Of All The Stars

by Ally B

  I pull on another of my duplicate Williams Planetarium sweatshirts and a pair of Christmas pajama shorts before hastily drying my hair with the towel and throwing everything in the hamper.

  “You good?” Max calls.

  “Yeah,” I answer.

  “What do you think?” He asks as he flings open my white bedroom door. Even though the clothes are something Max would buy—the size isn’t. The normally ankle-length sweatpants reveal Max’s lower calf, which works for the cast, and the T-shirt from some fundraiser is much too tight stretching across his athletic build.

  “Almost as good of a fashion statement as your traffic-light look.” I roll my eyes.

  “Not my fault your brother’s short.” He shrugs, flopping down on my bed.

  “He’s not short.” I defend. “You’re just tall.”

  “Aren’t you and Jack the same height?” He asks.

  “He’s five-nine, and I’m five-seven. That’s not short.” I flip my light switch, quickly turning on the lamp on my nightstand.

  “Pheebs,” He sighs, “I’m six-two.” His stuff doesn’t exactly work for me.”

  “Is your dad going to be okay with you staying here?” I ask him as I pull my comforter over my shoulders.

  “He’s over the moon with the win. He’ll be too busy planning how they’re going to win states next year with Riley Black as their superstar to care.” He quickly sends a text before reaching over me, placing his phone on my nightstand.

  “Is Max Sanchez jealous?” I turn to face him.

  “Absolutely not.”

  “That sounded a little jealous to me.” I raise my eyebrows.

  “I’m jealous that he gets to play, but I’m not jealous of Riley. They’ll win states this year anyway. If they beat McArthur tomorrow, then they’ve won half of the battle.” He sighs. “You going to tell me what’s going on?”

  “I went to my dad’s for dinner and found him knocked out with an empty bottle of Jack beside him.” I’ve never thought about it until now, but maybe my brother is named after my dad’s alcoholism and not my mom’s obsession with young Leonardo DiCaprio. Is there an alcohol named Phoebe?

  Max’s face falls. “I thought things were good.”

  “They were.” I pause. “At least I thought they were.”

  “Has he been drinking since he got out?” He asks.

  “I don’t know. If he has, he’s good at hiding it.” Of course, he’s good at hiding it. That’s why you got in the car with him in the first place.

  “I’m so sorry.” He shakes his head.

  “I can’t just let you have your moment, can I?” I joke.

  “Always a diva.” He smiles, his eyes sleep-heavy.

  “Proved your point by calling the Brit and chewing him out.”

  “How’d that go?” He asks.

  “Well, I will only admit this once, but he’s actually a decent therapist. But if you tell anyone—”

  “Your secrets are always safe with me, Pheebs.”

  “Get some rest. We can talk about all of our issues tomorrow.” I sigh.

  “You have to go to school tomorrow.” He reminds me. “You can’t go to homecoming if you’re not there on Friday.”

  “I’m good with that,” I tell him honestly. “Not exactly in the mood to be around that.”

  “Jackson’s having a party after.”

  “Of course he is.” I sigh.

  “Just us. Graham, if you want.”

  “He’s my date.” I groan, vaguely remembering my acceptance to his ‘Hoco?’ “I can’t exactly tell him I don’t want to deal with him.”

  “Since when?” He asks.

  “Yesterday. I finally answered his messages.”

  “You’ve been ignoring him?”

  “I had bigger problems to deal with.” I half-joke. “Cracker boy doesn’t even come close to you on my priorities list.”

  “You’ve finally accepted the nickname.” I can hear the smile in his voice.

  “Fighting with you is always an uphill battle, and it’s never worth it.” I sigh. “Go to sleep.”

  “You go to sleep,” he says, grabbing my phone to message my mom for me with a simple, ‘goodnight.’

  “Fine.” I know he can’t see me since I’m now on my side, but I still get gratification from sticking my tongue out at him before I turn away.

