Constellations Of The Heart

19.

In the passenger seat, Capricorn tapped her fingers rhythmically against the dashboard, flipping through an imaginary playlist on her phone. “Okay, guys, how about we have a little karaoke competition?” she suggested, her voice filled with excitement.

“Only if you promise not to sing ‘I Will Survive’ again, Capricorn!” teased Gemini from the backseat, her tousled hair bouncing as she turned to face her. “Your performance last time had even the raccoons in the trash cans cringing!”

“Oh please, Gemini! That was my best performance!” Capricorn shot back, unable to suppress a chuckle as she adjusted her glasses. “Besides, you were the one who thought you could rap. I still have nightmares.”

“Hey!” shouted Sagittarius, leaning forward with a grin. “I rocked that rap! You all just didn’t understand my genius.”

“Right, genius,” scoffed Leo, who was lounging against the window, her blonde curls catching the fading sunlight. “More like ‘Malfunctioning Moments of Midnight.’”

“Oh, you’re one to talk, Queen of Cringe! Remember your ‘Ticklish Tigers’ dance?” Scorpio chimed in from the opposite side, a smirk plastered across his face. “I had to hide behind a tree three times to not die of laughter!”

“What about Taurus? He always brings his own bag of chips to our hikes!” Cancer piped up, her giggles ringing through the van. “You could have brought a healthy snack for once!”

“Hey!” rumbled Taurus, not even trying to hide his grin now. “A boy’s gotta fuel up, and chips are a perfectly fine choice! Besides, that moose we saw loved them too!”

“Speaking of snacks,” Virgo chided, diligently organizing her stash of organic granola bars, “I’m pretty sure you left crumbs all over the campsite, Taurus. The wildlife is probably planning a coup against you.”

The laughter erupted again, drowning out the engine’s noise as Gemini pointed out of the window dramatically, pretending to spot another moose. “Look! The Great Chip Conspiracy in action! They’re probably marshaling a chip army right now.”

“Oh no!” piped up Pisces, who had been doodling on the back of Leo’s sketchpad. “What if they invade our town next? They’ll come marching in, singing, ‘We Want Chips!’”

“Then we’ll bribe them with cookies!” Libra declared, raising a heroic fist. “Who could resist a chocolate chip cookie, especially after a successful hunting trip?”

“If I end up on the wrong side of the battle, I’m throwing granola bars,” Virgo quipped with mock seriousness. Taurus chuckled at her tone, pleased to see everyone so animated.

As mischievous as ever, Scorpio leaned forward, whispering loudly, “What if we all get revenge and leave a trail of hot sauce from our campsite all the way back to town? The troop of moose would never know what hit them!”

“No hot sauce! You’ll ruin my precision driving!” Taurus exclaimed, though even he couldn’t hold back a laugh. “It’ll take me weeks to clean that up!”

Capricorn shook her head, chuckling at the chaos surrounding her. “How do we always end up in these ridiculous conversations? Bickering over chips, hot sauce, and moose invasions—what is wrong with us?”

“Nothing!” came the chorus of voices from the back. “We’re just being ourselves!”

And with that affirmation, the singing started up again. Under the dimming sky, as the stars began to twinkle like fireflies, the van filled with laughter, friendly shoves, and offbeat harmonies. Taurus steered the van expertly while Capricorn navigated.