Starbound: A Starstruck Novel (5 page)

“Don’t you two look cozy.” Sean scraped back his chair and thunked into it. Of course, every head within earshot turned to see what he was talking about, but by then Rigel and I had broken eye contact and were focusing on our lunches.
 

“I just gave him a cookie, Sean. What’s the big deal?”
 

“Yeah, I saw. Very nice of you.” Then, so softly only I—and maybe Rigel and possibly Molly, across the table—could hear, “Everyone else saw, too. You guys aren’t doing as good a job of cooling it as you think you are.”

I turned to glare at him and noticed Trina standing a few feet away, smirking in our direction. She must have said something to get Sean riled up about Rigel, just like she’d done to Rigel last period.
 

“Look, we’re doing our best, okay?” I whispered back. Then, to Bri, who was starting to look a little too curious, “Did you hear Matt broke up with Alicia over the weekend?”
 

Since Bri had gone out with Matt several times last fall, that snagged her attention immediately. “Really? Did you hear why? I’ll bet she cheated on him, the little—”

“I heard it was the other way around,” Molly said, giving me a half wink.
 

Then Deb weighed in with her own bit of gossip and I was free to communicate with Rigel some more, though I was careful not to look at him.

You guys need to stop listening to Trina. She’s just trying to make both of you mad at me.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw him give a hint of a shrug.
Problem is, some of what she says is true.
 

Not when she says I’m over you, it’s not! You know she’s always—

“Are you going to finish that?” Sean asked, pointing at my untouched roll.

“No, you can have it. And my other cookie, too, if you want.” Maybe he’d realize how ridiculous he’d been a minute ago.
 

Instead, he frowned across me at Rigel. “No,
I
know how much you like the double chocolate ones.”

“Only the ones from Dream Cream,” Rigel shot back. “The school ones, not so much. Maybe you don’t know her as well as you think?”
 

And so it went for the next few minutes, both guys making little digs till I pulled out the big guns. “Let’s talk about our history projects now, okay?”
 

It always surprised me when my “push” worked, but I was grateful when they obediently started discussing how far they’d gotten on their respective projects.

U.S. History, after lunch, was usually my favorite class, since Rigel, Sean, Molly, Bri and Deb were all in it, but Trina wasn’t. But today, less than five minutes in, Mrs. George called Rigel and me and both O’Garas up front.

“You’ve all been asked to go to the office. No, I don’t know why,” she said when Sean started to ask, “but try to come back as quickly as possible, since you all still have a lot of work to do on your projects.”

After the tension at lunch, my first thought was that Rigel and Sean had been caught fighting, but that didn’t explain Molly and me being summoned, too. Maybe it had something to do with our upcoming trip?

My second guess was right.

“Congratulations, all of you!” Principal Johannsen greeted us when we were shown into her office. “I’ve just received word that the four of you have each finaled in an essay contest, which means full scholarships to a study-abroad program in Ireland that I take it you’ve all applied for? I hadn’t heard about it before, but the paperwork seems clear enough. Was this something your guidance counselors told you about?”

“Our mum, actually,” Molly replied while I was still groping for a good answer. “She heard about it from friends in Ireland and suggested we all apply.”

The principal nodded. “I see. Very resourceful of you all to have followed through. Now, we’ll have to work out transfer of credits and other details, but assuming you decide to go…?” We all nodded. “It shouldn’t set back your graduations. Would you like to tell your parents, or shall I call them?”

This time I spoke up. “Uh, I think my aunt would really like to hear it from you, Ma’am. Just so she knows it’s official and everything.”

“Of course.” From the principal’s knowing smile, she was well enough acquainted with Aunt Theresa (who taught third grade at Jewel Elementary and knew everybody in the school system) to understand why I requested that. “The rest of you?”

“We can tell our folks, since they already know about the program,” Sean said.

Rigel nodded. “Me, too. But thanks for offering.”

Principal Johannsen beamed around at us. “Wonderful. That’s settled, then. You’ll want to make appointments with your guidance counselors this week to be sure you’re on track with everything, since it’s a very short time frame. Congratulations again!”

