Taurus Eyes

by Bonnie Hearn Hill

  Once Candice had left, Tati and I walked outside together. The breeze was cold but not uncomfortable, the kind of weather meant for hot chocolate and long baths.

  Tati zipped her jacket.“Do you want to go to the pizza thing?”

  “I don’t know. Vanessa will probably make it a point to show up.”

  She nodded. “To tell you the truth, let’s just say that as a roommate, she sucks.”

  “I can imagine,” I said. Could I ever.

  “So would you like to ditch the party and work on our articles instead? I don’t have a three-thousand dollar espresso machine, but my herb tea is pretty good, if I do say so.”

  “Work, work, and more work. You’ve got to be an Earth sign, Tati.”

  “Capricorn. Don’t hate me for it.”

  And judging by that purple streak, a little fire in there, an Aries or Leo Moon, maybe.

  “My journalism teacher back home is a Capricorn,” I said. “From what I’ve read, all of those long hours and fear of poverty get easier to deal with as you get older.”

  She grinned. “I certainly hope so. Are you sure you don’t want to ditch the pizza thing and hang out with me?”

  “I need to do something else tonight.”

  “Looking for Jeremy, aren’t you?”

  “Am I really that pathetically obvious?”

  “Probably not to most folks,” she said. “I just can’t help watching people. The guy is really into you.”

  “If you believe that, you must be joining Critter in whatever little activity he engages in before class.”

  “Critter is the last fool on Earth I’d join for any activity. Jeremy, though. The guy likes you. You like him, too, don’t you?”

  “I don’t know. It’s hard to like someone you’re in competition with.”

  “I hear you,” she said. “Stop by later if you want. I’ll be up late. And I could use some hints about how to win over Jaffa.”

  “As if I know.”

  “You do know, Logan. Why do you think the others are so jealous of you?”

  Jealous? “What others?” I asked.

  “Vanessa, Jeremy, everyone who’s hoping to get in that anthology.”

  “Are you sure about that?”

  She nodded. “Believe it, girl. Anyone else who came in late the way you did yesterday would have gotten kicked out on the spot.”

  She had a point there. “Thanks for telling me that. You are the first person here who has actually given me any hope.”

  “I’ve got your back,” she said. “This workshop is far from over, and some of these people would like to see you fail big time. Instead of looking for Jeremy, maybe you should just try to get some rest.”

  “Sure,” I said and heard her laughter as I walked away.

  I found him on the beach that night—the same place as the first time we had met out there past the ice plant and the sand dunes. He had built a little fire in a pit and was sitting on a rock facing it. I stopped, aware that I was invading his privacy. No. I needed to do this. He had a secret he felt I was too close to figuring out, and I had to convince him to share it.

  As I got closer, I realized that he was holding something that appeared to be real food. What did this Earth sign have that smelled so wonderful?

  He turned almost as if he expected me to be standing there, and got up. “Have some fish and chips.” He walked over to me and held out the container. “My favorite.”

  Mine too. So that’s what the irresistible scent was. Taurus comfort food, for sure. I imagined how it would taste to bite into a vinegary potato wedge and then forced myself to delete the image.

  “I don’t think so,” I said. “You were terrible to me in class today.”

  “I had a pretty terrible night. You can be pushy when you want something.”

  Pushy? Me?

  “I didn’t know what was going on,” I said, trying to defend myself from his unflattering assessment. “Do you think it’s true that Baylor’s spirit is in that restaurant?”

  “I’ve never believed it. Come on, have some fish. There are two left.” He lifted out a crispy piece and handed it to me.

  I took it in spite of myself. I couldn’t help it. “Thanks.”

  I crunched into the fish, followed Jeremy closer to the fire, and sat down on a large rock in front of him. Then I noticed a guitar leaning against it. “You came out here to play?”

  “Tonight I did.” The guarded look returned. “So, what are you doing here?”

  “I wanted to let you know that Jaffa told us about that being a Baylor song we heard last night.”

