“I told you I don’t believe in this stuff,” he said. “But all right, let’s see. I don’t like to make fast decisions. That’s just good sense. And I don’t believe in something I can’t touch, taste, or see. Astrology, for example. Be sure you put that in the article.”
“I will,” I said. “And even though you don’t believe in astrology, that opinion is consistent with your sign.”
“You are hardheaded, McRae. I’m proud of you, though.”
That stopped me. “You are?”
“Yeah, I am.” He pushed back his chair and gave me a grin. “It’s not easy to get a column, and not easy to write one every other week. Says a lot about you that you’re willing to pull it off. Strengths that you can draw on later.”
Frankenstein was impressed. By me! I wasn’t sure about the strengths-to-draw-on stuff, but I was liking this conversation.
“Thanks.” I tried to stay calm, but it was all I could do to keep from bouncing around like Chili.
“It’s so important to be able to rely on yourself, McRae. Important to know who you are.”
I sensed someone at the door and looked up, almost relieved to break away from his intensity. It was Snider in a pale ivory tank and cropped jacket. In her hand was a folder. Printed on it in large letters was Monterey Fellowship. She stopped for a moment as if not sure whether or not to come into the room. So she must be one of the members of his secret committee.
Finally, she said, “Sorry. I was just going to leave this for you on my way to class. I didn’t know you two were still working.”
“No. Work’s what I’m not doing,” he blustered, and got up from his desk in one defiant gesture.
“Well, I’m sure you’ll catch up.” She shot me an inquiring look. “Are you about finished here, Logan?”
“I think so.” I smiled at Frankenstein, trying not to think about what might be in that folder. “Thanks for being my first interview.”
“Sure.” He looked at Snider. “Got a minute?”
“Sorry,” she said. “I have a class waiting.”
We left but not before I caught the expression of defeat on his face. Was it possible? Yes, there was no mistaking the sad-dog look. Frankenstein was hot for Snider.
I did it,” Chili shrieked into the hall. “I gave Trevor his hoodie.” She hugged me. “You are so wonderful, Logan. I didn’t even have to ask about Kat. He told me it was over and apologized for leaving the way he did at open house.”
“That’s great,” I said.
“How did you do? Enough information to write a friendly piece about you know who?”
“I think so.”
Make that hope so. Make that stunned about what I just figured out about Frankenstein. Although he was the one who kept pushing me to reveal myself in my writing, he’d revealed himself to me back there. Who would have guessed? Frankenstein had feelings too.
Nathan was waiting for me in the parking lot. I climbed into the Civic, and he grabbed my hand.
“I brought coffee,” he said.
I took the cup, noticed it was from Java & Jazz, and tried to think of something Leo-flattering to say.
“You’re really thoughtful, Nathan. Thanks.”
“I didn’t know you’d be so long. I hope it’s not too cold.”
Lukewarm, but I sipped it happily. Yes, he was a Leo, with a vain Libra Moon, no less, but somewhere in all of that star stuff was a decent, caring guy.
“What are you thinking?” he asked.
I met his eyes and said, “Something nice about you.”
“Tell me.”
“Not right now.”
“Later, then?” He squeezed my hand. “I need to get to drama rehearsal. Just wanted to see you before then. It’s going to be a busy week.”
Could life get any better? The boy I liked was happy to hold my hand and drink coffee, just so we could spend a few minutes together.
When my dad worked extra late, the plan was almost always for me to sleep over at Chili’s. That night, her parents were going to a party, and no way would Stella allow us to stay by ourselves. Instead, we ended up at Paige’s.
Although her mom didn’t cook and fuss over us the way Stella did, she made sure there was plenty of food, and she asked that we respect her rule to be in bed before midnight. Other than that, she left us alone.
Paige’s bedroom had a loft with a television. In the room below were two bunk beds and a wrought-iron dress form Paige had bought from a fabric store. Sometimes she put a hat on its neck. Tonight she’d strewn a long string of fake pearls around its lattice throat.
