The Lighter That Shone Like A Star (Story of The South) (5 page)

“Oh you know how it is dear, always busy but I’m ok, just a bit tired,” Marie replied.

Sofia’s mum was never busy or tired. Marie Vassallo was always ‘rushed off her feet’, ‘shattered’, and ‘fed up’. Sofia said nothing and let her mother continue the conversation.

“So, what’s new with you?” asked Marie.

What’s new with you? Something must be really wrong.

“Oh, nothing.
Same as always, lots of school work and revision for the final exams, but not much else.” She was unsure what she had said to trigger it, but Marie was suddenly crying. “Mum, what’s the matter?”

What’s dad done?

“Nothing, I’m just glad you’re okay,” her mother lied, turning back to the oven.

“Mum, just tell me what’s wrong.”

Maybe it wasn’t dad… maybe mum did something this time.

Sofia looked at her mother until her mother finally looked back. Mrs Vassallo took a deep breath and said, “I saw Jill today and she said she saw with that Myers boy and you were holding hands and then I got a phone call from the school to say you had skipped classes and I don’t even know who you are anymore, Sofia.”

“What?” Sofia exclaimed incredulously.

“Skipping school with a boy you barely know! Did you smoke? Drink? Take drugs? Let me look at your eyes…” Marie made her way over to Sofia, her eyes wide, surveying her daughter.

Sofia laughed for over a minute. At first, Marie appeared to be overwhelmed with worry, but when Sofia eventually managed to deny the claims, both mother and daughter fell into a fit of giggles. Sofia ordered her mum to sit down in the living room while she made them each a hot chocolate topped with marshmallows and whipped cream.

She rested next to her mum on the sofa and talked about her day with Max, the boy who was no longer her mystery.

A week had passed since the day Max and Sofia had escaped
school. Max was still in a state of disbelief, as was everyone else. He was unsure how the entire school had learned of his and Sofia’s day together, but he thought he had an idea; Sofia always confided in Anne-Alicia, who could keep nothing to herself.

The rumours about the pair were too accurate to be guesswork. Whispers seemed to follow Max and he swore that more than once he heard the words ‘fire’, ‘window’ and ‘kiss’, although he admitted that it could have been imagining it.

Max did not care much about the rumours, though, nor did he care whether people were impressed, envious, or dubious that he had kissed Sofia.

The only thought that had worried Max was if Sofia would be bothered by the rumours and whispers and would decide she did not want to see Max again. Sofia was
the most beautiful woman in Pipton and Max knew that he was not the most handsome boy. He was not even a man yet, but his sixteenth birthday was in one week and only then he would perhaps start to feel more worthy.

Max was especially excited about his sixteenth birthday because
Light on the Landing had announced that their tour date in Pipton was to be on that same day. He could not believe his luck when Matthew told him the news.

The day after he
skipped school with Sofia, his two best friends shocked him by arriving at his house ten minutes early. The insecure boy had assumed it was because they wanted to know where Max had been the day before, but that was only partially true. Light on the Landing had scribbled their announcement early in the morning and the two friends could not wait to tell Max.

People had only hoped that they would return to Pipton
, fully aware that the boyband were en route to becoming the biggest celebriti
es in The South. For Max, as well as every Hurburtan teenager, it was a dream come true. To add to his excitement, Jimmie’s parents lived next door to the Myers family so Max was positive that he would be able to meet at least one of his idols again.

Russell had not said much during Matthew and Max’s conversation, but when Matthew asked about Sofia he became much more alert. Max began to confide in his friends, hoping they were still friends enough to keep secrets.

“We jumped out of the window and she kissed me,” he began, evoking grins from each of his friends.
So they’re happy for me, that’s something
, he thought. “We sneaked around the school towards the yellow meadow so nobody saw us and we sat behind a tree until we knew classes had started again. We just chatted really, about anything and everything. It was strange because even though it felt like I kind of knew her, I knew nothing about her. She told me about when she lived in Terexe and what it’s like there. Apparently her family used to live near the Fiery Mountains and got to use their magic all the time. But then they moved to Hurburt because her dad got a job here,” he finished.

