A Day to Remember

     It was a typical Thursday. Wake up. Put on clean clothes from the laundry basket. Get lost on the way to class. Twice. Step into the lecture hall seconds before being late. Sit through Dr Dormir’s lecture on ancient Altadorian history (despite the name, he’s actually really engaging). Rush to the dining hall. Grab the last fried chicken wing to avoid eating a mystery meat sandwich (who knows what’s in those things). Head to the library to study. Get lost on the way there. Check out seven books for my upcoming paper. Find a seat in the stacks where nobody ever—

     “Hi there.”

     I peeked from behind my pile. A short-haired eventide Tonu with kind green eyes, wrinkled button-down polo shirt, grey trousers and brown loafers had a book in one hand and a notebook below his other. He dipped a worn quill into the ink well and scribbled a few things before I could even reply. The moment I saw him, my heart skipped a beat.

     “You’re welcome to join me, if you’d like.” When I wordlessly put my books down beside him—funny, really, I’m not usually one to be caught off guard—he smiled. Wow, he had really pearly whites. “I’m Dorado.”

     “Astronomy.” I blinked, taking in what I just blurted out. Wait a second, that’s not my name! “That’s what you’re studying!” My mind raced a mile a minute. “I love astronomy, but I really love history—that’s what I’m doing my Master’s in, by the way!” It felt like I had swallowed sandpaper. All of the alarm bells were running inside my head. Danger, danger! You’re blowing your first impression, Norbert!

     To my great relief, he chuckled. “History is pretty cool, too, I suppose.” He slid down his books towards one end of the table, leaving me with plenty of space for my own work. “Nice to meet a fellow grad student here.”

     “Norbert!” I slapped my forehead. “That’s my name! I mean, yes. Yes, it totally is.” I rubbed the back of my neck through my curly locks, the lot of which had grown increasingly sweaty since entering the library stacks. “Thanks for the space.”

     “Sure, Norbert.” His eyes scanned the top book in my pile. Before saying anything else, he moved four of his books to the side and turned the fifth cover to face me. Heroic Constellations, it read. “Are you a fan of the Heroic Four?” A fan is an understatement; Sir Rohane is my Master’s thesis topic! I nodded vigorously, and he responded by flipping to a page that was filled to the brim with text. “The International Council on Astronomical Naming, ICAN for short, just announced that the next star will be named after Velm for his peerless heroism.”

     I let out a squeal, then sucked in my breath. It wasn’t a good idea to be too loud in the Brightvale University Library. Novelest, our head librarian, would give us the sad eyes again, and nobody liked the sad eyes. “For real?” I whispered, my tail wagging faster and faster, “that’s so cool!”

     “Isn’t it, though? I love it when a hometown hero gets some recognition.”

     “You’re from the Lost Desert?!” My friends tell me that my mouth moves like a motor when I’m excited—this time, it was practically a blur. “That’s so cool—super cool, in fact! My mother’s from there, too! Very cool!”

     A shushing sound came from the floor above. Oops.

     “Yeah, from the same general area as Velm, actually. He did health checkups on the folks in my village.”

     “That’s so cool…” Dang, I really needed to stop saying “cool” before I scared this cute stranger with my Heroic Four obsession. I deftly switched subjects, brushing a strand of my curly hair behind my ear. “So, uh, why stars?”

     “Because both of my moms love the sky. Before I could even crawl, they brought me outside to watch the cosmic majesty come alive. King Altador with his mighty sword. Beasts of frightful, ancient lore. Dancers, thieves, and farmers, too. Heroes grand shone ever true. That’s what they always told me growing up…” he faltered for a second. “Oh, that probably sounds a little silly.”

     “Silly?” I shook my head. “Not at all!”

      “That’s good to hear.” He visibly relaxed. “Want to hear a little more?”

     “I would love to.”

     Dorado’s eyes lit up brighter than the evening sky as he painted portraits with his words. In all my years of study, I had never known much about the cosmos. Not to say that it didn’t interest me, but it was always just… there, you know? A part of my day-to-day, a backdrop for the night.

     I spread out my textbook and notepad. “I’d love to go star-gazing with you someday…” realizing I was sounding a bit forward—weird, even, I backtracked. “I-I-I mean, y-you know, only if you want to?”

