Dear My Moon and Stars

Art by Afreen Mann Majumdar

Rianne Hizon is a 7th grader in Mr. Hicks’ English class. The following are the third and fourth chapters of her novel: Dear My Moon and Stars. 

Chapter 3: Buwan

Dear Star,

Just moved! The new house is really nice! The family is too, they said they have a son, he’s in the same grade as me. He’s not here right now though, he’s off at a sleepover with a friend. Apparently, we have most of our classes together. The day is going great! It is kinda sad though, I had to move away before we got to fix things, I’m here in Ellington and you’re stuck in Ashwood. 

I’m going to a new school! Ellington Prep. I thought about it for a while and I decided to try and make some friends! Maybe now I can actually make some friends! New town, new me I guess! Maybe I could even make friends with the landlord's son!

Well, I’ve got to go now, heading off to Ellington Prep! Message you soon!

The only and only,

Moon.

Buwan was excited to get to school, so excited she couldn’t contain herself. It didn’t help that she was listening to music, that made her look like a maniac. She was jumping around, mouthing the words, and making dramatic hand gestures. She didn’t care about that though, all she cared about was getting a fresh start. 

After getting herself a schedule, she made her way to homeroom. She knocked on the door and was greeted by an adult who she assumed was her homeroom teacher.

“Are you the new transfer student? Buwan Kometa?” He said. 

“Yes I am, and just Buwan is fine, no need for my second name!” 

“I will keep that in mind, come inside.” He replied, inviting her in. Buwan stepped into the classroom.

“We have a new transfer student from Ashwood, would you like to introduce yourself?” He asked her

“Hello! My name is Buwan Kometa De La Cruz Santos. You can call me Buwan Kometa, but I prefer Buwan! It’s nice to meet you guys and I hope we can have a great time together!” She said cheerfully.

“I’m Mr. Sinclair, I will be your homeroom teacher. Please take a seat next to Bituin.” Mr. Sinclair said, pointing over to a seat in the back.

Star? No, it can’t be him, he’s in Ashwood, right? Then again, Bituin, it’s an unusual name to have. Buwan thought to herself as she walked over and took a seat next to the said boy.

That’s when she saw him, Star, the one and only. She wanted to speak, but something was stopping her, was it the atmosphere? Was she self—conscious? Or was it the fact that they were in the middle of a lesson? 

All throughout the morning announcements, she begged for something to go wrong; that Mr. Sinclair would get a call— heck, a fire drill would work too. Then, halfway through morning announcements, Mr. Sinclair’s phone started going berserk. One look at it and he rushed to get his bag.

“Please excuse me, I’m needed somewhere. Stay quiet and stay put.” With that said, the class followed his directions— until he left the room. 

The moment he walked outside of the door, Buwan took her chance.

“Star, you’re here too?” She said, 

“Look, I know that we have a messy relationship and all, but I want to explain—” Halfway through her sentence, she was interrupted.

“Save it Moon, I don’t wanna talk right now.” Bituin looked angry, furious even,

“Just let me explain! Look, I wanted to keep our friendship I swear! It wasn’t me who sent those messa—”

“Can you just stop for a second?” 

“Star, listen to me! I didn’t send the messages it was Ar—” 

“I HATE YOU!” His screams pierced the room, everyone stayed silent.

“Star, I…” 

“Just shut up, save it for later.” Suddenly, the room came alive again. Once it was filled with silence, now it was full of murmurs. 

Great, just what I needed, now I’m the talk of homeroom. I mean, it could be worse, at least it's not the whole school. 

That didn’t last for long. Turns out, rumors spread like wildfire in Ellington Prep, and by the time lunch came around she was the talk of the school. You know Buwan Kometa? Apparently Bituin hates her! How could she make the prince of the school hate her? 

Prince of the School?! Star?! Buwan thought I always knew he was a social butterfly, but Prince of the School?! That’s just too far! She aggressively ate her sandwich. That was when a small group walked up to her.

“Excuse me? Do you mind if—”  

“Let me guess, this is your table and you want me to move,” She replied, standing up. This was the 5th time already, the 5th time someone had told her to move, and she was so done. That was until someone grabbed her arm. 

“We don’t need you to move, we want to sit with you,” the boy said. 

“Me? You want to sit with me? The girl who is hated by the one and only ‘Prince Bituin’?” She replied, sitting down.

