Dustin

They were chasing a shooting star.

It appeared just as the sun neared the horizon, a white streak slicing through the pinks and oranges and purples of the evening sky. This was no distant shooting star disintegrating in the atmosphere, but rather a survivor, one that appeared to make landing in the hills near Crystal Springs. One of the four teenagers who witnessed its fall suggested a search, to see what extraterrestrial gift the town of Pleasantview had received from the cosmos.

They rode bicycles, despite the fact that all of them were old enough to drive. Dustin's family ran a struggling bakery, and affording a car seemed out of the question, so he never bothered to get a license. The twins, Angela and Lilith, had licenses, but only one car between them. Their privileges to use it were recently revoked after an argument over which of them would get to use it on date night turned their mother's favorite vase into collateral damage. Dirk had a license and his own car, but a recent fender bender with the cranky old Mrs. Crumplebottom up in the swanky Redwood Parkway district had put his car out of commission. Dirk's father decreed that Dirk would have to earn the money himself for repairs by either getting a job or doing chores for the neighbors, neither of which held great appeal.

And thus they were all relegated to two wheels. Dustin didn't mind. It reminded him of when they were kids, flying down Main Street past all of the little shops and restaurants with the wind in his hair, wheels bouncing over the cobblestone border to the winding road of Pinochle Point, watching the trees grow thicker as they headed up the hills, and finally coasting as the road sloped down toward Crystal Springs. It was nice to have that feeling of being a kid again, back when life was simpler. It was a time before school became more difficult and less friendly, before teachers began regarding him as one of "those kids from Woodland Drive," the delinquents, and regarded him with suspicion before he gave them cause. And because of this he felt obligated to give them cause, to live up to their worst expectations. His grades plummeted, his parents-who were already stressed out trying to raise two children on a tight budget-got angry, and soon there was only one person in his life who really mattered to him-Angela.

They skidded to a halt underneath a broad elm tree that overlooked the lake, which now rippled with pink water under the setting sun. Dustin smiled at Angela, and she smiled back knowingly; this was where he'd first kissed her five years ago, back when their bodies had begun to change, their desires deepening. They were the only two who knew this little secret, and they had sworn to keep it between them, so that this place would always be special.

"Let's start looking here," Dustin said.

"Why are we doing this again?" asked Lilith. She let her bike fall against the tree and planted a hand on her hip, her darkly mascaraed eyes surveying the scene with disdain. "This is stupid."

It was always a marvel to Dustin that the two girls were twins, as they could not have been more different in nature. They shared the same features physically-the same blue eyes, pretty lips, the pale skin and hair the color of copper, the slender feminine bodies. And yet where Angela was soft and light, Lilith was hard and dark. Angela wore a light green summer dress, her hair flowing freely over her shoulders, her face naturally beautiful without any makeup save a subtle lip gloss. Lilith opted for heavy makeup, especially around her eyes and a shockingly dark lipstick. Her hair was pulled back tight, and her wardrobe was almost entirely black and made of leather, save the cotton tank top bearing a skull design. She always wore a frown, while Angela always put on a smile, except, of course, where her sister was concerned. They often did not get along.

"You have something better to do?" Dirk asked with a charming smile. He was the only one who seemed to be able to sway Lilith when she got into one of her moods, which was what made them a good match. He took her hand, his dark skin a sharp contrast against her white, and began pulling her gently toward the woods. "Come on, let's go."

Lilith relented and Dustin watched the two of them disappear into the trees. He wasn't sure if they were actually going to go look for the shooting star, or if they just planned to make out or smoke some weed in the bushes. Either way it didn't matter to him. He was alone with Angela, which was what he really wanted in the first place. He smiled at her and took her hand and they began walking toward the shore of the lake.

"You've been kind of quiet today," said Angela. "I didn't see you at lunch."

"Sorry, I went out to the bleachers on the football field to smoke a cigarette and wound up sitting there for a long time just thinking."

"About what?"

"Nothing. My dad. He was on my case last night about my grades. 'You need to get your grades up so you can get into a good college and get a real job.' The usual schtick."

"If it's the usual, then why do you seem so upset about it? Normally you just blow it off."

Dustin was quiet. They had come to a steep incline and he put his arm around Angela's waist to steady her. "Here, let me help you."

"Thanks," she said as they made their way down. "These sandals weren't made for hiking."

They reached the bottom of the incline and pushed through some brush and found themselves on the pebbly shore. Dustin took a moment to take in the serene scene. The sun was nearly gone, shooting rays into the cerulean sky like spotlights behind the silhouetted mountains. The water lapped gently at the shore in a relaxing rhythm. A slight breeze rustled the leaves of the nearby trees. He took a deep breath.

Angela's hand slipped into his. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"It's just-I said some really shitty things to my dad last night."

"We all say things we don't mean sometimes. You should hear the things I say to Lilith."

"No, this was bad. Like, really bad."

"Tell me."

"You know how you said I always blow it off, the pressure he puts on me. Well, I'd had a really bad day. Miss Song gave me an F on my midterm, so I mouthed off to her about it, so she sent me to see Principal Walter, and he basically called me a loser. And then I got home and I found out Beau had been going through my shit, so I yelled at him, which made my mom yell at me, and it just-it just felt like everyone was coming down on me."