     He tilted his head to the side. Every passing second felt like an eternity.

     “I’d like that.” As if chewing on these words, he added, “I’d like that a lot, Norbert. How about next Friday night?”

     “Great!” I grinned. “It’s a date—uh, I mean, it’ll be a day to remember! Y-yeah, that’s it.” Suddenly feeling sheepish, I grabbed my book pile. My heart was racing a thousand miles a second. “A-actually, I just remembered that my roommate needed some help cleaning our dorm apartment tonight. But um…” I’m sure my cheeks were vividly red by this point. “Same time next week? Library stacks?”

     His chin rested on his hand. He watched my flustered self with amusement. “I’ll be here by 6 pm.”

     “6 pm it is then!” As I rushed up the stairs, I added, “Nice to meet you, Dorado!”

     “You, too, Norbert.”

     ~x~

     The next week, I practically skipped to the library after class. Mid-way, I stopped, doubt creeping into my mind. What if he wasn’t there? What if he actually thought I was super weird? I mean, as spotted Gelerts go, I’m really high energy, but… that’s a good thing, right? He’s probably not there. I’m just getting excited for no reason. I looked down at my freshly pressed dark academia sweater and brown trousers and hoped—truly hoped—that Dorado would be there.

     Creeping down the steps, my heart pounded like a timpani drum. My mouth felt dry as I continued to psych myself out. It was tempting to run back upstairs and study in my room. Maybe then I wouldn’t be—

     “Hey, Norbert. Glad you could make it.”

     My arms felt like jelly. He was sitting cross-legged in the chair, a textbook in hand, and… wearing the exact same sweater as me, down the stitch.

     His gaze lingered on our matching garment before he pulled out a chair. “I’ll be studying a lot today and can’t chat much, but feel free to bring your stuff over.”

     “O-oh, that’s okay. The studying part, I mean.” My brain practically froze over. A chill of panic settled across my stiff features. “N-nice sweater, by the way.”

     This got him to laugh. Worry crept into my mind as I found myself ready to run away yet again. Why in Hagan’s name did I say that?! It couldn’t be more awk—

      “I could say the same for you, Norbert.” He gave the fabric a good tug and it snapped back in place. “Guess we got good taste in clothing.”

     “Y-yeah.” I put a pile of books down and brought out my quill, parchment, and ink well. My paper was more than half-written, at that point, but there was always more to do. The quill in my hand paused as my thoughts drifted back to that sweater. That really warm, dark brown sweater with three white diamonds in the middle. Oh, Meepits. I had to find something else to think about, and quickly. “Looking forward to tomorrow?”

     Oh no, not that! My face grew warm as I said the words. I bet my cheeks were redder than a ripe tomato.

     “Yeah.” He looked up from the book briefly before turning his attention back downward. “I can bring my telescope if you want?”

     “That…” I imagined taking turns looking through it together and smiled. “That sounds stellar.”

     There was the slightest of smirks at the pun. “You’re really funny, you know that?”

     “Me, funny?” Suddenly feeling warm, I fanned myself with one hand. “I dunno about that…”

     “Well, I think so.”

     I couldn’t help but hide behind my bushy hair; it made for a good eye shield in a pinch. “Thank you, Dorado…” I said, and my hand curled in front of my mouth. “That’s really, really nice.”

     He beamed a radiant smile. “And totally true.”

     We’re lucky that only a short walk from the University buildings was a nice, open field used for graduation and other events. This proved to be dark enough for good views of astronomical events. During the last lunar eclipse, dozens of students, professors, and community members watched together. Although I didn’t make the trip, there was a long article about it in the college newspaper. Oliver, my roommate, told me all about it.

     Time passed quickly while the two of us studied in silence. I wrote like a winning Poogle racer. There was no way this paper was going to be on my mind tomorrow. It would be finished long before the two of us had time together to relax. When my mind wandered a little bit, I dotted a few of my i’s with hearts. Hopefully, my professor wouldn’t take notice, or she’d be sure to ask about my sudden fascination with Brightvalian stained glass motifs. If anyone asked, I’d just tell them that I love… glass cutting. Yeah, that’s it.

