The Stars' Alignment

The light, cool breeze of a fall evening rustles the leaves on the half empty trees. The faint sound of laughter is picked up in its grasp as it moves along through a large crowd of high school seniors exiting their school in graduation caps and gowns, commencement rehearsal complete. Their voices carry in the breeze as it passes them by to end up in an abandoned and overgrown playground about twenty yards ahead. The old rusted carousel creaks and groans as it moves slowly in the wind's lilt, the faded red and blue swirl pattern spinning like a hypnotist's wheel. The bare trees surrounding the broken see-saw and the mangled climbing structure provide slight coverage from the eyes of the students. Perhaps this coverage is the reason the once vibrant children's paradise only echoes with excited voices from the past. Swings lift lightly on their own, except for one that has a passenger. Winnie Tyler stares at her feet as she pushes herself back and forth on the old swing, surprised it's still strong enough to hold her weight. The tassel on her cap tickles her forehead, she hears soft footsteps, and she looks up.

A tall boy in a matching cap and gown emerges through the dying ash trees. Hands in his pockets, head bobbing, he makes his way over to the swings to sit. The old chains protest loudly as he lowers himself next to Winnie. He pulls his cap off of his messy sandy brown hair and looks at her.

"I thought I might find you here. A penny for your thoughts?"

Winnie laughs, tense. "If I had a penny for every thought running through my head right now I might actually be able to afford to go to college. Unless, your penny is the magic penny that can cover everything Simon. It wouldn't surprise me..." she trails off.

She spins back and forth, twisting the chains above her head. Simon reaches over and takes hold of the chain closest to him, stopping her momentum and forcing her to look at him. Her amber eyes meet his ocean blue.

"That wasn't fair Simon, I'm sorry. My head is just trying to figure out where I'm going and how I get there. I just..."

"Speak before you think? I know you Winnie, we've been friends for how many years? It's going to take a lot more to scare me off now. Plus, I thought you said that scholarship was a done deal, you just had to sign the forms, what happened?"

Winnie kicks at the solid ground beneath her, as if it might be able give way and swallow her whole.

"If only," she thinks, "Maybe things would be easier that way."

"That was me being cocky. It was down to me and another girl, she got it. She had some research internship at the community college as a junior that turned up some new findings. A meteor that hadn't been tracked yet or something. Much bigger than me stargazing on my own at night in the high school science lab, where I'm not supposed to be, using equipment I'm not supposed to use."

"Winnie, I'm sorry,"

Winnie sighs.

"Don't be. You get to go get your degree in mechanical engineering and build crazy space crafts for NASA like you've always wanted. I can study the stars from anywhere, it's not like I'm losing a lot." She moves her swing and bumps Simon's shoulder, "Who's to say I won't make the world's most important space discovery from right here on these swings?"

The sun is starting to set and the air is getting colder, making the playground feel more empty and isolated than before. Their breaths come out in little white puffs of smoke. Winnie pulls her thin jacket tighter around herself.

"Seriously, Winnie, I could talk to my dad. I'm sure he would be glad to loan you the money so you can go to the school you want. He likes you a lot, he'd consider you a good investment."

"Well, as nice as it is to know I'm an investment, I'm okay Simon. I want to do this on my own and if that means going to community college to get all my pre-requisites while working who knows how many jobs for a year or two then that's okay."

"MIT has always been your dream."

Winnie fidgets in her swing, the chain digging into her side. The pause causes Simon to look hard at her, she can tell he thinks she may be reconsidering his previous offer. She plants herself firmly in her spot.

"My dream and your reality, there's a difference. Some of us have to work a little bit harder. Just maybe help me look for another scholarship that will help get me there? And keep in touch with us little people back home when you're away?"

"Only if you meet me at MIT. Promise?"

Winnie glances up at the darkening sky, she doesn't see a way that it could happen, but hey, maybe she could wish on a star. As if reading her mind, a bright object darts quickly across the sky. She smiles.

"Promise."