Under the Shadow of the Moon

Chapter 19

Razaia and Lily sat on Luna's bed as she paced around the room. "It will start early tomorrow, and it's kind of secluded... if she gets there early and leaves at the beginning, she might not get caught..."

"And there's a possibility that she will. What will you do then?" Razaia spoke up, looking up from her phone.

"She's a minor, they'll go easy on her..." Luna chewed at her nails.

"And what if they don't? What if it all goes the worst it could possibly go?" Lily asked, stopping in the middle of braiding her hair. "What if you lose her?"

"She's snuck out before. The charges for Day-Timers being out at night is much less severe than it is for Night-Timers out during the day. Besides, the moonlight doesn't hurt her the way sunlight hurts us."

"That is a good point," Razaia said. "But still. Think about it. Are you really willing to risk Harper's freedom for your 'sweet sixteen'?"

"I want her to stay home," Luna said stubbornly. "She wants to come. If I don't help her come up with a tactic, she'll show up anyway."

"I've got an idea," Lloyd said, popping his head into the room. "Trae can drive her to the park," he slid into the room and sat down at Luna's bay window. "And she can sit in the back seat, pretending to be asleep. That way if Trae gets pulled over, he can say he was just taking her home."

"Is Trae really willing to put himself in that position?" Luna bit her lip.

"He is, you know he'll do anything for you and Harper." Lloyd responded.

"That idea isn't half-bad." Razaia remarked, standing up and stretching. "Speaking of Trae, he and Colin left hours ago, when are they going to get back?"

Lloyd checked his phone. "They stopped to get pizza," he responded plainly, leaving the room. "They'll be back soon!" he called down the hallway as he went back downstairs to sort through party supplies.

Luna sat down where Lloyd had been sitting moments before, putting her head in her hands. "This is going to end badly."

"Don't say that, you'll jinx yourself." Razaia muttered, turning back to her phone.

"Yeah, Luna, it'll be fine." Lily said with a smile, starting on the second braid in her hair. "There's no reason for anyone to suspect anything, as long as no one important realizes that she can see."

Luna sighed dramatically, resting her head against the window. "I hope so."

☆★☆

Luna was exceedingly uneasy the next morning, the faint light of the moon glowing almost golden as she made her way to the park. Harper had been waiting at the location since dusk, and she had started to set up on her own. Her parents were unaware she was down there, sleeping peacefully right next door. Luna's stomach twisted as she thought of them.

The back of Trae's car had been fully loaded with party supplies, and the group had squeezed in. Luna had managed to snag the front seat, leaving the others shoving each other around in the back, trying to keep helium filled balloons from blocking out Trae's vision.

"I don't think this is going to work," Trae remarked, messing with the rear view mirror. He turned to Luna. "Are you sure your mom can't help us?"

Luna sighed, balancing the cake on her knees. "There was an emergency call at the hospital, she has to stay for a double shift. She'll stop by later, but it's up to us to get everything going."

Trae groaned. "Seriously? On your birthday?"

"There isn't much she can do about it, so can we just start driving?" Lloyd piped up, an annoyed expression on his face. "And don't crash the car, I don't feel like dying today."