Rivet turned over in bed, now realizing that the sun was peaking over the horizon, and the dark of night was behind him. Suddenly, he realized that his lungs were empty and took a deep breath. He stared at the door, enjoying the warmth of the bed sheets before turning to his clock.

7:04 AM

“No point in staying here,” Rivet told himself as he slid out of bed.

His left foot caught on a piece of sheet music on the floor, making him slide about three inches before falling backwards and landing with his behind on the floor, and his back hitting the bed frame. Cursing under his breath, Rivet kicked the music off of his foot and got back to his feet. He then took the time to stack up the music and put it back where he got it from.

As he usually did, Rivet made sure to close the door quietly in case someone was sleeping, and tapped down the stairs.

He came down into the foyer just in time to see a man with a dark blue jacket putting his hand on the doorknob. Under the jacket, he wore a matching set of coveralls and a polished pair of boots which clicked on the floor as he walked. The man’s hair was the same colour as Rivet’s, but shorter and neater.

“Dad?” Rivet whispered, hoping not to wake anyone.

“Hey, buddy.” The man turned to him, his hand still gripping the knob. “How’d you sleep?”

“Are you just getting in?” Rivet asked.

“No. Sorry, Riv.” He smiled sympathetically. “I’m just going out again.”

Rivet tried to keep his face from dropping. “Again?”

“Yeah. I’ve got a lot to do. Sorry, bud.”

“Okay.” Rivet nodded.

“See you later.” The man smiled before turning the knob and walking out of the house, closing it quietly behind him.

“See ya,” Rivet whispered, only to himself, “Maybe.”

He could hear the car turn on and pull out of the driveway, still sitting on the stairs. After a few moments, Rivet headed into the kitchen for something to drink.

“Alright, students,” Luna called out, “take out your books for more silent reading.”

“Is that all we’re going to do until he gets back?” the boy ahead of Rivet asked the boy next to him. He had blue skin and dark hair, with a dark blue jacket.

“I hope not.” The other replied. He had grey skin and jet black hair.

Rivet thought of something clever to say in response, but kept in in his head. After all, he didn’t know them, and they didn’t know him, and he didn’t want to seem awkward. Instead, he just grinned to himself and pulled out the reading material.

This was the normal thing to do for Rivet. Even before they moved, he kept to himself, not normally talking to people, except the few friends he had. Thinking back to that made Rivet a little sad. His father had to move around because of work. Even though it was only every few years, Rivet always hated leaving the friends he made behind. But now, especially after the move, Rivet was keeping more to himself. It one of his last years at school before going away to college.

“How’s she been?” the boy with blue skin asked his friend.

The grey skinned boy looked confused. “Who?”

“The girl you had that huge crush on. The one you won the dinner with.”

Rivet looked down at the book. He didn’t even want to think about getting a crush, let alone going on dates. The idea just unnerved him.

“She’s good.”

“How about the basketball tryouts?.”

“Still nervous about those. You?”

“I’m-”

Luna looked back at them, “The operative word is silent reading.”

Without a word, the two boys buried their faces in their books. Rivet hadn’t listened intentionally, but it was hard not to. They had been the only ones making any noise in the class. They had, however, gotten him thinking. The idea of a relationship made him both nervous and excited. But the idea of making friends at the school loomed in the back of his mind. Shaking his head, he pushed the thoughts down and returned to reading.

Though, another idea did roll into his head as he pushed back the others. Maybe he should try a club or go out for sports. The idea remained in his head the whole time he was reading, so when he came to the end of the chapter, he closed his book and took out some papers he had been given by Vice Principal Luna only a few days before.

Finally, he found a lists of sports teams and clubs at the school. At least on one of them, he could have some fun, but he could stay in his comfort zone. But what sport would be right for him? Or what club? Rivet looked up at the clock to see he had ten minutes left in the class, so he might as well start deciding what he could do.

In the remaining time, he went through, crossing off group names and teams he wouldn’t qualify for, or just sounded off to him.

When the bell rang, he collected his things and headed out the door along with the rest of the class, the idea of a club still on his mind. The halls always buzzed to life with the ringing of the bell, and Rivet was used to the noise. He could easily tune it out by putting his headphones in and turning on some music.

His next class was gym, and as he was getting changed into the gym uniform of blue shorts and yellow t-shirt, he noticed that one of the boys from his English class, the one with grey skin, was in the class. He hadn’t noticed the day before. The only reason he noticed now was the boy came over to him and asked him to pass him his bag, which was on the shelf overhead. Without a word, Rivet complied and left the change room.