  “Love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  Lepus

  The Hare

  “If you don’t turn your alarm off, I’m going to kill you.” Max groans.

  I tap my phone screen until the terrible noise finally stops, before dragging myself into my bathroom and brushing my teeth. “I can’t believe you’re missing your last green and white day. You live for these stupid things.”

  “You’re not helping.” He groans from the other room.

  “Sorry. You really can’t come to school? It’s not like we’ll do anything anyway.”

  “I’m pushing it by going to games.” He sighs. “Remember when I got my ankle lobbed open on Tuesday?”

  I walk back into my room, digging through my drawers for a pair of black leggings. I pull out an Emerson Soccer hoodie and an oversized denim jacket to wear over it along with my green and white socks.

  I change quickly in the bathroom before returning to my room, pulling half of my hair up into a top-knot.

  I push a pair of gold hoops into my ears before returning to the bathroom and applying my makeup.

  “Why don’t you just do everything in the bathroom first and then everything you have to do in your room?” Max asks. “Or the other way.”

  “Because I enjoy running around like a chicken with its head cut off.” I huff, delicately tapping gold highlighter onto my skin. I carefully apply mascara before returning to my room and digging through my closet for an old pair of white sneakers to wear instead of the soaking wet ones I left downstairs last night.

  “Stress isn’t a good look on you.” He jokes as he sits up on the edge of my bed. “Is that hoop silver, and is the other one gold?” He squints, gesturing to my earrings.

  “Huh?” I ask, rushing to my mirror to make sure I have the right earrings in.

  “Just messing with you.” He grins.

  “I’m going to break your other leg.” I huff.

  “That would be fun.”

  “Definitely.” I huff, making my way downstairs.

  By the time Max makes his way down the stairs, I’ve already filled a kettle with water and put it on the stove. “You’re getting quicker.”

  “Yeah, sometimes I just drag myself up and down the stairs for fun.” He jokes, sitting at the kitchen table.

  “Oh, I bet.” I nod sarcastically. “Sounds like my idea of a good time.” I joke, dropping a tea bag into a regular mug and another into my dark blue travel mug.

  “You look tired,” he says as I lean against the counter, facing him in his seat at the table.

  “Oh thanks, you’re too kind.” I roll my eyes.

  “No, do you think you should be going to school? I’ve kind of been keeping you up lately.”

  “Max, I made it through AP Calc, AP Physics, and AP Spanish in the same year. I can function on little to no sleep.”

  “You see, I also made it through those classes and didn’t lose a bit of sleep. It’s called prioritizing.”

  “I got fives on all of those tests.” I defend.

  “And I got fours on the first two and a five on Spanish. Guess who’s getting college credit?” He asks, knowing I know the answer. “Both of us. Because that’s how it works, only I didn’t drive myself insane.”

  “It wasn’t a long drive.” I joke, digging through my drawer for my green scrunchie.

  “You’ve gotta go,” Max says, staring at his phone screen.

  “Oh, if only I had a personal device that signaled when it was actually time for me to leave my house.” I deadpan. As if on cue, the alarm on my phone rings. “Hang out or whatever, Mom will be home at around e
ight,” I tell him.

  “Love you!” He shouts as I run out the door.

  “Love you, too!”

  “We need to fix this.” Vi sighs as I sit down in my seat in Government.

  “What?” I ask her.

  “Where’s the glitter? The gems? The face-paint? The creativity?”

  “I get it, Vi,” I sigh.

  “I’m kidnapping you during lunch and covering you in more glitter than a kindergarten classroom on ‘make your own Christmas ornament’ day.” She declares.

  “That was oddly specific.”

  “I had a habit of using too much glitter.”

  “I think you still do.” I wipe a piece of glitter off of her eyebrow quickly before standing back up and walking over to Mr. Wilson’s desk.

  “How’s Max?” He asks without looking up from the paper he’s grading.

  “Broken ankle, but he’s all right.”

