One Wish Away

By Kelley Lynn

Be careful what you wish for…

Lyra has always been ahead of the curve. Top of her class in school, a budding astronomer, and with a best friend like Darren she barely has time to miss the mother who abandoned her family years ago. She's too busy planning to follow in her father's footsteps, and to become the youngest astronomer at Space Exploration and Discovery.

When a star goes missing Lyra is determined to get to the bottom of it only to discover her braniac dad is the mastermind of a top-secret government experiment. They promise to build a perfect world, one galaxy at a time, but with every tweak of the present, a bit more of the future starts to crumble.

Lyra has to go undercover to reveal the truth and let humanity decide if the consequences are worth more than wishing on a star.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Release date: Nov 24, 2014
• ISBN: 9781619637764

Kelley Lynn

Eventually the day came when the voices in Kelley Lynn's head were more insistent then her engineering professor's. So instead of turning to her Thermodynamics book, Kelley brought up a blank page on her computer screen and wrote. Somewhere along the way she became a Young Adult author. Kelley was born and raised a Midwestern girl. She fills her free time with softball, soccer and volleyball. (Though you probably don't want her on your volleyball team.) She occasionally makes guest appearances as a female vocalist for area bands. ROAD TO SOMEWHERE is Kelley's second published book. FRACTION OF STONE, a YA Fantasy, was published in March 2013 (Sapphire Star Publishing). You can find Kelley hanging out at her blog, titled in her name, and her Facebook author page. She loves to receive reactions to her work, [e-mail]. Kelley is a member of the Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators.

Book preview

Author

Chapter One

Why do I do this to myself?

Darren’s hand comes down on my jittery knee, holding it in place.

Lyra, he says through his smile, we all did our best. Whatever happens, happens.

What did you put for the eighth question for the economics part?

He laughs and takes his hand off my knee, running it through his dark, messy hair.

I don’t know. Remind me of the question again?

In the year 1962, what was—

There they are! Darren’s mom skitters through the crowd of students, her arms wide. She scoops me into a hug. I return it as best I can, but I’m out of practice. And in shock. And nervous for the results of the State Academic Decathlon competition.

June and Abby, Darren’s younger sisters, sandwich Darren between them, then he moves to his mother.

Where’s your dad, sweetie? Darren’s mom’s eyes skirt the parents in the room.

Oh, he had to work. I wave it off. It’s really no big deal.

No big deal? she asks. She looks like she’s going to say something else but instead plasters on a smile. Well, I’ll be right back there cheering when you guys take first place.

Okay, Mom. Darren looks past her shoulder and waves the rest of our team over.

Come on girls. Let’s let these guys hang out with their friends. Darren’s mom shuffles the girls toward the back.

Friends is a rather loose term. Teammates, yes. Friends, well…

Every guy in the room watches as Tiffany Snow walks over to us with the rest of our six-person team.

There you guys are. She smiles and flicks her blonde hair over her shoulder. All the guys staring quickly look away. So, she glances at me, how’d you think it went?

"Do you know what the eighth question was on the economics part?" Darren asks, holding back a laugh.

No. Tiffany giggles. Why?

Lyra doesn’t think she got it right.

You’re like a true, blue genius. I’m sure you did, Tiffany says rather quickly. She pulls out her cell. So when do we find out the results? I’ve got practice in an hour.

It shouldn’t make me mad that this is the state competition and she’s worried about cheerleading practice. She’s only on the Acadec team because we needed another person with a GPA between 0.00 and 2.99 and Mr. Kroeger said he’d raise her grade in math if she participated.

Hello, guys? Tiffany smiles and waves her hand in front of us to get our attention. When do we find out?

When we find out, I snap. That sounded meaner than I wanted it to. Shut your mouth, Lyra.

Sorry I asked. Tiffany tucks her phone back in her pocket and crosses her arms over her chest.

We can tell you what happens if you have to go, Darren offers. Totally what I should have said if I was half as nice as he is.

Tiffany’s arms come down. No. I want to be here to see how we did. I was just curious.

I look at Tiffany through my eyelashes, and I open my mouth to apologize as the microphone squeals.

Attention. Everyone attention, the proctor says from the stage. We have the results and are ready to announce the winners.

The awards ceremony takes forever. I should relax and celebrate in the little wins, like Darren’s mom and our team are doing, but the only thing that really matters is whether our team took first and we’re going to Nationals. That’s success. That’s what we’ve worked all year for.

