among the stars

Az didn’t want to be angry with Rhys. In fact, she hated this conflict between them. How did they go from being friends to him shunning her? It wasn’t fair of him, and she’d allowed him to treat her poorly for long enough. No more. She deserved an explanation. Now, she might not be the best at keeping in touch or expressing herself, but she also tried her hardest to be around for her friends. And that was what she thought she was doing with him too, but apparently, she was wrong. “Bullshit.” She thundered, her eyes blazing now. “If it doesn’t matter, you wouldn’t have pushed me away.” She might not be easily angered, but there was always an exception to every rule. This being one of them.

Caught in the crosshairs of her fury, Rhys froze. He was surprised by the genuine hurt in her voice, having assumed that she’d turned her back on him with the rest of their circle. “What, didn’t Austin tell you?” he said bitterly. “He’d been going around telling our friends that I was jealous of him and sabotaging his work, when he’d actually been stealing mine for months. Everyone I reached out to just sided with him. He’s the reason I left my job in Chicago. Poisoned all of it.”

“You’re not a cold person? Not really sure if Maine is the place for you. Heavy coats and all that.” She shrugged. “It’s actually really comforting when you’re outside. Snaps you back to reality.”

"Can’t avoid it with all the time I spend with the night sky, but I like to at least have a thermos - or five - fending off some of the chill before I run back indoors. I’ve lived a few places with brutal winters so I can’t fault this place for that. Here’s hoping I land a place at the Griffith Observatory in LA next.” He raised a brow. “Whatever suits you, as long as I don’t find you frozen solid in the morning. Do you tend to stay out long?”

“The slightly cursed ambience?” Jacob could not help but repeat the other’s words as her raised his eyebrow. But when he listened to the other explain why using the microwave might not be the best idea due to the observatory’s power grid, he could not help but sigh. “Uh… have you considered maybe… oh, I don’t know, having an electrician come in, and have a look at it? Or do you just prefer to just live on the edge, mate?” He could not help but remark rather cheekily. “But you’re more than welcome to stop by my place for middle-of-the-night food, as long as I’m awake during the night, and not at work. But considering how often I get off work in the middle of the night, it should be fine.”

Y’know, I’ve been living in Merrock for years now, but I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the slang here ‘cause it’s so different from where I grew up. “Wicked Smart” still has to be my favorite, though. My accent still makes it sound unnatural whenever I say it. What are your favorite phrases that Mainers say?

I’ve only been around a few months but have definitely had some gibberish thrown at me. Good to know that time doesn’t make it better.  Been called a flatlander a couple of times, whatever that means. Probably not a compliment.

“Maybe take advantage, Halloween is just around the corner, you wouldn’t have to worry about a costume if you just embrace it,” Josh laughed. “Hm, good point,” he looked up, as though he could see the entire universe from where they were, only imagining what was out there, floating around in the skies above their heads… maybe some things he didn’t want to know about, to be honest. “Ever see anything… bizarre up there?”

“Like UFOs?” Rhys responded immediately, amusement sparkling in his eyes. He lowered his voice for dramatic effect. “If I told you, I’d have to kill you.” Then he shook his head. “Technically, yes, we do pick up on some Unidentified Flying Objects once in a while, but they’re only unidentified until you, well, identify them. Usually your standard astronomical objects, or very human aircraft and balloons. Though if you’ve got the time, I could talk you ear off about the Fermi Paradox and why we haven’t found conclusive proof of extraterrestrial life yet.”

Hmmm. Well that is interesting. Okay, good to know on that note. So it does that, and creates all that light? Trying to keep up, so how’s it go… it’s going to fast it looks like just shiny light? Am I getting that right?

More or less. The light’s coming from the meteor burning up once it enters Earth’s upper atmosphere. It’s because of the friction, creating heat. Faster and bigger meteors are going to make more of a glow. With me so far?

Well, I’m a reasonably confident near stranger, because I’ve been familiar with these woods since I was a very small kid. Just thing change, even in the forest, after a few decade.

Better to get lost with a local than another complete newcomer, but... if your map’s years out of date I’m not confident how much that improves our chances. Think we’ll make it out before dark?

“I can see that.” Listening to him now, Aya could already tell the man was not the friendly sort. He looked like he woke up on the wrong side of the bed, everyday. “Hmm… I’m sure you’re right, but since I’ve never seen one, I’m not going to worry myself over it.” She added. Now, if she was wise, she would have excused herself away from the grouch, but she was here first and he hadn’t left, so maybe he needed someone to talk to…? “I haven’t seen you around town. Are you new?” 

"That’s one approach,” Rhys shrugged. “Deal with life’s inconveniences by simply refusing to deal with them..” He’d fallen into a pattern of being completely disagreeable, and was quite comfortable to stay in it. “Yeah, got a contract with the college to fix up the old observatory, moved in about six months ago. Once I figure out my next steps, I hope I’ll be moving somewhere with a bit more life. And fewer jellyfish.”

“Hey, we discover the weirdest things during our midlife crises, and I think it’s good to put that into perspective. I’m a Marine biologist, so the basking sharks are kind of my boss, more than I am.”

“Looking forward to aging so I can finally become the crotchety old curmudgeon I already feel like. Ah, a fellow scientist. Respect. Where’s your research based out of?”

