Gracie Freaking Hall

Gracy

Secrets. Our most prized possession of all. We all have them and yet they can either make or destroy us. In this town, those well-kept secrets were buzzing all around me.

The thing about secrets is that most people wear them on their sleeves. We all make mistakes or have done something we need to keep a secret, but if that one thing gets out, it will cause a downfall. Everything we worked so hard for, everything we wanted to keep the secret for, will all crumble in the blink of an eye when that gets revealed. So for us, those secrets are what made us into a family. It is what created a strong bond and guided us through our senior year of high school. It was everything. Especially since it all started with my secret.

My secret was one of the ones that needed to be well kept, although at the time I didn't know it, but it would cause more harm than good if it got out. The only thing is, it always managed to get out. It didn't matter how much I begged or tried to not give in, none of it mattered. It was like a tidal wave, pulling me in until I could only fight for so long and succumbing to its powers. It was greater than me. Anytime my secret got out, we had to move. My mom would pack up our bags and move us around to a whole new town and plead with me the same thing, "be careful and don't let anyone in." When I was younger, it took a while but getting older made me realize I needed to keep my sunglasses on. We found out they helped fight things, so I never took them off if I could help it.

My secret was the ones the special forces of the government should have guarded and I'm sure we moved around a lot because if they ever found me, I would be under their watch. You see, my secret wasn't something I could control, it just came to me. I didn't ask for it nor did I want it. The saying goes, "eyes are the windows to a person's soul," but no one knew that better than me. I wasn't like your typical person, I was borderline supernatural. With one look into your eyes, I could tell your dirty little secret. All of them, even the ones you believed to be insignificant. I could see it all. I was supposed to guard it as if it were a missile, but it turns out I handed the controllers to someone who wanted to see the world burn.

It all started with a rumor that turned out to be factual, all thanks to Gregory Kingston. He was an all-American football player and although he lacked brains he had good looks and money to back him. The football team was small here and not many people cared for it. That didn't stop him and his group of friends from terrorizing the rest of the school. With philanthropy parents who donated sums of money to the school, kept him out of trouble. They weren't rich but they were well enough to afford lavish things since they owned one successful car dealership. Many would say Kingston was a misunderstood soul, but I think we are all misunderstood, it's just some people have the power and position to get away with acting crappy. Although Kingston isn't relevant anymore, there was a time when he was. Especially the day he and two of his friends cornered me outside of the school gym.

"Hey there freak of nature," he sneered at me as the other two goons laughed at the new nickname. I look at him through my dark sunglasses, thankful to not be able to make out his eyes. I gulp as his eyes rake over me, afraid of what he was thinking. He scoffs again, "don't flatter yourself, you're definitely not my type." He grabs me by my collar and pulls me up to meet him face-to-face. "I was just wondering about a rumor I heard from an old friend, but looking at you up close, I think he was pulling my leg. You're nothing but a weak pathetic girl." He pushes me down with such force I hit the wall behind me and slide down it as he leers at me from above. "You see, my parents and I took a trip down the coast about 7 hours from here," my body became stiff and my breathing became more laborious, "I met a guy who claimed to know you." My eyes instantly fall to the floor as I start repeating in my head, it's not true. This isn't happening. "I might not have paid attention to you before but he described you and when I came back, low and behold, the spitting image of who he was referring to. Anyway, he said you were a freak and to stay away. So as you know, curiosity got the best of me and he told me your secret." Kingston lets out a humorless and cruel laugh. "He started telling me this elaborate story about how you can see inside people's thoughts just by looking into their eyes. You were truly a freak of nature and freaks-" his voice turns more sour, "need to die." He raises his leg and kicks me in the stomach as the other two laugh and cheer him on. Suddenly, the school fire alarm goes off and the three thugs start looking around as people start piling through the doors. I take the chance and scramble out the doors as well, leaving a dumbfounded idiot staring at the spot I had been moments before. I don't look back but I hear a groan and a kick, knowing it's him, as I blend in with everyone.