As he left the change room, he thought he recognized another boy from his English class, but did not spend enough time to look at him to be sure.

The rest of the day was fairly average. Since he had been introduced the day before, he easily slipped into the background that day and got through the rest of the day. Again, his father was late coming in, and that night his sister decided that she was going to try magic as her talent for the one hundredth time.

Before he knew it, his life was coming back into the simple blur of routine. Without warning, it was the weekend, and boredom was creeping into his life. As he lay in bed on Saturday morning, he wondered what he should be doing. Before the move, he would spend weekends out with friends, but even thinking back to the time with friends just made him want to stay in bed.

Eventually, though, he hated the feeling of lying in bed, and needed to do something. Dad was at work, mom was out for the day, and his sister was doing goodness knows what. Rivet sat alone in the kitchen, hoping for something to do. Maybe he could go for a walk later, but what could he do now? He wasn’t feeling like playing guitar, and it wasn’t like he could drive anywhere since his parents had the cars.

“I could always go exploring.” Rivet chuckled at himself. Looking over at the clock, it was already past noon, and he had done nothing all day.

Going back up to his room after a quick snack, Rivet found himself faced with several unpacked boxes from the move. With nothing better to do, he began to open up and sort out the contents of the moving boxes. The first few were a bunch of old books he hadn’t read in years mixed in with old school papers and projects he didn’t care much for anymore, but kept because they all had memories attached to them.

He opened another box to discover a book he remembered fondly, but never finished. It was an old Daring Do book he had bought years back, but for some reason forgot about. He took it out of the box and put it next to his bed.

“I’ll save you for later.” Rivet grinned at the book, tapping the cover.

The next box filled Rivet with pride mixed with sorrow. Inside were a bunch of things his father had given him. There was a baseball glove and a ball, a few old patches, old movie tickets, and a few souvenirs from trips the family had taken. He wouldn’t part with them for the world.

Rivet was almost tempted to take out the ball and bounce it off the wall, but he knew how his mother and father felt about him doing stuff like that in their old house, so he decided not to. Instead, he leaned his back against the bed and pulled the Daring Do book close to him and opened up to the first page. It had been long enough that he had forgotten where he was and what was going on, but not so long that he was able to remember bits and pieces of the story.

He spent his whole afternoon reading the little book, absorbed in the adventure it held. with reading, he felt like he was a part of the action, something a movie couldn’t normally do for him. With this, it almost seemed like the book was a letter, written just to him from the author. He felt like someone was telling him all about their own adventure, and he was happy to come along for the ride. Daring Do was tough, brave, and cool. Rivet almost wished he could meet her, but that would be ridiculous.

As he closed the book, he felt accomplished for some reason. Maybe it was the fact that he finally finished the book, or the fact that it was like he had just finished the adventure himself, and was relaxing in his room after saving the world. It didn’t matter. He had really enjoyed himself. His proud trance was broken when he heard the door swing open and slam downstairs.

“Rivet,” his mother called, “I’m home!”

“Be right down,” Rivet called back, standing up with the book under his arm. By now, the sun was setting and the sky was turning a deep purple.

“Well, I haven’t seen that one in a while,” mother smiled as Rivet came into the room. “Is that your Daring Do book?”

“Yup.” Rivet nodded. “I just finished it.”

“Have you eaten yet?” His mother asked.

“Yeah, I had something earlier.” Rivet replied. “Now that you’re home, do you think I could have a look around town? I want to find out what there is around here.”

“It’s a bit late.” She looked out the window. “But I guess so. Just be back before too late, okay?”

“Sure.” Rivet responded. He grabbed his green jacket and headed out the door, admiring the colours of the clear evening sky. He had no idea where he was going, but he couldn’t wait to find out. He was in an unknown area, with no one but himself. Almost like Daring Do, lost in the jungle, using only her wit to navigate.

The street lamps were already starting to come on as Rivet made his way through the streets, observing houses with a few lights on, and others where only the lights of a television set were present.

Eventually, he came to the shops and recreation area of the city. He stared in awe at the vast expanses of lights and buildings all down the street. The line of buildings weren’t overly decorated, either. There were no flashing signs, no large neon displays. There were quiet little coffee shops, a few pubs, little niche shops and several nice restaurants further down.

