By now Rigel was looking slightly dazed. “Wow, I guess you weren’t kidding when you said it would take hours to catch me up on everything. But you’ll have time to explain it all properly later. Um, won’t you?”
“Absolutely. Now that you have your memory back, we’ll talk every chance we get. We can have lunch together, and even in class…” I stopped talking and sent silently, We can talk like this. Can you hear me?
A smile spread across his face. I can! Believe it or not, I dreamed this, too, a few days ago. But it seemed too crazy to be real.
I kept trying and trying in class, but you never—
Guess kissing you brought this and my memory back. Shame we didn’t try it sooner.
Hey, I was more than willing! I thought, half-indignantly.
I know. I’m sorry I acted the way I did these past couple weeks. Forgive me?
Wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t remember. But now…let’s just start fresh, okay?
Sounds good to me.
And then we were kissing again. Even though I knew our path ahead wouldn’t be completely smooth, at the moment I couldn’t help but believe we’d somehow get our happy ending after all.
* * *
Long before either of us were ready to stop, Rigel’s cell phone vibrated. He pulled it out of his pocket and glanced at it. “Football practice. Guess it’s a good thing I thought to set this, but I so don’t want to leave you now, M. I don’t suppose you can come watch, at least?”
“Sure I can. I told my aunt I’d be staying after again for newspaper staff. Just in case.” I grinned. My “just in case” had turned out so much better than I’d dared hope!
“Excellent! We’d better head, then.” He stood and held out his hand.
Walking back through the cornfield, fingers intertwined, I felt like I was walking on air—until Rigel asked a question that brought me back to Earth.
“So, what do you think? Do we just announce to everyone that my memory’s back? Or will that be dangerous, like my dad implied?”
I hadn’t considered that. “There was that guy who tried to attack me at the game. If somebody put him up to it, they obviously want me out of the way. Which I guess could put you in danger if they know we’re together again.”
“Hey, I’m not worried about me being in danger. But if being with me could make you a target again—”
“It’s not like last fall, with Faxon’s followers. Even most of the anti-Royals don’t want me dead. They just don’t like the idea of a Sovereign. Which is what makes that attack so weird. Probably just an isolated crazy.” I shrugged. “Anyway, I’m not letting them, or anybody, keep us apart. Not now. We just have to figure the best way to, um, break the news to everyone.”
“Like my folks?”
Startled, I glanced up at him. “You really think they won’t be happy?”
“They might be happy for me, but they’re also worried. Maybe even scared. Dad specifically warned me there were things it would be safer I didn’t remember and that if I did, I should stay quiet about it. The Grentl, obviously, though he didn’t know that. But the way he talked, I almost wondered if somebody had threatened them or something.”
I recalled how the Stuarts had reacted at Rigel’s first football game when I suggested I come to their house to spend time with Rigel in case it could help jog his memory. They had acted almost afraid, though at the time I assumed it was because of the Healers’ warnings. If someone had actually threatened them, I needed to find out who. Maybe whoever was behind that attack?
“Well, people will definitely know something’s up when I show up at practice with you. Especially like this.” I squeezed his hand. “Not just the team, but the cheerleaders…” Which included Molly, I belatedly realized. “It’ll be all over school tomorrow that we’re back together.”
“So we just wait for the news—about us, at least—to make the rounds and see what happens? I can always pretend I didn’t get all my memory back, just pieces. It’s the Grentl stuff that’s most dangerous, right?”
Frowning, I shrugged. “It shouldn’t be. I’ve thought all along that everyone—all Martians, I mean—deserve to know the truth. Especially now that the Grentl have backed off, so people would be less likely to panic. I haven’t been able to convince the Council, though, or even Shim—though I think he was starting to come around by the time I left.”
“It is a pretty scary concept,” Rigel admitted. “But I get why you’d be sick to death of secrets by now.”
“Totally. Which is one reason I don’t want to keep us a secret. I absolutely don’t want to go through that again! But…maybe we shouldn’t let on you have your whole memory back until we know if there’s a real threat out there?”
“Sounds good. Especially that first part.” He let go of my hand long enough to put his arms around me for one last kiss before we reached the parking lot.
After that we had to walk faster, out of the cornfield and through the nearly-deserted school to the stands, where we finally had to part so he could go change. Sure enough, our clasped hands received a few startled glances along the way but we didn’t stop or try to explain. Rigel had to hurry, plus we still hadn’t figured out exactly what to tell people.
Sitting in the bleachers, well away from a handful of giggling girls at the other end, I was vividly reminded of the first time Rigel invited me to practice last fall—when I’d still been one of the biggest losers in the school. Not that I was hugely popular now, but at least I was no longer a social outcast, thanks to Rigel. And Sean.
Oops. What was I going to tell Sean?
I’d rather do it myself than have him find out through the grapevine—or even from Molly. Now that my initial euphoria over Rigel’s recovery was fading, I had to face the fact that there were plenty of people, both on Earth and back on Mars, who wouldn’t be happy with the news about Rigel’s restored memory, and especially about us being a couple again.
