Beyond Visible Stars

Chapter 1

Raised voices echoed from the back room. Like a three-day-old wound, bitterness and anger festered until it bled down the hall and seeped into the carpet. It was capped by the thud of footsteps and the finality of a slammed door.

Paige’s head snapped upright, her metal desk and chair scraping the floor. She blinked, no longer at home on the couch but in school. Snickers bubbled in a chorus around her. She tried to ignore them—and the scowl of her teacher—as she massaged the imprint of her fist from her cheek.

Where had that come from?

With a shaky hand, Paige tucked the loose ends of her orange hair behind her ears. The attention of the other students was full of amusement and outright joy at her expense. It bombarded her weak shell of defense and she could feel the heat in her cheeks sink beneath her collar.

Great. That’s just great. If I wasn’t already unpopular enough…

Her eyes dropped to her open textbook yet she saw nothing but the image of her dad storming out of the house with his suitcase and laptop in hand. She had been eleven, sitting in the living room with her younger siblings trying to distract them with a card game. The raging argument in the bedroom, however, had ensured her failure.

When he had finally stomped down the hall and thrown open the door, there had been no goodbye. There was no glance at the children he would leave behind. No apology or expression of sorrow—no regret—just the anger over “his rights” being denied.

Paige huffed beneath her breath. His rights. It had always been about his rights and what he wanted. The rest of the family never seemed to matter until his needs were met first.

So here she was—five years later—sitting in school without a dad and way too tired to pay attention because she had spent time trying to read a book a friend had given her. Just a few hours for herself was all she had wanted. It was not that much to ask. But personal time was not something she could often afford. Family duties and school stole all her time, but the last few nights she had made an effort to change that—which had gotten her here: sleeping in class.

Five minutes, Paige told herself as she glanced at the clock. I only have to hold out five more minutes.

She could make it. She could.

Although I won’t remember a thing. She glanced sideways, past the loopy grin of the student seated next to her to the following row. At least, I have Ross.

The boy owning that name sat two rows to her right still attentive to their teacher’s droning. His fingers tapped a stream of information into his electronic notepad as if he were capturing the lecture word for word. At least he did not appear distracted by her inattention.

Paige sighed. Out of everyone in class, Ross did not need to take notes. Unlike her, he had the ability to grasp concepts far beyond some of the teachers under which he sat. It was one of the reasons she liked him—he was smart and studious. Not that her grades were bad, but her attention span was shorter that his, so it was helpful to know a good note-taker.

Fortunately, she was able to offer friendship in return, which was something Ross lacked when he had transferred to her school two months ago. Beyond that mutual benefit, however, the two of them were as different as salt and sugar.

Ross was smart—really smart—and seemed to just know thing. She was—average. She had been in one school system her whole life, while Ross had been to several. His skin was the color of damp cardboard while his hair resembled dark chocolate. Her visage was much paler with her white skin and copper hair. And no freckles, she reminded herself. Just a kinky—not even curly—very orange head of hair.

Paige suppressed a yawn as she scowled at the clock. Two minutes to go. Two whole minutes! Seriously, why was I even thinking about my dad?

Outside the window was a dull, gray sky that was typical of an upper Midwest winter—except that it was still fall. It mirrored the way she felt. And the day he took off.

The sound of the dismissal bell gave way to a mountainous scraping of desks and chairs. Paige let her eyes close and her head fall forward, ignoring the comments of amused students as they left the room. Ross was at her side a second later, his book bag slung over one shoulder.

Paige groaned as she lifted her head and shoved everything into her bag with one swoop. “I’ll need to see your notes.” She tossed her bag over her back then headed for the door with her hands deep in the pockets of her gray hoodie.

Ross followed her into the hall. “I figured you would.”

“Hey, I’m not stupid.”

He stopped mid step. “I never said you were.”

Paige rolled her eyes at the serious note in his voice. She kept forgetting how literal he was about everything. Grrrrr. She looked back and sure enough, concern clouded his hazel eyes. Already she could see an apology forming. “I was just teasing.”

“Nice one, Paige,” a student said as he clipped her shoulder. “The teacher just loves you.”

“Hey,” she called before two more boys and a girl did the same thing. “Seriously?”

Her hands gripped her backpack as it slipped from her shoulder.

“Are you all right?” Ross asked.

“Fine.” She hoisted her bag and continued to her locker. Lunch was next, and Candice would be waiting for them. After spinning the combination, Paige shoved her bag inside and closed the metal door. Ross stood next to her, clinging to his backpack.

“Don’t you want to put that away?” she asked then scolded herself. Why do I even bother? She headed for the cafeteria.

“So, what’re your plans after school?” Ross asked as he caught up, still holding his bag.

