Intergalactic Love

Chapter 1: A is for Arson

Sophie stood in front of a burning building, gas can in hand. The flames reflected off the golden flecks in her lagoon green eyes, making them glow in defiance. She never thought she'd go from an A+ student to someone who could burn down the mayor's office, especially when the mayor is her dad. It was the only way to protect him until his spaceship could bring him home. Sophie looked up at a blue orb glowing in the sky.

"I can make it," she said under her breath.

Sophie hopped on her bike and pedaled furiously toward the football field, her copper hair whipping behind her like a flag in the wind. A dull hint of smoke lingered in her nose as she swerved around potholes and careened through the busy streets. Each breath came faster, more ragged, but she couldn't slow down. The distant hum of traffic was drowned out by the pounding in her ears—the thudding pulse of urgency. She had to make it. She had to.

As Sophie pedaled down the street, weaving in and out of traffic. She heard a horn honk and then everything went dark. When she woke sprawled out on the pavement, her blurry vision could just make out the shape of the blue orb in the sky, getting closer.

"Miss, are you okay?" Sophie's eyes slowly shifted to a concerned, balding, sweaty man standing over her. He helped her to her feet. "Thank goodness you're alright. Lucky I hit the brakes when I did. Didn't you see the light change?" The man helped Sophie to the curb and picked up her bike to examine it. "Looks like your back wheel is bent. Do you have someone to pick you up?"

Sophie's eyes were trained on the orb, blurring in and out of focus, then down the street. Without saying a word, she limped across the street toward the field.

"Miss, where are you going? You should probably see a doctor."

"I can still make it!" Sophie yelled, narrowly avoiding a car that slammed on its brakes as she hobbled through the intersection. Her vision was still blurry, but she kept her eyes trained on the chain link fence at the edge of the field. She reached up to wipe what she thought was sweat from her forehead, but when she pulled her hand away, she saw that it was blood. She must have hit her head.

"Spero!" 

Sophie's ankle screamed with every step, but she pushed through the pain. Her leg felt like it was on fire, but she couldn't afford to stop—not with the ship hovering so close, not when she had one last chance to warn him. She staggered, stumbled, but didn't look back. She couldn't. The ache in her ankle, the dizziness in her head—everything faded into the background. There was only the field. Only the blue orb. Only Spero.

27 Days Earlier...

Sophie sat in physics class doodling on her paper. It was just another boring day, until he walked by. Brock's leg swept Sophie's papers off her desk as he sauntered past, wafting a trail of bergamot body spray under her nose. She jumped out of her seat to gather her papers before anyone could see her doodles, her face burning with embarrassment.

"Sorry 'bout that," Brock said with a smile that Sophie couldn't tell was truly contrite or slightly mischievous. She hated him, even if he was gorgeous. "What's that you're drawing?" Brock said as he sat in the seat behind her and kicked his long legs out to the side.

"It's, uh...nothing," Sophie stammered. Kill me now, I can't believe he saw my silly anime drawings. Now he's going to tell everyone and I'll be known as the  freak who has no social life so she draws cute guys instead of going to parties, Sophie thought, as her cheeks turned neon red.

The bell rang and Sophie couldn't get out of that classroom fast enough. Maggie was waiting for her at the usual lunch spot, under the tree at the edge of the quad.

"What happened to you? Your face is the color of a Christmas ornament." Maggie has never had a filter. She always spoke her mind, which is what Sophie liked about her. There's no wondering what she's thinking, she'll definitely tell you. Maggie's brown, curly hair was always flopping in her face, hiding her inquisitive dark brown eyes. Sophie appreciated her unapologetic honesty, most of the time.

"It's really bad, isn't it..."

"Yep," Maggie said as she opened her sandwich.

"Brock...noticed me. Ugh, I don't even care. He's a Junior and I'm just a Sophomore. He plays basketball with his immature buddies and I'm in physics a year early because I like science more than sports. I don't even care." Sophie fanned her face as she sat in the grass next to Maggie.

"You said that already," Maggie wasn't easy to trick.

"I don't! He's annoying. He was asking me about my drawings."

"Wait, he saw your hot anime guy? Which one?" Maggie opened Sophie's backpack to dig out her physics homework. "Oh, the purple hair guy again. He's cute!"

"Give me that!" Sophie yanked her drawings out of Maggie's hands.

"I don't know how you keep up with Ms. Snooze in physics. She's kicking my ass in chemistry." Dylan, the poet of the friend group, flipped his long orange bangs to the side and sat down next to Maggie. His hair was yellow-blond last month. His nails were a constant shade of black and he loved wearing unconventional things, like bowler hats and velvet jackets. Today, he was wearing pink camo pants with paint splatters on them. Sophie always wore overalls and an oversized hoodie. Maggie was the sharpest dresser in the bunch. She even ironed her button-down shirts and slacks. She dressed like she was ready for a job interview at any moment.

Their teacher's name is Ms. Snood, but everyone called her Ms. Snooze behind her back. Sophie secretly liked her, but she'd never tell anyone else that. "What's the gossip today?" Dylan snapped a carrot stick between his teeth.

Maggie grinned and nudged Sophie with her elbow. "Someone's got a thing for Brock." 

Sophie shot her a glare, her face flaming. "I do not!" 

"Oh, sure," Maggie said, lifting an eyebrow. "You're totally not staring at him every time he walks by." 

"I'm not!" Sophie crossed her arms, wishing she could disappear.

"Why don't you tell Dylan how much you don't care about Brock, then," Maggie nudged Sophie.

"I don't!" Sophie could feel the blood rushing to her face.

"Don't trust him, he's a jerk," Dylan cast his eyes down.

"Wasn't planning on it," Sophie said, staring into the noodles in her thermos. She looked up just in time to see Brock walking with his friends behind Dylan. Brock looked at Sophie and smiled...at least she thought it was a smile. Maybe he was laughing at her and her drawings. What if he already told his friends? She forced her eyes back on her thermos, but they darted back up, as if she had no control over them. He was still looking at her! If Sophie could melt into the ground right now, she would.

Sophie was just about to pack up her lunch and run away to the bathroom, when she saw a flicker of light in the sky, just past Brock's head. That's odd, Sophie thought. It was a bright, sunny day, even for Southern California. How could anything be bright enough to compete with the sun? Sophie shoved her papers back in her bag, along with her thermos and jumped up.

"I'm going to study hall," Sophie said.

"Wait! I didn't even get the chance to tell you about the bird that flew into Mr. Barnes's class. He was freaking out!" Maggie said.

"I'll catch you after school," Sophie said, not taking her eyes off the flickering light in the sky. She looked down and saw that Brock was still staring at her. Wait, he probably thinks I'm staring at him! Oh my god, oh my god, Sophie thought as she ducked into the hallway.