The sky between us

1.

Skylar Reyes stared at the board like it had just announced the end of the world.

ASTRONOMY PROJECT PARTNERS – FINAL SEMESTER
Ms. Howell's chicken-scratch handwriting blurred slightly as Sky blinked behind her glasses. She felt her stomach twist and her pulse race when her name finally registered next to someone else's.

Skylar Reyes – Jordan Blake

Oh no.

She looked around the room, like maybe there'd been a mistake, maybe there was another Skylar Reyes hiding somewhere in the corner, someone better suited to survive this. But no—this was her, and her fate had just been sealed with a black Expo marker.

Jordan Blake was sitting at the back of the room, boots kicked up on the table, chewing a pen like it owed her money. She looked straight out of a coming-of-age indie film: bleach-blond undercut, chipped black nail polish, and eyes that didn't flinch when they met yours. And somehow, somehow, this was who Sky was supposed to work with until graduation?

"Kill me," Sky muttered to no one.

"Can't," came Theo's voice behind her. "You still have to help me memorize all of Romeo and Juliet by Thursday. Also, it's not that bad."

Sky turned to him, eyes wide. "Theo. It's Jordan Blake. She made a teacher cry last semester."

"Ms. Haskins deserved it. She did call her 'confused' for painting a girl kissing another girl in Art Studio." He shrugged, leaning casually against the lockers. "Besides, she's hot. If I were you, I'd count this as a win."

Sky stared at him, unamused. "I'm not trying to date my project partner, Theo. I just want to pass with minimal trauma."

"You know," he said, pulling a pack of Skittles from his bag, "minimal trauma isn't exactly the vibe of our friend group."

Sky snorted despite herself. "Yeah, well. I'm not trying to add Jordan Blake to the group."

But by then, the bell rang.

⸻

The first conversation happened the next day. Ms. Howell told them to use the period for research and planning. Jordan plopped into the desk next to Sky like she belonged there.

"Hey, Star Girl," she said, like they were already friends.

Sky blinked. "What?"

"You're the astronomy girl, right?" Jordan's voice was rough, a little raspy, like she'd been yelling at a concert last night. She pulled a sketchbook from her bag and flipped it open to a page filled with stars, moons, and a half-drawn rocket ship. "I suck at science, but I like the idea of it. So. What are we doing?"

Sky opened her mouth, then closed it. Jordan Blake was talking to her like this was normal, like they did this every day. She smelled like peppermint gum and paint thinner. Her left knuckle had a fresh smear of blue ink across it.

Sky took a breath.

"We... could do something on exoplanets," she said. "Or maybe eclipses. There's a lunar one coming up in April. We could map it."

Jordan tilted her head, interested. "Can we watch it somewhere cool? Like... I dunno. A rooftop?"

Sky blinked again. "Um. My backyard?"

Jordan grinned, all teeth. "Your backyard works."

⸻

After class, Sky found Theo outside the theater building, pacing with a monologue sheet in hand.

"I talked to her," she said, breathless.

Theo didn't even look up. "And? Is she going to sacrifice you to a pagan moon cult?"

Sky ignored that. "She was... nice. Weird. But nice. She called me Star Girl."

Theo raised an eyebrow. "That's adorable. You're in love."

"I'm not." Sky turned pink. "I barely know her."

"Exactly," he said. "The best stories always start that way."

Sky thought about that on the walk home, her backpack heavy, her mind heavier.

Maybe it wasn't the end of the world.

But it definitely wasn't the same world anymore.