Page 54 of Take It Till You Make It
“You mean the sky looks different?”
Brook nods. “It was weird at first not to see the Big Dipper or Orion’s Belt. But then you get used to it. My favorite was when we were close enough to the equator to see a little of both.”
“Oh man, now I really want to go south of the equator,” I say.
“How come you never mentioned you saw an entirely different night sky?” Sally asks River.
He shrugs, looking a little panicked.
Sally giggles and squeezes his hand. “You must have endless experiences you don’t think to share because they just became normal for you.”
“Yeah.” River and Brook share a knowing look. “That’s exactly it.”
“Coming up here and seeing the Big Dipper is what inspired me to learn more about stars, as a matter of fact,” Zena says. “I knew there were different constellations but never thought what it would be like to look up and not see the same sky you were used to. Completely changed my life.”
Crispin strides into the lobby. “What did I miss?”
“I’m learning I’m star-ignorant,” I say.
Crispin narrows his eyes. “No one can match wits with Sally, if that’s what you’re trying to do. She’s a celebrity expert.”
I laugh. “No, not those stars. Those.” I point my finger upward. “The ones we came here to see.”
Zena claps. “Let’s remedy that. Follow me.”
As Crispin falls into step beside me, I shove my hands into my pockets as if he might decide to grab one. As if. My thoughts feel conspicuous, so I yammer. “This is really generous of you. Paying those guys to stay so we get a private show. Thank you for doing this.”
He runs his fingers through his bangs, trying to direct them out of his eyes, but they are just too long and flop forward again as he smiles down at me. “Well, it’s totally selfish. If I want to enjoy myself—heck, if I want to hear the presentation—I have to arrange for these after-hours visits.”
“Do you do this sort of thing often?”
“Not really, no. I don’t really go out much, actually.”
I frown. “Then how are there always paparazzi photos of you leaving restaurants or clubs?”
“That’s part of the job. The image as the single teen heartthrob that my agent is always trying to cultivate.”
“Oh, I feel bad for you having to go out dancing with hot models to keep up your image.”
He does a double-take at my sarcastic attitude. “You should. It’s inconvenient as all get out to have to work those outings into my schedule. I’m more of a pizza and movie at home guy. But that doesn’t draw the tabloids.”
I’m dubious that Crispin is telling the truth; however, Zena has climbed atop a set of steps that lead to the viewfinder of a huge telescope, so I turn my attention to her. She waits for us to gather around. A section of the domed ceiling is open, and the telescope points directly toward the sky beyond.
Zena gives us general instructions on how to look through the telescope and then says that this particular scope is currently looking at Saturn. She invites us up, and I don’t waste any time. I climb. Leaning over the eyepiece, I adjust myself until I can see. I’m so startled by what I see that I straighten and check the end of the telescope, expecting to see that someone had played a joke on me and taped a paper cutout of Saturn to the end of the scope.
“Is that real?” I ask.
“The planet?” At my nod, she chuckles. “Yes, it’s real.”
“Well, it looks fake.” I bend over and find the view again. “Why is it in black and white? Doesn’t this telescope have color?”
Zena laughs. “It’s a combination of things. The atmosphere, how the light of the rings reflects, our limited vision.”
I see Sally standing on tiptoes as if that will help her to see from the floor. I climb down the stairs to give her a view. “It totally looks fake.”
Sally giggles when she sees it. “It really does, Ari. You’re right. Oh my gosh, that’s so cool, though.”
Brook climbs up next, followed by her brother and then Crispin. When we have all seen Saturn, Zena repositions the scope until it’s looking at a star cluster. We cycle through in the same order as before, but I don’t really understand what I’m looking at. Still, it’s really cool to look at a bunch of stars that are supposedly light-years away and could even already be dead now, but we’re only just now seeing their light. The universe is crazy huge. I had no idea.
