Trailing Stars (Trailing Stars #1)

My alarm goes off at 1:30 PM, and I'm up and out of bed in an instant. I bolt down the hall to the bathroom to brush my teeth and quickly head back to my room to get dressed. I grab everything I need and the journal in case Nathan might want to write and run out of my room, almost crashing into Hannah.

"Mona," Hannah scolds. I'm already flying down the stairs before "sorry" is out of my mouth. I hear Hannah follow me. "Where are you going?"

At the back of my mind, I pick up on the panic in her voice. It makes everything in me pause, but on the outside, I don't stop. I keep heading for the front door. I pass by Mom, and she gives me a questioning look. Hannah appears next to her a moment later, her jaw tense and her eyes wide. I'm not even out of the house yet, so what does Hannah even have to worry about?

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" Mom asks.

"I promised to meet up with Nathan and Clara," I say, gesturing behind me at the door. "Can I go? I know it's last minute, but..."

Mom gives me a considering look. Hannah watches Mom, her jaw clenching and unclenching. She decides to keep her jaw tense when Mom's expression gradually stretches out into a smile.

"Sure," Mom says. Hannah makes an indignant sound, but that's all the permission I need. Mom calls me back before I fully shut the door. "If you're planning to talk on the phone all night, don't speak so loudly. Thin walls."

I laugh. "Sorry. I'll be quieter next time."

Mom waves me off. "Just go have fun."

She doesn't need to tell me twice. I shut the door, but I'm not quick enough to avoid hearing Hannah say I shouldn't be going out at all if I stayed up all night. I hear Mom sigh, but I don't stick around to listen to the rest of the conversation. I bolt straight to the school.

Once I'm outside the building, I punch in the code and run through the halls and up the stairs to the classroom looking directly out to the roof. Nathan and Clara are already there with a third chair.

"Hey," I say, climbing out the window.

Nathan looks up from his journal, smiling at me. "Hey."

Clara yawns, "How do you have so much energy?"

I shrug, drumming my hands on my thighs. "I don't know. Guess I'm just excited."

Nathan glances at me, the smile still on his face. "About what?"

I shrug again, forcing myself to grip the edges of my seat and lock out my arms to stop myself from fidgeting. "Being here."

Clara laughs. "I'm glad you like us that much."

How could I not? That seems impossible. Both of them have to know that.

"So your birthday," Clara prompts, sitting forward. "What are we doing? What do you usually do?"

I look up at the light blue sky. "My family usually stays up twenty-four hours from midnight on January 1st to midnight on January 2nd. We play in the snow. Watch movies. Things like that."

"Is there room for friends?" Nathan asks, twirling his pencil in his hand.

I smile. "If you want. But wouldn't you guys rather spend time with your families?"

Clara ignores the question, narrowing her eyes. "So if you're spending time with your family on New Year, does that mean we finally get to meet Morgan?"

The buzz from earlier fades, and suddenly there's only a hollow feeling. It starts in my chest and spreads throughout my entire body like a black hole opening up inside of me. It's almost like pins and needles but a lot worse. At least with pins and needles, I was feeling something. Now I don't feel anything at all except for the urge to collapse in on myself.