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“The question was Miss Thorne, can you identify the constellation on the screen?” he repeated.

She glanced over to Carter catching his unusual and mesmerizing eyes squinted ever so slightly pulling her straight into his soul. The eyes were truly the keys to one’s soul and Carter was unlocking them just for her. The entire class was staring at her waiting for her to respond since clearly she, along with most of the students, was not paying attention to the lecture.

“Cassiopeia!” she called out to him.

“Correct Miss Thorne,” he said, disappointed that he hadn’t caught her off guard as he suspected when calling on her. He gave it another try.

“Now can you tell the class how this constellation got its name?” he grinned, figuring he had her now.

“Well,” she said looking around the class as she suddenly noticed Tess sitting in the back row glaring at her with a reptilian smile, just waiting for her to fail to answer correctly. Violet just smiled at Tess and turned back around confidently stating in a loud and clearly projected voice…

“
The constellation is named after Cassiopeia, a queen in
 
Greek Mythology
. Cassiopeia was the wife of
 
Cepheus
, King of
Aethiopia
 
and mother of Princess
 
Andromeda
.
Cepheus
and Cassiopeia were placed next to each other among the stars, the King by his Queen and their daughter Andromeda.

Violet had no trouble retaining information.  One of her abilities was that she had a photographic memory.  Attending school was necessary so she read every text book cover to cover for the entire year and put it to memory. The classroom was going to be the easy part of her mission, but unlocking Carter’s soul, not so much.

Shocked and impressed, Mr. Dunlap stood frozen by Violet’s full extended answer to his surprise question. You could actually hear a pin drop in the silence of the classroom. “Impressive Miss Thorne,” he said as he pushed the button on the overhead projector and continued on.  Just then a pencil went sailing from Carter’s desk onto the floor.  Violet leaned over to pick it up and her head collided with his and she found herself again in his hypnotic eye lock.  In his velvety smooth voice he said, “Good answer Vie.” He winked at her and grabbed his pencil from the floor.  Mr. Dunlap cleared his throat looking at Carter and said “Your assignment, which will be due a week from today…” the class all moaned in unison. “Oh, come on people.  What better way to spend your time then to gaze at the wondrous stars in the beautiful Newcastle night sky?” he said. “You will name them, chart them, and discuss their origins in a one page paper. And to make it even easier for you, you are going to select a partner. Look around the room and pick
someone you might like to get to know better. Make it fun, interesting, learn something new about the stars and each other,” he said enthusiastically.

The class all got up and started forming partnerships for the assignment. Violet turned to Carter but quickly noticed he was already engaged in conversation with Tess.  Violet couldn’t believe how quickly that girl moved.  Before Mr. Dunlap could finish his sentence, she was already at his side asking him to be her partner no doubt.  Violet was not accustomed to losing, especially to someone as insignificant as Tess.  Suddenly, Violet felt a rush of wind on her skin that sent chills down her toes.  She turned her head and Carter was standing beside her, flashing that mischievously incredible smile right at her.

“So, do you have a partner yet?” Carter asked her.

“No but I see you do?” she said snidely back to him.

“Nope,” he said still grinning.

“What, Tess wasn’t up for star gazing with you?” Violet said in disbelief.

“No she was.  I just reminded her that Mr. Dunlap specifically stated that that we should select a partner that we would like to get to know better. So Vie would you like to be my partner?  Would you would like to get to know me better?” Carter asked hoping she would say yes.

“I don’t know,” she said. Carter looked surprised at her answer and Violet liked having the tables turned for once. “I mean there are so many kids here in class that I feel like I don’t really know anymore, you know with my memory issues and all,” she reminded him.  Carter wasn’t taking no for an answer but he wasn’t about to let Vie know it. “Okay,” he said.  “I guess I can ask Tess if she still needs a partner,” he said lighting a fire under Violet.

“Oh he so did not just go there, did he?” Violet thought to herself.  Carter began to walk away wondering how far Violet would let him get before she accepted his offer.  It was about two steps before she grabbed his arm and said, “Fine! I’ll be your partner but only because I feel it is my duty, as your friend, to protect you from the evil Tess Montgomery!” she said.  “So it’s a date?” Carter asked.
“A date?”
Violet replied in question form back to him.  “Relax Vie, it’s just an expression,” he said before she could confirm with a yes on the matter. “Hey, can I give you a ride home after school?” he asked.

“Sure!” she said and then remembered that Jeremy was already giving her a ride home. “Wait, I can’t.   I already have a ride home…with Jeremy,” Violet said feeling like she was cheating on him by going home with Jeremy.  “Oh, I see,” he replied almost angry about it. “So you and Jeremy, should I be worried?” Carter asked her.  She moved close to Carter and looked straight into his eyes and asked “What do you think?” Violet challenged him to look into her soul or to use his “keen insight” as he called it to see for himself if Jeremy were an obstacle for him or not. 
Carter stood there looking deep into her eyes and then a smile appeared on his face. “Ok, then I’ll see you later.” He gathered his things from the desk and exited the classroom.

Violet walked alone to her next class.  It was Art and she knew this was Vivian’s favorite class.  She entered the room and the teacher greeted her with a hug. This surprised Violet since Mr. Dunlap was not quite as affectionate. “Vivian, welcome back honey,” Mrs. Bader said, still embracing her.  Violet could see Mrs. Bader was almost crying as she looked at her up and down checking to make sure Vivian was really standing before her. She put her arm around her and said, “Just take a seat anywhere you’d like.” Violet looked around the room noticing there was only one other person in the room so she walked over to her and asked her if the seat next to her was taken. When the girl looked up to respond, Violet recognized her instantly from all of the photos in Vivian’s scrapbook that she had thumbed through at the house this summer. She knew her name was
Kade
and that they were once best friends.

