Dark Moonlight: Lunar Rising

by N. M. Williams

  “Glad to see you finally made it,” Skye said with a half smile.

  Jason just smiled back at her. Mr. Valentine was beginning class by talking about the skeletal system. Skye and Roxy sat there taking notes while Jason doodled all over his notebook.

  Skye: You can borrow my notes after class :)

  Jason: Sounds good lol, thanks!

  Skye continued to jot down the notes Mr. Valentine had on his PowerPoint presentation. Once he reached the end of his slide show, he passed out worksheets for his students to label all two hundred and six bones of the human body.

  “I want you all to work on these and take as many copies as you wish. We will have an exam on the skeletal system in two weeks. You will need to identify the bones themselves and the markings on each bone.”

  “That seems like a lot to remember,” Skye said to Roxy, “We will definitely need to have one of our good old-fashioned study weekends.”

  “For sure. We will need to make sure we pass any test Mr. Valentine throws our way, especially if we both want to get into pre-med.”

  “Would you mind if I joined you two for your study session?” Jason asked.

  Skye looked at Roxy with a smile, begging her to approve.

  “Yeah, that’s fine, Jason. We’ll just meet at Skye’s house this Saturday to start studying for it.”

  “Great!” Jason said, a little too excited. “I can’t wait to be back at your house with you again,” he said, looking at Skye.

  Skye felt herself blush. The bell rang to signify the end of their anatomy class. She passed by Mr. Valentine’s desk to grab a handful of worksheets before heading to her locker. Skye felt her phone vibrate in her back pocket.

  Jason: It’s always cute when you blush :) It means I’m doing something right.

  Skye: :)

  Skye and Roxy grabbed their Spanish and chemistry books before heading upstairs.

  “I don’t know, Rox, I mean I seem to really like him. Is that weird? I mean, a cheerleader and a football player?” Roxy just looked at Skye as they walked to class.

  “Don’t you think? You haven’t really said much of anything today.”

  The girls rounded the corner and walked into their Spanish class where Señora Velasquez was waiting.

  “It’s not that I’m not happy for you, Skye. I’m just worried. I mean, this is the first guy you actually had feelings for. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “I know you’re always looking out for me, but I think he’s different. He’s not like any of the other guys at our school or any of the other guys I would just flirt with for fun. He does seem genuine and it’s almost like he does care about me.”

  “I know, girl. I just don’t know much about him. I just don’t want you to get attached and then have him break your heart.”

  As class was beginning, an announcement came over the school’s PA System. Good morning, students. Will the senior class please go to the auditorium for a short assembly.

  Skye and Roxy looked at each other. “What kind of assembly could be going on? Usually we know about these ahead of time,” said Skye with a confused look.

  “Yeah, I agree. And only seniors?”

  Roxy and Skye made their way to their lockers to drop off their Spanish and chemistry books before heading to the auditorium. They took a seat in the middle row, waiting for Mr. Vance to tell them the occasion.

  Skye was scanning the auditorium looking for Jason. Their graduating class was not the biggest, but they still had a total of two hundred and forty three students.

  Skye: Are you here?

  Jason: Yeah. What’s going on?

  Skye: Not sure. Roxy is just as confused.

  Mr. Vance took his place at the podium.

  “Good morning, class. As you know, homecoming is just two short weeks away. It is time for you to choose your homecoming court.” As he talked, the class president, Bobby Wilson, passed out sheets of paper with all the seniors listed.

  “You will need to choose a total of seven girls and seven boys for the court. We need you to select them before you leave the auditorium. Please look it over and then place your papers in the bin by the podium.”

  “Homecoming! I forgot about this!” Skye said as she received her paper. “Roxy, we can be on court together!”

  “Yeah, if we’re both selected,” Roxy said jokingly.

  There were a lot of names to pick from. Surely Skye and Roxy would both get picked, right? Everyone knew who they were. Everyone knew they were best friends. It would be a great addition to their senior year.

  “Well, obviously I’m going to pick you, Rox”

  “And I’m picking you.”

  “Okay, who else? We can choose ourselves so there’s two girls right there.”

  “How about Maddie?”

  “Yeah, Maddie’s good. What about Sarah and Jessica?”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  The girls went back and forth naming their friends and whom they thought would make worthy candidates. Skye felt her phone vibrate again.

  Jason: I don’t know half these people lol but I am voting for you and Roxy :)

  “Awe, Rox! Jason is voting for both of us too! Isn’t he sweet?”

  Roxy just rolled her eyes. All Skye wanted to talk about was Jason this and Jason that. It’s not that Roxy was not excited for her friend, she just wished they would talk about more important things.

  “Well, I guess we have our selection. Ready to turn this in and head to lunch?” Skye asked Roxy.

  “Sounds good to me. I’m ready to just relax for a bit.”

  The girls walked over to the front of the auditorium and dropped their papers in the bin. They were one of the last seniors to leave the auditorium.

  The cafeteria was not full yet. Since the dismissal bell for third period had not officially rang, they sat at the table waiting for the lunch ladies to give them the okay to come get food.

