Free Eye on Orion by Laura D. Bastian Page B

coals, I watched her taste it. She gave a delighted sigh and shoved the whole thing in her mouth, barely pausing to chew it.
    I giggled and turned my attention to the one cooking. “I’ll make you some more after Jai has one.”
    â€œYou are probably right,” Jai said. “She is going to eat all you brought, if you let her.”
    â€œI’ll stop right before she explodes.” I grabbed one of the pieces of chocolate and popped it into my mouth. “We’re getting close to dark, when we’ll want to stop eating and go watch the sky anyway.” I looked up and noticed a few stars peeking through the deepening blue curtain of the sky as if eager to get on with the show. With the fire burned down to embers, it wouldn’t interfere with the stars at all.
    Once we finished the stack of candy bars I’d brought, I gave Amira several roasted marshmallows squished between the graham crackers. When the grahams were gone, I gave her the remaining marshmallows in the bag.
    Jai placed the lantern behind the tire, outlining the edge of the jeep. It was perfect because it didn’t interfere with our view of the sky. We then moved over to the denim quilt, picked our spots, and got ready to look up at the stars. Amira picked one side of the quilt. Jai picked the other side, leaving the middle for me. My heart raced at the thought of lying next to Jai while watching the stars. At least Amira was here with us. Yet at the same time, I kind of wished she would disappear. I was glad to have my thoughts to myself tonight.
    We sat on the quilt for a few minutes, talking about nothing in particular. I was dying to ask them questions. Determined to show them I was trustworthy and they could tell me anything, I waited but feared I was going to have to be especially observant.
    The sky wasn’t completely dark yet. Only a couple dozen of the brightest stars were out. Soon, the deepening blue of the evening began darkening to near black.
    â€œWatch this,” I whispered, leaning back on my hands. “I love how quickly day turns to night. Sometimes I almost feel like I could keep up with counting the stars, and then all of a sudden the sky is filled.”
    We waited for about five minutes, watching the sky get darker and darker. Soon there was no blue left in it. Millions of stars blinked as they woke up for the night.
    â€œOh, there’s one.” I pointed out a shooting star. “If we are seeing them already, this should be a great night for meteors.” I leaned over to Amira and squeezed her hand.
    â€œThis is fun.” Amira turned to me. “Thank you for inviting me. I have never been interested in the stars before, only learning what I must, but after Jai told me some of those stories about the stars the other night, I could not wait to come.”
    I looked over at Jai, who was looking at Amira, and was caught off-guard at the expression on his face. For a moment I thought I saw tenderness there. Then he said, “You should tell her some of what you told me.”
    We lay down and wiggled into position until the tops of our heads touched. When we could all see the same area, and they could tell where I pointed, I showed Amira the same constellations I’d shown Jai before. Amira seemed especially offended by the thought that King Cepheus had chained his daughter Andromeda to the rock as a sacrifice to the whale.
    â€œWhat kind of king would do that to his daughter?” she demanded, as she slapped her hand down onto the blanket.
    â€œIt's all myth and legend, I think. It never really happened.” Her anger surprised me.
    â€œBut still, that kind of king would not be fit to rule.” She crossed her arms over her chest and looked toward a different section of the sky as if ignoring King Cepheus.
    I glanced at Jai for an explanation. He shrugged and shook his head. “Tell us a new story.”
    I looked around again for a moment to get my constellations