Mara gazed up at the early September sky. It was a clear and warm night. You could see the stars. Hundreds of them. Their light seemed to illuminate everything.

Form her spot on the bench, she surveyed the garden.

Roses were still blooming, and a gentle breeze stirred the strands of Mara's hair. She clung tighter to her shawl as a sudden gust ruffled the folds of her nightgown. The scent of ripe roses caught in the wind and floated over to her.

Everything was aglow. The moonlight seemed to cascade down in long rays: the faces of the flowers, the roof of Anubis house, and the cotton material of Mara's nightgown, bathed in the strange light, looked ghostly. If she didn't know any better, she could almost believe she was in a dream.

By contrast, the side of the house itself, thrown into shadow by the roof, looked dark and ominous. The brick building, with its black windows and ivy-encrusted walls, looked gnarled and hunched over on itself, like some mangled monster. She shivered as she glanced at it.

What kind of secrets was it hiding?

A lot had changed over the summer. Nowadays, Mara tried hard not to think about last year at all.

She could vividly remember the day last spring when she woke up, looked in the mirror, and didn't recognize the girl looking back at her, couldn't see past the hate that seemed to mark her eyes like a scar.

She had hoped that the new year would bring a new beginning, but that wasn't the case. Everyone was acting strange. It was subtle, hard to put into words, but things were different. She could feel it, and she hated it.

God, she was so sick of it. She was so sick of feeling miserable. Last year, her life had turned into a spectacular disaster that she barely managed to salvage.

…

"You shouldn't have to say anything. What kind of a friend would I be if I stood in your way? Be happy."

…

She had said it to Joy. She had meant it. She wanted more than anything for her friend to be happy. Now it was her turn to do the same.

Somewhere along the way last spring, Mara had lost herself—the person she thought she was. She had spent the painful summer trying to find that girl. Forgive her, accept her, and let her be happy.

Be happy, Mara.

Casting another glance at the garden and catching another whiff of the roses, Mara jumped to her feet.

The breeze picked up, and its warmth felt wonderful against her face. She glanced up at the sky once more and giggled, suddenly filled with a strange giddiness. She gave a twirl as the breeze lifted the tips of her nightgown off the ground. She kept spinning, stretching her arms out, caught up in the way the light reflected off her skin, making it look like it was almost glowing.

Her giggle turned into an outright laugh as she burst into a dorky dance around the garden, silly and strangely uninhibited. Twirling until she felt herself get dizzy.

She sank back down onto the bench, throwing her head back, taking in the luminous, wondrous sky.

Her glance flicked back to the kitchen door that she had left open, and her laughter died in her throat.

Leaning against the doorframe, staring at her intently, face in shadows, was the last person she expected to see right now.

Jerome Clarke.

A million thoughts ran through her head as Jerome, aware that she had spotted him, began walking toward her.

Things won't be weird. Don't let things be weird anymore. She chanted to herself as she stood up. She was in a good place. She was determined to mend her relationship with Jerome this year. As difficult as it may be. She was a different Mara now, better in so many ways. She had hurt Jerome, and she wanted to make it up to him.

They would be friends...They could be friends.

"Hello," she said, as he stopped just short of her.

"Good morning." Jerome replied, smirking. "Three in the morning, to be precise. I knew you were your own brand of weird, Jaffray, but what in the world are you doing out here this time of night?"

His tone was light, but she felt the current of tension running underneath. She knew almost instinctively how he really felt, that the light banter was an act. It suddenly occurred to her that he was trying, really trying, and she couldn't help the smile that formed at that.

Jerome stopped just short of her, hands in the pockets of the sweatpants he slept in.

"What? Is there some sort of comet only you and Stephen Hawking know about passing through? Some obscure, nerdy astronomical phenomena you had to come out and see at this godforsaken hour? Or don't tell me, you've taken to studying here now? Does moonlight improve brain waves?" he chided.

It felt almost second nature for her to roll her eyes.

"Wouldn't hurt you or your grades to try and find out, Jerome," she quipped quietly. He stared down at her, surprise and bemusement flashing in his eyes.

"I just couldn't sleep for some reason," she explained, as they both studied the ground and their bare feet. "Been happening a lot recently. Don't know why."

"Same." Jerome replied quietly, gazing up intently at Mara. A gusty breeze blew by, setting her shawl askew, and Jerome's eyes flickered to her shoulder, then up to the way strands of her hair briefly danced around her face, before settling on her eyes. He peered into them, searching, brow suddenly knitted.

"Listen Jerome….I just wanted to tell you… thing is, is I just wanted to say," she trailed off again, so intent all of a sudden on looking anywhere besides Jerome's face that she was surprised her eyes weren't boring a hole into his right shoulder.

Why was this so hard?

"Look, I just wanted to tell you: even in light of what happened with us, with me…last year, I really think we could...I really, really would like nothing more than for us to try and be fr-"

"Don't."

Jerome's reply came out a hard, pained whisper. She glanced up at him, mouth falling open with surprise. Jerome's face was unreadable for a moment, and then his expression became a mix of terror and shock, as if he couldn't quite believe his own words.

"I-I…j-just don't….I-I don't want th-..."he stammered and shut his eyes, running a shaking hand through his hair. She took a step closer, concerned, and he backed away just as quickly. He stared at her a moment longer, mouth attempting to form words, before taking a few more steps back and finally turning away from her completely.

She watched as his retreating form disappeared into the house and sucked in a ragged breath she didn't know she'd been holding, a strange ache appearing somewhere inside her.

"I…"

Gazing up at the brilliant moon once again, she attempted to collect her racing thoughts.

B-Be happy, Mara.