  “‘All We Had to Say.’ That’s why I . . .” He stopped.

  “It all makes sense now. At the time, I didn’t know what was going on. You must have been the only one who recognized it.”

  “Of course I was. But I didn’t go running up there to find the ghost of Sean Baylor.”

  “Why, then?”

  “I thought I might be able to . . .” He stopped abruptly.

  “. . . What? Why did you go up there, and why did you look so miserable when you turned around from the window?”

  “It’s complicated,” he said.

  “Try to tell me. My dad says the only thoughts and experiences that own you are the ones of which you cannot speak.”

  It was difficult to read his expression. Finally, he said, “Sounds as if you have a pretty cool dad.”

  “I do.” For some reason, my throat caught when I said it.

  “By the way, why didn’t you didn’t tell me that you were going to the newspaper office yesterday morning?”

  “We haven’t been exactly working together,” I said. “Why didn’t you tell me you went there the day before?”

  “I probably should have. You know, we don’t really need to compete, Logan. All you care about is the astrology stuff, and I’m only interested in what really happened.”

  “You don’t think astrology is real?”

  “Do you?”

  “You think I’m faking it?” I asked. “I’ll admit I don’t know how it works, and I only recently started studying it.”

  “Then how do you explain that other people with the same birthday as mine are totally different?”

  “Lots of reasons. They could have a different Moon, a different Rising sign.”

  “That’s just a crock, and you know it.”

  “No it is not.” I stood up, and he did the same. “I’ll bet every one of those people you’re thinking about isn’t entirely different from you. I’ll bet you share similar traits.”

  “You’re pretty good.” He grinned. “If I didn’t know better, you’d have me convinced that you really do believe that stuff.”

  “Why would I pretend?”

  “To have a gimmick to set you off from everyone else and give yourself a better chance to be published in the anthology.”

  I felt my face grow hot, the way it had when he humiliated me outside the cafeteria. “A gimmick like Sean Baylor?”

  “He’s not.”

  “Neither is astrology. And I don’t appreciate being called a fake.”

  “You used the word. I didn’t.”

  “But it’s what you meant.” I no longer cared what he thought. I might as well go for it. “If I’m such a fake, explain to me how I’ve known you less than a week and can already tell that you’re a Taurus.”

  He looked as if I’d caught him without any clothes on. “What are you talking about?”

  “Your Sun sign,” I said. “You were born between April 20 and May 20, weren’t you?”

  “There’s no way you could possibly . . .”

  I was right. Thank you, gram Janie. “From what I know about you, it’s entirely possible that you could be a double Taurus with . . .” I squinted at him and tried to channel my gram. “. . . Maybe some Fire, an Aries Moon, maybe. Leo, even.”

  “So, what’d you do?” he asked with that same smirky smile. “Look up my birthday in the class records?”

  �
��Do you really think I’d go to all of that trouble, even if I knew how to do it?”

  “I’m not sure.” For the first time since we were thrown together in the seat on that bus, he looked uncertain. “Right now, all I know is that you have information about me that you shouldn’t have. Information you couldn’t have gotten by guesswork.”

  “Well, give me your birth date, and I’ll be able to tell you even more.”

  “No thanks,” he said. “If you want more, you’ll need to do whatever you did to find out my sign.”

  “If that’s how you want to behave,” I told him. “And by the way, Sean Baylor was a Gemini. Any time you’d like to hear more about him, I’d be happy to discuss it with you.”

  “I’m not interested in any of that.”

  “Let me know if you change your mind. I’m really cool about sharing anything, because I am not threatened by you.”

  “And I’m not threatened by you.”

  “That’s not the way it appears,” I said. “But thanks for keeping your promise about the book. I had better get back now. See you in class.”

  “Maybe,” he said. “Maybe not. Just so you know, not everybody is all that pleased about Jaffa believing that astro stuff of yours.”

  A nice parting shot. Being a Taurus, Jeremy had probably planned it in advance. Being an Aquarius, I decided to mull it over before blurting out a barrage of questions.

