Stars Aligned

Chapter 3

  "No, we talked only once. Why would you make such a radical assumption?" "I don't know, Blondie. You seem like that type of person to do so." It was not even a half past 10 and already Juan was giving me a headache. I mentioned my conversation with Sebastian once, and for the last twenty minutes he was reciting a lecture to me. "Juan, shut up already. Nobody cares what you think. Natalie can make her own decisions." Laura piped in, raising her hand in exasperation. "Ignoring Juan's bullshit," I chirped, "Laura, tell them what happened with Ariel the other morning." Laura smirked, but everyone already knew what had happened, everyone but Polina and Juan knew the details. "Oh, yeah, I didn't tell the both of you. He cried," she said. "What, that's it?" Juan pressed. "Well, there was that part where I calmed him down by making him laugh by the fountain, but he leaned back too far and he fell into it!"Laura explained. I burst out laughing because that part got me every time. "Swear to me this happened, this is so beautiful." Polina breathed between laughs. Placing her right hand over her breast and looking towards the ceiling, "I swear on Mars that he fell into the fountain." "Well, what happened next?" asked Juan. Yallannie and I already heard the story that same evening it happened. She spent hours in our room contemplating the details. She did turn ruby red at some points and whenever she did, I giggled at her. "Yeah, he got out all wet." Yallannie chirped with a mouthful of grapes. "Mmm, I should've kissed him too, that way he would've gotten wet for two reasons." Laura smirked. We all laughed; my laugh sounded like a very loud giggle. As I glanced around the Dining Hall, I noticed Sebastian was there, laughing with his friends not too far away from us. Since it was Saturday, we all wore casual clothes. I wore a Pink Floyd band tee with some sweats and black Chuck Taylors; Yallannie wore a Nirvana band tee with some black shorts and white Converse; Laura wore a tropical colored tank top with some classic black leggings and flip flops; Polina wore black jeans and a black band sweater; and Juan wore gray basketball shorts paired with a basic gray long-sleeved shirt. Sebastian wore a plain navy tee-shirt paired with gray joggers. He paired it with his blue Vans sneakers and most importantly, he was wearing his glasses. He looked so dear and smart in those spectacles. They framed his face quite nicely and the thin rims matched his black hair. I wish I saw him dressed like that more often. "Nat, stop staring." Laura snapped. "I'm sorry, he's mesmerizing." I grabbed a handful of Lannie's grapes. All of a sudden, there was a loud noise of cheer. The majority of the cafeteria turned to see who in the hell had that type of energy in the morning. Dressed in tight black clothes, the Scorpio kids came dashing through, ready to eat breakfast. Everyone knew that every Saturday morning, the Scorpio kids get extra Warrior Training. Some were on an adrenaline rush, the others barely made it through the doors. A very tall, fit, Scorpio boy ran up to our table. "Polina! Why weren't you in Training this morning?" he asked. He glowed of sweat, and his voice was deep and masculine. He had short, blonde, curly hair and a smile that stretched from ear to ear. Polina shrugged, "I didn't feel like it." "Well, you're gonna start feeling like it. Otherwise you'll be thrown out." "That's funny, Sam," laughed Juan, "They won't throw you out." "You bet your scrawny ass they will." Sam expressed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him tap Lannie's left shoulder. She turned as Sam sneaked behind her. He grabbed a handful of grapes from her bowl. As he popped one in his mouth, he said with a wink, "Thanks, babe." Yallannie got flustered and couldn't say anything. She just looked back at him as he ran to the back of the cafeteria where his friends inhabited. "Who was that?" I asked. I had never seen him before, and looks like both Polina and Juan knew him. "That's Samuel," Yallannie quickly answered. "I see him around campus during my Independent Hour." "Is he always that...spry?" I implied. They nodded. "If this was a typical-white-girl-high-school-movie, then Sam would be your head cheerleader, except without the vivacious voice." Juan explained. "He's such an ass," breathed Yallannie, looking back where he was, making his whole group laugh with the endless jokes. The whole day passed in solitude and it was the first one in weeks where I felt obligated to do something active. Yallannie did homework and I read magazines as I listened to music. My mother called me around noon, right before luncheon, so I spent some time catching up with the details recalling home. My sister fell in love with an idiot, my father was on his toes with his work, and my mother—well, she said she couldn't wait to see me at Holiday. It was surprisingly frantic at the Libra House; the Boys' Chariot Team played its first match of the season against another boarding school. The cheerleaders and jocks ran around while the geeks stayed behind and enjoyed the quiet. "I enjoy being a geek," Yallannie once said. "It's less stress for me." And I agreed with her. I did not have many friends in school, but I had my geeks, my best friends who I wouldn't give up just for an invitation to a party after a Chariot Race game. Luncheon came eventually; my friends and I gathered at our usual table; and the whole cafeteria discussed current events. "...I heard someone in Sagittarius House got head.." "...I