Short Story/Chapter

Bigger Things Out There

           The stars shined bright against the sky’s dark canvas.  It was clear, and undoubtedly beautiful.

            “It’s insane, right?”

            I gave Tavish a look. “Maybe not the word I would use to describe it, but yes.”

            Tavish chuckled.  “Then, how would you describe it?”

            I gave him a shy, uneven smile. “Honestly, I don’t know. There is something about the sky and the stars that make me hold my breath. When I think about the universe and the cosmos, it just makes me realize how small we are on the scale of things. There are bigger things out there, and we haven’t discovered most of them.”

            Tavish’s eyes became cloudy. “You think there are bigger things out there?”

            “Of course,” I instantly replied. I pushed my glasses up against my nose. “It’s been scientifically proven that there are other planets. And, it would be weird not to think there are other things as well.”

            “Be specific. What things?” Tavish pushed.

            “I don’t know why my beliefs matter to you.” I stated.

            Tavish shrugged. “I’m only curious.” Though, the clouds in his eyes hadn’t moved.

            The grass we were sitting on began to itch my legs. It was not a good idea to wear shorts. “Yes, I think that there are other life forms that exist away from the Milky Way Galaxy.”

            Tavish nodded. “Is that why you are so bent on proving it to everyone?”

            I wanted to run away from the question so, I dodged it.  “What?”

            Tavish smirked. “Why do you want to prove that other life forms exist?”

            I couldn’t tell him about what I saw. He would think I’m crazy, just like everybody else. “It is just something that interests me.”

            “It interests you so much that you don’t leave the observatory because of it?” Tavish asked.

            The question struck a nerve. “I don’t want to talk about it. Can we talk about something else?”

            Tavish let out a quiet sigh. “What do you want to talk about?”

            “You.”

            “Me?”

            “Yes, I don’t know anything about you. And, I want to ask you something?” I mumbled.

            Tavish raised a perfect eyebrow. “What?”

            I gave him a shy look and pushed my glasses further up my nose. “Why me?”

            “What do you mean?” Tavish asked surprised at my question.

            “Why do you want to be my friend? Everyone makes fun of me all the time and no one likes me. Don’t you want to be with the cool people or something like that?

            Tavish grinned and almost laughed. “I like you. And, I think that you aren’t given the credit you are worth.”

            I blushed. “Really?”

            “Yes.”

            I took a moment to calm down, though my racing heart was making that difficult.  “I don’t think anyone will ever give me credit, but it’s nice to know that you think I deserve it.”

            Tavish shook his head. “Hey, look, I will help you prove it. I believe you.”

            “You will?” I asked, not really trusting Tavish’s judgment.

            Tavish nodded then stood up from the grass. However, his face was masked of emotion. “We should probably head back to camp.”

            “Probably,” I agreed. I stood up alongside Tavish then began to walk back to the campsite. I noticed that Tavish lingered behind. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

            As if knowing my secret question he said, “You go without me. I will catch up with you later. There is something I have to do first.”

            I shrugged then turned around to continue in the direction of the rest of the students. When I looked back to see what Tavish was doing, he was gone.

            And I was lost.