Even though it was almost as tall as we were, Paige treated her mannequin like a paper doll.
“You’ve got to give that dress form a name,” Chili said.
“Why?” Paige asked.
Good question. Chili was the one who named everything from her car—which for reasons she refused to reveal was Roger—to her computer, which was Hap, for HP.
“Because.” Chili squirmed beside me on the side of the bunk. “She’s one of us now, and if she could speak, just imagine the stories she could tell.”
“Okay.” Paige patted the thing on the shoulder and looked at me. “Can you come up with an astrological name for her, Logan?”
“Well . . .” I got up and walked around the room. “What’s her best feature, other than the tiny waist, of course?”
“She can keep a secret,” Paige said.
“Because she doesn’t have a mouth.” Chili giggled.
“Okay, so we need something that symbolizes silence. Isn’t there a goddess?” I glanced at Paige, who’d moved protectively close to the nameless object. “Come on, you must know.”
She gave it an affectionate pat and headed for her computer. “All I need are some keywords,” she said.
“Goddess of silence.”
“Done.” Click, click. She squinted at the screen, lifted her glasses, and squinted again. “I’ve got it.”
“What?” Chili and I shouted in unison.
“Calypso.”
“That’s silent?” Chili looked at me for clarification.
“Just listen,” Paige said. “Calypso is the Greek goddess of silence, daughter of Atlas. Furthermore, she was part of The Odyssey because she hooked up with Odysseus on her island and kept him there for a time.”
“Nasty thing,” I said, and slapped our new friend on her out-of-proportion butt.
“Leave her alone.” Paige got up and yanked my new favorite beret from my head. Then she plopped it down on the headless neck and said, “Welcome, Calypso. May you live up to the promise of your name.”
Paige and I both applauded. We’d settled that one.
She and Chili went up to the loft so I could work without interruption. Except for a giggle now and then, I was able to do just that.
The Frankenstein Star Crossed interview almost wrote itself. After I finished, I took out Fearless Astrology again and read more about the Taurus Sun.
Once I figured a way to get Frankenstein’s time and place of birth, I’d have even more to go on, but based on what I was reading, Taurus was almost the perfect sign for the head of the fellowship committee my future depended on. Being fair was a good thing, and it appeared that was almost a universal Taurus trait. And being slow to make a decision was a good thing. It would give me more time to try to convince him I was the student he had to give the best rec to.
If I could really figure out the Gears, that would help. He’d made it clear he thought that I should write about my search for them and had called it a fresh topic. Taurus was persistent too. I knew that if I were Frankenstein’s choice, he’d make sure I got the fellowship.
I heard a creak-creak on the steps leading down from the loft. Paige and Chili tried to tiptoe into the room.
“Hey, guys,” I said. “I’m still awake.”
“Did you finish your column?” Chili asked.
“Yes, I did,” I said. “And I also found out more stuff about Frankenstein’s Sun sign.”
/> “Have you figured out a way to get the Monterey thing?” Paige asked.
“Maybe,” I whispered, and put my finger to my lips.
“And Trevor for me?” Chili whispered too.
Paige grabbed her arm. “All of us?” she asked.
“All of us, everything we want,” I said. “Including a butt like Geneva’s.”
“You rock,” Chili said. “What’s next?”
“I’m not sure,” I told her. “Frankenstein thinks I ought to write about finding the Gears. But before I can write about it, I have to do it.”
She and Paige were quiet for a moment. Then Chili spoke. “And you know how?”
“Not a clue,” I said, and we all laughed. “But I’ve got to try to figure it out.”
NOTES TO SELF
The old me would never have been this confident, but I am no longer the old me. I am going to be a columnist, author of Star Crossed. Can’t wait to tell Mom. No, don’t go there, not tonight. I can’t let myself think about how much I miss her.
Instead, just think about how I’m going to identify the Gears, about how Frankenstein will see that I really do deserve the fellowship. If my name isn’t already in that folder Snider handed him, Fearless Astrology will get me there. Sun signs are starting to make sense to me now, and I know how to figure out Moon signs too. My next step is what the book calls “forecasting.” Instead of wondering when the Gears will strike next, I’m going to let the stars predict it.
