A Night without Stars Read online

Autumn and Rick both took a copy and headed towards their desks.

  “Ms. Kingston.”

  Autumn turned back to look at her teacher. “Yes?”

  “May I have a word?”

  Autumn nodded. “Sure.”

  “I saw your transcripts and I couldn’t help but notice that you were the head cheerleader at your old high school for a year,” Mr. Brown began.

  “I was,” Autumn said putting emphasis on the past tense. “You should try out here,” he said encouragingly. “The girls are always looking for fresh talent.”

  Autumn had been put on the spot, but she gained her composure quickly.

  “I will think about it,” she fibbed. “Thanks.”

  Mr. Brown nodded, satisfied, and went back to his business. Autumn had no intention of considering cheerleading. As she walked to her desk, she caught a glimpse of Candice, Ben’s girlfriend. Dressed in a tight white V-neck T-shirt and jeans, she was giving Autumn a dirty look. She whispered something to the girl sitting beside her, and both girls glared at Autumn disapprovingly. Autumn resisted the urge to clock them with her backpack, instead sitting beside Rick.

  “What did Brown want?” Rick asked curiously.

  “To remind me about the cheerleading tryouts,” Autumn muttered. “And recommend I partake. He knows I was the head cheerleader at my old school.”

  “How does he know that?” Rick asked, his brow furrowed.

  “My transcripts.”

  “Did you tell him you don’t want to be a cheerleader again?” Rick asked.

  Autumn shrugged. “Nope. He doesn’t really care if I try out. It’s his job to encourage students to join teams.”

  “Teacher’s pressure is the new peer pressure,” Rick muttered as he began skimming the newsletter, looking quite bored.

  Autumn read through it herself, seeing if anything piqued her interest. She wasn’t big on extracurricular activities, and it seemed as though nothing had changed.

  Yearbook committee, basketball tryouts, cooking club, all things she wasn’t into pursuing.

  Autumn felt Rick nudge her.

  “You elbowed me?” she joked.

  “Check this out. It’s a dance,” he said, pointing at the paper.

  Autumn glanced at it.

  COME ONE, COME ALL!

  IT’S THE “WELCOME BACK STUDENTS AND TEACHERS, FALL SEMI-FORMAL DANCE”!

  MUSIC, FOOD AND FUN! DON’T MISS IT! IT WILL BE THE EVENT OF THE YEAR!

  Autumn looked at Rick, unsurely.

  “You want to go to the school dance?”

  Rick shrugged. “Maybe. I have never been to a dance, and it’s our last year as fancy-free high school students.”

  “You might be fancy-free,” Autumn muttered. “The rest of us study.”

  Autumn recalled the rules back home. Dances or parties chaperoned by parents were strictly forbidden. Nikki wouldn’t have it.

  “So what do you think?” Rick asked.

  “I think it might be fun.” Autumn admitted. “If I could get a date.”

  “If?” Rick gave her a look.

  “Yes if,” Autumn repeated.

  “I know for a fact, there are tons of guys here that would love to ask you out Aut,” Rick said.

  Autumn patted his arm appreciatively. “Thanks but I don’t really know any guys here.”

  “Yeah you do,” Rick said, a small smile coming across his face. “Nathaniel Abrams is a guy you know.”

  Autumn looked at Rick, her face deadpan. “You want me to go with Nathaniel?”

  “I know he’d take you in a heartbeat.”

  Autumn pondered it. Nathaniel was a safe choice. She trusted him, and he wasn’t going to pressure her to do anything she didn’t want to.

  It was settled. She would go with him, but she needed a little safeguarding first.

  “Alright, I’ll go with Nate,” Autumn said cautiously.

  “You will?” Rick asked excitedly.

  “Yes but,” she paused.

  “Why is there always a but?” Rick asked.

  “But,” she said poking Rick’s arm. “You have to come too.”

  “Me?” Rick whined. “Why?”

  “A buffer,” Autumn explained. “That way if things get awkward you are there. Plus, then it’s not an official date.”

  “But I’ll be a third wheel,” Rick moaned.

  “Well, you can always ask a girl if you want,” Autumn said playfully. “Then you can be a fourth wheel instead.”

