A Falling Starr: The Complete Trilogy

by Dani Hoots

  Quickly I gathered my things and hurried towards the back entrance. I could easily lose them by going out the other way. They probably had no idea about that entrance and I could sneak to my next class easily.

  My pace quickened and I shoved the door open to the outside. Not paying attention to what was in front of me for fear of what was behind me, I ran smack dab into something.

  I fell, my butt hit the concrete with a loud thud. My backpack pulled me down and I flailed on my back like a turtle. A really stupid turtle.

  “I’m so sorry. Are you all right?”

  Oh crap, please don’t be who I think it is. I looked up to find Emmerich kneeling beside me. I blushed. Why did I have to be so clumsy in front of him?

  “I’m fine, I’m good. Don’t worry about it,” I mumbled as he helped me up. His look of concern made me feel all warm inside. What was this feeling? Why did seeing him always make my heart quicken? I had just met the man.

  “Are you sure? I can take you to a doctor...”

  I shook my head. “No, I’m okay. Really.”

  We stood there in awkward silence. I straightened the straps of the backpack that had so betrayed my trust. Maybe I should get a saddlebag, then at least it wouldn’t pull me down if I fell backwards. It would, however, hurt my shoulder. Decisions, decisions.

  “Sorry, how rude of me,” he held out his hand and smiled, dimples appeared on his cheeks making him look younger than he really was. “I’m Emmerich.”

  Taking his hand, I nodded. “Yeah, I’m Angela. Thanks for backing me up yesterday with Dr. Moph.”

  He laughed. “That’s right, I thought you looked familiar.”

  Ouch, he didn’t recognize me. A blow straight to my ego. “So are you going to join the class?” My heart raced with hope of a yes.

  He grinned. “I think I just might.”

  I blushed again and tried to change the subject. “So, where are you headed?”

  “Inside the library. I’ve got a bunch of research to do already.”

  Damn, wrong way. Didn’t matter, I had class soon. I debated asking if he wanted to get a bite to eat before his work but he already made it clear that he was too busy. “Oh, that sucks.”

  He shrugged. “Work comes with school, what can I say?”

  “Which class is it for? I could maybe add it to my schedule. I’m still looking for one to add...” The moment that comment came out of my mouth, I wished I could take it back. I sounded desperate, like a stalker. I wasn’t a stalker, at least I didn’t think I was. I was just curious.

  Curious about this hot stranger. Not stalker material at all.

  He scratched his head. “It’s individual research for a professor.”

  “That sounds interesting, which professor?”

  “Um,” he glanced down at his watch. “For Dr. Creekman.”

  It was apparent he needed to get to work. Too bad, I really wanted to talk to him some more. “Well then, I guess I will see you around?”

  “You can count on it,” he turned and went back towards the library. I could feel my cheeks turn even redder. Curse my fair skin.

  Suddenly I remembered exactly why I had been leaving the library in such haste. I looked around, but there was no sign of the two men. Filled with relief, I went to get some lunch and go to history class.

  History class went by and we mostly went over the syllabus for the semester. We also introduced ourselves and talked about our favorite periods in history. We didn’t have anything to do homework-wise until next week so I was free for the rest of the week.

  After making it back to my apartment, the rest of the day was a breeze. Since I no longer had any homework that week, I got to catch up on Grimm and listened to the messages my counselor, Mandy, left me. She sounded hurt and disappointed, as if I had betrayed her trust.

  First message. “Angela, you were supposed to call me last week and update me about your fear of the dark.”

  Second message. “Oh Angela, where are you dear, I haven’t heard from you for so long, why are you shutting me out? This isn’t like you.”

  The next five were all the same. I ended up caving and calling her to let her know I was just busy with school and that I probably would be in next week. At least that’s what I told her receptionist. Mandy was in a session and was unavailable to talk.

