Aries Rising (8 page)

“I’m not sure,” I said. So much for my
considerable communication skills
.

Dina gave me a pathetic smile. “It’s right up there on the board,” she said, as if trying to be helpful. “About three moles of M&Ms would completely fill the oceans of the world.” She wasn’t trying to make points with Bodner, only driving the knife into me. A Virgo tactic, for sure.

Bodmer ignored her. I was getting The Look, and the rest of the class knew it. Slowly, all heads turned toward me.

“So, what’s in your lap?” Bodmer asked, in that flippant way that made it clear she already knew the answer.

“My phone,” I said, “but I wasn’t ...”

She put out her hand. “Give it to me.”

“But I wasn’t ...”

“You know the rules, Logan. Just hand it over. And the rest of you had better be smart enough to have yours put away. If you don’t, I’ll have to take them too.”

The rest of class was a blur. I just knew that Jeremy was texting me back, and I had no way of knowing. No way of even getting back to him.

I waited after class and finally approached Bodmer at the door.

“Sorry about what happened today,” she said, before I could speak. “By the way, don’t ever take up poker. Your face gives you away.”

“I’ve never tried to text in your class before,” I told her. “If so, you would have caught me.”

“That’s for sure.” She shoved a mass of curls behind her ear, and I saw a large dangling earring that was as out there as the leopard print glasses on her head.

That reminded me again that, although she gave some of the hardest tests I’d ever taken, she wasn’t a by-the-rules teacher.

“Since I’ve never done it before, could you give me a second chance?” I asked.

She shook her head. “I’m required to take away phones from kids who use them inappropriately. You know that.”

“You’re not going to send it to the SRC, are you?”

“Of course not,” she said.

“Thank you.”

“You messed up,” she said, “but you only messed up once. I’ll just keep it in my drawer while you have time to think about why you should not text in class.”

“But I need it,” I told her. “Please, could you make an exception, just this time?”

“I already made one, and a big one, at that. I’m not turning it over to the vice principal.” She returned to her desk, opened the drawer and put my phone inside. “It will be waiting for you here next Monday.”

Monday?
“Please,” I said. “I can’t be without a phone that long. It’s really important.”

“It’s really important that you pay attention in class, and you can’t do that if you’re only pretending to listen.” She sat on the edge of her desk and gave me a friendly grin as if trying to make me understand that she was helping instead of destroying me. “I know you have a lot going on right now with your magazine internship, and that’s okay. What you did today is not.”

“I know that, but I have to be in San Francisco Friday morning. I can’t go without my phone. What if I got in an accident or something? What if I got sick and had to call home?”

“I get your point.” She stood up, and for a moment, I thought she was going to reach for the drawer, and give it
back to me. “I’ve been known to break a rule now and then,” she said. “Tell you what. Stop by Thursday afternoon, and I’ll let you have it.” She glanced up at the clock. “Anything else I can do for you today, Logan?”

 

 

Mercury in Aries.
Aries is an action sign. With this placement, you can often speak before you think. You can also be more forceful when you talk, and sometimes bossy.

 

Mercury in Taurus.
Taurus is not a chatterbox. Far from it. When Mercury is here, you may have a speaker who talks slowly and who is more deliberate with word choice.

 

Mercury in Gemini.
Mercury rules Gemini, and Gemini is at home with words. This placement can make any sign a strong communicator, and in some cases, too much of one.

 

Mercury in Cancer.
The Crab often works behind the scenes. When Mercury is in this sign, the speaking style is frequently soft-spoken and sometimes manipulative.

 

Mercury in Leo.
The Lion is fond of attention. When Mercury lands there, the communication style will usually be more exuberant.

Mercury in Virgo.
Mercury rules Virgo as well as Gemini. Since Virgo is all about details, a Merc-Virgo placement can create a communication style that is full of facts, figures, and sometimes, minutiae.

 

Mercury in Libra.
These speakers are diplomatic and often good negotiators. The communication style is more balanced (some would say wishy-washy), and the speaker will consider (or appear to consider) both sides of an issue.

 

Mercury in Scorpio.
The Scorpion is rooted in the past, and many could live with minimal conversation. Even a chatty Air sign will be more thoughtful and serious with this placement.

 

Mercury in Sagittarius.
Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, the planet of expansion. When Mercury lands here, it may result in a speaker who is never-ending verbose and nonstop talkative.

 

Mercury in Capricorn.
The hardworking Mountain Goat has no time to mince words. The communication style here will be more matter-of-fact, borderline rude, and could appear cold and unemotional.

 

Mercury in Aquarius.
Aquarius thinks before speaking. And thinks and thinks. When Mercury resides there, the speaking style can be a little (and probably a lot) on the analytical side.

 

Mercury in Pisces.
The Fish slips around instead of through obstacles. You might tend to “think” your great comebacks instead of actually speaking them. You might also talk around a subject without coming to the point.