  “Fine,” Rick said, relenting. “If it helps Nathaniel out, I’ll go with you guys.”

  Morning classes flew by and before Autumn knew it she was walking to her locker with Rick to meet Nathaniel for lunch.

  When they arrived, Nathaniel was already there, leaning against a locker, his nose buried in a comic book. When he saw them approaching he looked at Autumn, a toothy grin on his face.

  “Hello there Autumn. Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” he said.

  Autumn shot Rick a withering look. “You told him about the dance didn’t you?”

  “Sorry, I had to text him,” Rick replied guiltily. “It’s good news!”

  “Yes it is my friend,” Nathaniel said, his hands in the air. “Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!”

  “You little stoolpigeon,” Autumn muttered. “Don’t ever get in with the mob Rick. You’d sing like a canary!”

  “So about this dance,” Nathaniel began.

  Autumn popped her locker open, threw her books inside and turned to Nathaniel.

  “I will gladly go with you Nathaniel but Rick told you my condition right?”

  “Mint?” Nathaniel replied smartly.

  “You’re comparing me to a comic book? How romantic,” Autumn grumbled.

  “I know the deal. Rick’s coming along to chaperon me and stop me from touching your goodies,” Nathaniel said flatly.

  “I didn’t say that exactly,” Autumn said as she closed her locker. “But I think it’s best if we all go together as friends.”

  “Friends is cool but can I still get you flowers?” he asked, looking hopeful.

  Autumn couldn’t help it. Her heartstrings pulled and she melted just a little at Nathaniel’s attempts to romance her.

  “I love flowers,” Autumn admitted. “So, please feel free Nate.”

  “Sweet,” Nathaniel said. “Now Rick just needs a date and we are all good.”

  He patted Rick on the shoulder. “Don’t worry dude. We will find you someone.”

  Rick’s eyes narrowed. “That is what worries me.”

  Nathaniel was obviously eager to pawn Rick off on anyone, so he’d be occupied at the dance. It didn’t take him long before he began pointing out girls in the cafeteria, trying to help Rick find his match just as promised.

  “What about her?” Nathaniel asked as they took seats near the middle of the cafeteria. Autumn looked at a slender girl with platinum hair and vibrant blue eyes.

  “Too skinny,” Rick replied. “She needs a burger.”

  “Her?” he tried again, this time with a tall, statuesque, brunette.

  “No boobs.”

  “What about that one?”

  “Her ears are too pointy.”

  “And her?” He pointed at a girl with black hair and olive skin.

  “She has sideburns,” Rick said sharply.

  Autumn looked at Rick in disbelief. “Sideburns? That’s one I’ve definitely never heard before.”

  “Yeah man! You are too picky,” Nathaniel said grumpily.

  Rick glared at him. “If you think she is so hot, why don’t you take Elvira out then?”

  Nathaniel rolled his eyes. “I am already going with Autumn, duh. You know that dude!”

  Nathaniel persisted pointing out girls to Rick to no avail
. Eventually, a frustrated Nathaniel threw in the towel when Rick became enthralled with his lunch.

  “I can’t believe this burger mom made me!” he gushed. “Bacon, onions and cheese! It is perfect.”

  Nathaniel shot him a glare. “You can’t take that burger to the dance Rick.”

  Rick shrugged, indifferent. “Dude! I have to tell you about this new skating move I saw online!”

  As the talk of boarding began, Autumn’s mind and her eyes began to wander. She glanced around the cafeteria, hoping to spot Eric, when instead she saw a girl at the table next to hers, eating alone. She looked familiar and Autumn soon realized she was in her homeroom.

  She was tiny, had a dark pixie cut, delicate features and huge brown eyes. Dressed in jeans and a black tank top, she wore an expression Autumn easily recognized as loneliness.

  Autumn felt compelled to talk to her. It wasn’t so long ago, her friends had abandoned her and she ate her lunch alone in the cafeteria, until that became too humiliating and she opted to eat in a washroom stall.

  She didn’t want anyone to eat in a place that smelt like urine and feces, so she turned to the girl, eager to spark up a conversation.

  “Hey there,” Autumn said, looking in the girl’s direction.