“That was pretty slick,” Rigel murmured as we headed back through the mostly deserted hallways. “I didn’t think they could manage it that fast.”

Sean glanced at me. “Mum said the Council started setting things up a few days ago. I think they just wanted to run it past you first, M.”

Though I was still feeling a little stunned, I had to laugh. “Run it past me? You make it sound like I was given a choice.”

I didn’t usually pay attention to the morning announcements, since Trina was one of the announcers, but I glanced up at the video monitor the next day when I heard, “And special congratulations to four Jewel students for winning full scholarships to the Irish-American Cultural Enrichment program, which will allow them to spend the spring studying in Bally . . . Bail . . . in Ireland. The winners are—” Suddenly Trina looked like she’d swallowed something disgusting. “—are Sean and Molly O’Gara, Rigel Stuart…and Marsha Truitt. Now, here’s Carly Morehouse with an update on tonight’s game.”

The camera switched to Carly. Next to me, Deb started laughing.

“Did you see her face? That was awesome! I mean, I already thought it was way cool that you guys won this thing, but that makes it even better.”

I had to agree. Especially when Trina came into the room a few minutes later, her expression still sour as she glared across at me. I just smiled sweetly.

She didn’t look at me again for the rest of class. But as we were all leaving for second period, she sidled up to me. “There’s no
way
you won that thing on your own, Marsha,” she hissed furiously. “I’m going to find out who pulled what strings to get you in, and then I’m going to make sure
everybody
knows about it. So don’t you start packing for Ireland just yet!”

pleanal
(plenn-UHL):
advance planning; scheming

Now it was Rigel’s turn to tell
me
not to listen to Trina, that she was just jealous, but I was uneasy. I’d had way too much experience with Trina’s vindictiveness from second grade on and knew what lengths she’d go to pay off a grudge. She’d already been pissed at me about Rigel and Sean, both of whom she’d decided she had first dibs on. Now this. At least I only had to keep my guard up for a couple more weeks.
 

At lunch, Rigel got mobbed by cheerleaders while Trina waylaid Sean again. This time I focused, so I could hear what she said.

“Hey, Sean, congratulations on that scholarship. I guess you guys found out about it because of being from Ireland, huh? I
so
would have applied if you’d told me, I’ve
always
wanted to go there!”

From several yards away, I snorted to myself. Trina had already spent a summer in Paris and at least two winter breaks in the Bahamas, as she told anyone who’d listen. Must be nice to have rich, doting parents.

“So how come just you four knew about this thing?” Her voice was still syrupy sweet.

“Um, well, our folks are friends with the Stuarts, so I guess my mum mentioned it to them. And M is my girlfriend, so of course I told her.”

I stiffened, even though I’d heard him use the word before. (I’d definitely never used the word
boyfriend
to refer to Sean!) Trina obviously didn’t like it, either.

“So you two really are
official
now, huh?” The honey had disappeared. “When did that happen?”
 

“It’s been kind of gradual, I guess, ever since the winter formal.”

Trina made a rude little “tch” noise. “When are you going to wise up, Sean? Everyone
else
knows her whole innocent girl-next-door thing is just an act.”

“What do you—? No, never mind.”
 

Sean walked away from her then, but still looked upset when he sat down beside me a second later. He dumped ketchup on his fries, then frowned at me. “There’s nothing everybody else knows about you that I don’t, right?” His bright blue eyes bored searchingly into mine and I met his gaze steadily.

“Of course not. You need to ignore Trina, Sean. She’s just trying to make trouble for me, like always.”

Rigel reached the table before he could respond, sitting down with a thump. I jumped a little, thinking he’d seen that look between Sean and me. “Sheesh! I didn’t think I was going to get away from them in time to eat lunch.”

I forced myself to laugh. “You can’t really blame them for trying, Rigel. I mean, you
are
the quarterback and super popular, and, um, single these days.”
Not to mention the best looking guy in the school, by a couple orders of magnitude,
I added.