LUNCH WITH CALYPSO
1st Draft
Goddess of Silence, what would you do right now, and what would you say if you were in my place? You seem to have it going on, Calypso. And, as you may have noticed, I do not.
If we could meet for burgers or pizza, maybe you would finally break your silence. Perhaps you could teach me how you did what you did. How you kept that man as long as you did. How you survived after. You might even teach me how to forget.
LUNCH WITH CALPYSO
Final Draft
When considering fictional characters I’d like to know better, I decided on the mythical Calypso. There are many reasons for this decision. Perhaps studying her role in the strongest of the surviving epic tales might make her more real to me. As Joseph Campbell wrote . . .
Damn, I was doing it again.
14
THE WORD EPHEMERIS IS LATIN AND COMES FROM THE GREEK WORD EPHÉMEROS, -ON, MEANING “DAILY.” USE THIS ALMANAC TO NOTE THE DAILY MOTIONS OF THE PLANETS AND STARS. ALTHOUGH NO ONE CAN PREDICT THE FUTURE, THE EPHEMERIS IS OUR BEST TOOL FOR KNOWING WHAT TO EXPECT.
—Fearless Astrology
I turned my Calypso piece in to Frankenstein, cringing as I did so. It wasn’t right, but I had no ideas how to fix it. Maybe he would just focus on my column. How could he hate something that was all about him?
The journalism staff was on deadline, and I stayed late along with everyone else. Sure, I would have loved to stick around and see the first printed copy—not to mention my Star Crossed column—tomorrow morning instead of having to wait until it was delivered on Monday. But I couldn’t. We had planned our San Francisco weekend with Stella months ago, and it wouldn’t be fair to cancel now.
Chili’s folks leased a cool apartment in the Embarcadero District because her dad never missed a ball game, and Stella never missed an opportunity to shop. Ever since junior high, she had taken Paige, Chili, and me with her in the spring. It was a tradition we looked forward to, like celebrating one another’s birthdays.
When I was done that Friday night, I left the journalism classroom. My dad had let me drive the dreaded van, and I was glad no one was around to watch me climb into it.
“Hey, um, Logan.”
Strike that last thought. Someone was around. Geneva. Her green cashmere scarf had slid around the collar of her lavender jacket.
“Hi.” I made a quick check of the lot and was thrilled that her car wasn’t all that close to mine.
“You’re really good,” she said. “The column, I mean.”
“Thanks.” Now leave me alone so I can get out of here before you see my pathetic van, if you haven’t already.
“What are you going to do next? Try to figure out who the Gears are, right?”
“Kind of,” I said, “but in reverse. I’m going to use what’s called an ephemeris to forecast the month. That will show us when they’re most likely to strike again.”
“The whole month?” She took a step back, and I realized it was because we’d already passed her car. “Um, can you also figure out the best days for romance?”
Oh, yes.
“I think so,” I said.
“Well, don’t forget Libra when you’re doing those calculations.” She flashed me a sly smile I wished I could slap off her face.
Don’t be jealous, I reminded myself. She can’t help it if she’s gorgeous and hot for Nathan.
“I won’t,” I said, “but most important is figuring out who the Gears are.”
“Oh, right,” she said. “Right.”
I got out of there as fast as I could.
Later that night, after we arrived at the Chiliderians’ San Francisco apartment, Chili, Paige, and I sneaked into the spare bedroom with the computer in it. Stella was in her room chatting on the phone with her sister. They were first-generation Armenians and spoke to or saw each other every single day. I couldn’t help comparing their closeness to my own family. It was okay that my mom followed her dreams, so why did it hurt like hell? There didn’t seem to be a right answer for us or a road map to follow.
At least I had an astrological road map tonight. Fearless Astrology had been written long before the Internet, so I did not have to go through an old-fashioned ephemeris for my first attempt at predictive astrology. I could do it online.
