Sky of Stars

By Sadira Zari

Ava James is not a typical high school senior. Smarter than most her age but often absent from school, she lives a life of superficial ease and profound difficulty. Her parents are usually nowhere to be found, leaving Ava to care for her younger sister-although those roles are often reversed. As Ava struggles to navigate the twists and turns of

• Language: English
• Publisher: Leylan River Press
• Release date: Sep 26, 2023
• ISBN: 9798988829713

Sadira Zari

Sadira Zari is a young queer author who seeks to develop and popularize lesbian literature. As a teen, she found few novels written for lesbian adolescents and decided to pen her own coming-of-age stories and romances.

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Copyright © 2023 by Leylan River Press, LLC.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without direct permission from the author or publisher.

First Edition: September 2023

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN: 979-8-9888297-0-6 (paperback)

979-8-9888297-1-3 (eBook)

Printed by

1

Ava’s POV

Life is too important to be taken seriously.

Oscar Wilde, arguably one of the most famous and decorated poets of all time, gave us this advice. I find it funny how we look up to the greats and assume that there is only one way to reach their level of achievement, when in fact not all of them sacrificed their happiness and sanity for success.

Some did have to work harder than others, I acknowledge that, but my point is that the uptight, happiness-depriving mindset isn’t always necessary. However, since nobody recognizes that, we have created an amazing place where we subject our youth to thirteen years of tortured learning in large brick buildings for seven hours a day. On top of that, there is homework which takes away even more time and turns us into overworked, sleep-deprived teenagers. School, they call it.

Another great writer, Ralph Waldo Emerson, said, Enthusiasm is the mother of effort, and without it nothing great was ever achieved. So, naturally, I was in Starbucks buying myself a large white chocolate mocha. In today’s world, a little store-bought enthusiasm is better than none. You have to fake it till you make it. Aristotle came up with that phrase; note that he is another great.

Most people would at least be a little concerned about being late on their first day of school, but I didn’t want to give any teachers the impression I usually run on time. I was doing them a favor. Plus, the school was the one to decide to begin the year on a Thursday morning-- not that any other day of the week would have been any better, but Thursday is so close to Friday.

After picking up my mocha, I pulled up to my high school, which was to once again be my primary place of imprisonment for the next nine months. I walked through the front entrance and along the familiar hallway to the main office where I had to pick up my schedule. The air conditioning hit my body in a refreshing wave, relieving me of the scorching rays of the Los Angeles sun.

As soon as I picked up my schedule and figured out where I was going for first period, I left the office and headed towards Honors English IV with Miss Kordas. Now, I know what you’re thinking. How can someone who doesn’t care about school be in an honors class? To that I say: I never said I didn’t care about school.

My belief is that people get way too caught up in the material world of tests, grades, and having perfect attendance. The world is so much more than that. The world is beautiful and meant to be exhilarating. Personally, I don’t think it’s a crime to take a day off for a hike or to spend time on the beach with your sister instead of studying. If you don’t take days like that to remember the beauty of the world, there’s nothing keeping you grounded.

With that said, I recognize that school is important in terms of having a successful future. I care about my future a great deal, actually. I have plans to become a doctor, just like my father, and you can’t do that without being willing to put yourself through years and years of schooling. Memorization and concepts just come easily to me. 

Anyway, I arrived at the door for honors English. I checked the time, 8:48 a.m., which was only about twenty minutes late. Not bad. I turned the metal doorknob on the wooden door and pushed it open. I felt the body of students turn their attention towards me, and I subtly waved to my friend Julia.

Hello, Miss James. I’m glad you could make it this morning. 

I followed the soft but powerful voice and was met with the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on. Her long brown hair flowed over her shoulders in waves and stopped around her midback. Her chocolate brown eyes stared back into mine with intensity and curiosity as I continued to look at the beauty in front of me. She was wearing a black pencil skirt with a light white top that was held together by buttons. The top two buttons were left undone.