  I glanced at the clock and decided I should head to my first tutoring session. Except for Peter, I met most of my students at Powell’s Book Store. Thankfully it was no hassle for the parents and I got to pick up new books every couple of days. Grabbing a couple novels to trade in, I left my apartment.

  A good fifteen minute walk, I had actually passed it on the way to Voodoo Donuts the night before. I debated going back to Voodoo Donuts, but decided not to since I didn’t want to ruin my appetite. I also had to remember to grab groceries on the way back so I had breakfast in the morning.

  I was lucky that the walk was so beautiful since I had to take it so often. Sticking my books in my purse, I placed my hands in my coat pocket. It got a bit chilly this afternoon, the hint of winter being around the corner. I was pretty sure it was going to rain later that night and even brought my umbrella in case I would have to travel back in the rain. Although, no one in Portland, or all of Oregon for that fact, seemed to use umbrellas. It was strange, as if they hated the rain so much that they didn’t even bother. Well I hated getting wet so I didn’t care if I stood out like a sore thumb.

  At Powell’s, I exchanged them for in-store credit and began to explore. Powell’s had many floors to venture through and I had no idea where to start. Signs pointed every which way to different genres. Should I pick up a science fiction novel? A history novel perhaps? The choices were endless.

  I went up the stairs to science fiction and fantasy. I could see the sign for horror genre. With everything going on, I knew that it would be a mistake to venture into there. So I stuck to science fiction. Some of the stories made me feel at peace, as if I could live in a place where aliens and spaceships existed. It was a fantasy of mine, to run off with the Doctor or some sort of alien. But things like that never happened.

  Browsing, I found a book called Icarus Hunt by Timothy Zahn. It looked interesting so I grabbed it. It would keep me occupied for a good while. Now I just had to choose one more.

  As I started through the fantasy section, I saw my first student come in. I motioned him over to a table and we began our session.

  He didn’t turn up in class. I peered around the room one more time. I didn’t see Emmerich’s gorgeous face. I had hoped for a friend to study with but I guess I was stuck by myself. It didn’t matter, he would find out my story eventually and feel pity for me. I couldn’t be in a relationship like that, even if he was cute.

  I did see the guy who was rude to me at the library. He rolled his eyes at me when he saw me. What was his problem? He must have been one of those guys who had to be the best at everything and couldn’t stand it when others did better than him. Why people like that just couldn’t accept they aren’t the best, I did not understand.

  Dr. Moph started class. I took notes but my mind wandered. Why had Emmerich lied? Maybe it ended up not fitting his schedule, or maybe he just didn’t want to deal with the professor’s attitude. I sure didn’t. Whatever the reason may be, I just hoped I would run into him again.

  Class finished and I had the night off, so I got to relax and start up a new series on Netflix. It was a toss-up between Arrow, Vampire Diaries, and Teen Wolf. I debated between the three the whole way back to my apartment.

  I got back and stuck some soup I had made the night before in the microwave and turned on my computer. I decided on Vampire Diaries to see what this vampire fad was all about.

  About four episodes into it, I figured it out. Hot, sexy bad guys.

  Thursday came and went. I got the great news that one of my students had aced her first pop quiz. I felt very proud that she had increased her grade in such a short time frame. It usually took a couple of months
before a student could grasp the material on their own. Even though I was happy for her, it also meant that she would be leaving me soon and I would have to find another student.

  Now Friday was here and it was my long day. I had two three-hour labs back to back. Ugh.

  The first one was quantum physics. The professor had given us the lab syllabus yesterday so I had an idea what experiments we would be performing throughout the term. Today we would be calculating the charge of an electron, also known as the Millikan Oil Drop Experiment. I could barely sit still on my stool as I waited for the TA to show up. I had never done an experiment before and the excitement was overwhelming.

