When Stars Align

Perpetual Change

July 27th, 2017.

Hannah lay on the leather couch in her living room, relishing in the cool, late night summer breeze that came through the open windows. Her brow furrowed as she turned off her phone, growing ever so frustrated with her lack of success in finding a roommate. It didn't help that Kauai's 2017 freshman class was by far the biggest. Did no one find her interesting?

The teenager's young, anxious mind began to speculate all her worst fears. Was she going to be some sort of outcast? Scrunching her lip into a slight pout, she sat up, peering over the cushions of the couch into the backyard. The sunlight was almost gone, but there was still enough to see the features of the backyard that she loved. The big, sturdy oak tree that was older than her house. The old, crusty rope that held a tire from one of its gargantuan branches. A small huff blew away stray tangerine locks of hair from her vision, as her thin lips began to tug into a small smile.

The fuzzy view began to twinkle with soft, yellow, sporadic lights. Hannah watched with delight as the lightning bugs began to make their rounds, giving a mini light show in her back yard.

Her ears began to pick out a deep growl far in distance, no doubt her father's precious El Camino. Why he ever decided to make it that loud, she never knew. Hannah never found cars to be all that interesting, seeing them only as a tool.

The quiet, homey farm house was about to become a circus, with her noisy younger brothers finally coming home from their weeklong stay at camp. A soft sigh escaped, as the young woman stood up to turn on the porch lights.

Momma was already in bed, she reckoned. Probably catching up on literature, if she had to guess. There was no telling. She'd go from reading to painting watercolor in the blink of an eye. Hannah pressed her nose against the glass beside the front door, seeing if she could see any headlights coming down the long, gravel driveway. The only thing that was visible was the field full of cows, guarded by a white sturdy oak fence that encompassed the property. Hannah turned around, lifting her arms to stretch her back before she made her way into the kitchen. A soft, amber yellow light filled the dark space as she opened the refrigerator, setting her sights on the lemonade pitcher.

Ever since she could remember, Hannah's favorite drink was lemonade. It wouldn't matter if she was sick, or freezing cold; Nothing beat the tart flavor of nice, cool lemonade. Her eyes flickered with anticipation, watching the yellow liquid fill up a old, weathered plastic cup they'd gotten from a rodeo a couple years back. If she could remember correctly, this was from the one where her and Mama won the Fall lassoing competition. A warm smile tugged on her lips, content with the cozy memory that came from seemingly nowhere. Flicking her hair behind her ear, she took a hardy swig, not minding the liquid that fell from the corner of her mouth.

Filling up the cup again, snickering as greed took over, she made quick work with putting the glass pitcher back into the refrigerator. A car door was slammed shut outside, followed by the faint sound of bickering. Hannah could pick up on the faint crackle of gravel being stepped on, and was predicting who would walk in first.

Thud! Thud!

A sharp exhale released from her nostrils, stepping far from the door as she could see the silhouettes against the stained glass.

It was muffled, but there was no denying the shrill, aggravated tone of her littlest brother: Jasper.

"Get... off of me! I was here first!"

There was no hiding the little smirk of disbelief adjourning onto Hannah's face, as she nonchalantly took another sip of her lemonade. As quickly as the tiny silhouette appeared, it was replaced by a slightly taller one. The scruffy long hair and straight posture made it clear that it was Connie.