  “Just a broken ankle had him out this long?” He raises his eyebrows in surprise.

  “He had to have surgery,” I explain.

  “You didn’t miss any tests or quizzes, so you’re good.” He tells me.

  “Great,” I say, turning back toward my seat.

  “Phoebe?” He calls before I make it too far.

  “Yeah?”

  “You and Max both still have to present your world government projects at the end of next week.”

  “Of course.” I nod, returning to my desk.

  “Graham isn’t here,” Violet whispers as the bell rings.

  I don’t think I should be relieved, but I definitely am.

  The rest of the day flies by in a blur. There’s no fight between Violet and Jackson at lunch, which I find weird, but Riley explains it “hasn’t happened all week.”

  Violet drags Kendall and me to the bathroom to apply glitter stripes to our faces and take embarrassing mirror selfies, but I don’t mind. It distracts me from everything.

  “Why didn’t you come to the game last night?” Vi asks as she moves her face as closely as she can to the bathroom mirror, attempting to wipe away some stray glitter.

  “I had to do some stuff,” I answer.

  “Stuff? How specific.” Kendall opens her eyes wide to apply a bit more of her jet-black mascara.

  “Mmhm.” I nod.

  “That’s all you’re giving us?” Vi makes eye contact with me through the mirror.

  “I was in Blue Valley.” Not a lie, but hopefully specific enough to get her to leave me alone about it.

  “Taking road trips to the sticks?” Kendall raises her eyebrows as she applies mascara to her lower eyelashes.

  Another “mmhm” keeps the questions at bay, which I’m grateful for.

  Vi

  Graham’s here btw - Vi

  My phone buzzes on my desk during English, and I can’t help but be relieved that I missed him. I shouldn’t be? Should I?

  Astronomy.

  Calculus.

  Sitting next to an empty desk all day is awful. I collect work for Max and me in every class, adding it to my already-overfull folder and making a note of any specific instruction in the corner of the paper.

  As I sit in the back of the calculus classroom trying to catch up, my phone vibrates in my pocket.

  Bill Sanchez

  Can you grab Max and bring him to the school on

  your way to the game? - Bill Sanchez

  I don’t want him thinking he can drive. - Bill Sanchez

  Yeah, no problem. - Phoebe

  Mom

  What happened last night? - Mom

  Nothing. - Phoebe

  Talk later. - Phoebe

  After the bell rings, I’m one of the first ones out of the double doors and into my car.

  Vi and Kendall

  My house rn???????? - Vi

  Sure - Kendall

  I make it home in thirteen minutes exactly, pulling into Max’s driveway instead of my own.

  “Nice of you to join us,” he says as I push open his side door. He’s sitting on a stool at their island with a white bowl full of Goldfish in front of him.

  “If I’m going to be your personal driver, I’m going to take my time,” I say, stealing one of his Goldfish and sitting down next to him.

  “What’s the damage?” he asks, looking toward my backpack.

  “We’re both screwed.” I laugh, pulling his piles of papers out of the folder and setting it in front of him. “When do you want to get to the game?” I ask him.

  “Well, judging by the fact that it starts at seven, I think we’re good for now.”

  “I’ll leave you on the side of the road.” I threaten.

  “Mmhmm. I bet.” He shakes his head with a grin.

  “I will!” I cross my arms.

  “Okay! I believe you!” He holds up his hands in defense.

  “Don’t doubt me.” I raise my eyebrows.

  “Never.” He shakes his head with his signature, stupid smile.

  “You excited?” I ask Max as we pull into the stadium’s parking lot. Not many cars are there, so we manage to get a decent spot next to Violet’s car.

  “I just really hope they can pull this off.” He mutters as we walk slowly toward the arena.

  “They will,” I say hopefully. As if on cue, the McArthur bus drives by us and stops in front of the gate.

  Max moves slowly through the parking lot, and I make sure to stay a little bit behind him, just in case.

  “You know I’m not going to fall, right?” He asks as we approach the gate.

