Lost in stars

Chapter 3: strange things

"I will be driving," Everest said hoping into the drivers seat.
"Very funny, but no one drives my car," I protested. Everest looked at me with puppy dog eyes and bit her bottom lip. "Fine, you can drive," I groaned. Worst decision of my life.

"EVEREST, WATCH THE SIGN!" I screamed clutching the handle of my door tightly. Everest was the absolute worst driver. She sped down the road, weaving in between cars and forgetting that she had access to a brake.
"Stop distracting me," she said turning to face me.
"Eyes on the road!" This girl would be the death of me.

After a deadly 30 minute drive we reached nature hike trails. Perfect.
"What are we doing here?" I asked skeptically.
"I always used to come here when I was little. My older brother and I used to have picnics. We however, are not here to eat food. This is a 'get to know each other better and get you out of your comfort zone' kinda walk." she remarked with a hint of sass in her voice.
"Alright," I said heading down the trail and into the woods.

We walked down the path talking of random things. It wasn't awkward at all and there was never a dull moment. We reached a small break in the woods near the edge of a creek. Everest plopped herself down on the bright green grass and parted the spot next to her. I sat down and watched the creek flow by.
"So Fitz," she started, "what do you want to be?" I was taken aback by her question and my mind went blank.
"Erm, Ive always wanted to be an engineer or something like that," I said. "What about you?"
"I want to get my PhD in astronomy," she said smiling. "I'd love to get lost in the stars." She sat crisscrossed and picked little purple flowers that spirited from the ground. As she continued talking about all the other wonderful things she loved, she made a small little crown of purple flowers.
"Finished," she said proudly. She carefully placed the tiny crown on my head. At times Everest reminded me of a child. Wide eyed, adventurous, innocent, as if nothing in this world could go wrong. Other times she was normal, dull, boring, everything I normally was. I took the crown off and put it on her head instead, telling her that she looked better with it on. Her face turned a soft pink and she looked at the ground. We walked back to the car, Everest still wearing her tilted crown of flowers.

"I say we made good progress today, Fitz." Everest said when I pulled into her driveway.
"I have to agree with you there," I replied. She got out of the car and walked up to her house. She waved goodbye then headed inside.

"Are you guys coming to photography club after school?" Phoebe asked Tim, Cassidy and I as we walked down the hall.
"I am," I replied.
"I'll be there," Tim said.
"Yeah I'm coming," Everest added.
We all broke apart and went to our classes.

At the end of the day I headed towards Mr. Landon's classroom, my camera in hand. I entered the room and saw phoebe, Tim and Everest already there. A few other kids from my senior class were there as well. Adam Harris, the schools quarterback who got all the girls with his "captivating blue eyes" as phoebe likes to say, was sitting towards the back. Cassidy Thatcher a blonde with brown eyes who was cheerleader for the school. She also used to be one of my closest friends. I took a seat next to Everest and looked up toward the front of the room.
"I'm glad everyone had brought their own camera," Mr. Landon started, "I know this is only out first meeting but I would like to get started immediately. For today we'll be going outside and taking pictures of anything that you find interesting. I'll also give you your permission slip for the annual trip to Rocky Creek Bridge. You may head outside now."
I grabbed my camera and headed out the door. When I got outside I looked around for anything that interested me. There were baby blue flowers poking out of the ground like tiny soldiers, a birds nest was in a bush next to me and a small baby bird was squeaking for its mother. Everywhere around me was something beautiful but I didn't find it interesting. I looked around and saw everyone taking pictures of something they found captivating. I looked around and spotted Everest, she was in a large willow tree hanging upside down, her camera facing up capturing the beauty from above. I smiled to myself. This girl was truly something captivating.
"Everest, smile!" I called. She looked at me, still hanging upside down, and flashed me her signature ridiculous grin.
I walked over towards her to show her the picture.
"So, how do I look?" She asked still dangling from above me.
"Out of ten, probably a negative five," I said to her. She rolled her eyes and sat up normally on the tree branch. Grabbing my camera she said, "you're an absolute liar. I look at least a negative four. And negative four is pretty darn good in my books."

I drove down the winding road, passing the park by my house and not to far from Everest's. She had her head resting in the window and she was looking out of it with lustful eyes. She reminded me of a caged animal wanting to be free to roam the wild.
"Are you okay?" I asked. She gave me a simple mhm, and returned to staring out the window. I hadn't known Everest long but I did know that something was wrong. I decided not to pressure her into saying anything so I kept quiet.

I walked inside my house and the scent of smoke filled my lungs.
"Aunt Jenna?" I called. No response. I followed looked inside the living room where she usually was; her favorite cooking show came on at 5:30. She wasn't there though.
"Aunt Jenna?" I called again. I paused a moment, waiting to hear her sweet voice answer in reply. After about 30 seconds I heard a response.
"Kai! I'm in the kitchen," my Aunt said. I walked into the kitchen and took in the scene before my eyes. My aunt was standing by the sink, a burnt pot of mashed potatoes beside her. I sighed, Jenna couldn't cook to save her life which was ironic because she was always watching cooking shows.
"Why didn't you answer the first time I called you?" I asked.
"Sorry little man, I had my earbuds in," she replied turning to face me.
"It's fine. Is that what's for dinner," i motioned the burned potatoes and the undercooked ham.
"Erm..."
I puffed out my cheeks and sighed. "It's fine I'll cook tonight," I was usually the one who had to cook dinner.

After we ate I went up to my room and checked my phone. 3 new messages, 1 missed call. All from Everest.