I’m completely surprised when Tiffany wins gold for her GPA level in both the Music and Science portions. She must have studied harder than I thought. And she looks a lot happier about it than I would have expected.

Calculating how many individual medals we won, including a number contributed by Darren and myself, we’ve got a shot at first place. When a hush comes over the crowd, my knee finally stops moving. Everything stops moving, including my breathing.

And now for the overall team scores.

When Sullivan High takes third with 43,510 and St. Catherine’s grabs the silver with 49,428, my heart sinks a little. Those are great scores. All the hours I spent studying. The times I told Darren I couldn’t come over to hang out. All that will be for nothing if we don’t move on to represent Arizona at Nationals.

First place, with 51,755 points goes to…

Darren’s fingers grip my knee. I must have been shaking it again.

Harrison High!

A roar flies through the crowd as my team jumps into the air. I throw myself into Darren’s outstretched arms. I have no idea what I’m saying. I’m just screaming and shaking and trying to remember how to breathe again.

All that work. All that work!

And we won State.

Darren lets me go and I twirl around to find Tiffany’s arms spread wide. Caught up in the magic of the moment I fly into her arms too.

Great job, Lyra! I hear her yell over Ginger, our screaming teammate. My eyes meet her sapphire blue ones.

Thanks. I manage. Tiffany’s smile flickers and she turns to calm down Ginger.

You did well too, I say before she’s fully turned away. I’m not sure if she heard me, though. I reach out for her shoulder but Darren wraps his arms around me again and then we’re jumping, his hair flopping over his eyes.

The team rushes on stage to get our medals. The next few minutes we smile and turn and smile again. Parents wave for our attention. Reporters wave for our attention. I follow my teammate’s lead when the professional photographer asks for a ‘goofy’ picture. Basically, I open my mouth wide and put bunny ears on top of Craig’s head.

After that’s all done, Darren’s hands wrap around my shoulders. He shakes me and smiles. We did it, Lyra! We did it.

I know. I search his eyes, feeling completely happy. His smile gets wider and he pulls me in for another hug.

You did good. Four medals, he says into my ear.

You did really good too, I say back. Though to be honest, I don’t know how many medals he won. I’ll find out later.

Darren turns me around so we can follow our team off the stage.

Lyra Altair, can we ask you a few questions? the reporter asks as my foot hits the bottom. I reach out for Darren’s hand but he slips through my fingers and disappears into the crowd.

Uh…sure. I shrug and look for any one of my teammates. They’ve all disappeared. Probably to talk to their parents.

Let’s go over here where it’s a little quieter.

He smiles. I’m sure it’s to make me feel more comfortable, but I’m not particularly comfortable in any situation where I have to talk. I get nightmares about the speech portion of this competition before every event.

Once we’re in a hallway, the man stops me. All right. Stand right there. The camera guy is going to stand right here. And just talk to me, okay?

I glance at the camera guy. He’s really close.

It doesn’t look that way on TV. He smiles again. Ready?

Deep breath. I nod.

Lyra, your team just won the Arizona State Academic Decathlon Competition, how does that feel?

Good. I rub the sweat from my hands on my pants.

The reporter tilts his head. Can you walk us through the moments after your win was announced?

Uh…what do you mean?

He glances at his cameraman and then fixes his eyes back on me. This is not going well. I knew I should have gotten Darren or Tiffany to do this.

I’d imagine you are incredibly excited to be representing Arizona at the National Competition.

Yes. It’s very exciting. How much lamer can I sound? I clench my fingers to try and get myself to stop shaking. Can they see that on TV?

Lyra, as a sophomore, you are the youngest team leader in this competition. That’s quite the feat, and a lot of pressure. How did you prepare for this competition?

Okay. That’s a question I can answer.

I started back in March, when we first got the topic for this year. I studied really hard. Every night for a few hours, after I did my homework. I held practices four times a week where I lead the team through exercises to make sure they studied. My shoulders lift as I take a deep breath. That’s pretty much what I did.

I can see the man swallow. That’s how close I am to him. He clears his throat.

That’s great, Lyra. Anything else you want to say?

I can’t get my brain to put anything coherent together. My stomach is queasy from the camera and the two guys focused on me. I just want to get out of here.

No. I think that’s it.

Well, congratulations to you and your team.

My team. Shoot.

That’s what I should have talked about.

*

I inhale the dry night air as if I could pull the stars from the sky and feel their fire in my chest. My loud exhale makes Darren raise his head from the telescope. His sympathetic brown eyes meet mine. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t the best interview in the history of interviews. But give yourself a break. It was your first one.

