The Secret Six

Chapter 4: Secrets, Secrets Are No Fun, Unless You Share With Everyone

"What you don't see with your eyes, don't witness with your mouth."

Chapter 4

The day seemed to drag on forever; if it wasn’t for Alex in biology, I felt like I might have enjoyed myself better. It’s not like I hated the kid; he seemed nice and interesting enough, I guessed, but from the looks of him, he was arrogant, unreliable, and annoying. He gave me the feeling that, if I let him, he could do some real damage.

The only person that really talked to me that entire day were Alex and Scarlett; which is why Scarlett invited me to lunch with her and her friends. At first I was hesitant—Scarlett, from what I knew, seemed like the queen bee. And if I’d done my research and watched enough teen drama movies, I knew that the queen bees were almost always bitches. But I supposed that if I was to embark on a new school, I might as well have a new outlook on people. I could at least give Scarlett and her friends a try, even with how she acted in the morning. Second chances were a thing I rarely handed out, and I supposed it wouldn’t hurt to make an exception this once.

“Oh my god,” Scarlett’s right hand girl, Maeve, complained, running a hand through locks of auburn curls, “My hair is so messed up today.”

“It doesn’t look too bad,” Scarlett pitched, shrugging, “I mean, drain the grease from it, and we’d be in business.” She joked comically, getting a sarcastic laugh from Maeve.

“Har har,” she snapped, closing her compact mirror and shoving it into her handbag. She pouted and took a grape from her bag, munching angrily away, “Funny, Scarlett, real funny.” She paused, and looked up, staring at the other girls and me, “What do you guys think?”

I bit my lip, surveying the top of her head. It didn’t look too bad; however, frizzy flyaway strands stuck out and her bangs seemed to be drenched in grease, to my disgust. “What Scarlett said,” I told her simply, reaching for my sandwich.

 Maeve’s eyes opened, and she looked to her other friends at the table, Jenna and Erica for support. Afraid of being shot down too, they calmly turned to their lunches and silently ate away to hide the awkward atmosphere.

Scarlett chuckled, “So, Audrey,” she began, leaning over the table to stare more intently at me, her amber eyes flickering with lights of amusement, “How’re you liking your first day?”

I shrugged, “It’s fine. Nothing too bad.” They all took a long look at me, obviously wanting me to elaborate. I thought hard about something in particular, “Um, I did see a really gross used tampon on the floor in one of the bathroom stalls.”

Jenna’s big blue eyes went wide, “Oops.” She muttered feebly.

Scarlett flinched, “Gross, Jen.” She said with a sneer. Scarlett quickly turned back to me with a sly smile, “So…Meet anyone… interesting?” She wondered, winking discreetly.

“Like what?” I wondered, taking a sip of water.

“You know,” Scarlett suggested, “Someone, like, dating-worthy?”

I felt the water go down the wrong tube, and suddenly, I was choking.

“Oh my god!” Maeve said, shocked, “Are you okay?”

After a moment of coughing, I regained my composure. “Ahem…yeah, I’m good.” I said, frowning. I turned back to Scarlett, wiping my lips. “Uh…what do you mean dating worthy?”

Scarlett looked at me like I was a four year old, “…you know. Someone cute? Someone interesting?”

I frowned. I’d definitely never been a dating person. In my 17 years of existence, never once had I ever placed the term “crush” on any one boy in particular. Sure, there had been a couple of guys that caught my eyes in the looks department, but I wasn’t one of those girls that started fawning over some guy and writing their name all over my math note book just because they seemed cute or nice. I was one of those girls that chose substance over appearance.