  She was chewing so it took her a moment to reply.

  “Hey.”

  Autumn smiled, her best welcoming grin, and introduced herself. She stated that she thought they were in the same homeroom.

  The girl smiled slightly and put down her sandwich. “Yeah we are. I’m Mandy Jensen.”

  “I thought I recognized you,” Autumn replied. “Did you want to come join us?”

  Mandy nodded, looking relived. She grabbed her belongings and sat beside Autumn, putting her lunch tray on the table.

  Autumn was surprised to see she had an even bigger lunch than Rick.

  She had never seen a girl eat that much, and she considered it a sign. Maybe this girl was Rick’s soul mate.

  “Dude, are you going to eat all that?” Rick looked at Mandy, dumbfounded.

  The girl looked at her tray and back to Rick. “Yeah, of course. What else would I do with it?”

  “Man, you are a beast,” Rick said bluntly. “I can’t even eat that much, and I’m me.”

  “Thanks,” Mandy said, frowning. Autumn sighed. Rick was going to blow it.

  I will just have to take matters into my own hands, Autumn thought. She needed to draw Rick’s attention to Mandy.

  She tried everything. Bringing him into the conversation, talking about movies, music, anything they might have in common, but Rick wouldn’t bite.

  Nathaniel and he went on like Mandy wasn’t even there. They discussed ramps, jumps and when they were hitting the skate park next.

  Eventually, Autumn became frustrated. She whistled trying to get the guys attention.

  “Hey! Frick and Frack!”

  Nathaniel and Rick both looked up at her blankly. “What?”

  “This is Mandy Jensen,” Autumn said.

  “Rick Jacobs,” Rick said, reaching out and shaking Mandy’s hand.

  Nathaniel grinned foolishly at her. “I’m Nathaniel.”

  “Dude, you are supposed to say your last name when you are introducing yourself,” Rick scolded him.

  Nathaniel put his hand on his chin thoughtfully. “Oh yeah.”

  He smiled again at Mandy.

  “Last name, Abrams,” he said abruptly. Then he turned back to Rick, and they began chatting among themselves again.

  Stunned, Mandy didn’t say anything. She looked at Autumn, perplexed.

  “How do you know him?” she asked, pointing at Rick. “Is he socially inept?”

  “Childhood friends,” Autumn said. “And yes, sometimes.”

  Mandy nodded and began mowing down her sandwich. “And the other guy?”

  “He’s Rick’s best friend.”

  “Ah yes. I can see that,” she said. Autumn looked over at the two of them as they animatedly demonstrated a skateboarding move.

  “They have their own guy lingo going on,” Mandy observed. “I could definitely sense a bromance.”

  “Yeah. When you learn to decipher all the grunts and dudes, you can almost understand them,” Autumn joked.

  When Autumn arrived for gym class, she was excited to find out it would be outdoors. Hearing birds singing and basking in the welcoming warmth of the sun, made her yearn for an endless summer.

  As she resisted the urge to lounge out on the bleachers, she saw Ms. Baxter approaching.

  “Good afternoon ladies,” she began, glancing at her clipboard. “Today, we will be running the track. I know some of you are smokers, so I would recommend you warm up those lungs first. Start with some stretching, then walk around the track a few laps,” she grinned impishly.

  “Now get to it!”

  “She is mighty frightening,” Mandy said when Ms. Baxter was out of earshot.

  Autumn chuckled. “Yep. She’s the cliché hard-ass gym teacher. Something tells me my “PMS cramps” notes, aren’t going to fly with her.”

  Mandy laughed as they began stretching.

  “So, who was your gym teacher last year?” Autumn asked Mandy.

  Mandy stretched her leg out and looked at Autumn. “Actually, I just moved here this semester. My dad got a job at Cesus Corp, so we had to relocate.”

  Autumn nodded. “My uncle, well, not my real uncle, but Rick’s dad, James, he works there too. He has been with the company for quite some time.”

  “A lot of people around here seem to be employed by them,” Mandy said, switching legs. Autumn followed her lead.

  “I wouldn’t know. I am new here too. I just moved down in August.”

  Mandy puckered her lips sympathetically. “Being uprooted in your last year too? What is your excuse?”

