One of The Brightest Stars

Recommended Listening: One of the Brightest Stars by James Blunt
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Whenever people asked me if I knew him, I said I didn't. I didn't really. I didn't know James Isaac Neutron, scientist extraordinaire. I knew Jimmy 'fudge head' Neutron, but even that had been ages ago. He'd left for NASA the day I was going to tell him everything, the day I was going to confess. But his parents told me he'd just packed up for the Florida headquarters the day before.

He didn't tell any of us about this, he just left. I spent all of high school watching as he created a name for himself, becoming the truly glorious genius I'd always anticipated him to be. I saw his name in the newspapers, on a plaque in school, everywhere. Within a year, he had simultaneously found a new planet and created a ship capable of the mission there. We had all known, all of Retroville. Known that Jimmy would make something of himself and do the town proud.

But us? Libby, Carl, Sheen and I had known he was truly special. That he deserved that spot on the newspaper and that plaque in the hallway and the name on the evening news bulletins. Especially me. No matter how much I had grumbled about his top spot, I knew he deserved it every bit as much as I did.

We had known all along. What I hadn't anticipated was not being able to ever tell him. Tell him I loved him because he was like a rare star. He was one of the brightest stars of our time, of our age. I loved him and his brilliance, his bright smile, everything that made Jimmy Jimmy.

I still wondered if he thought of me. I still wondered if he was really happy as those newspapers and magazines and interviews showed. If every smile was for the cameras or for himself. Did he regret never acknowledging the spark between us? Not acknowledging that I'd been the first to push him to really excel through our constant competition?

Did he regret it, or was he happy being one of the brightest stars?

I was about to find out. He was visiting Retroville for the first time in years to give a speech to the graduating class and donate a grant to the science department of Retroville High. That was our class. I found myself more excited than I wanted to be, excited about this person who I concurrently knew and didn't know and loved and hated.

Libby had anticipated my excitement and anxiousness, she told me you could tell from the way I snapped about every little thing that I was a hell of a lot nervous about him coming there. Not for the reason most people would think. Most people were excited to see a famous man, any famous man, the man who had brought this small town a newspaper title. This small town wasn't usually a celebrity attraction, anyways.

On graduation day, we all stood in our gowns and hats and I gave my valedictorian speech, trying not to rush through the words, trying not to lose myself in my anxiety and nervousness. I addressed the graduating class with a smile and for the first time in years, had my hair open. I knew Neutron was waiting backstage and just as I got off, he would come on the stage to give his speech.

It was ironic really. We used to fight, even back in junior high, when he was still here, about who would be valedictorian. In a way, he was as good as with his mental acumen and social standing. As I slipped backstage I caught a glance of him and my heart stopped. He looked absolutely breath-taking in his blue shirt and black pants. He was wearing a tie like the one he'd worn the day he'd kissed me ages ago after Libby gossiped about all of us on the news. He didn't see me though. I sighed. I wondered if he even remembered me.

I slipped into a seat backstage and my palms were sweating. I could faintly hear him say something about success and maybe even something about love over my own nervousness. The audience was giving him a standing ovation, but for a second, the crowd went deathly silent. "I'd like to call out your valedictorian, Cindy Vortex."

I was frozen to the chair. The girl behind me glared and gave the chair a shake and I wobbled onto the stage, almost tripping on my high heels. I joined him quietly on stage. ho knew what was going to happen? I hadn't even listened to a word he'd said when I'd been waiting for it to end.

He looked at me for the first time in years and grinned. I managed to smile back weakly, almost falling, but he gripped my hand tightly under the podium. No one could see. I felt a spark of electricity travel up my arm and I came to my senses and smiled at the crowd. Everyone was waiting in awestruck silence.

"Cynthia Aurora Vortex was always the one who…pushed my buttons in school. For those of you close enough to remember, you would know we fought all the time. Heck, I'd be surprised if we don't fight after this. But Cindy has always been my inspiration, the drive behind my inventions. Every time I created an invention when we were younger, it was to impress her, and every time since, it's still to impress her." The audience clapped wildly and I turned to him in surprise, squeezing his hand, my cheeks turning red.

"Find someone who inspires you to be your best and you'll succeed more than you though possible. Success is lonely, but getting there doesn't have to be." He concluded. Where had this maddening newfound idea on life come from? "Thank you." He left the stage and I walked along with him.

"What was that all about Neutron-" I protested, but not in anger, as he and I stood backstage.

"No how are you? How's the past ten years of your life been?-" He smiled mischievously and I felt like falling again.

"Yeah well, you just told all of Retroville I was the reason-"

He stopped me with a kiss, a real kiss. It was warm and his arms wrapped around me as the girls backstage gawked at me and his lips moved against mine softly. I felt like I was walking on air.

"That you were, Vortex. That you were." He said as he pulled away.

"You remember me?" I asked in awe.

"Remember you? Cindy, I missed you every day. It's no fun when you're not calling me Nerdtron and telling me to make something useful all the time."

"You actually remember me?" I torched a hand to my check. I still couldn't believe it.

"How can I forget one of the brightest stars there are?" He smiled again and I smiled back. "I couldn't forget you if I tried."

"Well, you didn't try, I guess that's what matters." I joked, and we walked hand in hand down the steps to sneak into seats by Sheen and Libby and Carl for the remainder of Graduation Day.

I guess maybe I did know him.