The Moon's Never Coming Eclipse

Da' Story

"Hey Luna!” Helio calls out to Luna from across the hallway, “Hey Helio, no need to yell.”  The small smile that was on Luna's face seemed to be allergic to the sight of Helio. ”Oh, come on I was across the hall from you of course I needed to yell! I had to get your attention somehow.” Helio sounded like she was stating the most obvious thing in the world, the roll of Luna’s eyes going unnoticed by everyone around them. “No need to be rude about it." Her words were almost inaudible. “Huh? Sorry I didn’t quite catch that.” Luna’s frown deepened when she heard a comment from a person they were walking by “Gosh, Helio is so pretty. Why does she hang out with Luna anyway? such a waste of time.” And another “I know right!” And another “ I mean did you see how she looked when she smiled earlier?” laughs seemed to come from all around luna, though only three of at least forty in the hall were talking about her, let alone laughing. “As if they can talk, I wish they would just shut up for once in their lives.” Thought Luna, clearly uncomfortable. “We go to different classes, I'll talk to you later.” Those words were said aloud, though her next were just thoughts. “I hope you just forget about me.” Helio seemed quite confused. “Wait what, we always walk together, plus you never told me what you said?” Luna ignored her and walked off. Next thing Luna knew she was in her seat, she didn’t quite remember walking to it as she fell into thought about the test scores that they were going to receive back today, she just wanted to get at least an eighty. “Alright today the test scores from your test yesterday are here!” The exclamation from the teacher Luna didn’t have enough energy to remember the name of, wasn’t received the way the teacher had expected. “Can this day just end? I’m so tired of people, I just want to sleep.” Luna’s thoughts were so loud to her that she was scared they interrupted the silence the room had suddenly been encased in. “What a lovely bunch you are.” The sarcasm was practically dripping from each word the teacher said, without so much as another peep from anyone in the room the teacher handed the tests back, as Luna gripped her hands together with her nerves coming to the surface. “Seventy nine? I seriously just had to jinx it by saying I wanted at least an eighty, what bad luc-” her thoughts were interrupted by snickers from the two girls sitting to the right of her, she remembered their faces as the ones who said the snide comments in the halls earlier. “She really is a waste of time for Helio, couldn’t even get a B when Helio got an A+ with a one hundred!” More snickers though they sounded more like mocking laughs at this point. “Aw, don’t be so rude she was just ONE point away from FROM A B.” This was said loud enough for the whole class to hear, when the laughs from earlier only sounded like they were coming from everywhere around her, they now actually were. Luna ducked her head into her arms in disappointment and embarrassment. “I really am a waste of time for Helio, I really am a disappointment, I really am an embarrassment.” Tears were now falling down her face though none could tell. The bell wouldn’t ring for another few minutes, she just had to make it through till then. Finally the agonizing minutes that felt like hours ended, and Luna bolted out the doors, she tried to make the tears stop but they just wouldn’t, after running for a bit she finally made it to her door, composing herself she went in. The smell of booze was overpowering, but luckily enough her dad was asleep, quiet as a mouse she went to her room.  Sobs, they were all that could be heard in the small apartment. Eventually the sobs stopped and just tears fell. Even those eventually stopped with just her heartbeat in her ears she fell asleep without eating dinner.“Shoot, shoot, shoot!” She was late and still needed to shower, lucky her dad was at work so she didn’t need to be worried about being loud. She shot out of bed and grabbed a random outfit, thanking her past self for preparing for the week. After getting out of the shower she grabbed her things for school, forgetting breakfast, and ran out the door not hearing her moms soft “I love you.” The day seemed to go by so slowly and with little difference to the previous day besides a little more ignoring Helio, and a little less persistence from her. The next morning she was late again, “Is this my new routine? God It better not be!” The next two weeks went the same, each day being late, ignoring Helio a little more, and a little less persistence, it had gotten to the point where Helio stopped even waving to Luna. It was Sunday, no school, and today was supposed to be an eclipse. The day went like any other Sunday for her besides her dad not coming home last night. The eclipse was starting to begin, the light faded and the sun was blotted out with black. A tear fell from Luna's face as her thoughts were getting to her. “The sun getting blocked out by the moon, how beautiful.” The thought made her chuckle despite the tears. “Helio reminds me of the sun sometimes, always happy, always bright… I guess that makes me the moon?” She was questioning her own logic but the thoughts began to make sense. “The moon is always in the shadow of the sun, always catching stray rays of light, and clinging to them, using them to brighten itself up.” Maybe that’s why she has been down lately. She hasn’t been talking to Helio, and not been getting those rays of light. The tears were now falling like a downpour. “She is always the one people love, she is always the bright one, she is always the one for this, for that! Her, it's always her, why is it never me?! Why, why, why! I just want to be loved like her, I just want to be the center of attention like her, I just want to be pretty like her!” tears turned to sobs. Luna looked to the eclipse and it really was beautiful. “If I am the moon, when is my eclipse?! When is my chance to be the spotlight? When is it my turn to break this never ending cycle? Every single day is the same, just like the phases of the moon! When is it my chance to break that cycle?!” the sobs didn’t end this time, instead of her heartbeat being her lullaby to sing her to sleep, it was her sobs. Finally Luna was asleep, her dreams going back to days when those snide remarks never came, when she never had to worry about being in the shadow of Helio, when she never would have compared herself to the moon, unless it was to compare their beauty. Though she knew those days would never come back, she naively wished they would. After a tiring day of school her only thought was; “I guess I got what I hoped for.”