Miss James?

I looked back up to meet her eyes once more. She seemed unfazed and slightly annoyed by my lack of movement. Yeah, I’m glad I could make it too, I muttered as I made my way to a seat that was saved for me next to Julia.

I heard Julia whisper something to me from my left, but I was still focused on the brunette that was now leaning over to grab some papers from her desk. She began to walk through the aisles, handing each person a blank piece of lined paper. 

The guys were shamelessly checking her out. I felt bad, honestly. You can feel it when people are staring at your ass. That didn’t mean I stopped. As she neared my desk, I was met with a vanilla scent that was crossed with a bit of lavender. She stopped to hand me my paper, and we locked eyes for a moment before she turned and continued to hand out the papers.

When she returned to the front of the room, she turned around to address the class. Since it’s the first day, I want each one of you to write about yourself. If you don’t finish by the end of the period, complete it for homework and turn it in tomorrow. This isn’t going to affect your grade, but please put in your best effort and try to have fun with it. With that, she sat back behind her desk and pulled out a light blue book. Her brows furrowed and her body relaxed as she was swept into whatever world the pages brought her to.

I watched her intently until she finally looked up from her book. She immediately made eye contact with me. After a couple seconds she shook her head, tapping her desk a couple times as if to tell me to begin writing my paper. I smiled and turned my attention to the blank paper in front of me. Usually, I wouldn’t bother to put in a particularly large amount of effort on an assignment like this, but I had a gorgeous English teacher to impress this time. Just as I was about to press my pencil to my paper, the bell rang, and everyone began to gather their belongings to take to their next class.

I glanced at Miss Kordas, who had just put her book down and was making her way to the door to see the students out of the room. My next class was honors biology, which was far from this class, so I grabbed my bag and headed towards the door. As I passed her, I was hit with her scent once again. See ya, teach, I commented, just loud enough for her to hear me.

Goodbye, Miss James, she answered, looking slightly unsure of the situation.

Call me Ava, I responded, slightly louder this time while looking back over my shoulder. I hadn’t stopped walking, and I fought the urge to wink when I made my last comment because she seemed a bit uncomfortable. I didn’t like it even though it was expected from a teacher. I turned back around, and Julia was already by my side. We were in the same biology class, which was next period.

Someone’s got the hots for Miss Kordas, she said in a high-pitched voice. 

Yeah, along with half the other kids in the class. Did you see her? I said while laughing. 

Yes, I did. You know I don’t swing that way, but if I did, damn. Kordas can get it, she said thoughtfully. I laughed, and we walked into biology, taking our seats at the back of the room.

About five minutes into the class, I realized that my mind was in fact very distracted by a certain teacher of mine. And no, not the teacher for this period who was kindly providing us with the history of what seemed to be her entire life. Now that I thought about it, I probably missed Miss Kordas’s introduction during the first twenty minutes of class when I was absent. And in that moment, I wanted to learn everything there was to know about her.

2

Ava’s POV

The next few periods passed slowly. Third period was calculus, which seemed to be a rough class, actually. The teacher, Mr. Connor, was around thirty years old with short blonde hair and eyes that shot daggers at you if you did anything remotely off task. Trust me, I would know.

Fourth period was AP psychology with Mrs. Green, which was a class I had been looking forward to since my freshman year. It’s a seniors-only class, so I couldn’t take it any other year. The teacher looked like she was in her midforties, and she seemed pretty nice. Not necessarily an easy teacher, but still nice. I was currently in fifth period, which is free period. Julia and I met up with our friend Jeremy at our usual spot in the courtyard.

I just don’t see why he won’t trust me on this! Puffy will be fine if I take him for a weekend! Jeremy said dramatically. Sam, his boyfriend, wouldn’t let him watch his dog while he was away over the weekend. Another problem was that his parents were fucking assholes who didn’t support him, so they would raise hell if Jer brought anything to do with Sam into the house. Even if it was his dog.

