Conspicuous Secrets

Chapter Six

On 6/12/18 I changed the lengths of all the chapters to be more effective in reading and interest. If you don't know where you left off, message me and I will let you know where to start back at.  Sorry for the inconvenience:)

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"I want you to write your essay about something meaningful," our English teacher announced. "Maybe a hard lesson you've learned in life or about life, or maybe just something about yourself. I want it to be personal." As the teacher finished up, the bell rang throughout the school. "It is due at the end of the month!" he called as the students began packing up their stuff. "Don't forget, it is worth a big portion of your grade for this semester!"

I grabbed my bag, alongside Aria and Marla, and we walked out of the classroom, all heading the same way down the hallway. "What are you going to write your essay on?" I asked them, as we dodged other students heading in the opposite direction as us.

Aria shrugged. "I have no idea. We have a month to write it, so I'll probably start more than three weeks from now."

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

Aria groaned, but Marla agreed. "Why can't we just hang out after school today?"

"I have to work," I told them. "I got a babysitting job for one of my neighbors."

Aria sighed. "I wish my parents would let me hire a babysitter for my little brother. He's a hassle to deal with."

"How old is he?" I asked, glancing at her.

"Ten," she said. "But he's at the age where all he wants to do is hang out with Holden."

I smiled at the idea. "I think it's cute. He just wants to hang out with older kids. It makes him feel cool," I told her.

She nodded, agreeing with the point of view. "Yeah, but he's taking my boyfriend away from me." I laugh in return and we all say our farewells before we turn down different hallways, heading for our next class.

I had just turned down the hallway when I spotted Kason and Jaxon standing to the side of the hallway. They were exchanging hushed words and turned away in the corner of a closed doorway, where no one could hear them. Whatever they were discussing, it looked serious and important. I wondered what the center of their conversation was. I contemplated walking over to them but immediately decided against it because they seemed to want privacy. At that time, the warning bell rang through the hall and I watched them separate and go toward separate classes.

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I was making my way to lunch twenty minutes later than everyone else. My last teacher wanted to make sure that I knew the material they had been working on throughout the semester, so I would be ready for the final in two months. To put it lightly, I was in a bad mood. In between classes I had tried contacting the private investigators that were over top of mine and Jaxon's case, but none of them answered. They always answered. I wanted an update, but they wouldn't answer the many calls I attempted. Also, the other students in my classes had been getting on my nerves all day. Every time I asked for someone to explain something I didn't understand, they would either flat out ignore me or look at me and tell me that they didn't understand it either, just to go on and continue through the assignment. The world just seemed to have it out for me today.

Once I did find my friends at a lunch table inside the cafeteria, I noticed that Miles was standing there with two of his friends standing beside him. Both of his friends were brunet and smaller than Miles. "Are you clinically insane or just incredibly annoying?" I heard Miles ask my brother.