Stellar

Chapter Six: Just Roll With It

 Roller Space-and-Dine was packed full of teenage bodies, all squeezing into rickety chairs, ordering cheese-drenched pizzas from wandering waitresses, or strapping roller skates to their feet and skating into walls. The sheer mass of people at the restaurant made Lucine squirm in her chair. A squeaky, uncomfortable chair.

She made a mental note to talk to her boss about the chairs the next time she worked.

Across from her at the circular metal table slumped Astro, head resting in one hand, eyes blinking in and out of sleep. From what she could remember of last night, the boy had still been over when she had fallen asleep. When she woke up early the next morning, though, Astro's blanket was hugging her, yet he was nowhere to be found.

If she weren't so distraught herself, she would've taken more notice to the strained look behind his eyes. Obviously, he wasn't just exhausted--a silent haunt danced behind his gaze, as though he had witnessed something horribly disturbing.

Frankly, in her situation, she couldn't imagine being more disturbed above knowing the universe's fate could be resting on her shoulders, and she might have to kill someone to save it.

Lucine had told herself she wouldn't listen to Moonie or whatever destiny the stars had spelled out for her. She told herself she would pick her own future, and no one could get a second say in it. It was her life, not theirs.

But as her eyes swept across the darkly-lit room, Lucine caught herself lingering on people and waiting for a spark of recognition, waiting for a flashing sign to tell her if they were Stellar or not. Dissecting people to see who could be the bomb ticking in her world.

Why did all the teens from her school come here, anyway? After getting the entire week cancelled due to reconstruction of the chemistry classroom and concerns for student safety, shouldn't more people have slept in? It was ten o'clock, afterall. Yet as she looked around and felt the body heat of a hundred sweaty teenagers around her, Lucine could've convinced herself the whole school was here just to ruin her day.

She hated interacting with people. Well, unless it was Astro, who was currently caught between scrolling through his phone and drooling in his palm.

As if willed by Lucine's sheer hatred of interaction, a waitress with some serious goth vibes came rolling over in jet black skates. The holographic lipstick painted on her mouth gleamed against her milky skin. Everything else about the waitress, however, was oozing black--the long-sleeved shirt under her apron, the skintight leggings stretched across her spindly legs, the bob cut tickling her shoulders.

Well, maybe her hair wasn't all black; it had some purple and blue streaks here and there. Not nearly enough color to convince Lucine this girl was anything other than major emo teen.

Lucine squinted at the girl's apron where her nametag should've been. Instead, there was only the bunched black fabric. Even though Lucine worked here, she hardly knew the names of her coworkers since she avoided interaction at every turn. She, however, at least recognized them.

This goth-looking teenage girl was a complete stranger.

Lips smacking with gum, the goth girl considered them with bright violet eyes. Lucine wondered if they were contacts--no normal person had purple eyes afterall. Well, unless she was paranormal...like a Stellar, maybe...

Which wouldn't matter, of course, since Lucine wasn't going to get wrapped up in all this Stellar business anyway. Right. So she could care less if this girl was a Stellar.

It took everything within her to try and convince herself to not care.

Goth girl tugged at her sleeves. A flash of her pale collarbone peeked out; there, like a caving void burrowed through her skin, was a tattoo of...something. A black circle? Lucine didn't get much of a second glimpse before the fabric bunched back around the goth's neck again.