Aries Rising (6 page)

“Not even close.” She emerged from the closest carrying Chili’s jean skirt and several shirts and sweaters. “You and Jaffa are friends. I just want to meet Graciela, that’s all. It will totally make my life.”

“If I can get Stacy to agree, you’re in.”

That Thursday, Chili showed up in the striped sweater, red-plaid shirt, and jean skirt. With multi-clustered chandelier earrings, she would be hard to miss when the magazine people got there.

Paige wore white cropped pants with silver zippers at the
pockets and a draped-knit pale blue top in the same shade as her eyes.

“You look great,” Chili said when I got into the car beside her. “Isn’t that green perfect for her, Paige?”

“Really nice. I love vertical stripes and ruffles on a shirt.”

They were lying, trying to make me feel better and probably well aware of my red-rimmed eyes.

“Okay,” I said. “So this isn’t my best day in the world.”

“Here.” Paige leaned forward and handed me her cup of coffee. “What happened, Logan?”

“It’s Jeremy. He ...” I couldn’t finish. Just held onto that cup that was so much warmer than my hands.

“I knew it,” Chili said. “Didn’t I tell you, Paige? Didn’t I say there was no way it could work out with Logan here and that guy in Ireland?”

“I don’t think this is the appropriate time to discuss what we talked about,” Paige said, “and Jeremy does have a name. He isn’t just
that guy.
”

“Right. That’s what I meant.” Chili turned around and gave me that smile that owned the universe and just assumed that I could too. “But, come on. This really is the appropriate time to talk about what happened with Jeremy that upset you so much. Isn’t it, Logan?”

“Probably,” I said. “His last text made it pretty clear that he’s no longer into me.” I spoke clearly, and to my surprise, without tears. Yet my heart felt so dead, so betrayed, that I was certain it would never recover.

“So much for that jerk,” Chili said. “At least, Sol is really into
you. I already checked out his sign. Cancers are loyal to the end.” “I’m far from the end,” I told her, “and I can’t exchange men like underwear.”
The way you can, Gemini.

“I’m not suggesting that. All I’m saying is that Sol is hella smart, and he likes you. Can’t you at least think about it?”

“I really can’t.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know.”

But I did know. I was still in love with Jeremy.

A guy who said he loved me. A guy who left for Ireland and didn’t bother to keep in touch
after the new wore off
, as my Gram would say. Maybe the new had worn off for him, but it hadn’t for me. I liked Sol. He was steady and sweet. But he was nothing more to me. No way could I ever feel anything but friendship for him. Could I?

As we got out of the car, I realized that the photographer was already there. An older guy in glasses, he smiled as we walked toward the classrooms. Next to him was Bobby, the art director, in baggy beige shorts rolled up to his pudgy knees.

Out of nowhere, a shrieking figure in front of me shot into the air.

“Terra High, Terra High. Can’t hold us down. We’re gonna fly.” Kat, of course, in her navy and gold cheer attire. Dina
was right behind her in cutoffs. Under each arm was one of those cheesy little exercise steps. Were they really going to build a mini cheer platform out here in the parking lot?

“Later, hon,” Bobby said with a bored expression. “These are location shots. We’ll get you after school on the beach. Hey, Logan, come over here, and bring your girlfriends.”

Kat shot me a nasty look.

Beside her, Dina said, “Hi, Logan. Hi, Paige. Hi, Chili.” Her oily hair had actually been washed and run through some kind of flatiron from hell. Her eyes were so heavily lined that they looked like two holes burned in a blanket.

If
CRUSH
obsession had taken over Dina, it must have taken over the entire school. I couldn’t wait to get home and away from all of it. But I couldn’t. After our last class that day, we were told to show up on the beach, which was about five minutes away. Kat was the first one I saw. She was dressed in a red top-heavy bikini, cut up high on the butt. Mine was blue retro tie-dye and not very revealing, since I didn’t have much to reveal. Paige had designed her own with lots of ruffles on the aqua top that would have been flat without them. Chili was perfect in her leopard print that matched the shiny streaks in her hair.

“Line up, will you?” Bobby shouted. “We need you to spell out the word,
CRUSH
. Move your arms and hands so that you resemble the letters. We might actually get this in the magazine, people. Then, you’ll all be there.”

We managed to do it, and the photographer grinned. “You kids are perfect. Now I’m going to do some individual shots.
Don’t let it bother you. Just act the way you always do.”

“Terra High, Terra High.” Kat began jumping on the higher of the two steps they had set up. Dina clapped her hands in rhythm.

“Um, let’s try another group shot,” the photographer said. “Line up, please.”

Kat and Dina ran in front of him, and Chili wasn’t far behind.

“You go too,” I told Paige.

“Only if you do.”

“Hey, cutie,” Kat said to the photographer, “Can I be in the front row for this photo?”

He seemed to consider it.

“Bobby,” I called out. “Where are you?”

“Right here, hon.”

The art director lumbered over. “What do you need?”