  “I don’t care what they think about me. I’m here to work with Jaffa.”

  “Yeah, right.”

  I’d had enough of his attitude. “Believe what you like. I’m leaving now.”

  “You don’t have to walk back alone,” he said. “I borrowed Dirk’s car.”

  “It’s not far to the dorms, and I’ll be okay. All of the ghosts seem to be hanging out at the restaurant these days.” I meant it as a kind of joke to ease the tension between us, but the moment I spoke, I realized that it made me sound like a smart ass.

  “Fine,” he said. “I’m not going to argue with you.”

  “Okay, then.” I started off across the beach.

  Jeremy didn’t try to stop me again. Why should he? He had made his point. How could he possibly believe that I was faking astrology? He was the one who was faking it—pretending to like me, offering me food, the Taurus equivalent of gold. And all of the time, he had believed that I was a fake.

  The walk back was creepier than getting to the beach had been. The fog began to roll in. As I made my way through the dunes, I realized that it was getting really dark out here. And cold. And a little scary. I should have brought my flashlight.

  Then, I felt it again—that icy, uneasy presence. Just ignore it, I told myself. Just keep walking. Only five minutes to the dorm.

  A freezing ocean breeze cut through me. I dug my hands deeper in my jacket. The wind played games with my head. It sounded kind of like music. Muted music from someone’s dorm room, except there was no dorm, no room, no anything. Only the trees, the ice plant, and the darkness.

  The voice was thin and far away. Chills sprouted along my arms, and I tried to make out the words.

  Was all we had to say to each other

  all we had to say to each other?

  Was forever only a feeling we shared for just one night?

  As suddenly as it began, it stopped. I tried to rub away the chills and couldn’t. I’d heard the music, the guitar, a man’s soft voice. No way could I hold back any longer. I screamed. I tried to run, to get away from the music, back the way I had come. I struggled through the sand and ran into a wall. A human wall.

  “You’re okay. I’m here.” Jeremy held me tightly against him.

  I managed to lift my head. “Did you hear that? The song?”

  “Yeah. I followed you.” He pressed me harder to his chest. “I wanted to be sure you got back to the dorm.”

  “Thank you.” I clung to him and relished the warmth. “I was so scared. I can’t tell you how scared I was.”

  “Don’t be.” He lifted my chin and forced me to look into his eyes. “Whatever it is, Logan, it’s not real. It can’t be.”

  “I’m not so sure,” I said. Yet I continued to cling to him.

  NOTES TO SELF

  I can still feel Jeremy’s arms around me—still smell the ocean and that wonderful scent he was wearing. There was not a trace of that smug Taurus who had broken Jaffa’s rules. Only after he made sure that I was all right, had he let go of me and gone after whoever had been playing the music. He was convinced somebody was trying to scare us. I wasn’t so sure and stood shivering until he returned and admitted that he hadn’t been able to find anybody out there.

  We didn’t say anything on the way back to the car, but he kept his arm firmly around me until we got there. I did not object. And, yes, I probably should have. I couldn’t, though. I was scared, and walking that close to him made me feel momentarily safe. Lucky for me that I’ll be going home this weekend. Away from here, them, and him. I am so ready to get back to real life.

  11

  PICTURE YOUR MOON AS A COLOR BLENDED INTO YOUR

  SUN SIGN. IS IT BRIGHT AND FULL OF FIRE? GLITTERY

  AND INSUBSTANTIAL AS AIR? SOLID AS EARTH WITH

  LITTLE VARIANCE? DEEP AS WATER? THAT COLOR

  COMPLEMENTS, STRENGTHENS, OR MODIFIES YOUR

  SUN SIGN. EMBRACE YOUR MOON. IT ADDS NUANCES

  AND EMOTION TO THE ELEMENTS, QUALITIES, AND

  DUALITIES OF YOUR SUN.

