Aries Rising (5 page)

5

WHEN YOU ARE BORN AND TAKE THAT FIRST BREATH,
YOU INGEST THE UNIVERSE, AND THAT IS WHAT
LEAVES ITS MARK. HOWEVER, REMEMBER THAT YOUR
CHART IS LIKE ANY OTHER MAP. IT’S A WAY TO TRAVEL,
BUT YOU DON’T HAVE TO FOLLOW IT. STAY TRUE TO
YOUR MISSION, REGARDLESS OF WHAT THE MAP SAYS.

 

 

 

 

That’s what I had to do. My mission was to keep that internship. Although it wouldn’t make me miss Jeremy any less, it would help me continue my ties to Henry Jaffa. That connection seemed to be the only one that had survived the summer. No, I couldn’t allow such negative thoughts into my brain. There had to be a reason Jeremy hadn’t gotten in touch with me lately. He had said that he
was going to be doing some traveling with his dad. Maybe that’s what they were doing. Maybe he’d lost or broken his phone. Maybe.

In the meantime, I decided to start writing an astro love column for
CRUSH
, as if I already had the job. It would be about how to make a Sun fall for you. Once I proved myself to Stacy, I’d have all of these cool columns ready to go. Researching and writing it might even help me figure out how to get Jeremy interested again.

Snider was alone in the classroom that morning, bent over the papers on her desk. As usual, her hair was pulled back, with little curls around her neck. She had lightened it, or maybe just spent some time in the sun. Definitive Capricorn, made even more elegant by the white shirt with high neckline and pearl buttons.

“Good morning,” she said, and I could sense her caution.

“I wanted to come in early because I have good news,” I told her. “
CRUSH
magazine is going to do a spring issue on beaches next year, and they’re coming here to do a photo shoot.”

She put down her pen and gave me the first genuine smile I’d seen from her in a long time. “That’s wonderful, Logan. How did you make it happen?”

I felt myself flush. “Stacy, the
CRUSH
editor, liked the idea of featuring a beach in a small town.”

“So do I. I’m really happy to see you making such positive progress with your internship, Logan.”

Probably not a good time to mention that I was trying out
for the teen astrology columnist position. I would worry about that if and when I got the job.

“I’m excited about it. They’ll be picking one model from here. Can you believe it?”

“Only one?”

“One from each beach community high school. From all over the country.”

“How can we possibly select one?” Snider asked. “I can’t even imagine the wars that will start.”

“There won’t be any wars,” I told her. “Stacy says they are going to ask the fashion designer featured in that issue to make the final decisions.”

“Which designer?”

“Her name is Graciela Perez. Stacy said she’s the hottest beachwear designer in the country.”

“And no astrology?” Although she was still smiling, I knew it wasn’t a joke.

“Just swimsuits, Ms. Snider. No astrology.”

At least not right now.

I knew Snider was going to be a problem if I got the column, but that couldn’t stop me. Stacy was already beginning to have confidence in me. Even though she had claimed the beach idea as her own, she was rewarding me by letting Terra High be one of the featured schools.

The news spread. Other students asked me about it. That day, it seemed as if every girl on campus wanted to be in
CRUSH
. I wondered how that would feel—to know you looked so fabulous that you could be in a national magazine. Or to at least think you could be. If I had that much self-confidence, there would be no stopping me. I might just have the nerve to reach for my phone and call Ireland. Might just demand to know why a certain hot guy had suddenly gone so cold.

“Hi, Chili. Hi, Paige. Hiiii, Logan.” Dina Coulter, cheerleader—Kat’s Virgo friend, and suck-up, had oily dark hair and bright lips curved into a perpetual valentine smile. In addition to being a royal pain, she spent her days walking the halls and greeting everyone by name. Except for me. We had-n’t spoken since I had used astrology to figure out that crazy situation last spring, when I was still a sophomore. But it appeared that I was suddenly once again worthy of attention.

“Hi,” the three of us murmured in unison.

“I heard about
CRUSH
,” she said, and turned her beady little gaze on me.

“Oh, you did? Are you interested in trying out?”

Chili and Paige rolled their eyes.

“Maybe.” Dina shrugged. “I just wanted the guidelines, that’s all.”

For Kat, of course.
Virgo Dina thought there should be a ten-page printed list of rules for everything including getting out of bed in the morning.

“Just show up,” I said. “The photographers will be here on Thursday.”

“Are there going to be tryouts?”

“No, this isn’t cheer. They’re just going to take photos at the beach and around the school.”

“Come on, Logan,” she said. “You’ve got to have more information than that.”

“If I did, I’d tell you, even though I know who you’re really asking for.”