“Oh, hi
Kade
,” Violet said greeting her. “Do you mind?” she said pointing to the vacant chair next to her.

“Not at all,” she replied with a sweet soft voice.  It almost felt like she was intimidated by her very presence.

“So how have you been?” Violet asked striking up a conversation.

“
Good,
and you?”
Kade
said instantly realizing what a stupid response it was.  She tried to take it back but the words were already out there.  It was obvious she was uncomfortable and began fidgeting in her seat.  Violet decided to ease her discomfort.

“Well, I caught up on some sleep this summer so I am well rested! You know what the Irish say, a good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book,” Violet quoted and then started to laugh. 
Kade
smiled, relieved by Violet’s statement and then joined her friend in laughter. The rest of the art students filed in one by one and took their seats before the bell rang.  Mrs. Bader took her place at the head of the class and welcomed all of the students back. 
Kade
kept glancing at Violet, happy that her friend had survived her battle with brain cancer and ecstatic that she seemed to be the person
Kade
once knew.  She felt bad thinking that the cancer may have been a blessing in disguise.

The girls were once best friends. Both girls were only children and so they adopted each other as sisters when
Kade
moved to Newcastle over ten years ago.  They spent every second together, shared the same interests, and both had a crush on Jeremy.  But
Kade
knew Jeremy loved her friend Vivian and not her.  He talked to
Kade
about it all the time and she was instrumental in getting the two of them together.  While
Kade
had a crush on Jeremy, she was never jealous or envious of Vivian’s relationship with him.  She understood fate and truly believed they were a perfect match.  She loved them both and it was just the kind of selfless, kind person
Kade
was. After the death of Vivian’s mom, the girls separated at Vivian’s request.  She started hanging out
with Tess, grew distant from Jeremy, and was partying all the time.  She seemed to be on a mission of destruction with her life.  The more
Kade
and Jeremy tried to pull her back, the angrier she got.  Jeremy gave up, accepting her new life just so he could be a part of it, while
Kade
protested to the point that Vivian ended their longtime friendship.

The bell rang and Violet asked
Kade
what her next class was.  Ironically they both had Gym scheduled for third period. 
Kade
let out a sigh, which Violet picked up on very quickly.

“Not a fan of Gym I’m guessing?” Violet said to her noticing the apprehension all over her face.

Kade
wondered why she didn’t already know that she despised gym class but then she remembered Jeremy telling her about the amnesia.
Kade
wasn’t sure what she did or did not remember, but she seemed to be receptive to
Kade
so that was good enough for her.  She really missed her best friend and was hopeful that the warm demeanor displayed today was an open door to renew their friendship.
Kade
could see that only parts of her memory were intact, since Vivian knew how much she hated gym class. Today her friend seemed almost excited by the thought of gym.  This worried
Kade
because she knew Vivian was about to find out, what she had apparently forgotten, that they both sucked at sports.

Kade
was a non-athletic girl whose passion was writing, not sports.  She worked at the school newspaper and was a fantastic writer.  Art was a hobby she developed because of her friend.  Vivian was a gifted artist.  She painted the most beautiful pictures.  Her design and composition along with her skilled technique showcased her strong sense of individuality and inventiveness at the highest level.  Art was her passion and gym class was an unnecessary burden of displeasure. The class started out with volleyball and
Kade
was dreading it very much.

“Come on
Kade
, it can’t be that bad,” Violet said noticing the anguish on her face. 
Kade
was just relieved that her friend couldn’t remember how painful gym class was for the two of them and hoped it would be different for her today. She was glad Vivian didn’t have to feel the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach at the thought of volleyball like she was feeling right now.

Before the girls left class, Mrs. Bader called Violet over and asked if she could stop by in her free period to discuss her portfolio. Violet was curious about Vivian’s paintings and told her she would be back at the end of the day to speak with her. Mrs. Bader told her she had a surprise for her and her face just beamed with excitement. Violet thought it must be a really good surprise based on the expression on her face and was excited to hear what she had to say, but would have to wait until the end of the day.

Violet left the room and walked at a quick pace to catch up to
Kade
. “Wait up,” she called out to her a few feet away. 
Kade
turned and saw Violet only steps behind her now.

“What did Mrs. Bader want to talk to you about?”
Kade
inquired.

“Not sure, she said she has a surprise for me? Must be good news judging from the expression on her face” Violet said to
Kade
.

“I’m sure it is and I bet you could use some good news with everything that has happened to you this past year.  I’m sure you felt like your world was falling apart,” she said sympathetically.

“Yeah, that’s for sure,” Violet responded back to her. “But you know once you put the pieces back together, even though you may look intact, you find you were never quite the same as you’d been before the fall,” Violet said, trying to explain why she seemed different.

Kade
thought how clever she was to look at her past year’s misfortune and present day new life in such a philosophically optimistic way. All
Kade
could think was that this didn’t seem like the Vivian she once knew but it was close enough and she was happy to take it. 
Kade
noticed there was something magnetic about her while looking into her eyes.  She had an inner light that seemed to shine outward and it was perfectly pure. 
Kade
stopped reading too much into Vivian and decided that the only thing that mattered to her was that they were friends again.  Plus, it was nice to walk into gym class with a friend by her side.  Just having Vivian next to her relieved her stress and calmed her nerves as they walked and before she knew it they had arrived to the door marked “Girl’s Locker Room”.  “Here we are,” Violet said. “Now how about you and I go play some volleyball?” Violet tried to rally her up.