Can You Keep a Secret?

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

“Hey, Jenny!” Lewis shouted, jogging to catch up to her. “Hey, wait up!” She was rolling along, her eyes distant. She had been bringing her skateboard to school a lot that week, disappearing on lunch breaks to be alone. She didn’t stop until Lewis caught her arm, dragging her around to face him. “Jeez, what’s a guy got to do to get your attention Jen? I’ve barely seen you this week,” he continued, taking in her dark circled eyes and slightly stooped shoulders. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m doing better,” Jenny answered, smiling slightly as she started to roll down the street again, Lewis following alongside. “Believe it or not, I like being on my own. Note how nobody else is freaked out by my disappearing act. Jess and Jake are used to it and I don’t think Alex would mind if Jake would disappear sometimes,” she added, the smile broadening.

“Yeah, okay,” Lewis conceded, not wanting to seem clingy. “But try to remember I don’t know that about you. I’m going to get worried, what with everything else going on with you. I guess I thought I’d ruined our friendship, the other day,” he continued quickly, colouring slightly. “I mean, it feels like you’ve been avoiding me since then.”

“I haven’t meant to. So, what’s going on with you? How’s the meditation going?” When he pulled a face she laughed, looking up at him with a smile in her eyes. “Okay, I’ll take that to mean not well. Have you even tried to meditate again?”

“Of course I did,” he said indignantly, a wounded expression stealing across his face. “It’s just so much harder without you there to talk me through it. How am I supposed to centre my mind or whatever when I don’t know how?”

“Okay, okay, I get it,” Jenny laughed pulling to a stop outside her house. “Then why don’t you come in? I have more books on meditation and we can do a session, work out what relaxes you best so you can do it at home.”

“That sounds great,” Lewis enthused, following her inside, feeling a little nervous. “So, living room?”

“No, if Jess gets back she’ll interrupt us, which is so not good for meditation. And she’ll just point out that I’m meant to be packing for the weekend,” she added, rolling her eyes. “This is more important, anyway. So, this is my room. I’m locking the door but don’t panic, it’s a door lock, not a key one. You know what I mean,” she said as he opened his mouth to say something smart-ass back. “Okay, so…here’s one. Meditation for beginners. It’s a little older, sorry. But for now, just sit on the floor, facing me.”

He sat down, watching her pull her hair back into a ponytail and sit opposite him, legs crossed comfortably. She was murmuring something, breathing deeply. When she opened her eyes again, he felt himself get trapped in their gaze. The green seemed to get more curious ever/y time he looked into them, small flecks of brown making him want to look more and forget everything else. He felt the grey curtain falling over his own eyes though, and he struggled against it.

It began to secede, a pressure on his arm as Jenny began talking louder but still hypnotic. He didn’t really hear the words, just felt a calm settle over him as the tone soothed away his agitation. But then he became curious, poking the box he had hidden the vision in last time. Surely, whilst he was this relaxed and meditative he would be able to see the vision without it hurting. So he opened the box gently, letting the grey haze fall over him.

I’m not really supposed to bring people down here, Vision Jenny was saying, walking quickly along a wooded pathway. But I never really got why. You won’t tell anyone, will you? She was joking: she knew there was no way he’d get her in trouble. Her eyes were sparkling, as she said Just a little further. I really want you to see it. It’s…a really special place to me. The nervousness in her expression struck him anew as she looked down, waiting to see what he thought of it.