Letters to the Star Whisperer

-36-

           

The next three days were the same as Monday. Aspen would give Ethan cooking lessons in the morning, and then they would drive to work together. He would talk to Keith, usually wanted to know some tip on making the store better.

              Then, Ethan would walk to work, and he would learn something new. He learned how to cut pizza, clean the tables, clean the kitchen, how to make people laugh, and most importantly, his boss.

Then, after he was done from work, he would walk back to the tea shop, and talk to Aspen. After she got off work, they would go get some food from some place that Aspen liked.

              She knew a lot of people. No matter where she went, people seemed to know her. And if they didn't know her, they ended up talking to her. There was something about Aspen that Ethan had learned from day one.

She had this big spirit, bigger than anyone in the same room. You didn't notice it at first, but once you spot her, her spirit overpowered you, and she could take whatever she wanted from you.

Luckily for everyone, she never wanted anything. No money, no power, no anything. She just wanted to make people smile. Ethan had felt so luckily to be able to just call her a friend.

Sometimes, Creepy Jane would be home when they got home. She didn't seem so creepy after one dinner. She stayed, helping Aspen with the cooking. Jane just liked to push people's buttons, to see how far she could go before they would snap.

Aspen never snapped. She was always clam, and smooth. She just went along, laughed with her. Ethan didn't feel so weird out after that dinner.

"I am so excited about the bond fire," Aspen said.

"There better be good music," Jane said.

Ethan was trying to be like Aspen. Ask other people questions, keep the topic on them, and make the conversion as easy as possible. "What type of music do you like? Marilyn Manson?"

Jane just rolled her eyes. "Why? Because I wear all black? I like classical music," she said stuffing her face with a roll. "Idiot."

Ethan was taken by surprised. "Classical?"

"Yeah, I play cello, and violin."

"Really?" he asked with an eyebrow raised.

Aspen smiled. "I've heard her play. She's amazing."

She seemed to glow when Aspen said that. "Well, yeah, I guess I am. I'm not going to be humble about it. I practice way too much as a kid to suck at it. Besides, it's how it paid for my college."

Even though Jane had seemed like the type of girl to do hard drugs in the girl's bathroom, she had never smoked. In fact, she had never been drunk either. She never even had been to jail before. She was the top of her class. She also had a PhD in Math. She was also second chair in Denver Classical Team, which was a very big deal.

He had no idea she was all those things. Under all that black makeup, torn tough black clothes, and army boots, was a very smart intelligent woman that liked to shock and joke with people.

After that dinner, he never was crept out by her again. He acknowledged her like a real person and stopped hiding from her, and stopped calling her Creepy Jane.