The Brightest Star in a Constellation

33: Coffee and Confessions

☽ Peter ☽

With the required six members, the Astronomy Club gains its place in the school yearbook. Student council is scheduled to meet us in Ms. Crozier's room on Tuesday a few minutes before the end of the day, and in the meantime, I organize the club room.

Nicole is the first to arrive, followed by Lexa, Jay, and Dina. Nicole's wearing a blue pullover with the school's logo across the middle; her earrings are in the shape of dangling rainbows. She prances over to me. "What are you doing?"

"Making the rows straight," I say.

She chuckles lowly. "I am not going to make a joke about that. It would be too easy."

Soon enough, the clubroom is occupied by Willow, along with Lucas and Evan. Holding a camera and a tripod, Willow guides the group into the frame. The flash clicks off, leaving white spots like raindrops in my vision.

Lucas is in my periphery, and he enters the realm of my personal space. He forms a semi-circle with Evan on the opposite side. "Have you been invited to the hockey game yet?" he asks me.

"It's tonight, isn't it?" I deflect as my eyes settle between them.

"Yeah, you should come," Lucas replies softly. "I'm walking over to the rink once school is over. I can show you the way." He turns to Evan. "Do you want to?"

Evan shrugs and points his thumb towards the window, replying, "I have to pick my sister up. You can go without me—I'll just meet you at the rink."

My sense that he practiced that answer is piqued. It doesn't help that there's a nonverbal wink exchanged between the two hockey players, and I automatically tense up. I flatten my hands against my pants to prevent them from becoming jittery, but I'm already past that point. I don't like this feeling.

The bell rings before I can protest. Evan dismisses himself from the room in a rush; I sigh heavily.

"I have to pick up some food on the way there," Lucas says, turning down the hallway. He shoves his hands into the pockets of his sweater, removes a beanie and puts it on. "Do you want coffee?"

"Sure, I guess that's fine," I answer, following close behind him. He heads onto the pathway connecting the school to the sidewalk, and I hold my arms close to my chest. I grit my teeth and keep my eyes on the pavement as if the ground is about to lead me astray.

I can tell that Lucas is holding onto a question for me, but he doesn't let it slip until we've entered Tim Hortons. The line is short, and Lucas orders a bagel and a muffin for himself, (he unwraps and digs into it immediately, which I suppose must be in preparation for the game). He picks a seat near the far corner, sliding in the chair that faces the window.

He passes me my coffee. I pull back the tab of the plastic covering. The steam rises in tiny wisps, fogging my glasses for a moment.

"I'm sorry I waited so long," Lucas says. And it's the kind of sentence where I have no idea how it'll end. I could try to guess, but I'd likely be unable to figure it out. It leaves me completely motionless, as I don't want to give him the wrong impression. I'm not sure what to do with my hands, and I run my thumb across the rim of my cup to occupy myself. To be fair, I'm not sure what to do with my facial expression either.