Conspicuous Secrets

chapter three__REWRITTEN VERSION

"I want you to write your essay about something meaningful," our English teacher explained softly in a relaxed tone. She casually paced in the front of the room, talking with her hands and speaking as if this was the most heartfelt thing she's spoken about all week. "Maybe a difficult lesson you've learned in life, or possibly something deep you've grown to know about yourself." Clasping her hands, she came to a stop in the center of the room. "I want it to be personal."

The class bell rang through the air and students immediately jumped out of their seats, having been more than ready to do so the past forty-five minutes, and shoved all of their things in their bags. "It is due at the end of the semester!" Mrs. Laughlin called out over the ruckus. "And don't forget, it is worth a large portion of your final!"

I grabbed my already-packed bag, alongside Aria and Marla as our classmates sifted out of the room. Aria and Marla followed my lead, walking close behind me as we followed the crowds toward the lunchroom, dodging others heading in the opposite direction.

"What are you guys going to write your essay on?" Marla asked. That was the last thing I wanted to think about right now. I kept my eyes ahead of me, retracing the path I'd forced myself to memorize the night before on the school map.

"I have no idea," Aria said from behind me. "Lydia?"

I shrugged. "We have months to write it. I'll probably figure that out a month from now."

I could feel their stares on my back and I just hoped they weren't judgmental. Not that I would care at that moment if they were.

"Let's meet up this weekend and start figuring out ideas for it," Aria suggested. "If we go ahead and get it over with, we won't have to stress about it."

I internally groaned, but Marla agreed. "Lydia, you up for it?"

I hummed. "Maybe," I added for their own satisfaction.

Right then, I spotted my brother and Kason standing by the lockers. Jaxon was leaning his side up against the metal, while Kason was throwing stuff inside one of the doors. I beelined for them instead of the cafeteria. "Hey," Jaxon greeted me with a smile as he spotted me. I slipped him a closed-lipped one in return, though only half the effort was in it. He opened an arm as if already sensing my stress, inviting me under it. I accepted and leaned into his side. Kason glanced at me, with that forever opaque stare of his, and slipped a tiny grin, but it was gone within a second.

"Did you have any luck finding a job in town?" Marla asked him. There was interest in her eyes, and not just the friendly being nice to a friend kind of interest either.

Jaxon shook his head. "Nope. Everywhere I asked, I needed experience I don't have or they were already fully staffed."

Marla frowned. "That sucks."

"What kind of job are you interested in?" Kason asked him, his curiosity sparked.

Jaxon huffed. "At this point, anything that will make me money."

Kason's head bobbed. "I might be able to help."

Jaxon's energy heightened. "Really?"

A ringing filled the air at the exact moment my phone started vibrating in my back pocket. Slipping out from under Jaxon's arm, I pulled it out. "Excuse me," I spoke to the teens around me as I read the caller ID. Quickly glancing at Jaxon, I understood the questioning look in his eyes and I hoped he read the look I gave him in return that it was Detective Matthews. I stepped away out of earshot, taking more than a few steps down the hall, where there were fewer students around. Most had already gone into the lunchroom.