10

HOW ASSERTIVE ARE YOU? YOU’LL FIND PART OF THE
ANSWER IN YOUR SUN SIGN. FIRE SIGNS (ARIES, LEO,
SAGITTARIUS) ARE THE MOST ASSERTIVE OF ALL. THEY
BLAZE AHEAD WITHOUT GIVING A THOUGHT AS
WHETHER OR NOT THEY ARE EQUIPPED TO. IF YOU ARE
A FIRE SIGN, LEARN TO THINK FIRST. EARTH SIGNS
(TAURUS, VIRGO, CAPRICORN) ARE MORE DELIBERATE
THAN ASSERTIVE. IN CONFLICT, THEY PUSH AHEAD AT
THEIR OWN PACE. IF YOU ARE AN EARTH SIGN, LEARN
TO LISTEN. AIR SIGNS (GEMINI, LIBRA, AQUARIUS)
TRULY BELIEVE THEY ARE AGGRESSIVE, BUT THEIR
POWER IS IN WORDS AS OFTEN AS ACTION. IF YOU ARE
AN AIR SIGN, LEARN TO NOT JUST TALK BUT ACT.
THOSE CONFLICT-AVOIDING WATER SIGNS (CANCER,
SCORPIO, PISCES) CAN BE THE MOST PASSIVE-
AGGRESSIVE OF ALL. THEY ARE THE ONES WHO SIMMER
SILENTLY, THEN TAKE OUT THEIR ANGER BY PUNISH-
ING THEMSELVES. IF YOU ARE A WATER SIGN, LEARN
TO SPEAK OUT.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All week, my emotions twisted and turned. Jeremy might be trying to get in contact with me. Sure, my dad and I had a land line at home, but my cell was the number I gave everyone. It was the way Jeremy and I had once connected. The way we might connect again now that it was Thursday, and I had my cell back. There were no messages from him, but four from Stacy.

They were all identical. “Call me when you can.”

I tried to reach her Thursday night but got no answer. Worse, I’d be leaving too early the next day for me to return the call. I hoped it was not important.

Friday was a teacher in-service, so Chili offered to drive me to San Fran. Stella, her mom, had said we could stay at the Chiliderians’ condo in the Embarcadero. She planned to join us that night for dinner and shopping the next day. Having my friends with me made me less nervous than I had been on my previous trips to the magazine office.

Chili drove the streets of San Francisco as if she had been born there. Unlike me, she seemed to sense which ones were one-way and which were dead ends. After some fast corners, and a stomach-clutching ride down a hill, she stopped in front of the building.

“This is the place. How’d you find it?”

“Gemini instinct.” She flashed me a grin, and her highlights gleamed in the early morning light. “Now aren’t you glad we got here early? Call me when you’re finished for the day.”

“And have fun.” Paige squeezed my shoulder from the backseat. “And, please, please, please ask if you can get us into the party. I’ve got to meet the Platinum Dragon.”

“I’ll try,” I told her. “See you tonight.”

Stacy stood at the office door as I walked in, a black-and-white stenciled bag over the shoulder of her fitted red jacket. “Don’t you ever answer your phone?” she asked.

“I’m sorry.” No way could I tell her that said phone had been confiscated by my chemistry teacher. “I didn’t have it, but I checked my voice mail.”

“You know I don’t do voice mail,” she said. “You could see my number there, and you could have called me back if you’d wanted to. I needed you here early today.”

“It is early.” I started to get that tight, anxious knot in my stomach again.

“Not really.” She glanced at her watch, an asymmetric strip of silver around her tiny wrist. “We’re supposed to be at the hotel making plans for the launch party. Do you realize it’s in less than a month? I’ve been trying to get in touch with you for days, Logan. We missed the car. Now we’re going to have to get a taxi.”

What had Bodmer done to me?

“My friends just dropped me off,” I said. “They can’t be that far away. I’m sure they can give us a ride.”

“You need to call them.” She sighed in that obvious way she frequently used to convey her impatience. “I can’t waste another minute. After I leave the hotel, I’ve got to meet Arianna for a photo shoot.”

Chili answered immediately. “What’s going on?”

“How soon can you get back here?” I asked. “My editor and I need a ride.”

“Cool. We’re going around the block right now. Get us in, okay?”

“I’ll try,” I said, and to Stacy, “They’re on their way. I’m so sorry I missed your calls.”

“As long as we get there before Alex pitches a fit,” she said, but her expression was tight and unfriendly.

Before I could try to make any more excuses, Chili pulled up in front of the office. Stacy climbed into the front seat beside her. I got in beside Paige.

“I really appreciate this,” Stacy told Chili. “I had hoped to
reach Logan earlier. The only time we can work on our launch party is when the hotel isn’t busy. The head chef isn’t happy, as it is, that we’re disrupting his staff’s routine.”

“No problem.” Chili tossed her hair, and I could only imagine the strength of her smile. “We’ll get you there.”

“Thank you. Alex Keen is our celebrity chef, and he doesn’t like to be left waiting.”

That was for sure. Keen had been known to walk off any number of events that didn’t live up to his top-chef expectations.

I realized that Chili seemed frozen, her fingers gripping the wheel. Paige gave me a little smile. Alex Keen. Our talkative Gemini friend had just gone speechless. Still, she got us to the hotel in minutes. Without asking, she climbed out of the car, and motioned Paige to do the same.

Stacy shot me a look, and I could see the doubt in that refined expression of hers.

“I appreciate the ride,” she said to Chili in the tone and attitude she might address a limo driver she wasn’t going to tip.

“Could they come with us?” I asked.

“No offense,” she said, in a voice that carried nothing but. “I just don’t want to walk in there, late, with three high school girls in tow, okay? I mean, Alex would laugh me out of the place. Do you realize the pressure that’s on me? I’ve got to run a new magazine, plan this event, and still come up with a costume of my own for the launch party.”