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Yeah,to take any chances I whirled back around and hurried to catch up with Alex, who hadn’t appeared to have notice I’d fallen behind

As I tried to catchNo, this sound orse A crackle, like the one I’d heard in the school parking lot the day I’d first seen the glowing yellow eyes Fear rocketed through me I had no idea what to do Turn and sprint back to the car? Try and explain as happening to Alex? Neither sounded appealing

My heart drulance over my shoulder Only trees and snow I turned back around, only to end up slaainst his shoulder, and a fire ignited underhis hands out in front of him, he cautiously stepped away fro "

"Yeah, I got that" He nodded at the trees behindat back there?"

"Nothing" My voice squeaked a little "I just thought I heard so"

He eyed me over carefully, then apparently satisfied by my answer, spread his hands out to the side of him "Well, this is it"

"Huh?" I stared at him blankly "This is what?"

"This is what I wanted to show you"

Funny, but ot e’d calimpsed at all of the trees and snow around us What was so special about this particular spot? It looked just like every other spot "It’s…nice, I guess"

He laughed a genuine, heartfelt laugh The kind of laugh that ht here," he pointed to a spot on the ground in front of him, "is what I wanted to show you"

For a brief second, I got lost in the way he’d said ot all about it when I caught a gli at In the ht between our feet, a sh like the snow had instantaneously melted away after it had landed there And the dirt wasn’t brown, but black and ashy

I looked back up and found Alex watching me with curious eyes

"What?" I asked "Why are you looking at ed "No reason"

I shookat the ashy spot

"Well…" He tapped his finger on his lips "See, there’s this legend that about twenty years ago, a star had fallen froe spot "And I’ about a meteorite, but an actual star"

I frowned He was joking He had to be "If a real star hit the Earth then you and I wouldn’t be standing here, talking"

"Now that’s where you’re wrong," he said simply "It wasn’t a whole star that fell, but a san to spin too quickly And when the piece hit this spot, the snow has never been able to stay here It’s like the heat of the star is still trapped there, and it melts the snoay"

"I’ve never heard of anything like that," I told hi to…"

"Trying to what?"

I sighed "Pull one over onlike that?"

I rolled my eyes "I think the real question is ouldn’t you do so like that?"

He deliberated this "Yeah, I can see where you’re co from But I’ at one another,from the electric heat

"So if this actually did happen, then why haven’t I heard of it before?" I asked, breaking the silence

"Because hardly anyone knows about it" He paused, before adding, "Even soh school astrono isn’t that bad," I said "And he knows a lot about astronomy"

He lifted an eyebrow "He isn’t that bad? Wasn’t he was the one who put you and I together in a group?"

That stung "Yeah…but…" I had no idea what to say

"Relax" He cracked a s"

I tuckedabout the star or Mr Sterling?"

His slad to hear that, I still wasn’t feeling too ecstatic about the idea that he was still trying to convince me that an actual piece of a star had fallen The idea was absurd A real piece of a star--I’d never heard of anything so insane Okay, I take that back I guess I had

But still…

"So, why is it that people don’t know about this fallen star?" I asked,air quotes