  “At least we got to avoid chemistry,” Skye said as her stomach grumbled. “And now we get to focus on making court and then running against each other for Homecoming Queen!” Skye said with a big grin.

  “You would like that, wouldn’t you?” Roxy asked as a matter-of-fact.

  “I sure would! Regardless of the outcome, how neat would it be for us to be Queen and runner-up?”

  “I agree. We just need to make court first before we can wish for that.”

  The bell rang and students filled the halls. Some going to lunch, others going to their next class. Skye just could not wait until the end of the day when the homecoming court will be announced.

  Chapter 10

  Skye sat impatiently in her statistics class that she could not focus on the lesson Mr. Fauna was giving. All she wanted was for Mr. Vance to come on over the PA system to announce who made homecoming court. She took out her phone and sent a quick text to Roxy and Jason.

  Skye: This is killing me! What if they don’t announce it today?

  Roxy: Relax! I’m sure they will. We still have ten minutes before the day even ends.

  Jason: There’s still time. Besides, anyone who didn’t vote for you two are idiots.

  Skye: I know, I know, but still. I mean I need to know!

  Skye put her phone back in her Michael Kors purse before Jason or Roxy could reply. They were right. The problem was, those last ten minutes were going to feel like ten years.

  Skye wrote down the last of the notes Mr. Fauna had put up on the blackboard. As she was closing her notebook, the PA system dinged.

  “Good afternoon, students. I am pleased to announce your 2018 Homecoming court!”

  “Finally!” Skye shouted, causing everyone to look at her. She just gave a big smile back before turning her focus back to Mr. Vance.

  “Your homecoming court is as follows. Maddie Krenshan. Ashley Johnston. Roxy Ramon. Jessica Gibson. Sarah Henderson. Laurie Brenson. Skye Collins. Bobby Wilson. Victor Trougher. Jackson Phillips. Andrew Peterson. Nathan Chiver. John Remmington. Pete Preston.
If your name was called, please come down to the office to receive your information kit. Thank you.”

  Skye started to jump up and down and happy dance right in the middle of her statistics class. She could not believe she and Roxy had made homecoming court. I mean, she could believe it, but she didn’t want to get her hopes up until she heard their names called.

  “We did it Rox! We made court!”

  Roxy had to grab Skye’s arm and pull her out of class. She was just laughing at her friend as the two of them walked, or in Skye’s case, danced down the hall to the office. They were joined by the other members of the homecoming court. Everyone was congratulating each other. Skye just stood there, beaming.

  “Congratulations to you fourteen. For the next week and a half, you will be running for King and Queen. You will not be allowed to vote for anyone on court. The fate of the royals depends on your fellow classmates. They will vote for King and Queen next Thursday. The winner will then be announced during pre-game next Friday. I wish you all the best of luck!”

  Mr. Vance handed each of them a piece of paper with information on what to wear and where to be during the next week. They will have to wear a nice outfit this Friday for a group picture to be placed in the local newspaper. They will also need to be in a formal suit-and-tie outfit for the football game during the pre-game festivities.

  Skye and Roxy took their paper and walked over to their lockers. The school day had ended, but they still had a lot of work to do. There was not anything that could be done to get either of them elected for Queen, but being on court together was just as amazing.

  Skye checked her phone and saw she had a text from Jason.

  Jason: Congrats, cutie! I knew you would make it! :)

  Skye felt herself blush again. Jason always had a way of making her feel special, even through a text message. Just knowing he was thinking of her, too, made her feel like a winner.

  Skye and Roxy walked back to Skye’s house. They had homework to do, but more importantly, they had to shop for the perfect homecoming dress.

  Chapter 11

  The rest of the week went as normal as it could. Skye was excited about being on homecoming court that it was distracting her from everything. Well, almost everything. Jason was still in her mind a lot. The two of them would talk everyday for hours on end. The more she talked to him, and the more she hung around with him, the more she would fall for him.

  It was now Saturday. Roxy and Jason would be coming over shortly to start studying the skeletal system. Skye had made thirty copies for everyone to work through. She even went as far as outlining each line connecting to the bone they were supposed to label in different colors. She figured this would make things easier on everyone trying to figure out where the line was pointing.

  Roxy came in and joined Skye at her dining room table. She had different colored pens and markers laid out for everyone to use. Skye figured the world is too dark and there should be more color. If she cannot change the world for everyone she could at least change the world for her.

  “Jason isn’t here yet?” Roxy asked as she grabbed some snacks out of the pantry.

  “Not yet. He said he might be late.”

  “Do you want to get started or just hang out for a while yet? I don’t have anything else to do.”

  “Let me text him and see how much longer he’ll be.”

  Skye: How much longer do you think? Roxy’s here so we were going to get started.

  Jason: Sorry :( Should be there in about five. Got caught up with things.

  “He’ll be here in about five minutes so we can just hang out until then.”

  “You two have been getting pretty close, huh?”

  “Yeah,” Skye said with a smile. “He really is amazing.”

  “I’m happy to see you so happy!”

  Skye reached for a chocolate chip cookie as she heard Jason’s Charger pull up.

  “That’d be him!” Skye said, beaming.

