Secrets & Lies

Chapter 2

“Well do you want the good news or the bad?” he asked, marching to the middle of the classroom. “I’ll just say the good first,” he continued without waiting for an answer.” All four pairs of eyes stared at him curiously. “The good news is that everyone passed. So no more make ups and retakes.” He chuckled as he distributed the papers.

Kelly breathed a sigh of relief as hers landed face up on the wooden desk. She had gotten an 80, much higher than she’d hoped. For now, all thoughts of the strange look of Mr. Cruz darted out of her mind. Instead, happiness filled her from top to bottom. She had even managed a B, meaning her grade might not suffer at all.

“What’s the bad news?” Jen asked, looking up from her paper with an amused expression. Instantly, her head popped up along with Courtney’s and Lauren’s.

“Well,” Mr. Cruz said with a dramatic pause. “The bad news is you have to go home and don’t get to see me the rest of the day.”

Lauren laughed softly, the first noise that Kelly had heard her make all day. Courtney’s grinned while Kelly and Jen both smirked. “That’s also good news,” Jen said while reaching down for her gym bag. Everyone laughed at that.

Kelly sighed happily, stuffing the paper into her notebook and picking up the Gucci purse. To the right of her, Lauren sat up, hastily stuffing her sketches into a messenger bag while Courtney primly swept aside the golden curls before picking up her things. Together more or less, the four girls trooped out the door, calling goodbye to Mr. Cruz before the door shut behind them.

Walking out the door, the quartet headed down the hall where the door glinted brightly, the sun shining through the glass. Everyone was silent, including Courtney. From the corner of her eye, Kelly watched Jen give Courtney a swift glance, then Lauren, then watched them glance at each other before staring at her. It was almost comical how they continued to sneak peeks at each other but wouldn’t utter a word. If it had been anyone but Courtney, Kelly might have made small talk. In fact, she suspected the same of the other two also. But, it was Courtney so everyone stayed mute as they walked out into the courtyard to wait for their rides.

Crisp golden and scarlet leaves tumbled from giant oaks. A smooth breeze ruffled their hair as the sun radiated warmth and light down to the ground. The green grass stood trimmed and lush, the flowers all well-tended to. It was a picture perfect scene, not a cloud in the sky. But picture perfect things are never always as they seem now, are they?

Suddenly as the girls began to sit down on the benches outside Hampton Falls Academy, Courtney walked out in front of the trio. “So,” she said, her gaze sweeping them at once. Kelly felt awkward as though she was under inspection, as did Lauren and Jen though none of them would admit it.

“You’re Jennifer, right?” Courtney asked calmly, pointing at Jen who nodded slowly as though she couldn’t believe who was talking to her. Frankly though, neither could Kelly or Lauren. “And you’re Kelly and you are Lauren,” she continued, pointing to each one of them separately.

Both girls nodded fervently, and Courtney stared at them solemnly before breaking into a captivating grin. Her blue eyes glowed fiercely, her lips puckered into a warm smile as she opened her mouth. “Well now that we’re all introduced, who wants to go over grab some Starbucks with me?” Kelly’s mouth dropped open along with Jen and Lauren’s, but Courtney couldn’t see. She was already marching away, her curls swinging, her Chanel bag bumping her hip as she strode down an imaginary runway.

“Well,” said Jen, breaking the silence that had descended. Her eyes gleamed with delight. “What are we waiting for?” Without another word, the trio hurried to catch up to Courtney, all four girls walking in step with one another as they turned out of the building.

That day marked the beginning of a new friendship, a new millennium in each of their lives.

Lauren who was far too shy to speak to anyone had very few companions. With Courtney’s new friendship, she found her voice. Jen who seemed to only find time for basketball had the same problem. She had friends, but no one close. With basketball and school, Jennifer had no time for anyone else. But with Courtney’s new friendship, she began to discover that having fun once in a while wasn’t all that bad either. Kelly, who had spent her whole life dancing and hanging with the ‘in’ crowd, found enormous amounts of people who she could IM or talk to. But with all the backstabbing and rumors that circled around Hampton Falls Academy like a hawk, she’d never found any true friends. There was so much pressure to stay stick thin, to be at every party, to spread gossip like a wildfire before someone spread gossip about you. Kelly had never particular been super popular, but she wasn’t a Nobody. She worked hard to be a Somebody, and it was more often than not by starting rumors. With Courtney’s friendship though, Kelly found out what the meaning of a real friend meant, something she’d never had before. Someone to talk to, someone to always hang out with, someone who’d accept you for the way you are and would always be there for you. Someone you could tell all your secrets to.

In their own way, each girl owed a part of herself to Courtney. Courtney got the credit for giving Lauren a voice to speak up. Courtney got the credit for helping Jen to see that there was more to life than playing basketball, that she could loosen up once in a while. Courtney got the credit for Kelly now being able to trust that she actually had someone to talk to who wouldn’t immediately start up a rumor. The four girls who hadn’t even know each other before that fateful day, became best friends. The quartet ruled over the together, getting invites to every party, having the best spots in the cafeteria. Courtney began her tiny circle of friends that instantly rose to the top of Hampton Falls’ popularity circle. It was like something out of a movie, where suddenly three random girls are bequeathed with a miracle that transforms them from being just an average student to one of the most revered girls in the entire town.

In this case, the miracle was Courtney. But despite the fact that everyone thought she was a blessing to the world, she wasn’t. Courtney was a curse. But behind that pretty little mask, who could tell? No one.

So with that day, their intricate friendship began. The movie night’s at Lauren’s, the makeovers at Jen’s, the expensive treats from Kelly, the endless sleepovers at Courtney’s. The four had become inseparable, attached at the hip for one glorious year, from one crisp fall to the next. Then, just as every good time ends, the glorious stage of their relationship crumbled, falling headfirst into a snare of twisted secrets and lies.