I let him have the telescope. I’m too busy wallowing. Now, thanks to the nightly news, all of Arizona has seen that interview.

Don’t they do editing for things like that? Couldn’t they have made me look a little less like a stuck-up, know-it-all? Even I hate myself after watching that interview.

"I looked like a total nerd. A loser. Self absorbed. I studied really hard." I mock the words I said and tuck my hands into my flannel shirt.

Darren shrugs. "You are a nerd. And that’s why we won. His lips curl into a light smile. But you’re not a loser."

I give a halfhearted nod and twirl my hair. A few pieces are stuck in my fingers so I discard the strawberry blonde strands out the tree house window.

Keeping my eyes on the stars, I say, You guys all did really well. I should have said that.

Darren sits next to me. If everyone knew you like I do, they’d know you’re not self absorbed… most of the time.

The corner of my lip tugs.

I reach over and pull his beanie over his eyes and then push him so he rolls farther back into the tree house. Before he can see again, I jump to my feet and rush to the telescope, trying to put on a stern face. If you’re not going to look, I will.

In just one second, I’m transported to a different world. When I put my eye on the scope I glimpse a place we’re only beginning to understand. It’s a challenge, almost a game. To comprehend what’s going on out there before we miss a chance to make a big discovery, the universe forever changed. It’s the next frontier. The great unknown.

And I plan on being the one to figure it all out.

There’s Arcturus right at home in the constellation Bootes. Which makes sense because it’s spring now, I explain to Darren though he already knows this.

Yeah, and Leo still looks weird, Darren says. I look up to find him writing something in the dirt on the floorboards with a stick, his beanie back in place on top of his head.

I step away from the telescope and rest my arms on the ledge of the worn two-by-four walls, looking up at the night sky, easily finding Leo. The constellation is too big to see through a scope. Just as we’ve witnessed every night this month, Saturn is butting up to Leo’s number one star, Regulus. I breathe in the night air and throw my arms out as if I could fly into outer space and escape.

Have you told your dad yet about our win? Darren asks.

I don’t look away from the stars. I hold onto them like the constant companion they always are. Like Darren always is.

No, he hasn’t gotten home from work yet.

There are these things called cell phones. And these days, you don’t even have to call the person. You can just send them a text that says something like…oh, I don’t know…maybe start with ‘we won the State Academic Decathlon Competition!’ Darren shouts it as though it just happened again. I shush him, but not wholeheartedly. Who cares if our neighbors hear? It feels good to share it.

Because we frickin’ won.

I’m staring at Darren now. Well, not at him. More like through him. He wiggles his eyebrows forcing me to think about his original question. I shake my head and put my eye back on the telescope.

I’ll tell him when he gets home.

Lyra, you know how forgetful your dad is. It doesn’t hurt to remind him—

Shh, I’m looking at the stars.

Darren groans. You don’t need silence to do that—

Shh.

"I’m just saying it wouldn’t hurt for him to come to one—"

Darren, I say in a warning tone.

I move the telescope and focus on Leo’s Triplet, the small group of spiral galaxies consisting of the M65, the M66, and the NGC 3628. The floating disks in a sea of black and starlight send goose bumps up my arms. You sure you don’t want to look at this? I ask, finally taking the time to look at him.

His eyes are soft, concerned. After a few seconds of my staring he sits a little straighter and smiles. Naw, you keep looking. Unless, you want to continue discussing your brilliance in front of a camera.

I grab the twig next to my foot and chuck it, nailing him between the eyes.

Hey! he shouts and throws it back, missing by a foot.

We both laugh at his horrible aim. Or maybe we’re still laughing at my interview. In any case, being with Darren is easy.

The look in Darren’s eyes changes, more intense, and I watch as a thought forms. His eyebrows dip and his smile mellows. A heat grows in my cheeks so I look at the floorboards and clear my throat. The silence is so sharp we could hear the stars twinkle.

Darren jumps up, brushing the dirt off his jeans. I should get going. I told Abby and June I'd pick them up some ice cream on the way home. Abby says mint chocolate chip helps her stomachache.

She has another one? What’s wrong?

Darren shrugs. They don’t know, but they say it’s nothing to worry about. Just getting older, I guess.

Okay. Well, let me know if you need anything…

We’re fine, Lyra. He squeezes my shoulder. Better than fine.