  —Fearless Astrology

  Since my gram first wrote Fearless, it had gotten much easier to figure out Moon signs, not to mention Mars, Venus, and the rest. All I had to do was a search for “free astrology charts,” on the Internet. Sure, they all wanted to sell something, but I didn’t have to buy.

  I had figured out my Moon sign when I had first discovered the book. Emotional, watery Pisces, but that wasn’t all that bad for a Fixed Air Aquarius Sun. I wondered what Jeremy’s Moon was and guessed Fire. He was more aggressive than a lot of the Earth signs I’d known. I hoped he would be more Earth and less Fire today in class. Interviewing him could make me forget how good it felt when he had held me last night.

  Vanessa was actually wearing a turtleneck, but, in all fairness to her usual me-me-me, it was a red turtleneck that only intensified her long, black hair. And it did have a zipper up the front.

  In my regulation Writers Camp T-shirt and teal jacket, I felt pretty bland by comparison. I had to smile, though. Jaffa was wearing Air sign colors, too. But that navy scarf of his was pure, emotional Water. I needed to figure out his Moon.

  Vanessa chattered with Candice about a play they were going to see downtown. I wondered when she had time to write. She continued talking until Jaffa cleared his throat.

  “We will have two interviews today.” He gave the scarf a fond pat. “You will all take notes, and so will each of the interviewers. The more skilled you are as writers, the more your diverse your finished articles will be. Pay special attention to getting down direct quotes and any anecdotes the speaker reveals.”

  “You mean stories about various situations?” Vanessa asked, and I knew she was trying to mimic what I had said earlier.

  “Whatever you can get out of the subject,” he said. “Remember, facts are easy to find, and anyone can locate and write them down. A good reporter gets the quote no one else could have gotten. That story that the subject has never before revealed to anyone.”

  I tried to write as fast as he talked. These tips might make me look older than an incoming high school junior when I interviewed Mercedes next week.

  “Logan and Tatiyana, I’m impressed,” he said. “You two are the only ones taking notes right now.”

  “I have my recorder on.” Vanessa announced with pride. “Isn’t that the same thing?”

  “It’s good for backup, of course. But it’s a secondary skill to taking good notes.”

  Vanessa flounced around in her chair and pulled a multi-colored notebook out of her bag. “So, when’s the as
signment due?”

  “Monday. Does that work for you?”

  Big pout. Imagining her social calendar. “I guess so.”

  “Then why don’t we start the first interview with Logan and Jeremy.”

  “Henry, wait.” Vanessa raised her hand, but didn’t pause for him to acknowledge her. “Before we go on with these interviews, don’t you think we need to talk about what happened last night?”

  “And that was?” His voice took on a tone of mild irritation.

  “Didn’t you hear? Baylor’s spirit was back in the restaurant again.”

  “It was?” Jaffa glared around the room. “Did any of you know this? It’s extremely important to speak up about any occurrence.”

  “I think I heard him,” Candice finally said. “We went there for dessert right after our pizza party.”

  “Thank you, Candice.” Jaffa shot her a smile. “You must all come forward with anything you experience, even if you’re not sure what it means. Anyone else?”

  I glanced at Jeremy. He looked down, his message to me was clear.

  I was probably out of my mind for doing this, but Jaffa was serious about wanting information, and I had to tell the truth. If it came out later, he would be furious.

  “Logan?”

  Jaffa must have read the look on my face. I nodded and said, “I heard something too.”

  Jeremy shot me a warning look. I ignored it.

  “You did?” Jaffa asked. “What happened? Where were you?”

  “Walking back across the beach last night. I heard music. It was that song, ‘All We Had to Say.’ I heard a man’s voice singing it, and then it was gone.”

  “And you were alone?”

  “Not exactly. I mean, I thought I was alone. I didn’t realize that Jeremy had followed me, but he heard it too. We both did.”

  Vanessa gasped.

  “Is that right, Jeremy?” he asked. “Did you hear the music as well?”

  “I heard something.” Jeremy glared at me. “A radio, maybe. Not a ghost. Just normal music.”

  “Sean Baylor’s music?”