Not My Secret

chapter uno

        a short story about what it means to treat others how you wish to be treated

    Kelly walked down the hall, holding her books in her hand as she made her way to science class. Of course, it would be terrible, as the quickest way there was by walking past Adriana's locker, and Kelly knew she would be there. You would be worried if Adriana actually ever showed up on time; she spent much of her time cracking jokes with her friend Sarah instead of actually doing any sort of real work.

    One thing that was really well known about Adriana was that she was rude. She was beyond rude, she was straight up offensive. If you had one single flaw, she wold pick it apart and make fun of every bit of it. If she couldn't see your flaws- she would make them. And she was never afraid to throw a fist. It was common knowledge that you shouldn't cross her unless you were getting facial reconstruction surgery already.

    But Kelly was never scared. In fact, it really pissed her off. She needs to be taken down a notch, she decided, as she neared her locker.

   Bracing herself for a bombardment of insults, she walked around the corner. But to her astonishment, the hallway was empty. Maybe she's in the back punching another kid out, Kelly figured. She just continued to walk to class and sit down at her table.

    Science at her school wasn't nearly like what it is on TV. Instead of doing fun experiments with partners, they sit at tables and copy down facts of the periodic table so they can take them home and study them. Because I'm totally not the only person here who might actually do that. But, class dragged on either way, and it felt like time had stopped moving, again.

    The day continued as normal. She walked from class to class and occasionally stopped to talk to her friends, Stella and Dana when she saw them in the halls. By about three, she was heading home, when something struck her; I haven't seen Adriana at all today. Maybe she hadn't come to school? But Kelly had never seen her away; not one day of the year. It was possible that she was just sick, or maybe something came up. But it didn't seem right, and she couldn't figure out why. She contemplated it during her walk home, though living so close to the school didn't give her much time to think about it, and she was quickly distracted by more important matters.

                                                  *                     *                    *

     Later that night, she was curled up on the couch when she heard the doorbell ring.

    Who could be at the door at this hour? she questioned, wondering whether or not to get up. Before she could finish choosing, however, her mother rushed down the stairs to get the door. 

    "Anita!" she exclaimed, and invited this woman in like they'd known each other forever. Kelly, however, had no idea who she was. The only time she'd seen her before was around the school every now and then. Maybe it was someones mom that her  mother had happened to meet? That was when she noticed something was off about the way Anita looked. It was something Kelly had learned to recognize, and she could tell something was really bothering this woman. 

   "Uh, hello." Kelly started, but her mother cut her off quickly.

   "Kelly, do you think you could go to the store and get me some groceries? Stop at the cafe for a treat for yourself, too, if you'd like.". She ushered the woman  to the table, where she sat in a rather slouched position, then handed me some money and shooed me out the door. I feel like I was just paid to leave.. Kelly realized that if she was actually going to the store, she might miss out on something important that one of them said. What if they were going to talk about her?

   She could already hear them talking from inside. Now, suddenly curious, she crept around to the side of the house and pushed her back against the wall, straining to hear.

   "..of course she's doing well.." "..Oh, well good to.... See, Ad.." She realized this was getting her nowhere. She had to get closer to them, somehow. Slinking around each side of the house, she looked for any way to get a little bit closer, when she came across the back gate. This is so stupid, she moaned to herself and she climbed up and over the gate.

    Staying well below any of the windows, she slipped under one of them, closest to the dining room, and listened. She heard things a little better from here, but she still wasn't hearing anything interesting.

   "..Doing quite well, I hear."

    "Are you joining the parent council this year?"

    "In fact, I am. I hear Tanya won't be joining again, though."

    "Wasn't fancy enough for her, I suppose.

    The woman continued to laugh and talk about nothing. This went on for an awfully long time, and leaning against the wall, Kelly started to get tired. While she was still fighting to retain consciousness,  the conversation took a quick turn. 

    ".. Danielle, can I talk to you about something?" This perked Kelly's awareness. She raised her head up a tiny bit so she could continue to listen.

    "Anything. I could tell something was bothering you, what is it?"

   "Adriana, you see..She's not getting any better. If I leave her in that school any longer, she'll be expelled, and what would I do with her then?" Wait, what? Is she your daughter? Kelly questioned, inside her head. Why in the world is my mom friends with Adriana's mom?  She realized she was just lucky her mother hadn't forced her to meet her, and pressed herself back against the wall to continue listening.

    "How.." Kelly heard her mother's voice falter. What was she trying to ask?

    "Her..Her cancer. She's doing fine."

    Cancer!? What..? Adriana has.. That was when it struck her. If she told anyone, if word got around, which she knew it would, Adriana wouldn't be nearly so awful. Noting that if she wasn't home with groceries soon, he mom would know something was up. Quickly as she could, she ran off to the store. While she was grabbing what her mom had asked for, she also picked up a new notebook for herself. Luckily enough, the lines were short, and she wasn't gone for too long. 

   Once she got home, she told her mother she'd run into Stella there, and her mother easily bought it. Kelly left the bags on the table, and took her notebook up to her room. She took a pencil off her desk, sat down, and began to write.