"And then your dad yelled at you too."

"No, my dad didn't yell. He never yells. He just sat me down and told me that he was disappointed. And he had such a fucking sincere look on his face, I just-I just couldn't stand it. Like, I wish he would just yell. Yelling I could ignore. But that tone just made me feel so damn small and I felt like I had to cut him down, too."

"So what did you say?"

"I told him that the only reason he wanted me to get a good job so bad was because he was so damn broke and such a failure that he couldn't support his own family, and he needed his son to the work for him. I called him lazy, I called him pathetic, and I called him a loser. Basically everything the principal had said to me to make me feel shitty, I said to my dad. And guess what, it had the same effect on him that it had on me. I wanted to make him feel small and that's exactly what happened."

Angela put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure he knows you didn't really mean it. That you were just pissed."

"I don't think it mattered to him why I was saying it. He got this look on his face like I'd just put words to all of his worst fears, like everything I was saying was what he really did think of himself. I could tell I hit a major nerve."

"What did he say back?"

"Nothing. That's what upsets me the most. He said nothing and just got up from the couch, got in the truck and drove off. He was still out when I went to sleep, and he was gone in the morning when I got up. Honestly, I'm not even sure he came home last night."

"So that's why you wanted to go looking for the shooting star? Not too anxious to go home?"

Dustin shook his head. "He's probably home from work by now. I really don't want to face him."

Angela took his hand. "Come on," she said. "Maybe we can find that shooting star to give him as a peace offering."

Dustin smiled and followed after her as they strolled down the beach hand in hand. It was growing darker and harder to see. They were nearing the pier that jutted out onto the lake where people would often fish from, or launch boats to spend a lazy day enjoying being out on the water. Many times over the years, on hot summer days, Dustin and his friends would dive off of that pier into the cool waters to escape the heat. He was remembering this when he saw the glow at the end of the pier.

"Do you see that?" he said.

Angela's eyes widened as a pretty smile spread across her lips. "Oh my god, we found it! We actually found it! Come on."

She grabbed his hand and pulled him as they ran down the beach, pebbles crunching beneath their feet, until they hit the old creaking wood of the pier. At the end sat a rock, about the size of a baseball, with green veins crisscrossing it and glowing in the deepening darkness. The wood around it had cracked and splintered where it landed, and Dustin wondered that it hadn't broken through.

"Do you think it's safe?" said Angela. "I mean, it could be radioactive or something. Or, like, super hot."

"Only one way to find out," said Dustin.

He approached the rock slowly. He doubted it was dangerous, but he positioned himself between it and Angela, just in case. When it was at his feet, he knelt down and studied its features, the way its iridescent green seemed to ebb like a living thing. He reached down and touched it. It was cold to the touch. Finally, he picked it up.

"Well?" said Angela.

"Well," said Dustin with a shrug. "It's pretty. And I'm not dead, so...score, I guess."

Angela came closer, her face lighting up with the green hues as she approached. "What should we do with it?"

"Don't know. Keep it?"

"Or maybe take it to the science facility?"

"No," said Dustin a little too quickly. The science facility was owned by Landgraab Industries, and there was something about that place, about that whole company that he found unsettling in ways he couldn't quite place. "You were right before. I'll take it home and give it to my dad. Maybe I'll get back on his good side. Maybe he won't think I'm such a fuckup."

"You're not a fuckup," said Angela. She drew closer to him and draped her arms around his neck. "You're the sweetest, smartest, cutest boy I know. And I love you."

"I love you, too."

Their lips met in a soft kiss. His desire for her beckoned for him to do more, to part her lips with his tongue as he had so many times before, but something about this moment felt like it should remain chaste, that it should be a perfect kiss, like an unopened rosebud.

Suddenly Angela pulled away from him, her eyes opened wide. "Oh my god!" she said, her hand flying to her mouth. "There's someone out there in the water."

It had become dark enough that it was difficult to make out, but could just see a body floating face down a few hundred yards away from the end of the dock. Without thinking, he dropped the space rock and pulled off his shoes. "Call 911," he said to Angela just before plunging into the water.

The water was cold, the fall weather dropping its temperature to an uncomfortable low, but he tried to ignore it as he swam toward the body, hoping that he could get there in time to save the man-it looked like a man, but it was hard to tell in the light. The body felt cold when he reached it, but he flipped the man face up and wrapped an arm around him to pull him toward shore. When his feet finally felt rocks beneath them, he grabbed the man underneath his arms and dragged him onto dry land. In the darkness he could barely see the man's features, and he had to feel by hand for the mouth to begin CPR. He was distantly aware of Angela's voice talking frantically on her cell phone to a 911 operator. A green light washed over Dustin and he realized that Angela had picked up the glowing space rock and was using it to illuminate the scene. He heard her gasp.

"Oh my god!" she said. "Oh my god, Dustin!"

There was an edge to her words that he couldn't understand at first, nor why she was looking at the body in such alarm. Then he looked down on the face of the man he was trying to save, and his heart dropped into to pit of his stomach. The man was clearly dead.

It was Dustin's father.