Paige grunted. Beyond getting through the next hour, she had given the day little thought. “I don’t have plans,” she said as they pushed through the cafeteria doors. The noise crashed over them like a tidal wave. Paige scanned the full tables and busy lunch line. “Do you see Candice?”

Ross was at least three inches taller and sometimes that made all the difference. After a moment, he pointed to the back corner. At a table by herself sat a girl with brown skin and black hair with blond highlights.

“I’ll get her.” He wove his way through the mass of moving people.

Paige waited until Candice had seen her before she made her way to the long line. She grabbed two trays, holding one out to her friend—and cousin—as she cut in behind her.

“Ross is guarding the table.” Candice’s dark eyes were full of sympathy. “You look awful.”

“Well, thank you,” Paige muttered. “Nice to see you too.”

Candice smiled, revealing her perfectly white teeth. Her mixed heritage had given her a flawless complexion—at least compared to Paige’s. “I’m just keeping it real.”

Paige shook her head. After a mutual friend had moved out of state last year, Paige and Candice had started spending more time together. Because Candice was so direct, they had become quite close and now had few secrets. Paige valued this quality in her cousin yet also found it annoying.

She sighed, wishing for the school day to be over. Although it has nothing to do with wanting to go home, she reminded herself. No matter where she was there were demands on her time. Being at home meant she had to watch her two younger siblings while her mom made supper. Then she would need to help with their homework and get them ready for bed. Between all of that was her homework. That routine had not changed in the five years. The only bonus of being at home was that she did not have to feign interest in anything.

Dimly, Paige was aware that Candice was trying to start a conversation, but nothing but white noise seemed to register. Then she felt a nudge to her back.

“Hey, what’s with you?” Candice demanded, setting her tray next to Paige’s.

Paige shrugged. “I’m just tired.”

“You’re always tired. Don’t you ever sleep?”

“I sleep.” She grabbed a plate full of pasta. I just didn’t sleep much last night.

“Well, you haven’t been sleeping a lot these past few days. What’s gotten into you?”

Paige placed a piece of bread and some butter on her plate before muttering a response.

“It’s not ‘nothing,’” Candice countered as she followed Paige to the end of the row. “Now tell me what’s going on.”

Paige shrugged as they stopped for silverware. “I’ve just been up reading.”

“Obviously not textbooks.” Candice followed Paige through the maze of tables to where Ross sat. “Come on, Paige, tell me what you’re reading.” She swung around to sit next to Paige and across from Ross. Her eyes landed on the notepad he had open in front of him. “Please, tell me you’re not doing homework again,” she said as she retrieved her napkin.

Ross glanced at her over the screen as he continued to type. He shook his head. “Just doing some research.”

“School related?”

Ross tried to hide his smile, “No.”

Candice picked up her fork. “But you’re not going to tell me what it is, are you?”

Again he smiled. Then his hand reached for the metallic thermos next to him.

“Why do I feel like I’m being left out today?” Candice asked. Her eyes moved from Ross to Paige and then back.

Neither responded as Ross sipped from the container.

“You’re still doing that diet thing, aren’t you?” Candice asked.

“It’s not a diet.” His eyes were still on his screen.

“Sure it is. It’s called a liquid diet.”

He shook his head before glancing at Paige. She copied his motion. Candice was always the one to get things going: discussion, action, or otherwise. Her words and actions made things interesting and awkward, all at the same time. It was a distraction she was grateful for.

Paige dropped her gaze to her plate, conscious that Ross was watching her. Don’t ask, she wanted to say, but knew that would only raise more questions. Ross cleared his throat and Paige felt her shoulders tense as he questioned her progress on the book he had lent her.

Immediately, Candice perked up and Paige wished for a surprise fire drill. She wanted to curl inside her sweatshirt like a tortoise in its shell. With hard eyes she glared at Ross until he looked back at his screen. Candice knowing about her late nights was not going to make the day go any faster.

Chapter 2

By the time her last class had ended, Paige was ready to scream. Not only did the hours drag on as if she entered some sort of time flux, but ever since lunch Candice had pestered her about Ross’s book. What is it about? What is it called? Why did Ross give it to her? Did she like it?

It was with a great sense of relief that Paige was able to wave Candice goodbye from the school’s sidewalk and decline the offered ride home. That’s all I need is to be in the car with Candice for another six minutes.

The cool air stung her cheeks and Paige pulled the collar of her jacket up around her neck. Behind her, she could hear Ross descend the school’s steps.

“Did Candice leave already?”

Paige nodded as she shoved her gloves into the sleeves of her coat. “Aren’t you relieved?” She watched as a bus pulled up and opened its doors. Students filed on in a mass pack, like animals herded into a slaughter chute.