I pointed at Chili and Paige, each of them on either side of me. They grinned up at him.

“I’d like him to take their photos,” I said.

He nodded. “I agree. Hey, Ron, get over here.”

“Thanks,” I said.

Chili tossed her hair and flashed him a smile.

“Work that hair, Chili,” Kat yelled. “It’s all you’ve got.”

She moved the steps in front of us and began jumping up and down on the higher one, her skirt almost around her waist.

“Terra High, Terra High. We can flyyyyyy.”

I’d had it. At the moment she jumped from her perch, I kicked the other step out of the way. With a shriek, she
landed on her butt in the sand.

“Go for it, Kat,” I said. “Terra High yourself.”

 

7

IF YOU DOUBT THE POWER OF THE MOON, THINK
ABOUT ITS EFFECT ON WATER. EARTH IS 80 PERCENT
WATER, AND THE MOON PULLS THE TIDE. OUR BODIES
HAVE THE SAME MAKEUP. AS ANY LAW ENFORCEMENT
OR EMERGENCY ROOM PROFESSIONAL CAN ATTEST, A
FULL MOON MEANS BEDLAM. AND IF IT HAS THAT KIND
OF EFFECT ON US, IMAGINE WHAT THE REST OF THE
PLANETS CAN DO.

 

 

 

 

The moon was full Thursday night. Gemini Moon, good for communication skills, and I was going to need all the help I could get. The next morning, a silver shadow of it still remained in the sky as I drove to San Francisco. Stacy had
asked me to meet her for coffee, and her e-mail had sounded friendly. She’d even signed it “Stace.”

We met outside her office. As always, she looked perfect. The black hair made her skin seem even more pale and delicate. Today her dark eyes were lined in turquoise, the same color as the stones in her silver pendant. She looked like the “after” in a makeover photo.

I hoped this was a positive meeting, but with the full moon, I wasn’t counting on it.

“Thanks for coming so early, Logan.” Her smile was carefully composed as if she were waiting to go on stage. Again, I wondered if she was a Leo. More than that, I wondered what was going on that made it necessary for me to show up ahead of anyone else.

“It was a great drive,” I said, only partially lying. “I got to watch the sun come up while the moon was still in the sky.”

“Is that helpful for your astro stuff?” She began walking, and I did the same.

“Oh, no. Astrology isn’t only about what’s going on in the sky. It’s also understanding what was going on the moment you were born and figuring out how you’ve progressed and how you can deal with challenges and successes right now.”

“Well put.” It was a Henry Jaffa term. In my short association with him, I had learned that it usually meant:
Boring beyond belief. Please shut up.

“Love your outfit.” She checked me out from gray knit cap to skinny jeans. “You’re a cute girl, Logan, and you’d be even cuter if you did a little more with your eyes.” The
you’d-be-even-cuter
line reminded me of Chili when she tried to get Paige to wear more makeup. Was that what Stacy wanted to talk to me about? My appearance?

“Thanks. I’m afraid that I’m not very good at that.”

“I didn’t mean to sound critical.”

“Not at all,” I said. “I appreciate it.” So it wasn’t my appearance. What then?

We walked down Columbus toward a building with a glass front, a coffee shop that appeared local rather than Starbuckized. Through the expansive windows, I could see people huddled at tables in a well lit interior of yellow and brown.

“Caffe Greco,” I said, reading the sign.

“Order whatever you’d like.” She seemed impatient. My stomach was in such a tight knot that I didn’t dare eat anything.

“Just a decaf,” I said.

The guy at the counter was a cute Latino with rectangular glasses that made his eyes appear enormous.

“Hi, Carlos,” she said. “Beautiful day, isn’t it? A decaf for her and the usual for me, please.”

“Working hard?” He winked.

“Very hard, and I need the coffees to go,” she said, her tone clipped. One moment she’d been friendly to him. Now she seemed indifferent. Something was on her mind, all right, and I had a nasty feeling that I was the something.

“Sure thing,” he said with a shrug. “We’ll get your orders right away.”

We walked outside with our drinks. Although I was afraid to speak, Stacy seemed to be having a more difficult time. I
stopped on the sidewalk and tried to make eye contact with her.

“So what’s going on?”

“The launch party is shaping up well.” She took a sip from her cup, as if grateful to avoid looking back at me. “Alex Keen will be catering. We just got that confirmed.”

The hot Canadian chef Chili adored. I couldn’t wait to tell her about that, but I couldn’t think about it right now.

“That’s great.”

“And Arianna Woods has demanded your dismissal.”

“What?” I should have expected this after my run-in with her.

“I’m sorry, Logan. It was really wrong for me to tell her that you shared what she was doing on that social networking page of hers. So, yes, she hates you. And she’s trying to get us to terminate your internship.”

“Are you going to fire me?” I asked.

“Of course not. Henry would kill me.”

So Jaffa was the reason I had my internship. I’d already guessed that. Now I
knew
it.

“What do I have to do to convince her to leave me alone?” I asked.