I have always been known for my ability to keep secrets. So much so that I am known as "The Keeper," which sounds significantly less impressive when you consider it's based on my ability to keep my mouth shut. Still, the nickname has attracted a lot of very wanted attention in the way of popularity. Thanks to it, everyone knows about me, since all the schools on this side of the Rift are both close to each other and small in number. The Rift, which is a massive stretch of wasteland and abandoned factories, is the only physical barrier between East Hill school district and West Valley school district. Since their forming, there has always been a fundamental difference between them that is ultimately the root of every single conflict between them: money. That is, East Hill as a city has been around since the founding of the country as a whole- those founders used to own the entire area, which includes the Rift and West Valley. However, that all changed when the factories they built on the Rift self-destructed, both economically and physically. Of course, the true perpetrators that cut the corners were more than rich enough to pass the blame to some unfortunate middlemen. The area west of the Rift was abandoned as well, since the wind that day had blown great amounts of debris over the area. The west remained a no-man's land, uninhabited for years until Jason Gatsby, a 30-year-old millionaire, bought the salvageable land and cleaned it up, thus West Valley was born.
Naturally, the kings were not particularly pleased that a man they had never heard of before singlehandedly fixed the expensive mistake they weren't willing to take responsibility for, and easily at that. It's easy to imagine what happened after that. The tension only increases as generations continue, all the way to the present, where the problem has escalated into rampant high school gang violence. The police are paid off so easily they're a joke on either side of the Rift; on top of that, no one would wander into the Rift, right? Ha! I can't help but laugh at such a naive question, despite being the one to pose it.
"What are you smiling about? Suddenly excited for the first day, Nick?"
Jay Gatsby, descendant of this city's founder and my closest friend. His sandy brown hair has grown a bit long on him over the summer, but it doesn't look bad on him. It's hard to make such an attractive- such a popular person "look bad".
"Uh, no, sorry," I answer lamely. "So... what are you going to do about Daisy?"
I knew I made a mistake the moment her name came out of my mouth. I can't see his face well from beside him, but it's probably a mix between pain from his longtime crush moving to the Hills the day after he confessed, and annoyance at me for bringing it up. Despite my alias, I can't live up to it when I'm around Jay. He has a way of drawing words out of me, even words I don't want to say.
Thanks to my needlessly bringing up the sensitive topic, we walk in awkward silence all the way to the school gates. The moment we step across the threshold, our cliques from middle school pull us away from each other, mine taking turns sharing summer secrets I would much rather not know about in hushed tones. However, knowing that I have two thirds of my classes plus lunch with Jay is enough to make the scandalous whispers bearable for the next three minutes.
After an uneventful four months, I had the moronic idea that this year would be relatively calm, that the universe was being forgiving in light of this being my first year in high school. All hopes for peace promptly died when someone who probably had heard of my reputation for silence anonymously texted me a post Daisy had made: She's wearing a preppy dress and a smile on her face. However, the most important subject in the picture is the guy beside her, who is holding up her hand with their fingers intertwined. His expression is oddly victorious; I suspect he made the same expression when he won first place in some equestrian sport. The caption reads:
Me and Tom are on a date, my phone's going on dnd!
And the anonymous text reads:
Wasn't Daisy Jay's crush for years?
Do you know this guy?
There is still a chance that this will all blow over, as long as Jay never-
Of course he calls me now.
"Hey. Need some help on the English homework or something? It's hard when you first look at it, but if you just use Chat-"
"Did you see that post Daisy just published?"
Dang it.
"Uh, no. I don't even have any of her socials. What about it?"
The call immediately disconnects. It makes sense to be upset, but he's never just hung up on me like that. It stings a bit. Someone texts me again, and all I want to do is smash my phone against the wall, but I read it anyway. It's from Jay. I'm glad I didn't destroy my phone.
I'm taking a trip to Hill-Ville this weekend. I'm taking the Rogues. You're coming.
He's involving the whole West Valley gang over a social media post... Well, that's to be expected from him in this situation, I guess. At least I can be the voice of reason and keep him from going overboard since he's personally invited me to come with him. I don't have a motorcycle yet since I usually skateboard, so I have to ride with Jay tomorrow.
Maybe this trip won't actually be that bad.
