Kiss the Morning Star by Elissa Janine Hoole

Author:Elissa Janine Hoole [Hoole, Elissa Janine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Gay
ISBN: 9780761462699
Amazon: 0761462694
Goodreads: 10194431
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish
Published: 2012-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

There is still snow in the mountaintops, and at first I grip the edge of my seat nervously as the bus twists and turns along the winding roads. This is nothing like Minnesota, not anymore. Michael keeps his promise and lets the bus run the entire time we stop for bathroom breaks and meals. Thankfully, the missionaries are not much into singing; they mostly read their Bibles quietly or talk in soft, earnest voices about their mission. It’s almost enjoyable to be moving again, with Katy sketching beside me.

“Where are we staying?” I lean back in my seat and dab some ointment on my tattoo, which is starting to itch. The light is going all red and slanting, and in this mountain region, the sun sinks quickly behind the horizon once it starts its descent.

“We’re aiming for some religious compound in northern Utah, I think. Outside Salt Lake City.”

I laugh. “What? Seriously? A religious compound in Utah? So is it run by a bunch of fundamentalist Mormons with stockpiles of weapons and loads of creepy wives?”

Kat rolls her eyes. “Yeah, I’m sure the polygamists are in league with this lot.” She waves her hand to indicate the sea of blue hair and flashing crochet needles.

She has a point. Katy takes my hand and holds it lightly on her lap, and I hope that means she forgives me, for being resistant, for being rigid. It feels comfortable, with the sun slanting ever lower through my window, and before too long, I’m drifting, my eyes falling closed in tiny increments, my head softly lolling and my mind wandering as we drive through the lights of Salt Lake City and turn off onto a small, dusty road.

The bus approaches an uncontrolled railroad crossing, and Michael slows carefully; even with my eyes mostly closed, I notice the bus shudder as he downshifts. The engine sputters. Then stops.

“Oh, shit,” says Kat under her breath.

Silence.

“Well, this is lovely.” I sit up and look out the window. It’s pretty dark out there, but I can just make out the railroad tracks curving out of sight. Wait.

“Jesus, Katy! We’re stalled right on a railroad track!” I jump up, grab my pack, and squeeze past Kat into the aisle. “Pastor Shepherd, we’re on the tracks! We have to get off the bus!”

All around me, reading lights are snapping on and off, round white heads twisting toward me and then back toward the windows.

“She’s right, Pastor!”

“Oh, dear! Look at the tracks!”

“Why, there’s a blind corner!”

“We’ll be crushed!”

“We need to get off the bus in an orderly manner.” My voice is loud and surprisingly authoritative. “Orderly, but quickly.” I start down the aisle. The smell of oranges rolls over me; dozens of pairs of frightened eyes watch me make my way to the front of the bus, and my passing spurs them into motion, into gathering their things and standing up to leave.

Michael the bus driver prays, spitting out pleas from between clenched teeth as he turns the key again and again.

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