✤

“I never thought I’d be missing a diner, of all things, but the late-night dining options are thin on the ground, right? And no matter what anyone says, making the pancakes yourself is not the same thing. For one, they’re never gonna taste like real diner pancakes, no matter how many articles you read about secret ingredients.”

"Suppose I can’t expect much with a town this small. Doesn’t mean I won’t be complaining about it anyway. Huh, sounds like you put some serious research into your pancakes. I can get behind that. We need to get to the bottom of the pancake mystery and find the ultimate recipe. At the very least can have a good time eating the ‘failed’ experiments.”

Cordelia was always one to explore places, even if she had been to them a million times. Growing up in the small town meant often going to the same places time and time again, but finding those small things you never noticed before. Tonight lead her to the observatory in town where she was met with a gruff voice, who didn’t seem too thrilled to be there, but that didn’t stop the bubbly charm that was Cordelia. “They should probably have the wires covered a bit better to prevent that, people tend to be more clumsy then they’re willing to admit.” she said with a shrug. “Oh, a cup of tea actually sounds great.” she said. “You know I’ve been here before but I’m not sure I’ve ever gotten like the proper tour with all the explanations. It was mostly me as a kid attempting to pretend I figure them all out.” 

"They probably should,” Rhys agreed, “But since this place remains painfully understaffed, it’s really just me. I was hired as an astronomer, but also get to be a tour guide, carpenter, amateur electrician, plus plenty of other things I’m not qualified to do. Let’s just be happy the roof isn’t caving in on us. Anymore.” He waved her forward, heading past a telescope at the center of the observatory. He patted the equipment on his way past with a metallic thud. “This one’s my project. Been replacing parts, and going to set up a live stream on the college’s website so anyone can take a look. Busy picking up galaxies and cosmic dust billions of light years away. Caught some beautiful images of a dying star the other day.” Arriving at the small break room, he gestured toward the assortment of tea and coffee. “We’ve got everything. What kind of tea can I get ya?”

When she was given the chance to really look at the person standing before her, she realized that she was speaking to Rhys—her friend she had made in Chicago. A friend that was apparently no longer her friend for no discernible reason. Az should have allowed him to leave, but this has gone on for far too long. So, she stood and went to him. “Are you ever going to tell me what I did to you or are you going to keep being a dick to me and run at every chance?” Came her angry demand. 

Although her words stung, Rhys’ jaw clenched, unwilling to let it show. After months locked in disputes about his stolen work behind closed doors, he’d turned to a couple of friends in his Chicago crowd for support, only to find that Austin had gotten ahead of him, convincing them of his side of the story and painting Rhys as a liar. Rhys could have kept arguing his case or reaching out to other members of the group, but despair - and stubbornness - got in the way. Instead, he took the easy way out and seized the job in Merrock. He’s never bothered asking Azra her side of the story, but the cynic in him assumed he already knew. “Doesn’t matter, it’s history. We were friends, we’re not anymore, that’s life. Time to move on.”

Vera wrinkled their nose. “I do have a stash of ramen at my place, as well as those prepackaged rice dishes. They aren’t all that bad. But sometimes pancakes are just the ticket, right?” They licked over their lips. “Actually, I’m finishing my first. I kind of took a break, at one point but I’m finishing my last undergraduate year.”

"Classic, and yeah, sometimes it makes a world of difference when the meal in front of you didn’t come out of a package.” He nodded. “Right, right, got it mixed up. Looking forward to graduating? Have you got the next step figured out yet? No stress if not. School doesn’t have to be everything.”

Nate nodded as he listened. “Well, take it from the guy who’s lived here all his life… you won’t be able to put this town behind you even if you tried,” When he was younger, he couldn’t wish to move out of Merrock, but now, he couldn’t imagine living anywhere else but here. “But if you do end up leaving, then I’m taking your retirement plan. Don’t worry, I’ll name the diner after you.” 

“That sounds like a threat,” Rhys snorted. “This place is sort of a temporary solution. Just trying to put another place behind me. But who knows, things could always go terribly wrong and I’ll find myself becoming the cynical protagonist of a rom-com who falls in love with a small town.” He waved a hand with a laugh. “Feel free, just please don’t name it after me. You’ll just get generations of people mispronouncing it as Rice.”

“I get that. I always have a list of things to accomplish when I get home after work and they never really seem to happen. Oh, right. Yeah. Mack’s is a bar and grill. We’re right downtown. I’m the chef there.”

“Right. Much easier to make it tomorrow’s problem, then forget about it tomorrow. Nice, I’ll try to stop by. That is, I’ll definitely pin all my hopes on you and swing by at an unreasonable hour. Been working there long?”

“And this is why you need a friend like me. I’m making you have fun.” Ali would not take no for an answer, and by now, she was sure Rhys knew this. He could fight her all he wanted, but at the end, she always got her way. “Good God, I should have taken you hiking instead.” She murmured, her eyes rolling. “Or maybe blindfold you. That’ll be fun…” She grinned, mischief clear in her eyes. 

“That’s a matter of opinion,” Rhys said as he fell into step beside her. “Got to say, I’m still getting used to living in the same town as you.” He shot her a teasing look. “Had fewer problems when all you could do was berate me by email.” He laughed. “Sounds like a challenge. If you’re looking to raise the stakes, I’m in, as long as you’re doing the same.”