heard that the Home Ec teacher slept with the dean..." "...I heard that they're banning togas as regular dressware in Rome." The usual gossip encompassed around the entire Hall sparked in chatter. I was about to propose a movie night with the squad when Sebastian approached our table. He wore the same outfit as this morning, and the glasses remained on his face. "Natalie? Can I ask you something?" he awkwardly glanced around the table and pressed his lips together feeling extremely uneasy. "Sure thing, I need to get something to eat, anyways." I quickly got up and led him to the food line. In line, we stood around a couple of kids I didn't recognize, and far away from my friends. "I...uh... I wanted to know..." he attempted as he scratched his head and looked at the ceiling, "...if you wanted to hang out. As friends, of course." We were moving along in line. "Sure," I smiled. "I would love to." I planned on being casual, after all, this was not a date. I did wear a little more makeup than I usually did, and I paired some tight jeans with an oversized cream cardigan. I styled my hair into loose waves and pulled them back into a ponytail. I decided to wear some warm boots I brought with me from home because it was going to be a cold night. That night, I saw Sebastian dressed in jeans and a blue hoodie. He swapped his usual aquamarine Vans for black boat shoes. They didn't particularly match his outfit, but I could tell he tried by the way his hair was combed up and away from his face, and how he exchanged his glasses for contacts. He brought a blanket with him if it got too cold and sitting in his usual spot underneath the apple tree, we talked about whatever crossed our minds. I would usually bring up a topic and he would answer and try to keep it going. "Who do you have for history?" he asked all of a sudden. "I never see you in the Histories Floor." I chuckled under my breath. "Libras don't have history. We only revolve around the Law Hall Art, and Music Halls." "You're kidding," he breathed. He sat across from me this time, his legs crossed like a pretzel than his usual position in which he reads his novels. "Nope," I replied quietly, glancing at him. I began picking at my nails. "We don't have Mathematics or Science, either." "Why are you saying that like its a bad thing? Libras are very successful diplomats." "I love history, and mathematics, and science. I could care less about Aristotle and his theories on law." "I could teach you," he scooted closer to me. "I could teach you all about human civilization, and circle properties, and even about human evolution. That's only if you would like me to." I had never heard anything more splendid in my life. My face lit up. I took his hand in mine. "I'm so honored to be your friend." He looked down at my act, and then back at me. His lips slightly curled. "I'm so honored that I saved you from a pile of leaves." He pulled his hand away from mine to check his watch. "It's eight-thirty, may I begin telling you about the Punic Wars?" The moon shone and the stars were evident in the deep, dark sky. I wrapped myself in Sebastian's blanket as I listened to his low, quiet voice discussing about the details he recalled about the Punic Wars and Rome's celebrations regarding their Victory. I had never knew any of those facts and I was sure I would forget about them by morning. He offered to lend me some books he read about any peculiar subjects and I once again told him how delighted I would be if he did. "How about we meet up after dinner a couple of days a week and I'll give you lessons?" He asked me as he lend his hand, offering to pull me from the ground. "Ugh, don't call them 'lessons', I feel like this is a school requirement." I answered sourly. "Okay, okay. How about we meet up after dinner a couple of days a week and hang out?" he fixed. He offered his arm like a gentleman and walked me all the way back to Libra House. We walked exceptionally slow, counting every stone we stepped on the pavement. Numerous times he made thinly veiled sexual innuendos which caused me to get flustered and blush. He laughed when I couldn't say anything back and bumped me on the shoulder. We finally reached the tall iron doors of Libra House and Sebastian walked me all the way up the stone stairs. Backing down a few steps, he offered to call me. "Do you even have my phone number?" I asked reaching for the handles. "No." I laughed, "Why don't you just ask me for it?" He scrunched his nose. "Nah, that's too easy." I was dumbfounded, but he continued. "I'll challenge myself in finding your number, that way you won't know if I actually ever got it or not." "What are you going to do? Knock on every person's door in your House and ask them for my number?" "Who said I'll be searching in just my House?" he smirked, shoving his hands deep in his sweater pockets. "You enjoy seeing me suffer, don't you, Sebastian?" "If only you knew what I would actually enjoy seeing you do." he muttered under his breath, but he was close enough for me to hear. I widened my eyes but chose to ignore the comment. "It's late, I got to get going. This wasn't a date, by the way." I smiled. "Oh, you would know if it was a date." he expressed. "Oh, really?" I implied, already opening the doors. "Absolutely, surely, soon enough you'll know." He backed down the stone steps. Already on the pavement, he called out a goodnight and I waved, hoping he would see it. I closed the iron doors lightly and slid my back against it, all the way to the ground. Oh my gods, I thought. He's gonna call me.