     Paper completed, I compiled the pages and tapped them on the table. This had to be a new record.

     Just then, the Weewoo clock rang. Weeee…woooo…. it sung, signaling the beginning of a new hour. I glanced up. It was 11 o’clock at night. Only when the Petpet beckoned did it dawn on me how late it actually was. I let out a yawn that I stifled quickly. My roommate told me that I yawned like I was trying to communicate underwater—it was a habit I had become quite self-conscious of since then.

     Dorado echoed my yawn as he stretched in his chair. “I think that’s enough for one day,” he said, packing all of his books into a backpack. “See you tomorrow at 7 pm in the event field?”

     “Yeah.” Suddenly, all of my tiredness was gone as my heart fluttered. “I’m looking forward to it!”

     ~x~

     The next day flew by in a whirlwind. I hummed joyfully through my classes, to the point where a professor asked me if I was readying myself for a concert. Needless to say… the army of stares I received quieted me in an instant.

      It was only 4 pm when classes finished and there was still time. And today… was the local market. If I asked everyone I saw for directions, maybe this time I wouldn’t get lost. Maybe.

     It turns out it takes 20 sets of directions for me to make it to and from the market with a basket of mini sandwiches, local fruit, and two cupcakes in tow. I doubt they’d be anything like the cupcakes I had in that really sketchy tavern on the edge of Meridell, but they’d do nicely for our da—uh, stargazing night, together.

     As the sun set, I saw him sitting on a plaid blanket in the field. His orange jacket stood out from a mile away. It matched nicely with his eventide colour, as did his starry trousers. I walked over, picnic basket in tow.

     “Hi, Dorado.” I dangled the basket and gave it a little shake. “Look what I got!”

     “Snacks?” Next to him was a bag of chips and some dip. It looked like he also remembered to bring the napkins, plates, and utensils.

     “Yup! Can’t watch stars on an empty stomach, after all.”

     “That you can’t.” He gestured to his stash of food. “Feel free to dig in.”

     The two of us chowed down as the last vestiges of the sun slipped behind the horizon and the inky blackness of night set in. Kreludor was half-full today, and the stars spread across the sky like a thick blanket. Dorado set up his telescope and pointed it at the moon.

     “Want to see something cool?” he asked.

     My eyes glittered in the moonlight. “Boy, do I!”

     He gestured to the telescope. I bent down and looked in the eyepiece. There was a crater amidst the bright light, one that was made from a stray asteroid on its surface eons ago.

     “That’s the Sea of Stone. Some think there is water on Kreludor, but I don’t think anyone knows for sure,” he explained. “Either way, it looks pretty cool close up.”

     “Yeah!” Under the telescope, it looked like I could hold Kreludor in the palm of my hand. It was incredible, to say the least.

     He turned the scope to another feature. “I think you’ll like this one.”

     A collection of stars shone brightly in the night sky under the magnified gaze. They almost resembled a Neopian.

     As if reading my mind, Dorado said, “This constellation is Seth, creator of storms, deserts, and chaos.” I made a loud ooh as he continued, “and he… is a Gelert. One of the most famous in our lore, actually.”

     “He’s a Gelert?!” My tail wagged. “That’s cool!”

     “Very cool,” he chuckled. “This time of year, he’s seen clearly in the night sky. And next to him is…” he shifted the scope as he spoke, “Nun, the creator of rivers and water, an Ixi. He always carries his trusty staff.”

     “Woah…” I took a peek at the stars and connected the dots in my head. “Are there any Tonu heroes?”

     He tilted his head to think. After a minute, he said, “yes, but she’s only seen in the summer skies.”

     “We’ll just have to go out together during the summer to watch her rise, then!” I declared, only afterwards realizing that probably came out a bit too matter-of-factly and—

     “Sure.” He lifted one of the mini-sandwiches out of the pack and took a bite. “We’ll make it a day to remember.”

     A blush came to my cheeks, and I could have sworn that I saw the same in his moonlit features.

     I offered my hand to him and he took it gently. The two of us then watched as a shooting star cut across the horizon—its tail brightened the sky like a firework show.

     “A day to remember, indeed.”

     The End.