Bottled Stars

**

Mrs. Havershams class was abuzz, abuzz of what?

Probably wasps tbh

I meander to her classroom, taking my own sweet bottled time to get there. I silently slide my fingers across the envelope.

Maybe
Maybe what?
What could be in it? Bad news, good news, a fake thing.
Maybe somebody stole my old toy rabbit and this is a ransom letter.
Maybe it is a letter! From Pepper!

I pull it out and open it quickly, sliding my finger through the envelope glue.

Upon opening it, however, I see the handwriting isn't hers.

Relief and disappointment course through me.

Of course Pepper wouldn't send me a letter. And even then I should've known it wasn't her based on the loopy scrawl on the front.

And all the loopy scrawls inside.

I read it over.

"
1) if you're reading this, it means you're not dead.
2) it also means its 15 days till your 17th birthday
3) it also also means you have no idea who sent you this letter.
"
I stare at it, flip it over. Scrabble my hand through the envelope searching for an answer in the pale green paper.

Instead I don't find anything.

I wonder whose handwriting it is. The girl from the walk to school?

Maybe.... But I've never seen her before now. So unless she's a stalker I have no leads.

I stuff the letter in my back pocket and pull out my phone, opening my contacts list to Pepper.

" hope you're having fun...wherever that may be" I type in, then delete,and start a new sentence
"Hey, hope to hear from you soon! Coming for Halloween?"
I delete that one too
Instead I write a simple "heyo!" and send it before I don't send her anything.

She replies almost instantaneously, which is unlike her.

"ELLORY!!!💙💙 you have no idea the weekend I just had!!"

Her dots appear, then disappear then appear again and I decide to respond before she sends me a paragraph.

" A crazy weekend, huh? What happened?"
"Wait I bet you'll send it"
"Something crazy happened to me too"

A pause in her typing.

"SOMETHING CRAZY HAPPENED TO YOU ????!!!! DID YOU MEET A GIRL!!!???👏👏👍😋😵😉😉😉😏😏"

I laugh, "I guess" I type back, sending it before realizing that wasn't a smart decision.

She calls me as if on cue, and my ringtone blasts out into the hallway, surely loud enough that Mrs. Haversham can hear. I press end quickly just as she peeks out from her door.

Her face looks like a dried apple, shriveled, yellow, and crinkly around the edges.

I cringe.

"Taking your time, Mr. Archer?" she spits the words with impact, as if I didn't own the rights to my own time.

If I could float in a bottle, it would be pluto right now. So cold my head would be spinning with frosty stars.

Instead she takes an apple hand and crunches her long red fingernails into my shoulder, propelling me into the classroom.

I stare for a moment at the students, placing them in categories as I make my way to my seat.

Kassidy Karleston, head cheerleader and biggest suck-up. She acts nice to boys she likes, and leads the others on strings.

Jakson Demtu, Kassidy's boyfriend. He's chill, but his mind is either on football or about the "game" if you know what I mean.

And then....I scan the room once more, settling on another girl I've never seen before.

Straight-backed, with a petite nose and long golden-brown hair that's pinned up in the middle. She methodically stacks her books, and I wonder if she's in pain from having to be in such perfect posture the whole time.

I slide my phone out and see that I have missed 7 calls from Pepper.

I pull up our texts and see she's sent me several things, most of them not appropriate for anyone to see.

"ELLORY GOSHDARNIT WHY WON'T YOU PICK UP!!"

"I know you aren't in class😏"

"ANSWERRRR MEEEE"
"Answer
Answer
Answer
Answer
Answer
Answer

I cut her off and reply with a hi

"ELLORY WE NEED TO TAAAAALLLLLLKKKKK"

"I can't, im in class"

"No ur not"

"Yes, Mrs. Havershams"

"Ew"
"I know"

"Ok so you can't call, what's the deal wit the girl?"

"She gave me a letter, although the letter has like weird stalker info and nothing else. Idk if her tho "

"A letter? Hm send me pics"

I pull the letter out and send her a picture of it, and the cover.