Keeping Her a Secret

Set in 2007, fourteen-year-old Malia Fields has spent most of middle school trying not to stand out. She stays close to her group of friends even when she feels out of place wth them, keeps her head down in class, and says the right things when the conversations turn to boys.

Then she meets Lina.

Lina is loud where Malia is quiet, confident where Malia hesitates, and somehow easy to talk to in a way nobody else has ever been. What starts as late night AIM conversations and passing jokes in class slowly becomes the most important part of Malia's day. For the first time, she feels like somebody actually sees her.

So when Malia tells Lina the truth - that she likes her more than a friend, it feels terrifying, but also impossible not to say.

Lina promises not to tell anyone. But by Monday, half the school knows.

Suddenly Malia becomes the kind of person that people whisper about in the hallways. Friends stop knowing what to say around her. Rumors spread faster than she can stop them. And Lina, the one person who was supposed to understand, starts acting like none of it was ever meant to happen in the first place.