So, he walked down the road, window shopping. There were some very nice looking places that he wanted to remember just in case he ever had the chance to go out to dinner. The coffee shops looked very nice. As he passed one, he looked up to see the stars stretched out across the sky. He remembered a few constellations, but not many.

A shop came into view with a sign that read ‘New Classics Bookseller.’ It was a used book store. The lights were still on, so Rivet decided to take a look. When he reached the window, the man inside was just organizing some books that he pulled from a box.

The door opened with a ring of bells, causing the man to look at Rivet.

“I’ll be closing up soon. But feel free to take a quick look.” He smiled.

“Than you.” Rivet nodded towards him. He knew what kind of book he was looking for. Hoping for anything, Rivet scanned the shelves where most adventure books were. It did not take long for him to see those two words. Daring Do.

He was completely surprised to see so many books. The book had tied up all the loose threads, it was impossible to think that there was a sequel, or several for that matter.

“All of these are Daring Do?” Rivet asked in disbelief.

“Yup.” The old man at the counter confirmed. “It’s pretty popular.”

“Which one is the second book?”

The old man stepped out from behind the desk and over to the shelf. After scanning it himself, he pulled down a gently used copy of the second novel and handed it to Rivet.

“Thank you. How much is it?” Rivet turned the book over to read the synopsis.

“Ten dollars.” He nods.

“Okay.” Rivet reached into his pocket and pulled a ten dollar bill out of his wallet.

“It’s yours.” The old man smiled and walked back to his counter. “Hey, when you’re on the way out, mind flipping the open sign over?”

“Sure.” Rivet nodded and did as he was asked, closing the door behind him. He looked down at his book as he walked away from the store, then turned it to hold it under his arm.

The stars were in full view now, and the street lamps were on. Rivet decided that he could start turning back towards home. The street seemed to be completely clear of all people, except around the pubs.

Rivet saw people with their friends in the various restaurants, but turned away from them. It wasn’t that he couldn’t make friends. The problem was that he did not want to make friends. If he made friends, he would have to leave them, just like before. He hated having to leave his old friends, and he knew that it was only a matter of time before he would have to leave any new ones too. It was easier, he thought, to stay by himself and not worry about making friends.

He shook off the thought and emotions that came with them like snow off his shoulders and hurried his pace slightly to move away from the scenes.

He finally came to a bridge crossing a small river and stopped. The night was calm and cool, and the streetlamps glowed over the cement, almost making it glow. The stars would normally have been drowned by light pollution, but here, they shone brightly. Under the bridge, the water was still, reflecting the beauty of the starlight. Rivet leaned on the guardrail of the bridge, staring out over the water. The sky never seemed to end on the river.

Behind him, Rivet heard footsteps from the other side of the road. Turning his head, he saw a boy carrying a girl on his back. She seemed to be sleeping, and was wearing a jacket too big for her, most likely the boy’s. Her purple hair flowed over her face, and the boy made sure not to jostle her too much as he walked. He looked over his shoulder to her, not noticing Rivet, but giving Rivet a view of his face.

As the boy looked lovingly over his shoulder at the girl, Rivet recognized him. The grey skin and dark hair of the boy gave him away as the boy from his English and Gym class. He looked so happy with the girl. Even though he knew neither of them, Rivet could tell. The stars seemed to shine for them.

Turning back to the guard rail, Rivet let out a deep sigh. “That must be nice…” He waited for the footsteps to fade into the distance before he himself turned back for home. He turned up his collar and kept his hands in his pocket with the book still under his arm.

As he came up to his house, he noticed that there was still only one car in the driveway, his father was still not home. Rivet opened the door quietly, taking a moment to look at his watch. It was about 11:15 PM, Rivet had apparently walked much slower coming home. He made sure to be quiet, but it did not matter. His mother sat in the kitchen, waiting for him.

“A little late coming in.” She raised an eyebrow.

“Sorry about that.” He lowered his head. “I lost track of time, I guess.”

She looked up at him. “Are you okay?”

Rivet breathed out. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

His mother didn’t seem to buy it, but she walked up to him, gave him a pat on the shoulder and headed upstairs without another word other than the usual ‘goodnight’.

Hanging up his jacket, Rivet made his way upstairs to his bed, and rolled back in. That night, he had no trouble letting the day fade away into the nothingness of sleep. All he had to do was close his eyes and the day slipped away.