her or he wanted her all along especially after what happened before.” Tears start rolling down her cheeks. I hate to see Sam so upset. I grab her hand and pull her over, wrapping my arms around her shoulders. I knew that douche was bad news. She breaks down crying and sniffling into my shirt.

  My hands automatically rub her back and I whisper over her shoulder, “If he is cheating again then you don’t need him. You deserve better.”

  She nods into my shoulder and we sit like this for a while. When she does finally pull away she asks, “If it isn’t Beckett, then who do you think it is?”

  I reason with her meeting a serious gaze, “Sam, you don’t know that he is cheating. There could be a number of reasons why he isn’t around today. It’s just been one day. Do you think you’re being paranoid?”

  “I know but this is what happened before when he was with Beckett. He wouldn’t come over and he avoided me until I found out the truth. I don’t want to be the idiot that doesn’t know this time.”r />
  The room is silent, both of us in our own thoughts. I want to ask more about the details when Beckett was with Jake but a part of me doesn’t want to know. I refrain deciding that Sam doesn’t need any more sorrow today.

  She chuckles uneasily, “Hey, since when are you sticking up for Jake? You’ve hated him since you met him.”

  I sigh, “First of all Sam, I never said I hated him. I’m just not a fan. And I’m not sticking up for him. You don’t know why he hasn’t been around. Maybe you should just ask him.”

  She nods as more tears streak down her cheeks. She sniffles before pulling farther away and confesses, “There is a little more to the Beckett thing that I didn’t tell you.”

  My brows raise. I was just thinking about this. Now that she wants to tell the story a part of me itches to leave. It may be something I don’t want to hear about Beckett. I already know that she makes bad choices and then doesn’t know how to deal with the consequences. I’m sure this will just verify that fact.

  I wait serenely as Sam explains, “She did sleep with Jake at that party a year ago. And I hated her for it, but truthfully the reputation she’s made for herself isn’t really who she is. Before Dani came and she slept with Jake, we were pretty close. When I moved here in seventh grade she was the first person I met. We weren’t best friends but we hung out and swam in the intercoastal every day during the summers. Truthfully, I don’t know if Beckett has ever had a best friend.”

  She looks away and admits, “I’ve been to her house more times than I can count.”

  I’m surprised at her admission. Sam and Beckett, friends, I just can’t see it.

  She takes a deep breath, “The day that Dani came was the day she changed into this other person. She changed even more when I found out about her and Jake. She tried to tell me that he wanted to be with her and that he swore that he had broken up with me before she slept with him but I didn’t believe her. I was probably one of the people who pushed her to be such a bitch.” She laughs nervously.