Written in the Stars *EDITING*

Chapter 35: Poetry for the Soul

"I think you're right Kyle," Mia said as she circled A on her worksheet. When the teacher had announced a partner worksheet, Mia had been dreading the wait to find a partner. Surprisingly, Kyle had walked past one of his friends and asked her if they could be partners. Stammering out a yes, they started to work together. Mia was pleased to find that they worked well together, if one didn't know the answer, the other did.

"The good news is we're almost done with the sheet, only three problems left. The bad news is we're almost done."

"Why is that bad news?" she asked as she read the next question.

"Well after we turn in our worksheets I have to stop talking to you and go back to my seat," he explained.

Mia stilled, not believing his words. Did he like spending time with her? Internally, she was freaking out. Externally, she tried to keep it cool. Laughing, Mia underlined one sentence of the paragraph. "You're only saying that because you don't want to help your friends do their work. They look like they've been struggling."

"Yeah," he sighed. "Roger's never been that good at this subject. But I am serious. Working with you has been fun."

"Thank you. I think the answer is B."

After classes were over, Mia was walking to the parking lot with Hazel and Nathan. "Repeat what you just said but slower," Hazel asserted.

"I said, Kyle called working with me fun. What if our blossoming friendship is the foundation we need to start dating? Can you imagine if we actually started dating? I've had a crush on him for like ever."

"Trust me, I know. I'm the one who's had to hear about it for the past few months."

"That's your duty as a best friend. I hear about all your crushes."

Nathan, who had been brooding the entire time, interrupted. "Can I drive you home so you can pick something out of the jar?"

"Yeah, I'm down. Bye Hazey, I love you."

Hazel blew a kiss to her best friend. "Goodbye. I shall hope to see you again soon."

In her room, Nathan held the considerably lighter jar. There were only three scraps of paper in it, one of them Nathan's. "Which one is it?"

Mia unfurled it and read aloud. "Poetry." She contemplated what it meant.

"Is that a good or a bad thing?"

"I don't know. I guess I need someplace to share my poetry if I want to conquer this fear."

"I can look online for poetry contests or something," he offered.

"Actually, I might know a place. There's this cafe-type restaurant about half an hour away from here. They have open mic nights for comedy and poetry. I happen to know they're hosting one this weekend."

Nathan watched as she started to pace back and forth. "How do you know about them?"

"I've sort of gone a couple of times to watch others perform. Once or twice I almost wrote my name on the signup sheet but then I chickened out."

"Hey, you will do great. I believe in you. Just think, this is the second to last fear you have to conquer. You've already done so much."

Mia stopped pacing. "No, you're right. I can do this. Can you help me figure out which poem to perform? Omg, I can't believe I actually said those words out loud."

"Of course. The living room can be your stage and I will be the captive audience." Nathan sat on the couch as Mia scrolled through her notes app. Some of the poems were finished, others were half-written thoughts, still needing to be formed and shaped into worthy tales. Some required reworking and drafting. But there was no time like the present to share one's art with the world.