You’re not the most responsible person out there, Jer, Julia remarked while taking a bite into her sandwich. 

I’m going to forget you said that in light of the fact that it’s the first day. Topic switch, Jer said. He looked at me suddenly. 

You’re being awfully quiet today, Avacado, he said. I cringed at the nickname he used. We met in ninth grade and he had an avocado for lunch. Somehow, I didn’t know what the hell an avocado was. He found it hilarious.

Just pensive, Germy, I said with a serious look on my face. I pretended to stare out into the distance while they both laughed. 

Seriously, what’s up? And stop with the nickname. You’re not funny, he said. And Avacado was?

Oh look everyone, we have a fucking hypocrite here! I exclaimed. He shushed me even though no one was around and rolled his eyes, eventually breaking out into a giggle. 

She’s thinking about Miss Kordas, Julia piped in. She wasn’t wrong. 

Ooh, Miss Kordas. I have her eighth period, so I haven’t seen her yet, but I’ve heard the murmurs, Jer told us, wiggling his eyebrows.

I laughed and got up to throw away the rest of my sandwich since I was done. Across the courtyard, I made eye contact with someone I didn’t quite know how to approach. She started walking over to me, and I had no choice but to talk to her.

Long time no see, Riley greeted, walking me over to an empty bench. I smiled awkwardly and looked around. 

I was thinking we could go to a party tonight with the football guys. I miss you, she said. Riley and I weren’t dating and we never had been, but she and I had known each other for a long time. We grew up together and discovered ourselves but have grown apart in the past few years.

It’s not really my scene, I shrugged, still not making eye contact. 

Oh, come on. It’ll be just like old times. 

I cringed at the sweetness of her voice. 

Riley, I’m not going, I said, walking back to my table where Julia and Jeremy were watching what just happened. 

On my way from lunch to art, I looked for Zoe in the crowd of freshmen. She’s my one and only sibling, and it was her first day of high school. My eyes suddenly found a group of girls that were pushing someone up against a locker. 

When I ask you for something, you give it to me! Maya shouted. I caught a glimpse of the girl up against the locker and immediately walked over. It was a freshman. Maya was a senior. Her pettiness and stupidity always amazed me.

Stealing lunch money from a freshman? How impressive, I said sarcastically when I got to the commotion. She turned towards me.

Dyke, she said while making eye contact with me. If she was trying to get her face fucked up, she was doing great. I asked her to put the girl down, but she refused. I honestly had no interest in being nice to her. 

My right hand collided with her face, and the freshman hurried away from the scene. People were starting to gather as I swiftly avoided a punch from Maya. I don’t see why she even tries. It wasn’t the first time this had happened, and she knew better than to fight me. She probably lost half her brain cells getting high over summer break. I guess I really wasn’t one to talk though. 

One of her other friends came and socked me in the stomach, catching me by surprise. I did the same to her, and she fell on the floor, leaving me once again just with Maya. I didn’t want to do anything too bad, but she wasn’t giving up. 

Just as I was about to deliver a swift punch to her jaw, I felt warm arms wrap around my stomach. The scent of vanilla and lavender flooded my senses, and I instantly knew who it was. Maya was still there and took this as an opportunity to try and punch me, but I saw the punch going towards Miss Kordas. Her aim was awful. 

I moved my head in front of her fist, and her hand collided with my eye instead of Miss Kordas’s head. It hurt like a bitch. Someone finally got Maya, and Miss Kordas walked me to the main office, not saying a word. 

Once the nurse patched me up and the principal threatened to suspend me for the hundredth time in the past three years, I went back to class. The whole school had pretty much heard what happened, and Maya went home along with her friend. They didn’t look too hot. 

Boo! someone shouted, startling me. It was Zoe. I was in the freshman wing of the school, picking her up to go home. She was laughing hysterically, and I rolled my eyes, soon noticing the brown-haired girl behind her. It was the same one who was pushed up against the lockers earlier. 