  The room itself was plain, white walls peeling away to reveal drywall and in some cases pipes where the hole had worn all the way through. Random machines littered all corners of the room. I wondered if we would get to use them all and really hoped we would. A large chalkboard stood at the front of the room. Some students had drawn Game of Thrones house symbols, indicating one was better than the other. I hadn’t seen it yet since I didn’t have access to HBO and wasn’t going to spend that much money on a show like that.

  Students sat on their stools, waiting for the TA to come and discuss what they did over the summer. I heard one girl say she went to Paris during the summer. Now that would be fun.

  Dennis, the kid I talked to the first day, showed up and took a seat next to me. “Hey Angela, how’s your first week going.”

  “Great, finished up the homework for next week and looking forward to lab today,” I tapped my pencil against my notebook paper.

  “Well you got a lead on me, I haven’t even started it. Maybe next time we could work on it together?”

  “Uh, sure, that would be great.”

  Before Dennis could go on further, the TA entered the lab.

  “Good morning class, my name is Randy and I will be your TA for this term,” he wrote his name on the chalkboard in large letters, his Captain Hammer clad belly partially erasing the words as he scribbled. I already knew how to spell ‘Randy’. Maybe he just liked the chalkboard. “I want us to get to know each other by saying your name, your major, and where you’re from. Let’s start over here,” he pointed to the other side of the lab.

  What was I going to say? I hadn’t prepared for this.

  A girl with a pink streak in her hair went first. “My name is Amelia, I’m a chemistry major, from Boston.”

  I watched as each student went, my brain whirling to find out how to avoid the question I didn’t know the answer to. Dennis had his turn. I found out he was a third year from Salem. Wasn’t that where the witch trials took place?

  “And you?” Randy nodded to me.

  “Umm, I’m Angela, I’m a physics major with a focus in astrophysics, and I’ve only lived in Portland,” I answered, my hands shaking. It wasn’t a lie, this was the only city I had lived in. That I could remember.

  “Very good. Now, today we are going to start with the Millikan Oil Drop Experiment. Who here knows who Millikan was?”

  A physicist?

  Three hands went up and Randy picked a tall boy with curly blond hair. “An American experimental physicist who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1923. He also helped on a research project that discovered cosmic rays.”

  “Yes,” Randy turned to the board. “Before we get started I want to go through the history and calculations of the experiment. Now, in the early 20th century...”

  He scribbled on the board as he explained each and every variable. I took notes, even though the professor had just gone over all of this the day before. After Randy was done, we split up in four teams of two. I paired with Dennis and we began the experiment.

  After the lab was over, I grabbed a quick bite to eat. I wasn’t one to skip meals if I was busy, I never understood how people did that. Functioning on an empty stomach was not something I could do. Ever. Food was important to me and if I didn’t eat I felt horrible.

  Next lab was for astrophysics class. It was really for 100-level astronomy but since I didn’t have the lab credit I had to take it. It was going to be a piece of cake.

  The TA, Kim, was already in the lab, her short red hair making her stand out. Piercings speckled her ears and nose. Her arm was covered in a Chinese dragon tattoo and her nails were painted and deep purple. She indicated to sign in and grab a seat at a computer. As I waited for lab to start, Emmerich walked in. He talked to the TA for a second then turned to face me. Grinning, I waved.

  He put his backpack down and sat next to me. “So you’re in this class too?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, they’re making me take the lab even though I’m enrolled in a 400-level astrophysics class.”

  He laughed. “I know what you mean, they wanted me to take this class as well.”

  I thought about asking why, but I didn’t want to push the subject. Maybe he failed it last time, or just simply didn’t show up. They told me when I enrolled that I would probably be the only one in the upper division astrophysics class and in the lower division lab. Apparently they were wrong.

  I switched on the computer. A lot of the labs used computer modeling to determine wavelength of stars and whether or not they are moving toward or away from the point of sight, if planets were in habitable zones, and so forth. We also would have to make calculations for compressing major events in the formation of the galaxy and solar system if everything happened in a year. Easy little things, but apparently I needed to do them.