  “It would really suck if you did, though.” I pull out my wallet as we approach the ticket booth.

  “Max!” The older woman behind the counter gushes. “We were so sad to hear about your accident. Are you feeling all right?” She asks. I slide my money to the other woman, who’s clearly disinterested in the conversation.

  “Better.” He laughs uncomfortably.

  “Hey, Max!” A familiar voice from behind us calls.

  “Hey, Calvin.” Max plasters a fake smile on his face as he walks away from the ticket booth toward the McArthur team. I follow close behind him as he and Calvin both stop in the middle of the area.

  “What happened, man?” He asks.

  “Some guy didn’t know what a stop sign looks like.” Max half-jokes.

  “No, shit.” He shakes his head. “That really sucks, I was looking forward to a good game.”

  “Still gonna be a good game, Woods.” Max shakes his head. “You don’t give them enough credit.”

  “If I remember correctly, it was you who won the game for your team last time.”

  “It’s not too hard to outrun any of your guys. I think they can handle it.”

  “Get better soon, Stanford. I’ve gotta get back to kicking your ass at club. Cruz isn’t enough of a challenge.” The brown-haired boy to Calvin’s left speaks up.

  “I’ll be back in no time, Campbell.” He gives the boy a genuine smile. Campbell. Arden Campbell. He’s been on the same team as Max for years.

  “Leave him alone, guys.” One of the McArthur coaches instructs. The boys walk through the gate toward their bench. “Sorry, kid.” The coach shakes his head before following them.

  “Did I die?” Max asks me with a laugh before walking toward the gate.

  “Please don’t fall in the middle of the field. I would laugh too much, and then everyone would think I’m a bad person.”

  “That does make you a bad person.” He tells me.

  “I know, but no one else needs to know that.” I grin. “Don’t lose. Give a killer pep talk or whatever you’re supposed to do.”

  “Of course.” He smiles. “See you after.”

  “Love you!” I shout as I walk away.

  “Love you, too!”

  “This is fucking shitty.” Violet groans as the half-time buzzer rings. McArthur is up by two. Riley is doing fine, but putting an underprepared freshman in Riley’s usual position wasn’t a good idea.

  “They’ve got time.” Ke
ndall sighs.

  Max looks miserable sitting on the bench, but he comes to life when the team runs toward the bench, yelling something at them as his dad holds up a whiteboard.

  “It’s so weird.” I shake my head.

  “It really is.” Ava butts in. “I feel like he’s never not played a full game, let alone missed one.”

  “Once. Sophomore year. He had the flu,” I say blankly, still watching them as they cross the field and go into the locker room under the stands.

  “Is he all right with it?” She asks.

  “Not really, but he’ll be okay,” I tell her honestly. Max looks up into the stands, making eye contact with me. ‘You’ve got this’ I mouth the words instinctively. He puts his hand to his ear and makes a weird face, as usual.

  “Hey, guys,” Graham says, following Gabby to their saved seats beside Ava.

  “Hey.” Ava beams.

  “How’s it going so far?” Gabby asks.

  “Pretty bad,” Kendall says honestly.

  “I assumed so.” She sighs. “They aren’t much without Max.”

  Both Kendall and Violet look at her, eyebrows furrowed.

  “Not what I meant.” She recovers. “He’s just always been there. It must be weird without him.”

  “He’s not dead.” Ava scoffs.

  “You know what I mean.” She rolls her eyes.

  Graham gives me a chin lift as a hello. I give him the same courtesy before looking back at the field.

  Awkward as hell, I think.

  Halftime comes and goes. I can’t help but watch Max’s face rise and fall more than the actual game. Riley does better than anyone expected of him. Jackson compensates for what speed Riley lacks. The two honestly look like they’ve been playing together in these positions for the entire season.

  And then Riley scores.

  I let out a sigh of relief as the crowd goes wild.

  “They might actually be able to pull this off.” Vi sighs as everyone sits back down.