Hey, you okay? I asked, turning my attention to the other girl. She had run off during the commotion, so I never got to ask her. 

Yeah, I’m fine. Thank you for doing that. My name’s Cassidy, she said shyly. I told her it was no problem and introduced myself. She seemed like a nice girl. 

You need a ride home? I asked, realizing no one was there to pick her up. 

I have it covered, Miss James, I heard a voice say from behind me. Well she’s just everywhere, isn’t she?

She was carrying a black purse on her shoulder and a stack of papers in her hands. She looked a little more tired than she had at the beginning of the day, and I felt bad for being part of the reason.

Driving students home now, Miss Kordas? I asked. She looked at me and sighed.

Cassidy is my sister, Miss James, she stated. I wish she’d just call me Ava. 

Oh, well okay then. I couldn’t seem to hold a conversation with this woman. She was too overwhelming. She also still hadn’t acknowledged the fight. Did she know it was about Cassidy?

I’ll see you in class tomorrow. Don’t forget to do your assignment tonight, she said. She’s so proper.

Wouldn’t dream of it.

After driving back with Zoe, we rolled through the open gates into our long driveway and I parked my car in the garage. Walking into the kitchen, Zoe grabbed a banana off the counter. Oh, Cassidy and I want to go to the carnival this Saturday. Can you take me? she shouted to me as she made her way up the spiral staircase to her room. I told her I could, and she thanked me as she disappeared from sight.

There was a lot of time on my hands, so I decided to go downstairs to work out in the exercise room before I began my homework, which consisted of my one assignment from English. I think I had some homework from math and science, but the lessons were easy and teachers barely check anyway.

Once I finished exercising, I made my way back upstairs with beads of sweat dripping down my face and patches of wetness on my white shirt. I showered in the bathroom attached to my bedroom and freshened up before letting Zoe know that I was going to Whipped to do homework.

When I arrived at Whipped, I greeted Mary and Keith, the owners whom I had grown very close to. I made my way to my usual seat towards the back side of the room and began listening to the live music that they have every night from five-thirty to six-thirty. Once I had settled down and gotten a cup of water, I shuffled through the items in my backpack and pulled out the piece of paper Miss Kordas had given to me. Finding myself overthinking what to include and what not to include, I decided to just start writing.

I pressed my pencil down on the paper and it never seemed to stop moving. My mind barely stopped to check if something was appropriate or too personal to submit to a teacher, within reason. I included everything from the simple facts about my hobbies and interests, to the more intimate information about what happened with my family. Some things were too private to put down, obviously, but I wrote a lot more than I would have for any similar assignment for another class.

3

Ava’s POV

I had swim practice the next day, and I was in the water by 6:45 a.m. Practice ended at 8:00 on the dot, and the team headed to the locker rooms to shower and get changed. I knew my hair was going to dry throughout the day and look really bad, so I put it up into a messy bun.

We all said goodbye to each other before I grabbed my swim bag and took it to my car so that I could swap it for my backpack. There were a lot of buses lined up in front of the school letting students off, and also a lot of students parking in the lot and walking into the front entrance. Some teachers were still arriving since it was only 8:20, but most of them arrive around 8:00 to prepare for class before students come in.

I was just starting to follow the rush of students entering the building, when I noticed a Miss Kordas walking away from her car two rows over. She looked like she was having a late start to her morning. Her hair was slightly out of place and she was walking as fast as she could without tripping over her own high-heeled feet and dropping the stack of papers she was holding.

But despite all of that, she still looked beautiful. Her face was scrunched up in frustration. She was wearing another pencil skirt and blouse that exposed just enough of her legs and chest. I realized that there was a good chance she would actually drop some of her belongings. I didn’t see it at first, but she was also balancing a travel coffee mug between her arm and stomach that was beginning to slip.

I ran over to her with my backpack hanging off of my right shoulder, and immediately caught the descending cup