  “Rick,” Autumn said and Mandy’s eyes widened.

  “Oh. He is the reason,” she grinned wickedly.

  Autumn giggled at what she accidentally insinuated.

  “Oh no! Nothing like that! He needed help with school. I am his last-ditch attempt at graduating.”

  “Ah the saving grace,” Mandy said.

  Suddenly, her eyes left Autumn’s, distracted. Autumn followed her gaze and saw the boy’s gym glass piling out from the gymnasium doors.

  Autumn scanned the crowd and spotted Rick’s mop of curls and Nate’s ginger hair with ease.

  “Let’s hear it for the boys,” Mandy jested.

  Autumn arched an eyebrow. Nathaniel wasn’t in Rick’s gym class yesterday. Then she remembered Rick saying he had skipped it. How typical.

  “He’s so freaking cute,” Mandy said, staring dreamily at the guys as they approached. “You are really lucky to be close with him Autumn.”

  “Rick is cute and sweet,” Autumn agreed as she stretched, touching her calf. “And he has an infectious laugh and the bluest eyes …”

  “I meant Nathaniel,” Mandy said, her eyes trailing him as he stretched against the bleachers alongside Rick. “I love gingers.”

  Autumn’s mouth was agape. Nathaniel was very cute, but she still wasn’t expecting Mandy to be interested in him. Her mind was so set on Rick and Mandy as a couple that she hadn’t even considered Nathaniel.

  “Oh Nathaniel. He’s single,” Autumn said brightly.

  Mandy turned to Autumn, her eyes lighting up. “Really? Do you think you could put in a good word for me? I understand we just met and everything …” she trailed off.

  Autumn realized this was her opportunity to help Mandy and play cupid for Nathaniel.

  “I can do one better,” Autumn said confidently. “How would you like to go with him to the fall dance?”

  Mandy looked even more excited now. “I would love to but I don’t really dance,” she admitted.


  “That’s okay neither does he,” Autumn reassured her. “And we can all go together.”

  “You have a date already?” Mandy asked. “Though it doesn’t surprise me really. You are so pretty.”

  Autumn blushed. “Thanks but I don’t have a date per say. Nathaniel and I are going together. Just as friends, of course.”

  “Oh, I couldn’t intrude,” Mandy said embarrassedly. “He obviously wants you to be his date.”

  “It’s not a date,” Autumn said truthfully. “Rick is even coming along with us.”

  “With his date?”

  “Nope. He’s going solo,” Autumn said. “So please, let me talk to Nathaniel.”

  “Alright,” Mandy gave in. “But don’t force it. I don’t want to impose.”

  “Trust me. You aren’t imposing,” Autumn reassured her.

  “Alright girls, stretching time is over!” Ms. Baxter bellowed. The brutish gym teacher stood in the middle of the field, blowing her whistle. “Take your positions on the track!”

  Autumn and Mandy headed to starting positions, just as Mr. Beachum began playing drill sergeant with the boy’s gym class.

  “HEY ADAMS, I SAID TO GIVE ME TWENTY, NOT TEN!”

  “IF THERE IS NO PAIN, THERE IS NO GAIN, AND YOU’RE LAME!”

  “FEEL THE BURN BOY! IT’LL MAKE YOU A MAN.”

  As Autumn and Mandy exchanged perturbed looks, Autumn couldn’t help thinking that both Mr. Beachum and Ms. Baxter had too much testosterone.

  Autumn couldn’t have been more thankful to see gym class end. She took a quick shower, got dressed and headed to English.

  When she got to class, she took the same seat she had yesterday and pulled out her binder.

  She glanced around the room. Mrs. Reid hadn’t arrived yet and from the looks of it, neither had Eric King.

  Autumn decided now was the perfect time to start writing Kristin some snail mail. Emails were convenient but there was something extra special about a handwritten letter. So she pulled out a piece of crisp paper from her binder and began writing.

  She only wrote a few lines, when she heard a voice from above her.

  “Are you actually writing a letter?”

  Autumn looked up and saw Eric King standing in front of her desk.

  Today he was wearing dark jeans and a navy blue T-shirt with the name of a band on it.