❝ Virgo: master of puns, wordplay and
really lengthy rants dissecting people
down to the most insignificant details ❞
SEEING MARS IN OUR school uniform was strange, letting Mars walk me to class was strange—just having him here, living and breathing in the school I'd attended to for years, was strange.
During break, Mars came by my locker. Some of my classmates gawked at us but mostly him. He was hard to miss, being that he was tall and muscular and extremely hot.
"I talked to the vice principal and she tried to align my schedule with yours but most of your classes were full." He handed me his schedule and I searched for my classes.
"We have gym, chem, homeroom and study hall together." I handed the paper back and looked at my phone for the time. We still had ten minutes before class. "I can give you a tour now if you want."
He nodded and after I switched my books, we headed towards the south side of the school.
"So this is where the library is and where all of the science classes are. Our chem class is right there," I walked us farther down the hall until we reached the east wing and we passed by several students with instruments in their hands, "And this is where the nurse's office is and all of the art and music rooms. I think this is the second time I've actually been down here all year."
"Your school's small." He remarked.
"Really? How many people were in your school?"
"Five hundred." That was only two hundred more than ours. "Per year." Nevermind then.
We walked through the north wing, which was probably the area he was most familiar with, and ended up in the same place we started.
During the time I was talking about the school, there had been something on my mind and for the first time in awhile, I was hesitant to bring it up.
"So," I began casually, "Um, I'm happy you're here but isn't it a long commute from your sector?" As soon as I opened my mouth, I wanted to take it back. He transferred for me, problem solved, I shouldn't question him.
"I'm staying at my sister's so it isn't a problem."
"Oh, that's good." Why did I have to be so awkward around him? Thankfully, I was saved by the bell, "Come on, I'll show you where your next class is."
»» ─────── ─────── ««
Mars and I walked into the cafeteria together. All three of my friends were arguing pretty loudly about something but once they saw that I wasn't alone, they all shut up.
"Hi friends, this is Mars, he just transferred," I smiled at their shocked faces, "Mars, this is Sky, Noah and Kingston."
Kingston was the only one brave enough to say anything, "We've heard a lot about you."
He smirked and I wanted to kill myself, "Is that so?"
We sat down and they stared at him, not that he had any problem staring back.
"What do your classes look like?" asked Noah. Mars took out his schedule again and they looked at it.
As they compared classes, Sky took out her phone and started texting me.
Favorite Sister: you liar
Me: and what did i lie about?
Favorite Sister: you said he was cute
Favorite Sister: but he's HOT
"Char, Mars is in our gym class!" Kingston said excitedly and I turned my phone over face down. Sky's raised eyebrow let me know that this conversation wasn't done. "Wow, you're in AP lit and AP history? Why would you do that to yourself?"
We ate our lunch leisurely as everyone got along just fine. There were instances when Mars wouldn't say anything which made me wonder what he was thinking about. It seemed like he liked my friends—or at least tolerated them—but I had no clue what his innermost thoughts were.
I saw Mars again during chem where he took Daphne's spot at the lab bench. My two other lab partners stared at him as soon as he sat down but didn't question it. They were Virgo's after all.
"Before I begin, we have a new student joining us. Do we have a Marshall here?" Mrs. Carrie asked the class and he answered without raising his hand.
"I only respond to Mars."
Everyone turned around in their chairs to get a good look at him. Some of the girls at the front of the class started giggling and I sent them a death glare that immediately shut them up.
"Okay then, Mars," Mrs. Carrie corrected herself, "Would anyone like to give Mars a brief summary of what we learned from last class?" Several hands shot up in the air, more than half of whom were girls. If he wasn't careful he'd have a fanclub comprised of a cult of girls.
My eyes wandered around the room until I locked gazes with Cade, who was already looking at me.
"Cade," the teacher said and he turned his attention to the front, "How about you tell our new student what we learned last class?"
He nodded, "We watched a video that appeared to burn water. We also discussed some possible theories and then did the experiment ourselves."
"Precisely," Mrs. Carrie smiled, "Now does anybody want to take a guess why I made you all do this experiment?"
Daphne spoke without raising her hand, "Because you like to mess with our heads." Some people snickered.
"No—well, maybe—but I made you do the experiment to see the impossible. Now look at this next experiment. . ."
Class ended after a grueling fifty-five minutes and I quickly packed up my things.
Mars sensed my urgency, "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to archery club, wanna come?"