  Emmerich and I paired up for our first experiment, compressing the entire timeline of the universe into one earth year and labeling when different major events occurred on the calendar. Our event was the first supernova.

  “So did I miss anything fun in class on Wednesday?” Emmerich asked as we began clearing up to leave.

  I shook my head. “No, he went over more information about protoplanetary disks and star formation.”

  “Did you have to correct him again?” he laughed.

  “No, fortunately.”

  “What? It was great that you caught that. You totally got on his nerves.”

  I slid my notebooks into my backpack. “That’s exactly what I didn’t want to do on the first day of class.”

  “Well, he deserved being called out like that. He treats his students horribly.”

  “Where were you on Wednesday? Are you going to join the class?”

  He nodded. “Yeah, I just had to drop another class but it fits my schedule now. Don’t worry, I’ll be there on Monday.”

  I blushed. “Well, maybe we could meet beforehand and I could get you a copy of those notes.”

  “I would like that. How about I meet you around one at the library where we bumped into each other?”

  “Yeah, sounds good.”

  He pulled on his backpack. “See you around, Angela.”

  My heart was racing as I watched him leave. I got to see him again before class. I was so excited I almost forgot to hand in our lab to the TA. That would have been embarrassing.

  I felt like jumping up and down. I had made a friend at last and I wanted to shout it out to the world. I felt I had a connection with Emmerich.

  Rick.

  I grabbed my head. Pain shot through it. It was worse than the one I had a few days earlier. I knelt down for a second before the pain started to fade. An image flashed through my mind. It was of Emmerich. We were sitting at a table and he was showing me a map of the solar system. His soft fingers delicately glossed over my hand as he showed me secrets of the universe.

  What was that?

  Had I met Emmerich before? The pain was debilitating for me to think, I needed to get to my apartment and take something for my head.

  In my apartment I went straight for my herb drawer. One hobby I picked up was herbal medicine. I hated conventional medicine, especially the pills they had given me after the accident. I told myself never again. I had tried taking a rosemary tincture in hopes of restoring my lost memories. It didn’t work but I did feel my short term memory was a lot
clearer.

  I snatched the tincture and took a quick dose of it. Valerian had to be one of the strongest tasting herbs, its taste never left your mouth. I had finally gotten used to it but the taste still lingered uncomfortably.

  I laid down on my bed, staring up at my poster of the Orion Nebula, admiring the beautiful, colorful clouds with the hundreds of stars forming inside. Scientists called it a star nursery. Things like that fascinated me, I wanted to know all the answers to the universe. That was why I decided to major in physics, to seek out the answers, even though I know I won’t be able to answer them all. Truly I just wished I could venture into space, see all these amazing things we study.

  Maybe that was why I liked Doctor Who, through the show, I was able to travel through time and space. If I were a time lord, I would be able to go anywhere I wanted and at any time. Except, of course, I wouldn’t be able to go back and change what I had already done. Crazy, really, how they played with the laws of time and space and yet, somehow, it all made sense. Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff I supposed.

  Letting my mind wander, I thought back to the image from the migraine. Had I met Emmerich before? Or was it just a desire I had, to be close with him and for us to learn about the universe together? I did love sci-fi, it must have just been a desire.

  But it felt so real.

  Reaching for my necklace, I always did when stressed or sad, I found it gone. I shot up, still feeling my throat. It was the only thing I had from my past, I couldn’t just lose it. Did I put it in my purse? Quickly, I fumbled through it but found nothing. The knot must have came loose on my way back from school.

  I grabbed my keys and ran out of my apartment. I had to find it. Deciding to retrace my steps, I headed to the lab. If all else failed maybe someone turned it in to the lost and found.

  The necklace wasn’t that special in and of itself. It was just a simple piece of wood with my name carved in it. It was how the doctors had known my name. How I know my name. I had tried to find someone who could tell me what type of wood it was. No one knew, they all thought it to be some type of hybrid.