No one could know, of that she was certain. If anyone found out that one of the school’s greatest pranksters had an artsy, bookworm side, it’d be the death of her reputation. It had taken months for her to build it — with the war raging around them, her pranks seemed to cheer people up — and since she finally had it made, Margot Williams was not about to lose it.

World War II affected them. She could tell in the way the school suddenly had places to go in case of a bomb attack. The war was over, it had been for years, but precautions were still in place for possible future threats. She thought it was a pointless, seeing as it did nothing to protect them during the war, but she didn’t complain. After all, they were trying to make the school safer.

Margot was currently in the astronomy classroom at her school — a curious thing as she didn’t see the importance of astronomy — and was getting ready to take photos and go to sleep. She was an orphan; the only other person who knew she was an orphan was Benjamin Miller, and that was only because they lived in the same orphanage. He also happened to be her astronomy partner. In fact, it seemed as though they were partners in almost every class.

On their first day of school, Margot had explored every inch of the space until she found the astronomy classroom. It was rarely used anymore, maybe once or twice a year, and Margot thought it was infinitely better than the orphanage, so she’d stayed. Getting Benjamin not to tell anyone at the orphanage that she was still going to school was simple enough; even he didn’t know where she slept at night.

It’d been six years since their first day at that particular school and he still hadn’t found out where she was hiding. Thinking back on it, Margot was happy she hadn’t passed her Scholarship exam. Of course she’d like to have gone to grammar school, but she feared her future wouldn’t look the same as it did to her then. Benjamin had “missed” the exam himself, and therefore had to stay behind in secondary modern school with her.

She’d never been a prankster but it was her last year at the school before she went out into the real world. Being sixteen, Margot decided she wanted to finish secondary school with a smile.

So she began pranking.

After she laid on the floor of the balcony, a pillow resting under her head and her camera pointed at the stars, there was a quiet knock. She sat up quickly and turned towards the door to see Benjamin Miller standing there, watching her.

She sighed as he looked at her expectantly. “Well,” she said quietly, getting off the floor and waving him in, “this is where I live. You finally found me.”

“It only took six years.” His words were abrupt, and had Margot not noticed the slight glimmer in his eyes, she’d likely have thought he didn’t care. The moon shone off his wavy, espresso hair and she had to peel her eyes away from him so she didn’t say something stupid.

She wondered what she looked like by the light of the moon. Would her long blond hair look white when it was lit up? Would her fair skin look like porcelain the way Benjamin’s did? No, his skin was too pale next to her’s. She supposed he was always pale, but the lighting of the night accentuated the features she’d never noticed before.

Margot discreetly took a picture of him, the click of the camera’s shutter as she pressed the button being the only sign that anything happened. Benjamin didn’t seem to notice.

“You’ve been looking all this time?”

Benjamin bristled, as though he was frustrated with himself for being caught. “I suppose you could say I find you…interesting.”

“Interesting? You sure know how to compliment a girl, Miller.” Margot turned her back to him and pointed her camera at the sky once more. Snapping a couple pictures, she brought the camera down from her eye to see Benjamin standing in front of her. “Is there a problem?”

“No.” He turned away from her and looked through the stack of books on the floor, next to her forgotten pillow which Margot picked up before he could trip on it. “You have a book about the sky? Frontiers of Astronomy by Fred Hoyle. I’ve never heard of this. What are you doing with it?”

Margot stood, looking at Benjamin’s silhouette for a moment, before responding, “I’m trying to improve my photography skills.”

“That’s what you want to do with your life? Take pictures of the sky?”

“No, I-I want to take pictures in general. Of life, I suppose.” She set her camera down next to the discarded pillow and sighed. “Look, Miller. I appreciate you not telling the orphanage about me living at school, I really do, but if all you’re going to do is question me and my interests, then I think you should go.”

“Alright,” he said quietly after a moment’s silence, almost sounding reluctant to leave. He took a few steps towards the door and Margot mechanically went and picked up the book he’d mentioned. To be fair, it was a bit out there. She sat down on the floor of the astronomy classroom balcony, pulling her cardigan closer for warmth, and began to read by the light of the lamp that sat next to her.

“Margot…” She heard his voice behind her, but didn’t turn back, as shocking as it was to hear him speak her first name. She stayed silent with baited breath, half of her hoping he’d leave without another word, the other wanting him to stay and keep her company. She almost turned around when he spoke next, but forced herself to remain still. “The moon reminds me of you, you know. So beautiful, so bright, and so far away. Someday, I hope you come closer.”

Her heart thudded in her chest painfully, not as a declaration of love but as a reminder of a possible friendship. She and Benjamin never had been close, but they still could be.

The light of the lamp flickered beside her, words swimming on the page as her eyes became unfocused. She heard his footsteps echo as he walked out of the room, the door shutting quietly behind him. Only then did Margot look up from her book. “Benjamin…”