I found an online version of the ephemeris that showed all the planetary positions for six thousand years. Six thousand? Wow. What would I learn about the tiny little rest of the month that was staring me in the face? I could hardly contain my excitement.
After I booted up the computer, they gathered around me.
“So what you’re doing will predict the whole month?” Chili asked.
“Not predict exactly,” I said. “It will only forecast when certain things are more likely to happen.”
“Things like Mercury in retrograde?” Paige asked.
“Mercury,” Chili said with a shudder. “Thank goodness that’s over.”
“Well, actually it lingers for a few days after.”
“Oh, wonderful. What other lovely surprises do we have in store?”
“Well, the new moon on the fifth is a Gemini Moon. That’s good for fresh starts, hatching new ideas, and making plans. Especially good for you, Chili.”
“Good how? Will Trevor finally say what’s on his mind?”
If she kept on with that, we’d be here all night, and I’d never be able to figure out the Gears.
“Whatever happens will be about starting fresh,” I said. “Might as well be Trevor.”
“Any Pisces moons?” Paige got up and moved closer to the computer. “What’s that on the screen over there? It has my Fish symbol.”
“It’s called a glyph,” I said. “What’s happening here is Venus moving into Pisces, and that’s a good thing for you.”
But I wasn’t looking for good anything. I was looking for areas of the greatest strife so that I could track the Gears.
“Good how? Will Hunter finally notice me?”
“You have a pretty positive window there,” I said. “Venus transits about three to four weeks.”
“What’s transits?” Chili asked.
“Moves,” I said. “When she does, she ups the charm factor and attracts people to whatever sign she’s in, which as of Monday will be the Fish here.”
“Go, Pisces,” Paige said.
“There’s something else happening after that. A Mars in Pisces transit that will last about a month to six weeks could make you much more assertive.”
“Cool.”
Chili eased herself onto the chair beside me.
“Yes, cool,” I said. “Now, girlfriends, I need to finish this.”
“You’re right.” But Chili didn’t budge. “If you catch the Gears, Logan, everything else will take care of itself.”
“Exactly,” I said, and peered at the screen, my heart racing. “On the fifteenth, there’s going to be an Aries Moon, which can be pure trouble. The book calls it raising mischief. That could be the day.”
“Are there any other possibilities?” Chili asked.
“Maybe here.” I tapped the twenty-fifth. “It looks like a period of tense energies.”
I realized that Paige had moved behind my chair and both girls were intently studying the screen.
“You’re amazing, Logan,” Chili said. “Do you realize the power you have?”
“Yeah,” I finally said. We were all silent for a second. Motionless. Then we burst into squeals and hugs. Chili almost slid off the chair, but I managed to pull her up. “Yeah,” I repeated. “I do.”
NOTES TO SELF
The fifteenth and the twenty-fifth. These are the danger days. I couldn’t have begun to figure that out a month or even a week ago. Even though I think Frankenstein is pretty much on my side now, he’s going to be more so when he sees how hard I worked on the column about him. Imagine how impressed he and everyone else will be if I can really expose the Gears.
15
IF YOU’VE ANGERED A TAURUS, CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR PERSEVERANCE. IT’S NOT AN EASY FEAT, AND YOU DESERVE EVERY MOMENT OF WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT. IT WILL TAKE A LOT OF TAUNTING FOR A BULL TO GO INTO BATTLE. BUT THEN, LOOK OUT. WAVE THAT RED FLAG LONG ENOUGH, INSULT OR EMBARRASS THE PEACE-LOVING TAURUS, AND YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE A WAR ON YOUR HANDS. ONE YOU ARE PROBABLY NOT GOING TO WIN.
—Fearless Astrology
The whole time we were in San Francisco, I thought about what I’d learned. If I were correct, I might be able to predict the next Gears attack. In addition, we’d identified the ideal romance times for Paige, Chili, and yes, for me. (Darn. Guess I forgot to check Libra. Sorry, Geneva.)
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