Ross pulled on a knit cap. “Are you heading home?”

Paige nodded.

“I’ll walk with you.” He waved for her to lead.

Together they started down the sidewalk to the street. Neither of them lived far. Paige’s house was a mere block and a half from the school’s entrance and Ross was staying only two more blocks beyond that. It gave them something in common and a chance to get to know each other outside the school setting. Paige saw this as a nice opportunity for Ross since he was new and living in foster care, but she enjoyed it as well.

“So,” Ross began as they stopped at the intersection, “can I ask you about the book now?”

Paige hoped that the look she shot him said that the mess at lunch was all his fault.

“I just want to know what you think of it.”

Paige took a breath then exhaled a puff of steam. She pursed her lips, trying to recall what she read the night before. The book was a fantasy about distant galaxies and the idea that two worlds could exist without knowing about each other. It focused on a couple who met beyond the stars and then were separated to live in different worlds. The story was basically their journey to find each other even though neither knew if the other was still alive. It was not as romantic as Paige hoped when she agreed to read it, but it was interesting—in an odd way. Beyond that she was not sure what else she could say.

Ross took her comments in stride as he thought out his response. They crossed the street and continued in the direction of her house. “So you don’t like it.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“But you didn’t say you did.”

“I don’t know, Ross. It’s an odd book. The way it’s written is not the greatest, and the idea of another world being out there that’s hidden away where we’ll never know about it is… I mean, I guess it’s possible. It just doesn’t seem likely that someone could describe a planet they don’t know exists and yet be right about it. Again, I guess anything’s possible, but it seems a little farfetched—especially for you.”

He was quiet again. “So, you don’t like it.”

“I don’t know. It’s odd. I don’t know what else to say about it.”

“You didn’t finish reading it, did you?” A crimp appeared in his lips as his eyes locked onto hers.

“No, I was going to do that tonight. I can return it to you in the morning if you need it back right away.” She glanced at him as they came to a stop. “Where’d you get it anyway?”

“I found it… in a box… somewhere.”

“And you just decided to read it?”

“It sounded interesting.”

Paige’s nod was slow and full of disbelief. Her eyes narrowed. “Somehow I feel this is not just about the book.” She viewed him with a searching gaze, yet his face gave nothing away. “Am I supposed to like it?”

“No, I’m just curious about your thoughts.” He glanced along the row of houses on their right. Paige’s house stood four down from where they were. He looked back at her. “I guess you’ll just have to tell me when you get to the end.”

Paige nodded as she waved goodbye. “Fine. I’ll meet you before class at the lockers so you can have it back.” She turned and walked backward a pace. “Or maybe I should just give it to Candice.”

With an exaggerated shrug, Ross told her to do as she wished. He then turned, leaving Paige to see herself home.

Chapter 3

The next morning was chillier, and Paige wiped her dripping nose as she headed up the school’s front steps. Because of the cold, she hustled more than normal and arrived early. As she came in, she glanced at the hallway clock. Her first class did not start for half an hour so there was plenty of time to meet Ross and give him his book.

Swinging her backpack around front, Paige tossed in her gloves and rooted through her belonging. At last, her fingers curled around the paperback book that looked like it was from the seventies.

The book’s worn cover made it appear dug out of someone’s attic. The front was bent and the pages yellowed. Paige turned the corner as she ran her fingers across the title: Beyond the Stars: A Journey of Hearts in the Vast Reaches of Space. She almost laughed. The very fact that she read it was comical so she was not really sure what she was going to tell Ross. “Interesting” was still the best word she could come up with to describe it; too bad if that was not good enough for him.

Paige turned into the main hallway where students milled about. Farther down to the right was Ross. His back was to her and the top locker door sat open as he dug around inside. Paige bit her lip as she slowed her steps.

“Hey, Ross!”

He jumped at her words, his shoulder banging into the open locker door and sending it into the next one. A loud clatter resounded in the hall and Paige could feel the eyes of every student within earshot look their way.

Paige covered her mouth, trying to stifle her laugh as she watched Ross toss things back into his locker. Then he spun around to face her. His face was flushed with surprise, but when he saw her he let out a sigh. Shaking his head, Ross rolled down his sleeve and glanced about the hall.

“Sorry,” Paige offered, certain her face was full of a guilt she enjoyed. “I just couldn’t help it. It was so perfect.” And after yesterday, you deserved it.

A smile broke onto her face as she watched Ross try to find a balance between being irritated and amused. He turned back to tame his now-messy locker.

“I am sorry.” She tried to look past him and see what he was doing. “I just wanted to return your book.”

“Did you finish it?”

