all the stars

~ two ~

The next morning I was still in shock. I had been invited to go to a party. With people who seemed COOL. sure, when I lived in california I was classified as "cool" or "popular" but I didn't really feel it. It was Allegra that had thousands of followers on social media, and hundreds of friends at school and she went to all the parties, had all the boyfriends, everything. Maybe mom and dad were right. Maybe this "starting over" thing wouldn't be so bad after all.

Today is Friday, so I decided it wouldn't be so bad if I went to a party tonight. Stay out late and then sleep it off tomorrow. Mom and dad wouldn't even notice whether I was gone or not. Yeah. I was just that invisible in our home.

I put on a pair of distressed jeans and a gray t-shirt. I dragged a brush through my straight, dark hair and looked into the mirror at the deep blue eyes that stared back at me. I had a strange combination of features. My hair was dark brown, almost black and my face is thin with high cheekbones. I have some scars from past acne that I'm working on getting rid of and my lips are full and bright with color. And then you see my eyes. The most shocking thing about my appearance. With my warm brown skin tone and dark hair you'd think I would have brown eyes, but no. Maybe my eyes just wanted to defy nature and all of its laws. It's probably the reason I've never been deemed 'pretty' by anybody.

I quit thinking about my odd appearance and grabbed my backpack and headed out the door. I ran downstairs to the kitchen and grabbed a few granola bars from the pantry and walked out to our four door garage. A bit much? Probably, but my parents didn't seem to think so. I jumped into my fiery car and clicked the button to open the door in front of me. As I drove down the driveway I looked around at all of the land my parents succeeded in buying. I still couldn't hardly believe it. In California there are big houses on small property, but here there were just acres and acres. The leaves were just beginning to change, painting the landscape in shades of red and yellow and burnt orange.

It took me a good twenty minutes to get to school and that's without traffic. It's unbelievable how far apart everything is out here. When I parked and shut off my car I heard a truck engine being revved behind me and I looked to see a crowd of guys surrounding what looked to be a brand new Chevy Silverado. Its black exterior glinted in the sunlight and the engine caused the ground to rumble. I couldn't help but laugh at them. Guys here were so much different from those in the city. Especially california. From what I've seen here, guys work harder, they're tougher, and they wore like actual clothes. Allegra's last boyfriend lived in sweatpants and hoodies. I don't think I ever saw him in a pair of jeans or shorts. Its weird to think about.

I turned away from the guys and walked towards the double doors that make the entrance of the school. I was proud of myself for remembering the way to AP Psych without even having to consult my schedule. I walked into the find Tyrone, Macey, Xander, and Hayleigh already sitting down and Hayleigh waved me over to an empty seat on her right.

"Come sit!" I did as told and before I even had time to pull my textbook out of my back she said, "Also, you're welcome to sit with us at lunch too. I told the gang all about you." She did? What is there to tell, she just met me yesterday?

As I sat there confused, she explained, "I stalked your socials and I told them I invited you to the party tonight. Sorry if that's weird." She sure wasn't shy at all. Just come right out and say you were stalking me, sure, great way of getting to know someone. I just nodded shyly at her as the rest of the group stared at me.

"Well, if I have your permission, may I start class now, Mrs. Johnson?" Mrs. Carmichael asked as she scribbled some words on the board in front of us and Hayleigh quit talking. "Thank you." She smiled at us. "So to begin today..."

I just looked over to the popular group of people that sat around me and I couldn't believe it. Have I finally peaked in high school?

✰✰✰

I set down my tray that was consumed by pizza, Sun Chips, and a pack of bagged cookies, but I'm not really quite sure how I feel about those. To my left was Hayleigh and on my right was Tyrone. Macey and Xander sat on the other side of the table, but we were also surrounded by a lot of other people I didn't know. Hayleigh introduced me to another guy named Jared that sat with us and there were two other girls, Delaney and Marlene. They all seemed nice enough, but why be nice to me? I looked over to see Allegra sitting by herself at a table in the corner of the cafeteria, but i still couldn't believe it. I rise to fame while she slowly slips to the shadows. It's a weird thought to fathom.

"So," Tyrone started, "I thought I'd open up the pool at my house tonight since it'll probably be the last time for the season. It's getting wicked cold out now." He was right. Vermont had already become colder in September than California seemed to in December. It's cold.

"That's a good idea," Hayleigh commented. "I'll put in the group chat to bring bathing suits."

I sat and ate quietly, not wanting to ruin my so called "chill" appearance they seem to think I have.

"So, where 're ya from anyway, Asteria?" Tyrone asked as he took a bite out of his pepperoni pizza.

"I was born and raised in L.A. so, as you can imagine, it was a complete shock moving here. I'm still recovering from the difference." I laughed. I was not about to bring my parents wealth into this, no matter where the conversation goes. These people don't need to know that my parents have money that theirs probably never will. I've never liked my parents' income anyways. It seemed like cheating the system.

Tyrone nodded at me and Hayleigh said, "So your school must've had like a gazillion people. The parties must have been amazing!"

I wish I could feel her excitement and enthusiasm, but I hated going to school with so many people and I was never invited to any of the parties. I lived in the shadow of Allegra after all. This was all unknown waters for me right now.

"Well, as disappointing as it sounds, I wasn't invited to many parties when I lived there. My sister Allegra is the person I'd talk to about that.'' I didn't want to outright tell them I wasn't thought of as 'cool' or 'popular' back there, but I didn't necessarily want to lie either and get in way over my head.

"Oh." Was the only response I received. I'm just surprised they haven't even noticed Allegra from any of their socials yet. She wasn't a celebrity, but she was decently famous. She even has a three hour shoot for Hollister tomorrow. They have a new fall line out. Anyway, I just proceeded in eating my lunch and the others talked quietly about things they should do at the party tonight, and how Tyrone is gonna have to break out the jacuzzi once winter hits. They made it sound like Tyrones is the place to be.

We all finished lunch and went our separate ways to class, but not before Hayleigh said, "I'll pick you up tonight." Excitement bubbled inside me.