  “Oh. Em. Gee! Skye you’re actually lighting up! You really must like him a lot! I’ve never seen you look like that before!”

  “Shhhhhh! He’ll hear you!” Skye said as the two of them giggled. “I’ll go get the door.”

  Skye ran over to the front door. She waited three seconds after he knocked so he did not think she was too eager.

  “Hey!” Skye said as she opened the door.

  “Hey, yourself!” Jason said as she scooped Skye up in his arms. He carried her back over to where Roxy was sitting at the table.

  “Hey, Roxy” Jason said as he plopped Skye down in her chair.

  “Hey. Glad you could make it.” Roxy said as she grabbed her worksheet and began to fill in answers.

  Jason joined the two of them. He grabbed his worksheet and a blue gel pen. “Who colored all of these?”

  “I did,” said Skye, proud of herself for doing so. “I thought it’d make things easier on everyone.”

  “I like it,” Jason said smiling at her.

  Skye grabbed a pink marker to use for the pink line she made on her worksheet. If she used the same colors to write with that she did for the lines then it would make things easier to remember.

  “You really surprise me, Skye,” Jason started. “You seem to be this care-free girl who lives for fun, yet you still put the time in to learn everything and go above and beyond for everyone. I mean, who colors lines in different colors? I can see you doing that for yourself, but for us too?”

  “She’s always been like that. Her world needs to be colorful. She just figures if it works for her it’ll work for everyone else. Her crazy colored pens craze actually helps me out, too. I don’t have to worry about figuring out which lines go to what body part.

  "The exams are the same way, too. Mr. Valentine always has us label everything. The only difference is we have no idea what the labels on the exam itself will be. He always removes some so you have to be absolutely certain that you know what the information is going into them,” Roxy said replying to Jason.

  “That’s good to know. Thanks,” Jason said to Roxy. “I knew Skye was a smart girl. You’d have to be in order to be in the classes that you two are in. I’m just constantly blown away by her.”

  Skye just looked down at her worksheet trying not to blush. Jason knew how to get to her. He knew how to make her feel amazing. Roxy must have sensed it, too. She gave Skye a kick under the table just to get her head back into studying.

  Skye looked at Roxy with a thank you look. She could not help but feel something strong between her and Jason. She thought it was because he was her first real crush and that everyone felt like that about them. Other than that, she tried not to look too into it.

  Three hours went by. Roxy received a text from her mother stating she had to help with chores that night.

  “I really don’t want to go. I hate Saturday nights. Just once I would love to not have to do chores on a Saturday.”

  “I know, girl. At least we got studying done, and we did get through all thirty worksheets.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. Text me later.”

  “You know it!”

  Roxy left to head back to her house. Skye was alone with Jason. It was not the first time she was alone with him. They did go on a date a week and a half ago. She just felt nervous being alone with him. Not that it was a bad thing. Skye just was not used to being on her toes. She was always the laid back one. Jason just causes her to feel different. She was not sure what it was. Love? Lust? Safe? Maybe all the above?

  “You okay?” Jason asked, pulling Skye from her thoughts.

  “Yeah, sorry. I guess I was just zoning out.”

  “I can tell. You’re not usually quiet,” Jason said jokingly.

  Skye just looked at him with her yeah-right look. “So, do you have to leave, too?”

  “Nope. I thought maybe we could hang out.”

  Skye had hoped he would say that. She really did enjoy his company.

  “Okay, sure. What would you like to do?”

 
; “How about a movie? Your parents won’t be home for another few hours, right?”

  Unsure of where Jason was going with this, all Skye could say was “Right.”

  Jason led her to the couch in her living room. “How about you pick the movie today.”

  “Sure.”

  Skye began to look through the movie collection in her television stand. All she really had were Disney movies. If she picked one of those, Jason would think she was childish.

  “There’s really nothing here worthwhile. How about we see what movies are on T.V. instead?”

  “Whatever you want to do.”

  Skye sat next to Jason on the couch and pulled up the guide on the television. She was scanning through the stations when she saw Tangled was going to be on.

  “Hey what about that?” Jason asked as her selection bar was over the movie.

  “Tangled?”

  “Yeah. I haven’t watched it before, but I heard it was good.”

  Unsure of what to think, Skye put it on. There were still ten minutes before it would begin. It was one of her favorite movies. In fact, she was going to choose it from her collection.

  “You really want to watch this?” Skye asked, testing him. Surely he was joking.

  “Yes I’m sure. I feel like it’d be a good movie for us to watch.”

  Jason put his arm around Skye and she moved closer. She put her head on his chest and just laid there listening to his heart beat. The smell of his cologne was amazing that every time she smelled it she would get butterflies.

  The movie was beginning. “This is the story of how I died.” Flynn Rider was heard narrating the beginning. The two of them laid on the couch watching the movie. Neither one really talking. It was calm and relaxing, just what Skye needed after their study session.

  “Skye, I want to ask you something,” Jason said as the movie ended.

  “What is it?”

  “Well, I really like you. A lot. And I was wondering if you would like to officially be my girlfriend.”

  Skye sat up and looked at him. She thought he was joking. His face had said otherwise. He meant it. He really did like her as much as she liked him.