“I told you I would.”

“So what do you think?” He took it from her and flipped through the pages.

“It’s interesting,” she said unzipping her coat.

“But not that interesting.”

“I don’t know.” She sifted through the basic plot of the story in her head. “I guess I’m disappointed that they don’t end up together. I mean, they spend almost the whole book trying to locate each other and then just because they can’t actually prove that the other planet exists, neither is allowed to leave and find the other one. So, yeah, I think the ending sucks.” 

“So you would’ve been for the characters leaving their homes, families, and jobs just to search for each other… even if there wasn’t any hope of success?”

“But there was hope. Each knew the other was still out there.”

“Did they?” He fanned the book with his thumb. “What proof was there?”

“Well, they met.”

“But did they? How reliable is anyone’s memory? And how can you tell whether or not the other person is being truthful when they say they remember something?”

Paige paused for a moment. “I don’t know.”

“Then why should they have been allowed to leave? Why would governments and organizations risk all the expense and resources on a venture that might not work out?”

Paige’s eyes drifted in thought. “Because there was still a chance?” She was not really sure where Ross was going with this.

“And how do you know what makes that chance worthwhile? Where or what is the scale or balance that says that this risk is acceptable and that one is not?”

It was a deeper question than Paige wanted to tackle this early in the morning, especially since the subject of their discussion was such a trivial book. She sighed, her excitement at scaring him completely evaporated. It was as if he jumped off the deep end into scientific theory, theology, or some other scholarly realm of thinking that she was not interested in exploring. Her eyes narrowed. “Why are you asking?”

The question seemed to startle him because he looked at her as if he had not really heard. So she rephrased it: “Why does it matter?”

 He stared at her for a moment then shook his head. “It doesn’t. I was just curious.” He filed the book in his locker.

“Ross, are you okay?”

Picking up his jacket, Ross shoved it into the cubby. “Yes,” he said as he closed the door and spun the lock. “Why?”

“You’re just acting weird.”

“Am I?”

Paige nodded. Her brows rose above her dark eyes as she waited for him to give some kind of explanation.

Ross shrugged and told her he was fine. “How are you doing?”

The peeling of the warning bell ended further conversation. Paige took off her coat, throwing it—along with her hat and extra books—into her own locker. She closed the door then turned to find Ross, but he already left. A shiver ran down her back. Paige caught her breath. She did not like that twinge. It was the same one she felt before she fell off her bike as a kid; the same one that roiled her stomach the day her father disappeared. Her brows knit like angry clouds before a storm. What did it mean?

———-

Math should never be considered a morning subject, Paige mused as she moved through the hall at a clip. Tonight’s homework would suck. And I suck because I grabbed the wrong books this morning. I should’ve checked more carefully.

She stopped in front of her locker and spun the combination. Four minutes till class started and she still needed to make it up the stairs and down the hall. Her eyes trailed to where Ross was also digging in his locker. The twinge returned. Paige bit her lip as she grabbed the textbook for her next class but when she looked back up Ross was gone.

It’s probably nothing, she told herself. But when is that ever the case?

She maneuvered to the end of the hall. The stairs were to her left, but on impulse, she glanced right. A brief flash of purple and gray caused her to stop in place. It was the same shade of jacket Ross wore. She was sure of it.

She glanced at the clock. The minute hand had moved two more notches closer to the start of class. She turned to the staircase, yet that same twinge returned to haunt her.

In a flash, Paige twisted in the opposite direction and started walking. It took her only a few steps before she realized where she was headed. It was the corridor leading to the locker rooms and gym. She stopped mid-step. While Ross did not have class with her this hour he certainly did not have gym. Blast, that stupid twinge!

A door closed somewhere nearby and Paige followed the sound past the boys’ and then the girls’ locker room before she came to the hall leading to the mechanical room. She gazed at the closed door. Her heart doubled its pace. Paige glanced behind her.

The area was now clear of anyone roaming around and yet it felt like she was being watched. She shook out her shoulders as her bag slipped from her arm to the floor. An internal warning told her that she was about to do something stupid. Yet not even the reminder that class was about to start was strong enough to pull her away. Curiosity and suspicion wove their way inside, speculation gripping her as scenarios played like movies in the back of her mind.

Steady, Paige told herself. Her steps slowed as she came within inches of the closed door. She released the breath mounting in her lungs as her fingers touched the metal knob. Most likely it would be locked, this whole adventure somehow playing into her need for some kind of exciting change in her life.

The handle turned and Paige’s free hand went to her mouth. None of the supply doors were supposed to be unlocked unless someone was inside. Panic gripped her as she fought the urge to run. Instead she twisted the handle then pushed the door in.