The last part was not exactly true, in fact Sofia and Freddie’s dad had broken the law and was forbidden to practise magic in Terexe. Thus, he was banished and forced to move to a non-magical land. Hurburt wa
s the only non-magical land in The South. Although Sofia had divulged these details to Max quite freely, he did not feel that she would want others to know.

“What did you do afterwards?” asked Matthew, eagerly.

“We went to my house, because my folks were at work. I made us lunch and we just chilled in front of the telly,” Max told his friends. He could see their disappointment. “We just talked a lot.”

Russell broke his silence, “Did you kiss again?”

“Yeah, we kissed quite a lot, too, actually,” replied Max, honestly. “It was really weird.”

“The kissing?” w
ondered Matthew.

“No, like, whenever we kissed, her hair got brighter and sometimes it was
like her hair was on fire. I guess it must be a Terexian thing. I ran my hands through it a few times but the flames didn’t burn at all!” Matthew and Russell shared Max’s bewildered expression, before exchanging looks of approval.

Max had forgotten how his hair had also changed, although he would have kept this from his friends even if he had remembered. While flames had risen from Sofia’s hair, drops of water had surfaced from his head. He had not felt any wetness on his head, just
as Sofia’s flames were not hot to touch, but as their kissing became more passionate, the water extinguished Sofia’s flames.

He
had assumed it was because of Sofia’s Terexian magic and did not think much more of it. When he next recalled the moment, it would make much more sense.

“That’s so cool!” Matthew exclaimed. “
Hurburtan girls are so boring, their hair is just hair.” Russell and Max both laughed.

“Yeah, but
Hurburtan women are much more intelligent than Terexians,” Russell told him.

“Who wants a clever woman when you can have a sexy Terexian with fiery hair?” Matthew said, making the boys laugh again.

Max did not totally agree with his friends. While it was true that Sofia and Freddie seemed to be more attractive than their Hurburtan classmates, Max was sure that it all boiled down to confidence. Besides, they were equally as intelligent as anyone else in Hurburt. In fact, Max was certain that Sofia and Freddie could have been the top of every class if they wanted to be.

“Anyway, tell us what else you did.” demanded Russell.

“Not much, really. It got late and my parents were about to come home, so we left and walked along the river. Then I walked her home and went home myself.” Max realised how uninteresting his afternoon may have sounded to his friends, but to him it was perfect.

“Sounds nice,” Matthew said.
“So what now? Are you going out?”

Max told him he was unsure. He and Sofia had not discussed it, but Max hoped they would continue to see each other.

“Just see how it goes, it sounds like she likes you quite a lot.” Russell offered.
Why is he being so nice all of a sudden? Maybe now I’ve kissed a pretty girl I’m worthy of being his friend
, Max thought. He hated himself for being so negative, but who could blame him?

After being close friends for so many years, Max did not understand why they had drifted apart. He was convinced it was due to Russell, though.

The boys continued their journey to school talking jovially, like they used to. By the time they arrived, Max was happier than he had been for months. He had had a wonderful day with Sofia Vassallo, Light on the Landing was coming to Pipton on his sixteenth birthday, and his friends felt suddenly like his friends once more. The rumours that fell upon his ears, therefore, did not bother him.

The week that followed was one of the best of Max’s life. Russell and Matthew were making more of an effort and their friendship was reverting back to how it was before, but Max suspected that it was because he was spending more time with Sofia.

Ma
x had quickly gone from being a relatively unknown boy to somewhat of a big name in school. Girls had conformed to Sofia’s opinion and decided that Max was one of the coolest and most handsome boys in Pipton. Max was sure that Anne-Alicia had not reached the same conclusion, as she usually regarded him with an icy glare, but she seemed to appreciate Matthew and Russell’s company nonetheless.

The
small group spent their rest-times relaxing on the school field, Sofia and Max hand-in-hand, Lornea with her head resting on Freddie’s lap, Anne-Alicia at Sofia’s side narrating her ScribblePad feed, and Matthew and Russell keeping more to themselves, occasionally chipping in to conversation.

The seven had quickly found new friends in each other and the bonds had somehow strengthened between old friendships. The four boys in particular enjoyed each other’s company and often left the girls to
chat while they helped make up the numbers in the multiple games of football taking place on the school field.