He grinned, though I knew it was at my silent comment and not the word “single.” I hoped.
 

“So I’m the best catch in school, is that what you’re saying?”
And no, I was
not
smiling about being single. I’d change that in a heartbeat if I was allowed to, you know that!

I only replied to what he’d said aloud. “You think I’ll puff up your ego any more by admitting that?” Though of course it was true. He had to know it as well as I did.

Bri was distracted from her latest gossip session about Matt by the scent of something potentially juicier. “So, Rigel, who
do
you have your eye on these days? I know Hailey Wallace was really hoping you’d ask her to the Valentine’s dance, but then you didn’t go at all. And Amber says you’ve been talking to her kind of a lot these days…”

Rigel shot me a quick glance. “Nobody special right now, but who knows?”

Of course, that got Bri pumping him even harder for hints, which she did often now she’d regretfully decided Rigel and I weren’t getting back together.
 

I tried not to listen as Rigel gave a mostly flattering assessment of the various girls Bri suggested. Even though I knew he was just toying with Bri and the gossip mill, I didn’t like hearing it. I really hoped this trip to Mars could somehow change things so we wouldn’t have to pretend anymore. But I didn’t dare let Rigel pick up that thought, either.

That evening, the O’Garas and I rode to Sean’s basketball game in the Stuarts’ SUV, which meant Rigel and I got to hold hands in the back until we reached school, a too-rare treat. I focused on how wonderful his touch felt to keep more dangerous thoughts from intruding. It mostly worked.
 

Once we got there, though, I had to sit with the O’Garas at mid-court, where Bri had saved seats, while Rigel went to sit with some fellow football players. Molly waved to us from the court, where she was practicing with the cheerleading squad. That prompted Trina to send a nasty glance my way, after which she immediately started talking to Molly. I couldn’t make out everything over the noise in the gym, but I caught a few words.

“…ask if they’re taking late applications…know what Marsha’s essay was about?…helped her?” Molly just shrugged and shook her head, so after a last comment that sounded like, “Promise to let me know?” Then Trina took her place again so she could wiggle seductively for the benefit of the basketball team, which had just come out of the locker room.

To nobody’s surprise, Sean played ridiculously well again, scoring twice as many points as anyone else on either team. We won easily, advancing Jewel High to Regionals for the first time in living memory. The spectators erupted in cheers at the final buzzer, then rushed the court to congratulate the team.
 

Like he always did these days, Sean greeted me with a hug. Conscious of interested
Echtran
eyes in the crowd, I hugged him back—just for show. I must have played my part a little too well, though, because Sean pulled me closer, then suddenly swooped his mouth down to mine.
 

Since I thought I’d made it crystal clear during our first “date” at the winter formal that kissing was
not
in my bargain, I was caught totally off guard. Sean managed to graze the side of my mouth with his lips before I jerked away to glare at him.

“Oops, sorry.” But his eyes made it clear he was only sorry he hadn’t made it a
real
kiss. “Got a little carried away for a second.”

“Don’t.” I stepped away so his parents and Molly—and about a hundred other people—could congratulate him.
 

I sensed Rigel watching from somewhere behind me. Worse, I sensed his shock and pain, which hurt me almost as much as it did him. Remembering how destroyed I’d been when he let Trina kiss him after a football game last fall, trying to misdirect the bad guys who were after me, I felt like a hypocrite—even though
I’d
pulled away in time.

If he tries that again, I’ll kick him right in the stomach,
I thought to Rigel, desperate to make it clear I had nothing to do with that almost-kiss.
You know I can do it, too. I have my blue belt now!

Hoping no one was watching too closely, I turned around to look at Rigel, separated from me by a couple of yards of surging crowd. He met my eyes and attempted a smile that only squeezed my heart harder. No matter how I tried not to, I somehow kept making things worse for him and I hated it.

It’s…not your fault. But you just reminded me—want to meet me in the arboretum after your taekwondo class tomorrow?

It was all I could do not to nod furiously.
Absolutely! We’re way overdue for some alone time. I’ll be there even if it’s blizzarding
.