I tug at my hair as I recall the empty refrigerator the last time I was at his house. He’s a liar. They’re not fine. Darren works, but he’s still forgoing lunch tomorrow to buy his sisters their ice cream. I fish through my jean pockets. I have some left over cash from Dad. The astronomy book I wanted wasn’t as expensive as I thought it would be.

Don’t. Darren shakes his head as I pull out the ten-dollar bill.

I don’t need it.

I can get my sisters ice cream. His expression is a little harder, begging me to believe in him.

Can’t you just tell them the ice cream is from me and I’ll see them soon? I let my voice get a little higher, hoping he’ll just take the help so I don’t have to watch him drink a cup of water and say no to all the food I offer him tomorrow at lunch.

The softness in his eyes is back. His shoulders relax and he picks his backpack up, holding out his hand. Okay, I’ll tell them it’s from you. Calluses from stocking the shelves at the electronics store brush mine when I give him the cash. I leave my hand there for a split second, and then pull away when he speaks. See ya in the morning.

Yeah, see ya. I rub the fingers that touched his as I watch the top of Darren’s beanie descend the ladder. The uneasiness in my stomach disappears with him. Not that Darren makes me uncomfortable. He’s my best friend.

I shake the thoughts away and put my eye back on the telescope. I locate the constellation Lyra, basically a rectangle attached to a triangle. Dad was insistent that I would be named after a constellation. I guess Lyra is as good as any.

A loud sigh escapes. Not even the stars can wipe that fiasco of an interview from my brain. I need to apologize to the team.

But the idea of standing in front of all five of them – well, I guess I don’t have to count Darren – so all four of them, forming sentences into an apology, makes the muscles in my back tense. I can already picture the hurt in their eyes.

Maybe I’ll send them an email. That way I can make sure it’s perfect.

I focus on the ‘Sleeping Beauty Galaxy’ located in the Coma Berenices constellation. It’s one of my favorites. Heck, they’re all my favorite. I never let anyone catch me, but sometimes I talk to the stars. As if they’d understand my issues.

Virgo, the second largest constellation, calls for my attention so I focus on the Sombrero Galaxy found within. The galaxy is exactly how it sounds. It looks like a sombrero thanks to the dust rings that… whoa.

That can’t be.

I shift the telescope around a little and jam my eye harder on the eyepiece.

What the hell? It’s almost as if…

A small noise escapes my throat. I pull my head away from the telescope and stare at it as if it’s broken. I force my eye back down. This doesn’t make any sense.

Why can’t I see it?

Spica, usually in the Virgo constellation, is gone.

Chapter Two

I snap the cover shut. It’s the eighth astronomy book I’ve searched. Not to mention all the online research I did before I resorted to physical books. There has to be an explanation for the star I can’t see. But so far, no luck.

I push back from the kitchen table, the chair screeching in the silent house. The sound of my soda can popping echoes down the hall. I thought he said he was coming home last night, but I guess it was another long day at the office. That happens with Dad, more often than not.

But I need to talk to him about this.

The clock above the stove says 6:30am. Whoops.

Forty-five minutes later, I’m locking the front door and trudging down the road. I steal a glance at the car in the driveway. I haven’t had the time to take Driver’s Ed, what with Acadec practices and everything. This summer, I’ll get on that.

My shoulders hurt under the

Reviews for One Wish Away

[ginger_reader22 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Lyra, named after the constellation, is constantly watching the stars, talking to them, asking them advice, confiding in them. One night while gazing at them through her telescope she realizes one star is missing. When she brings up the subject to her father and aunt, both of whom work at SEAD (Space Exploration and Discovery) they brush off her comments and refuse to give her answers as to what could have happened. After some eavesdropping and quite a bit of snooping Lyra, along with the help of her best friend Darrren discover her father is behind the missing star and that he is working on a top secret government experiment that will change the world as we know it. The only problem is are they changing it for better or for worse?I don't even know what to say about this book, I had such high hopes for it but it was a complete let down. I didn't like the characters or the story line and I found myself shaking my head at the 'plot'. I feel like it had such potential but it was just a giant train wreck. The more I read the less believable the story got and the less interesting the characters became. To top it all off it ended with a cliff hanger and there is no way I can read any follow up books. Sad to say but if I could wish on a star and have it come true I'd wish I wouldn't have wasted my time on this book. Until next time, Ginger In compliance with FTC guidelines I am disclosing that this book was given to me for free to review. My review is my honest opinion.