The first time they “officially” met was at last month’s Homecoming game. Moon Ridge High’s team had just won, and everyone was busy catching rides to the after-party at Cassidy Rivera’s house. Ash and True had gone to grab True’s beast of a car known as Miss Hocus-Pocus while Onny waited by the curb.
It was right then that all the stars aligned (as Onny knew they would because… horoscope), and when Onny turned to her left, she saw Alexander the Great-Looking standing next to her. Onny had noticed him plenty of times during biology class. Mostly: the shoulders. Secondly: the face. Thirdly: the accent. Honestly, if he was just shoulders and face and accent, he’d still be in her top-ten ranking for “Humans I’d Like to Repopulate the Earth with in Case of Apocalypse.”
“Looks like the stars aligned, eh?” Alexander had said.
Onny felt the air rush out of her lungs. Did he somehowknowthat was her horoscope reading, too?
“For the game,” Alexander clarified.
“Oh,” said Onny. “Yes. Totally. Go… Moonbears.”
It was a sad name for a team, and truly the only way they could get around it was by being an unbeatable athletic force. Pretty smart tactic, actually.
“I can’t speak for my own stars, sadly,” said Alexander. “My sister put a peculiar zodiac app on my phone, and I think the last thing it said was ‘beware of sandwiches.’ Deadly stuff, sandwiches.”
Onny grinned. “You’d be taking your life into your own hands with a single bite.”
“Hang on, now I’m wondering what it’s saying about today,” said Alexander, pulling out his phone. He swiped the screen, squinted, then read aloud, “‘This is the time of love, Sagittarius! Communication for the week is likely to be honest and dynamic. Open your heart and enjoy where the journey takes you.’”
He made ahmpfsound. “S’ppose the bit about sandwiches was a lie then.”
But Onny was barely listening. He was a Sagittarius? That was a perfect pairing to her air sign!
“I’m an Aquarius,” she blurted out.
“Is that so?” said Alexander. He winked, then lifted up his phone. “Well, according to this thing, that means you and I are a perfect match.”
It was, in all honesty, a beautiful moment that Onny wishedshe could somehow smoosh between glass. The late-September air smelled like woodsmoke. In the distance, she could see the school’s apple orchard, where the ripe, shiny fruit hung from dark branches like gems fashioned out of individual sunsets. This was the time of year when Moon Ridge really came alive. In every season, Moon Ridge was a jewel box of a town. Some businesses and farms—like Blush Apple Orchards—had been in people’s families for generations, and the city was rich with parks and fountains and kissing benches under the old willow trees. In the winter, Moon Ridge wore the snow like rich buttercream frosting on a cake. In the spring, the flowers on Robocker Avenue swayed like they were dancing. And in the summer, the streets turned hazy in the aftermath of fireworks. But fall was special. In autumn, Moon Ridge crackled with magic: banked fires roared, the trees rippled with gold, and the wind whispered the distant promise of frost in the year’s last golden laugh.
At the time, Onny had been leaning against one of the bike racks. Her shoulder-length black hair was waved in a vintage Hollywood style, and she had on a faux-fur shag coat that made her look—and feel—like an underworld queen.
She had completely planned to tilt her chin up ever so slightly, maybe even shoot Alexander a saucy wink (she’d been practicing her winks on True and Ash, and over the summer True had finally conceded that she no longer looked like a creature in its death throes, so hooray), but then… of course, Byron Frost had to ruin it.
Onny caught the dark stretch of his shadow right before he shattered her perfect moment.
Oh no,she thought.No no no no—
“Looks like your human sacrifice worked, Onny. Congratulations.”
Alexander had frowned. “Human sacrifice?”
“She wanted to guarantee the team would win, so, you know, the human had to go. She was quite brutal about it, if I’m being honest.”
Onny was seriously considering sacrificing Byron next if he uttered another word.
Alexander’s gorgeous smile started tugging downward. “Uh—”
I can fix this!thought Onny valiantly. She flashed him her most dazzling grin, then brushed the hair out of her eyes.
“Ha. Byron is being silly, what he means is—”
But just then, True and Ash rolled up. True, in typical fashion, had smashed the horn twice and hollered out, “C’MON!”
“I’ll tell you about it later! It’s a really funny story actually—” started Onny, when True honked again.
“CLEARLY I FORGOT THE ROYAL INVITE,” shouted True. “THE MAJESTIC MISS HOCUS-POCUS AWAITS YOU, APOLLONIA DIAMANTE!”
It was times like these that Onny desperately wished she had telepathic powers. But by then, Alexander’s friends had shown up in their car.
