The Astronomer

A Get-Together

Almond woke up to his screaming alarm clock. Sometimes he wondered why he kept it but then he remembered that that was the only way he'd wake up on time. He got up and brushed his hand along his face with a yawn. Shuffling down the stairs, he made his way toward the kitchen but stopped at the entrance to the living room. There on the couch laid a folded blanket and a note that said "Thanks!" and had a little smiley face in the corner. Almond sighed and crumpled the paper up before throwing it away. That would be the last time he'd see that cookie again.

Except...

It wasn't.

Latte had sent out a group text about a hang-out at her house and, to Almonds disliking, Walnut wanted to go. Deep down inside was a part of Almond that wanted to see everyone again. Since school had started it had been harder to get together with his very tiny group of friends. But, of course, he only went because Walnut wanted to.

Walnut and Almond arrived at the house in their winter attire. Hurrying up the stairs to the front door, Walnut knocked 3 times and the door swung open.

"Miss Sugar Plum!" Walnut practically screamed which caused Almond to look up from staring at the ground. Walnut and Sugar Plum hugged each other before Sugar Plum forced her to let go and get inside where it was warm. Almond had to admit that he admired the cookie for being so caring toward Walnut and that he appreciated it. 

"Good evening, Detective." Sugar Plum said as she held the door open for Almond. Almond only nodded his head toward her in response before taking off his coat and scarf. He surveyed the room in front of him, seeing all of his friends sitting near the fireplace each with a cup of cocoa in their hands.

Latte smiled at Almond in greeting but then noticed Sugar Plum was not closing the door. She excused herself from the conversation and walked over to make sure she was alright. Apparently, she wasn't. As soon as Latte laid a comforting hand on Sugar Plums shoulder, she felt how shaky she was. Sugar Plum snapped out of it though and put her hand over her heart.

"Latte you gave me a heart attack." She said with a chuckle.

"Are you ok?" Latte asked concerned for her friends well being.

"Yes, I'm fine Latte." 

In truth, Latte knew she wasn't fine and that she was just putting on a brave face, but Latte let it be, knowing that it'd be better to bring it up later.

Sugar Plum headed for the kitchen so she could breathe. Her triggers were getting worse. The winter breeze had caused her to have a flashback and not an all too pleasant one either. It was the night that she had accidentally dropped a plate, shattering it entirely. The night was cold and if a cookie wasn't careful they could die out in the winter storm. Her parents had thrown her out of the house for the night as punishment, leaving her with nothing but her torn rags on her back to protect her from the cold. She shivered and hugged herself, trying to think of pleasant memories and to control the fear. She breathed in deeply and went back to the living room to join the others.

The night continued on slowly for Sugar Plum. It was nice having fun with everyone but it got to the point where she felt anxious that she might have another flashback. She was doing fine nothing was going wrong and for once she felt like maybe she could relax. 

That's when Latte brought out the Uno cards and they were midway through the game. Sugar Plum decided to stay out just to see how they reacted. Roquefort won each game they played, seemingly the greatest at the game but the others didn't think so.

"Come on, there is no way you're not cheating." Madeleine said.

"I tell you it's just my good luck."