It was clear to Max that Freddie would have preferred to spend every second with Lornea, as she would be leaving soon, but she urged him to go.

He would need good friends when she’s no longer here
, Max guessed.

Max’s parents had also seen a significant and rapid change in their son and could not resist from telling him five times a day how happy they were for him. He was not yet a man but he had already found his woman, they told him. His dad had tried to talk to him about relationships more than once, much to Max’s embarrassment.

“I’m not even a man yet, dad,” Max had told his father.

“But you are soon and Sofia is already a woman. I just want you to be careful,” was his father’s reply.

“We’ve only been together for a week, stop worrying,” he retorted,
abruptly ending their conversation.

One time, Max’s mother had tried to
give him ‘the talk’, but she was even less successful as his father. Max didn’t mind, not really. He was just happy that his parents liked his girlfriend. Sofia had come for dinner one evening and after she left, Harvey and Kerry Myers declared how much they liked the young Terexian. Their son was happy and that was all they cared about.

They had often worried that he was too shy or
didn’t have many friends, but things were rapidly changing: Max was almost a man and he no longer felt like a boy.

It was just over a week until Max’s coming of age and he could not have been more excited. Getting tickets to the Light on the Landing gig proved to be easier than he could have imagined. He and Sofia were in Jill’s café one evening after school, their revision notes untouched on their table when the owner approached them.

If Max had to guess, he would have said Jill was
mid-fifties. In truth, she was much older but she had aged gracefully. It was obvious that she was once extremely attractive, with her translucent ocean-blue eyes and long blonde hair, which Max assumed, once again incorrectly, that she dyed regularly.

Jill
told the couple that the boys from Light on the Landing had sent her four tickets to see their show because she had often let them play in her café to a small crowd, and had served them much cyder before they had all even become men.

She would go with Mary, the other lady who worked in the café, but had no use for the other two. Seeing as the gig was on Max’s birthday, she offered them as a
gift. He could not thank her enough. For the others in Pipton, it was not so easy.

People queued overnight to buy their tickets from the temporary box office set up in the school’s reception
, and many were left deeply saddened when they missed out. Fortunately, all of Max’s friends had queued early enough and each had a ticket in their possession.

Teachers could barely get any sense out of their pupils from the excitement, despite final exams being less than a month away for the oldest year.

Consequently, the headmaster made an extremely unpopular announcement that ScribblePads were to be banned in school, as pupils had taken to constantly bombarding the members of Light on the Landing with Scribbles, gushing about their excitement for the upcoming tour.

Max was the only one of his year not to grumble about this decision, as he was the only one without a ScribblePad. He would have one
in a week, though, as a coming of age gift from his parents.

Max was sitting under a tree with his friends during Friday’s rest-time and reflected on how his life had suddenly changed, and how happy he was. He smiled.

“What are you thinking?” Sofia wondered aloud.

“Nothing,” Max replied, blushing. Sofia smiled, gently biting her bottom lip.

“I’m so excited for next Friday,”
Russell exclaimed. The others uttered words of agreement, Freddie and Lornea nodded silently. The day after Max’s coming of age and Light on the Landing’s gig was the day Lornea would move to Salmont.

Originally, Lornea’s family wanted to leave earlier so they would have time to settle into
Salmontaïc life before her father started work, but their daughter convinced them to stay longer so she could go to the concert. Max knew it would make it a very bittersweet evening for the couple, but at least it would be one they would never forget.

“What songs do you think they’ll play?” Anne-Alicia asked nobody in particular.

They spent the rest of their rest-time debating what song was the best, wondering what their set-list would be, and discussing who their favourite member of the band was.

Each girl had a different preference. Sofia loved the blond boy, Naithian, because he seemed the most fun, always scribbling about parties and his
enthusiasm for life in general.

Zaak was Anne-Alicia’s favourite with his muscular physique, chiselled features and jet black hair. Lornea felt that it was not fair to choose only one but the oldest of the group, Jimmie, had stolen her heart with his boyish charm.

Max, Freddie and Russell were all agreed that Haze was the best because he not only had an amazing singing voice but also wrote many of the band’s songs. Matthew, however, preferred Jayke as he came across as the most down-to-earth of the band and dedicated the most time replying to fans on Scribbler.