We’d have to find out all we could, talk it over, then decide what our next steps should be. We. I nearly laughed out loud, I was so delighted it was we again, instead of just me! It was like a huge weight of responsibility had lifted from my shoulders—because now I had Rigel to share it with me.
You will, won’t you? I thought at him as he emerged onto the field in his uniform, even though I knew he was way too far away to hear me.
Will what? he startled me by thinking back.
Help me with all the stupid Sovereign stuff I still have to do, I sent back. And how cool is this, that you can hear me from all the way over there?
Definitely cool! But…try not to distract me too much during practice, okay? Don’t want to have to try explaining why to Coach. His affectionate amusement came through along with his words—from nearly a hundred yards away! I’d never been able to sense his emotions from more than a few feet away before.
I was fighting the temptation to keep “talking” to Rigel when the cheerleading squad ran out onto the track in their skimpy practice outfits. They’d barely started doing jumping jacks—which I suspected were as much to show off for the boys as to warm up—when Trina spotted me in the stands.
At her outraged expression, Molly turned to follow her gaze and stopped exercising to stare at me. “What are you doing here?” she mouthed at me.
Since there was no way to tell her right now, I just shrugged and mouthed back, “Tell you later.”
Though she still looked worried, she gave a little nod and started jumping again.
I tried to do a little homework over the next hour, but watching Rigel and worrying about what I’d say to Molly after practice kept me from concentrating. Also, I couldn’t resist testing our new long-distance telepathy a few more times, when Rigel was waiting his turn for some drill or other. It worked every single time.
Let’s try while I’m in the locker room, see if I can still hear you from there, he suggested when practice ended and the team loped off the field.
I waited a couple of minutes after he
disappeared into the school, then sent, Well? Can you?
I can! This is awesome. Wonder what our limit is now?
Maybe we can test it when we’re on our buses?
Good plan. I’ll be out in a couple minutes.
Just then, Molly broke away from the cheerleaders, who’d also finished, to climb up the stands to me.
“So, what gives?” She looked worried as well as curious. “Rigel’s been staring at you in class all week, but every time you’ve tried talking to him, he’s backed off. Have you decided to go stalker on him now?”
I laughed. Too happy to keep the news to myself any longer, I burst out, “Oh, Molly, he remembers! He remembers me, us, everything!”
Molly’s gray eyes got huge. “Everything?”
“Well…” I remembered belatedly we’d decided to hold back on some things for now. “Everything about us, anyway. And our bond. Isn’t it wonderful?”
Her smile was as cautious as it was happy. “It is. I guess. I mean, I’m really happy for you. For you both. It’s just that Sean—”
“I know. Can you…not tell him yet? I’d really rather tell him myself. I can come over to your house this evening, and—”
“Come on, Molly,” came Amber’s shout from the track. “Do you want a ride or not?”
“Oops. Should I tell her I’ll take the bus, so we can talk more? Or ask if you can ride with us?”
I shook my head. “No, you go on. I want to see Rigel again before we have to get on our buses. We’ll talk more tonight, okay?”
Still looking dubious, Molly nodded and ran down to join the waiting cheerleaders.
By the time I finished stuffing my books back into my backpack Rigel had reappeared, so I ran down to join him on the track.
“Well, Molly knows now, but I asked her to let me tell Sean.”
Though he threw an arm around my shoulders (even sweaty, he smelled wonderful) he frowned. “Yeah, he’ll be— Sorry, this is kind of weird. I remember everything from last year, how Sean and I were always snarking at each other and all. But I also remember how he’s been this year. It’s…like we really are friends now.”
“I always hoped you could be, eventually,” I reminded him. “Though I wish it hadn’t taken something like this to make it happen. I really hope our news won’t screw that up.”
“Me too. It’s been cool having a guy I can talk to about, you know, Martian stuff. But whatever happens, the tradeoff is worth it.” He squeezed my shoulders.
Much as I hated to hurt Sean more than I already had, I couldn’t disagree.
When we got to the late buses, we shared one last kiss before separating—in full view of everyone who happened to be watching. Yep, it would definitely be all over the school tomorrow. Which meant I had to tell Sean tonight.
23
Attenuation
Lingering with Rigel as long as I could made me last onto my bus, too late to snag a window seat. Even craning my neck, I couldn’t see him now.
Will you tell your parents tonight? I sent as my bus pulled away, hoping he could still hear me.
I guess I’d better. His response was every bit as clear as when he was on the football field. Especially since we haven’t exactly tried to hide that we’re back together.
Just then, the girl in the seat next to me, a sophomore I didn’t really know, said, “Wow, so you and Rigel are back together again, huh? How did that happen? I heard he’s got, like, total amnesia?”
“Not total,” I qualified. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw every head within earshot turn my way. “Just the last year or so. And he’s starting to remember some things. Like, um, me.”
“Awww.” The girl—I was pretty sure her name was Hannah—smiled mistily. “I remember how cute you guys were last fall. But then you started going with Sean O’Gara, so I figured—”
“Yeah, I know. But Sean and I aren’t together anymore, so he’s cool with it.” I hoped that would be true, when I told him tonight. “Guess I never really quite got over Rigel.”