“So what?” she said. “Kat has as good a chance as any of your friends. That’s the real reason you’re not sharing what you know, isn’t it? You want Chili to get it.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Chili said. “If you think Logan would cheat for me, or if I’d even want her to ...”

“I wouldn’t put anything past either one of you.”

“Just a minute,” I said before their exchange turned into a fight. “I have no idea who’s going to be selected, okay? I was able to get the magazine to feature our school, that’s it. And I was lucky to do that.”

“Okay then.” Dina shrugged and pushed her hair out of her eyes. “I guess we’ll just have to wait until Thursday.”

With that, she took off down the hall.

“Can you believe her?” Chili said. “She’s acting like there’s some secret code or something.”

“You don’t need a secret code to get chosen,” I told her.

Paige grinned. “Not if those people at that magazine have a brain among them.”

“They do,” I said. “But they aren’t the ones making the decision. It’s the designer who will be featured in the issue. She’s going to be at the launch party too.”

“What designer?” Paige demanded.

“She does swimsuits. Her name is ...”

“Not Graciela Perez?”

“Yes, that’s the one. Is she good?”

“Oh, Logan,” Paige said, “she’s awesome! You’ve got to get me into that party.”

“Get us both in.” Chili wrapped her arm around me.

“I will do my best,” I said. “In the meantime, show up on Thursday in something sexy, both of you.”

“What about you?” Paige asked.

“I’ll be there to cheer you on,” I said. “Astrologer to the stars.”

Chili stared at me for a moment, and I knew that it was one of the rare times she wasn’t speaking what was on her mind. “Why don’t you both come by my house this afternoon? Help me try to figure out what to wear on Thursday.”

“I need to get home,” I said.

“You can check your e-mail from my computer.”

“I know, but I just feel I should be there.”

Paige and Chili exchanged looks. “Okay then. We can go through my closet tomorrow.” Chili’s smile was brighter than ever, and absolutely fake. I was grateful for it just the same.

 

6

LOVING AN EARTH SIGN USUALLY MEANS YOU WILL BE
TOGETHER FOREVER. EVEN A RARE CHEATING EARTH
SIGN WILL TRY TO STICK WITH BOTH LOVE INTERESTS
INDEFINITELY. IF YOU HAVE PICKED A TAURUS, VIRGO, OR
CAPRICORN PARTNER, YOU ARE PROBABLY SET FOR LIFE.
SOMETIMES EVEN MORE SET THAN YOU’D LIKE TO BE.

I was right. I heard from Jeremy. His text showed up about the time that I got home. My chest felt tight and ready to explode. Was this the only response he could send
me? What had happened to
I love you
? And what did
keep in touch
mean?

Admit it. I was losing him, losing the guy I loved. He was all I thought about that week, although I didn’t mention it to Chili or Paige. Why had Jeremy fallen out of love with me? Had he met someone else? Had he forgotten about how it had been with us? I guess he had. I couldn’t give up, though, in spite of everything that was happening right now. I needed to do something to get him to at least talk to me.

As the news continued to spread through Terra High that
CRUSH
would be doing a photo shoot on campus, Kat made it clear that she was determined to be the Terra High model—and so did Chili.

“If only because Kat is so irritating,” Chili said as we went through her closet Tuesday after school. “I don’t even care that much. But if I don’t try, she might actually win.”

Stella, Chili’s mom, stepped into the room.

“Absolutely nothing that shows cleavage, honey,” she announced. “I mean that, Jessica.”

She always called Chili by her real name.

“The magazine people are just doing group shots this trip,” I said. “They want to see us the way we look at school.”

“Your jean skirt with the gathered waist.” Paige’s eyes gleamed, and she went into Pisces creative mode. “Wear it with your plaid shirt, and your navy striped sweater.”

“I don’t want them to think I’m trying too hard.” Chili turned from the closet of endless possibilities.

“That’s the point,” I said. “Kat certainly will be trying too
hard. You need to do the same.”

“Who cares if she does get it? She doesn’t have anything else going for her.”

“But she’s an Aries, and she is going to play every angle,” I said. “You know how she is, and she super hates you because you stole her boyfriend last spring.”

“For what? About five minutes. She can have him now.”

“Just be sure that you pull down the shirt sleeves from the arms of your sweater, Chili.” Paige moved past us into the closet. “It’s a really good look. And, Logan, in return for all of this fashion advice, I’d love a personal introduction to the Platinum Dragon.”

“Who’s that?” I asked.

“Graciela Perez. That’s what they call her, and when you see her, you’ll understand why.”

Now I was starting to get it. “So she’s to you what Henry Jaffa is to me?”