"I can't, I have to find the football coach." If I'd learned anything about Mars it was that he loved his football.
"Maybe next time," I really wanted to teach him how to shoot, I bet he'd be really good at it.
"Wait," he grabbed my arm when I started to walk away, "Your friends. . . they aren't water signs, right?" That was a weird question.
"No, why?"
"Just wondering." He let go of my arm and pecked my lips quickly. "See you later."
If I read more into his question, I could deduce that he didn't like water signs very much and since he came from Regulus, it made sense. But unlike Regulus, Terebellum was a much more diverse and open-minded sector.
Daphne greeted me when I walked into the archery range next to the gym. There were several people already lining up across the targets—some old faces and some new ones.
"Everyone's talking about you," she sing-songed.
"About what?" Why would anybody care about my boring life?
"About you and the hot new transfer student and that the reason he transferred here was to be with you."
"Really?" Ugh, Kingston must've told everyone.
"So it's true?"
I was about to grab a bow and arrow from the rack but stopped when I noticed a familiar face observing from the back.
"Are you lost or something?" I teased as I made my way over to Cade and Hudson. It was a nice role reversal from the other day because instead of me being the fish out of water, they were said proverbial fish.
"Art club was cancelled today so we thought we'd try this." Cade said as an excuse.
"You guys beginners?" Daphne asked and they nodded. "I can teach Cade and you can teach Hudson, sound good?"
A little disappointed but still compliant, I nodded and helped Hudson with the basics.
"Are you left or right handed?"
"Right."
I handed him a right-handed longbow and instructed him on how to load, anchor and release. After he was okay with that, I got him an arrow and corrected his stance.
Hudson was a slow learner, clearly uncomfortable with archery.
"It's all instinct, there's a little technique but you just have to relax and breathe. Try it again."
From the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Cade's arrow striking the red ring. He was a natural, why did I have to get stuck with the other one?
Hudson's arms gave out and he handed me the longbow, "I need a break."
Sighing, I walked over to see how the Pisces and Sagittarius were doing.
"You got lucky, Mars is certainly easy on the eyes," Daphne grinned, "I bet he's a good kisser too."
Cade fired an arrow and it hit the outer rim of the target, almost puncturing the wall behind it. It was the only outlier, as almost all of his arrows had clustered in the same area.
"Yeah. . ." I kept an eye on Cade's form, admiring the way his arm muscles tensed as he drew back an arrow with his right hand.
She playfully hit my arm as an idea struck her, "Char, why don't we have a little contest? Whoever's rookie can get the most points wins!"
"You're only saying that because you know who's gonna win." I rolled my eyes.
"Be positive."
"I'm positive I'm going to lose."
"Very funny."
"Fine, you're on."
We decided to let Cade go first since he was ready. Six arrows later and Cade was on fire.
"He scored thirty-six points. Not bad for a beginner." Daphne clapped.
"Are you secretly a Sagittarius? I can't believe this is your first time shooting a bow, you're better than Peter!"
"I heard that!" Peter shouted and I laughed.
"You were supposed to," I turned to Hudson, who looked uneasy, "Okay, Hudson, you're up." His hands shook as he looked around at everybody watching him. I shook my head, "Ignore everybody, okay? You got this."
He loaded his first arrow, which hit the edge of the target, with clumsy fingers. I needed to slow the moment down.
"You're a Cancer, right?" I asked and he nodded, "Take long, deep breaths. Let the air fill your lungs and release slowly through your nose." He listened and became progressively steadier in his movements. "Now look at the target and aim but don't release. Just look at the target and nothing else. And when the moment is right, relax your fingers and let the arrow go." He took another six seconds before releasing his second arrow—
—which landed on the line between red and yellow. In other words, much better than before.
"Nice." Peter said behind me.
Hudson improved and managed to score one point less than his competitor. For archery virgins, they were good.
"So you guys wanna sign up?"
»» ─────── ─────── ««
I was walking down the steps of the school when I heard my name. I turned around and met mysterious hazel eyes.
"Hey, what's up?" I smiled but Cade didn't smile back.
"So. . . you and Mars. . . I didn't know you were matched."
Of course he found out.
Not knowing how to respond, I just nodded.
"Well. . . that's good. . ." He trailed off quietly and without another word, walked passed me and got on his bus to ride home.
➷
What's going to happen next?? Stay tuned ❤️❤️❤️