Starlight (Book 1)

29: Hoping for a Snow Day

After spending the week locked up inside, I was immensely glad when Vivian invited me over on Sunday night.

It had been a tiring week, all things considered. Between catching the bus early in the morning, coming directly home after the bell rang, eating dinner around six every night, and taking my time to finish classwork, I'd fallen into a boring routine.

Kieran smartly banned the news on the second day, after every station continued discussing nothing but Phantom and Starlight, it was for the best. All the eyes were on me.

That was when Vivian called for a snow day sleepover, a tradition that Jax and I had started together. On days where the weather predicted a lot of snow, we'd hang out and hope to wake up the next morning snowbound. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but what better way to celebrate the end of the first time I'd gotten grounded?

Not that I'd told Vivian anything about that.

She lived in a small house in a subdivision not too far from the center of the city. Riley drove me, and I watched the skyline roll past until we pulled up her front door. Wooden letters spelling out the name Savoy hung underneath the mailbox, although the final letter had long ago been swept away by a storm, never to be found again.

"Have a good time, Kat," Riley mumbled kindly. "Text us, okay?"

I nodded. We'd fallen into such useless, cordial conversations that I didn't know when or how to break the cycle. "I can have her aunt call you later if you want."

He offered a small smile. "Nah, you're free to go. Just give us updates a few times before the clock hits midnight, got it?"

"Right," I replied, returning the smile, grabbing my stuff, and hopping out onto the pavement. Today's shoes were periwinkle purple, and I had yet to wear them much. It was time for new shoes, a new beginning (and maybe a new haircut, if the news kept trying to use the length as proof I was somehow also related Diamond Prism, as if that wasn't completely nonsensical).

I barely brushed my finger against the doorbell when it swung open, revealing the rosy and welcoming face of Vivian's aunt Charli. She'd likely been trailing the Belt in the window the whole time, waiting to cry out in surprise at the sight of me.

"Kacie, my dear! Come in, come inside. Vivian's downstairs, but she'll come up in a few—" with every word, her voice lifted higher until it plateaued, until she sounded like an opera-singer. I scurried into the entryway, abandoning my shoes as Vivian finally appeared from the door furthest to the left. Doorways surrounded me on every side, and where it all ended up always confused me like I was stuck inside a corn maze.

"Oh, you're here," Vivian said, shrugging to Charli. "I couldn't find it, sorry."

"I was so sure I left all those boxes down there," replied Charli distantly. "I'll go take another look. You two go off and have fun, don't worry about it."

Rolling her eyes behind Charli's back, Vivian whispered in explanation, "We're trying to find, like, a cake tray and the piping bags. It was supposed to be fun—" she lifted her fingers to make air quotes and scoffed.

"And what exactly would that be doing downstairs?" I asked, to which Vivian seemed to have no strict answer.

"Oh, like I've got the slightest clue," she replied, elbowing her way through a door to our right, mysteriously leading us to the living room. Vivian's room was across the cramped hall, marked by a collage of polaroids tacked to her doorway. "And don't tell her I told you, it was supposed to be a surprise."

I grinned as she pushed open the door, avoiding glancing at the photos. I didn't need to think about superheroes today. Not today.

I put my overnight bag down against the floor as Vivian leaned over her desk to reach for something. "Got a new space heater. Here." She pulled me towards the bed, belly-flopping onto the mattress. With a soft click, the heat warmed my cheeks.