Another girl leaned across the aisle. “I sure never would have, if I’d ever gone out with him. Is he as good as he looks?” She waggled her eyebrows suggestively.
Rather than answer a question like that, I just smiled, then tugged a book out of my backpack so I could pretend to read and ignore her and all the others, determined not to give out any more information before I had a chance to talk to Sean.
Five minutes later, Rigel’s bus, just ahead of mine, turned right while mine continued straight toward town.
See you tomorrow.
Can’t wait. I could sense the smile in his mental voice. We’re going to test our new range now, right?
Right. I think we’re already farther apart than we were during practice.
A moment later we passed the intersection with another county road so I reported exactly where I was to Rigel.
And I’m just passing Donner’s market. Corn’s fifteen cents an ear. I should tell my mom.
We kept describing the things we were passing. It did get harder and harder to “hear” each other, but I was more than halfway home—as was Rigel—before we couldn’t converse at all. The last thing I caught from him was a faint, Nearly three miles.
Aunt Theresa was just pulling into the driveway when I reached the house.
“I see you stayed late after all,” she said by way of greeting as I followed her into the house. “You’d best get started on your homework. I’ll call you down when it’s time to set the table.”
Aunt Theresa had mostly reverted to her old, strict self after acting almost happy to see me the night I got back. Relieved, anyway. More than once, she’d explained that the only reason she hadn’t come to visit me in the hospital in Ireland was because Mrs. O kept insisting it was completely unnecessary. Which made me think she must have felt at least a little bit guilty about it.
Now, two weeks later, it was almost like I’d never been gone. At least I didn’t have to make dinner tonight.
Back in my room, I was struck again by how tiny it seemed after three whole months in my humongous apartment in the Royal Palace. While I had no real desire to go back to Nuath, sometimes I couldn’t help missing the luxury.
Thinking about Mars reminded me I needed to let Shim know about today’s miracle. Quietly locking my door, I went to my nightstand and removed my omni from the old glasses case where I’d hidden it, then pulled up the holo-screen.
“Message to Regent Shim Stuart, Nuath, highest security setting.” Keeping my voice low, I told Shim about Rigel getting his memory back and how we’d re-bonded (though I was vague on the whole kissing part of the equation). “This time we don’t plan to keep our relationship a secret, at least at school,” I concluded. “I’ll leave it up to you how much to say at your end.”
Once my omni was safely hidden again and I was settled at my desk with homework, I couldn’t resist trying to mentally reach Rigel again. Can you hear me? Even a little? I sent as hard as I possibly could, focusing in the general direction of his house, well out of town.
After a few seconds I almost thought I felt something back. Not words, more like a vague sense of Rigel’s mental presence. It made me smile, even if I’d totally imagined it.
* * *
I made sure to do the dinner dishes before asking Aunt Theresa if I could go over to the O’Garas’ house. “Molly and I were hoping to work a little on our Government project,” I explained.
Though I dreaded this visit so much I almost hoped she’d say no, she immediately agreed, just like the past two Saturday nights, when I’d needed to go there to meet with the Echtran Council (half of them holographic projections from other parts of the country).
Molly had invited me for a sleepover that first time, since Mrs. O had told her the meeting might go late. Sure enough, there’d been enough to discuss—and argue about—to keep them all there past midnight. The next morning, I’d managed to spend a few minutes alone with my Scepter while Molly showered.
; “Make sure you’re home by nine-thirty, since it’s a school night,” was her only condition. My curfew was a whole half-hour later than last year.
I steeled myself as I knocked, anxious to tell Sean about Rigel and me as gently as possible, but the moment he opened the door it was obvious he’d already heard.
“Hey. Molly told me you might be by. Come to share your good news?” He gave me a forced smile, trying to hide the hurt and betrayal I sensed from him.
I winced. “I asked Molly not to—”
“Don’t blame Molly,” he snapped, hurt shifting to anger. “She didn’t say anything. But since you apparently didn’t even try to play it cool, it’s all over the internet.”
Crap. I hadn’t even thought of that, since I barely spent any time online myself, not having a computer or even a cell phone of my own.
Before I could say another word, he turned away. I followed him into their little living room, the mirror image of ours, and Mr. and Mrs. O’Gara jumped to their feet. The curiosity I sensed from them was understandable, since I hadn’t exactly paid the O’Garas any social visits since getting back to Jewel.
“Excellency.” Mr. O made a perfunctory bow. I hated when he did that, but knew he was still determined to get back into my good graces. “To what do we owe the honor?” His curiosity was tinged with wariness.
I kept my expression pleasant as I inclined my head in return. “I came to share the good news that Rigel has started recovering some of his memories, contrary to what the Healers predicted.”
“Without any treatment?” Mrs. O frowned, clearly skeptical—and slightly alarmed. “It was my understanding—”
“Their own research shows treatment doesn’t make much difference,” I reminded her. “Some people back on Mars recovered their memories without it and for a few, the treatments actually made things worse.”
Starfall: A Starstruck Novel Page 21