Libra
There's this girl in my science class that always manages to be the best student in the class.
I just don't know how she does it.
As much as I hate to criticize people, our science teacher, Ms Medea, isn't exactly a good teacher. She always expects people to know everything about the topic, and when she teaches, nobody actually gets anything.
Which is why I'm definitely failing science class right now.
Now, back to that girl.
I think she's the rebellious type, like Saggi. I can tell from her looks. Her hair is died in a shade of lilac, tied up in a ponytail. She has an eye patch over one eye, but she doesn't tell anyone about what happened to it. Kind of secretive, like Scorpio. She wears some sort of business shirt thing, but half of it is tucked into her black ripped jeans, and the shirt is all tattered and dirty.
I know it isn't good to judge people by their looks, but I can sometimes guess their personality by looking at the way they dress. Even if I have this "superpower", I'm still curious to learn more about that girl.
Which is why I decided to approach her before seventh period today.
I saw her sitting on a bench in front of her English classroom. I walked up in front of her.
"Can I sit here?" I asked politely.
She looked up from her tablet in her hands. "Sure."
When I sat down, she looked at me and asked, "Hey, you're from my science class, right?"
"Yeah." I replied. "How do you manage to ace that class anyways?"
She looked at me, puzzled. "What do you mean? Science is just easy to me."
"Yeah, but Ms Medea doesn't even explain stuff well, and it leaves me all confused and stuff."
"I was home schooled before, by my dad. He taught me a lot of stuff that I didn't need to know, but they all came in handy during high school."
"How old were you when you learned all of this?"
"Eleven. Or maybe twelve."
"Wow!" I exclaimed in awe. "You must be a child prodigy!"
She chuckled. "I don't think so. Dad says that people should learn hard stuff at an early age to prepare themselves for the future."
"Cool." I replied. "What's your name? Sorry for asking, but I don't usually pay attention to the register."
"Ophiuchus." She responded. "And you're...?"
"Libra."
Ophiuchus paused for a while. "So we both have the names of zodiac signs, right?"
At this, I felt confused. "Ophiuchus is a zodiac sign?"
Ophiuchus sighed. "Everyone always forgets me- I mean, the Ophiuchus constellation. The ancient Babylonians created the zodiacs 3000 years ago. There were 13 zodiac signs, but 12 months only, so they dropped the Ophiuchus sign."
"Oh, I see." I replied, unsure how to respond. "Astrology is interesting
I hope they'll teach it at school someday."
"Teach?" Ophiuchus laughed. "They'll teach astronomy, yes, but not astrology. They're two different things. Astronomy is the study of celestial objects, like stars, planets and the entire universe. Astrology is only the study of the position and movements of stars and how they influence us humans. "
"Why?" I asked. "Astrology sounds fun."
"Most astronomers frown upon astrology because they think that it's important to learn more about science and the real world, I think." Ophiuchus explained. "Then again, I'm not really sure."
[The author is not sure either]
"That's interesting." I said. "Come to think of it, all of my friends have the names of the zodiac signs as well. Hey, maybe I can introduce you to them sometime!"
"All of your friends?" Ophiuchus looked at me sideways. "12 signs, minus one person, which is 11 friends. I thought you were the popular girl or something. Why 11 friends only?"
I bit my lip. "Well, those 11 are my closest friends. This is a new school for me after all, so I don't have that many friends except for those 11. We've been in the same school ever since... well, it's so long ago that I don't even remember when."
"So you have friends named Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Lib- oh wait that's you, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces?" Ophiuchus asked, counting with her fingers.
"Mhm." I replied. "Taurus is my brother."
Ophiuchus paused to think for a while. Then, she said, "I knew a Scorpio once. Maybe a couple Leos. I think I've met a Sagittarius and a Gemini once, and one of each of the others."
"So I guess zodiac sign names are popular."
"I have met a Libra once. Or maybe I've just seen you on the street." Ophiuchus looked down at her shoes, which I noticed had untied shoelaces. While she was tying her shoelaces, she asked me, "Don't you think that it's strange that you and 11 friends, and you all have names of the 12 zodiac signs?"
"Adding the fact that we've been friends since forever?" I laughed. "My friend Pisces thinks that our homeroom teacher Mr Perseus is secretly a constellation from the sky. Maybe it's the same for us?"
Ophiuchus started smiling, which I don't think I've seen her do before. "We'll never know. Your friend Pisces does have quite an imagination."
"I know." I responded. "She's quite the dreamy type. Doesn't pay attention in class, but always seems to do well in her classes."
"You should suggest that she be an astrologer when she grows up." Ophiuchus suggested. "It suits her."
"You think?"
Ophiuchus leaned back on the bench. "I guess. I mean, it isn't my job to decide what jobs suit other people. It's their choice, right?"
"I suppose so." I decided to try and get Ophiuchus out of her circle of comfort. "Say, do you want to come have lunch with me and my friends someday?"
"I dunno." She replied. "I'd prefer to eat alone, but I guess I can."
"That's awesome!" I exclaimed. I checked my phone. "It's almost time for class. See ya around?"
"See ya." Ophiuchus picked up her books and walked towards her classroom.
Just then, Gemini called my name from across the hallway.
"Libra! You coming? Your class is about to start!" She called.
"Coming!" I yelled back.
I stared at Ophiuchus, who was making her way into her classroom.
For some reason, I still think that she's still hiding some secrets.
~~~
I have no excuses.
I'm sorry for making y'all wait for so long. I couldn't think of anything to write for this chapter.
But anyways, happy (late) new year as always. I see that this book has already reached 200+ reads, and since I said that I was going to draw something for every milestone, please request any drawings here. I'll either draw later tonight or tomorrow, since my iPad is charging.
If you're wondering where Cassie and Polly are, I don't know either. They're probably somewhere chilling since, well, it's 2020, right?
Thank you all so much for reading. More chapters are coming soon. Make sure to read, vote, and share this book!
Peace out,
The Author uwu