Circumstellar by J.W. Lolite Page A

his voice as dry as a desert. Smiling at Mrs. Delaney, he accepted, “But thank you, Miss Celia. I would love to stay the night.”
    “It’s settled then. I’ll put some fresh sheets on the bed,” she said, walking towards to door. “I’ll be in my room if you need anything. Don’t stay up too late.”
    “Wow,” Ty commented once Mrs. Delaney was out of earshot. “She actually trusts us enough to leave us unsupervised.”
    “No. She knows we aren’t stupid enough to get up to anything while she’s in the house,” Lesia replied with a casual air.
    “Or the majority of us anyway,” I said, shooting an accusing look at Ty.
    “I know. It’s so hard to keep you under control.” He sighed.
    “Oh, that reminds me,” Lesia burst out at the comment. I felt mildly offended that a statement about my lack of control could remind her of something. “Let’s go back to my room.”
    We followed her through the house to her bedroom. Lesia’s room was much nicer than mine. It was cleaner for one thing. All of her things were arranged and put away, while my floor was littered with clothes and my meager belongings. A desk covered in school notebooks stood in the corner. Her big, full-size bed rested against the wall by the window allowing for a great view of the sky. Lesia and I sat on the bed, and Ty pulled up the chair from the desk. We both looked at her expectantly. She didn’t say anything, but instead made a motion towards me. When I just gave her a bewildered stare in return, she opened her mouth.
    “You said you’d tell us what happened,” she clarified.
    Realization dawned on me, and I knew there was no way I was going to get out of this. Gathering my thoughts, I spoke, “Yes, I did. But before I start, you have to promise not to overreact.”
    My friends looked startled for a few moments before glancing at each other and then nodding. I knew full well there was no way they were going to sit through this and remain calm, but I felt I needed to give them fair warning. I wanted to keep this as quiet as possible.
    I told them everything that had happened after I left Clive’s. Sure enough, the bombardment of questions and concerns came. “Are you sure you’re okay?” “Why didn’t you say anything?” “I knew I should have gone with you!” Shushing my friends, I continued on with my visit to Meissa. I recounted the story she told me as best I could remember. Finally, I told them about what my aunt said about my father – the important parts, anyway. After I finished all I could recall, I looked at each of my friends. Both of them were silent, lost in thought. I guess they were trying to piece together the puzzle as well.
    “So,” Lesia began, “are you going to go back and see her? The woman at the temple . . .”
    “I don’t see what the point would be. She’s obviously off her meds,” I said, stubborn defiance shining through. There was no way I was going back. I couldn’t believe Lesia even suggested that I do.
    “Even if she is just a witch on the mountain,” Ty mused, “she may have something useful to say.” Not him, too !
    “Get real,” I argued, crossing my arms. “I’m not going!”
    “Okay, okay,” he said, raising his hands in defense. “I’m just saying she seemed to know a lot about the, um, Ankida . You’d be surprised at what crazy people can tell you,” he tossed in, trying to lighten the situation. It didn’t work.
    “Whatever,” I grumbled. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him shake his head.
    We sat in silence again until Lesia let out a yawn.  “Maybe it would be better if we all slept on this,” she said. “It’s getting late, and this is a lot to think about.” She got up and grabbed her pajamas before heading to the bathroom.
    “That’s probably a good idea,” Ty agreed, standing up and walking over to me. “Hey, Ingrid, will you help me walk down the hall? It’s pretty dark.”
    I continued glaring at the bed for a few seconds before giving