“So? Who cares if you’re hated by the prince? The name’s Tala,” said the girl who sat down next to Buwan. She had black hair, put up into space buns.

“His name is Kalawakan, Kan for short.” The boy in question had short chocolate brown hair and horn-rimmed glasses.

“And she’s Espasyo,” Tala said, gesturing to Espasyo, 

“Nice to meet you Buwan!” Espasyo had short dark brown hair, pulled into twin tails. 

That’s when Buwan realized; she had friends. Actual friends, ones that wouldn’t leave her.

Chapter 4: Bituin

“So, you hate her?! Never thought you would say that about your best friend.” Camron said.

“Ex—Best Friend. Not best friend” Bituin corrected.

“Still, pretty bold of you to say you hate her, you don’t hate anyone,” Lawrence said. Despite their attempts to cheer him up, he still felt sad and angry.

“What’s up with the gloom and doom man? Don’t worry, you still have that girl who’s renting the house! Something to look forward to, right?” Camron replied. Bituin knew he was right; that girl still did exist. He would meet her today, but he wasn’t sad because Buwan was here.

He was sad that he probably ruined the year for her. Bituin wasn’t your average guy, he was the prince of the school. The students would do whatever he did, and like whatever he liked. If something was annoying him they would dispose of it immediately. Because of his outburst in Homeroom, Buwan would now be a target for nagging and bullying. He might not like her, but he was still human, he couldn’t help but feel bad for the poor girl.

It was 4th period, end of the day, and the teacher had left to get something from the closet. It was one of the only classes he didn’t have with her. Most of his schedule matched up with Buwan, and since their surnames were close together — Santos and Salgro — they usually had to sit next to each other. He thanked God that Buwan had given up on talking to him, he didn’t know if he could handle any more of that. 

The teacher came back and sat in his seat. As it was Study Hall, he didn’t need to do much except make sure they weren’t too loud. So Bituin and his friends kept talking.

“Any news on that Jane Doe?” Camron asked

“I’m sorry, Jane who?” Bituin replied, confused

“That girl who's renting the house, dummy! We just call her that. So, anything new?” Lawrence asked

“Not much, but I heard they are settling in as we speak, I’ll meet the family when I get home” He answered. 

After more talk on “Jane Doe” and the tiniest bit of studying, the bell finally rang and Bituin and his friends got up and headed out towards the gate.

“Hey, me and Camron have to work on a project, we’re heading this way,” Lawrence said, turning left. 

“Alright, see you tomorrow!” Bituin replied, walking away from them. That’s when he stopped. Right in front of him was Buwan, and boy did he not want to deal with her right now. So he decided to just walk slowly and hide behind trees. Not the best idea. After 2 blocks of walking, Buwan turned around and spoke up.

“So, you gonna keep stalking me or what?” She asked him

“Me? Stalking you?! You’ve got to be kidding me!” He said, walking towards her.

“Well you’ve been following me for the past 2 blocks, what else could you be doing?” She said sarcastically.

“What else could I be doing Sherlock? I’m walking home! If anything, you’re the one stalking me,” He replied 

“How does that make sense? You’re following me. Not the other way around.” Bituin didn’t know how to reply, so he made up something last minute.

“W—well, you are stalking me because you’re trying to go to my house! Yeah, you know where I live! Stalker!” 

“I don’t know what cards you’re trying to play, but it isn’t working, I’m just walking home.” 

“I am too! Can’t a guy just walk home in peace?” 

“You started it!”

“Did not!”

“Did too!”

“Did not!”

“Did too!”

“Did not!”

“Did not!”

“Did to— Wait! Unfair.” He said

“Tricked you!” Buwan smiled. Bituin’s eyes widened, it felt like old times. This is Moon, I know it is. Yet, it sounds nothing like the Moon I was fighting with. So, who sent those messages? Was she telling the truth this morning? Was it really not her?

The rest of the walk was spent in silence, that was until they stopped at his house.

“This is my stop—“ They said in unison. That was when Bituin’s foster mom walked out of the door.

“Good! You two met at school! Bituin, this is Buwan Kometa, she’s the daughter of the family who is renting the other half of the house! Buwan Kometa, this is Bituin my son!” She said to the kids, their jaws dropping.

“HUH?! YOU’RE THE RENTER’S DAUGHTER?!”

“EHH?! YOU’RE THE LANDLORD’S SON?!” They yelled in unison. 

Great, now I have to live with her. Bituin thought.