The Science Of Keeping Secrets (Old Title: Project Nerd Conversion)

TWO ⭐ Dishing the Dirt

Thankfully Joseph comes back and snatches him unceremoniously out of the place.

As soon as they're gone, Belle and Claire burst out laughing. I try to join them, but I feel like if I keep this up, I'm going to scream.

Claire wheezes as she dabs a hanky at her eyes. "He's going to make a better boyfriend, I'm telling you."

"For you, maybe." I cast a look down her pink sweater, which is clashing horribly with out gray and blue uniform. "Match made in heaven."

"How's your new spot by the front, by the way?" Belle asks with a wicked little grin.

"It sucks, of course," I say, glad for the change of topic. "But so far Joseph's being kind of normal."

And I hope to God he stays that way, because all the teachers decided to banish me to his side and I'm counting on him to make things easier for me.

Since Empire Academy is a glitzy private school that believes in holistic learning (or so they say), everyone in the same grade level are supposed to take the same basic classes with exceptions of two electives and PE. This helps with the overall manageability of the students, especially since there are about a hundred students per level. And because of this, I get to be with the same set of classmates for all our basic classes. This usually is a good thing, but apparently not anymore.

Following my 'negligence' in Calculus, Faust apparently made the teachers agree to my punishment of sitting next to Joseph in all our common classes. They believed that he would be a good influence to me, so that's why from now on I have to sit next to him five hours a day. In addition to that, he's also now my partner in Advance Chemistry, which I suck at.

Well, the good thing is I didn't end up with Raju. The downside is I lost all my chance to talk to Irvin while he's still within earshot.

I visited him during his training sessions after class, but he wasn't there. I got the feeling that he was hiding in the bathroom, so I left with Belle and Claire.

And now we're here.

"Joseph is okay," Claire puts in, twirling her finger in the air. "Sometimes he lets me copy his answers. He's actually kind of nice."

Belle smirks. "And let's not forget that his dad funded the new building."

This makes me smile. Joseph's dad is a stinking rich land developer, and he paid for the library extension building a few months back. Although this made Joseph really popular among the teachers and staff, it didn't work well with the students. No one really said anything, but everyone probably got the impression that his dad is a show off. At one point Irvin and his friends even tried to tie Joseph to one of the building's pillars, just to make the Yates family legacy stronger (Irvin's words, not mine). Irvin and his gang got a week's worth of detention, so they never did that again.

"Did he talk to you?" Belle raises an eyebrow.

I shake my head. "Yeah, but it's only about lessons and stuff."

"That's great, because Irvin doesn't think much of him." Claire scoffs. "We don't want him starting up another fight.

I roll my eyes. "Irvin doesn't think much of anyone but himself."

"Hey, you're up," Belle suddenly says. "You're next."

I look and see that I'm now the first in the line. Ten boards full of food choices are laid in front of me, but I don't really have much of an option. Never mind that I want a whole freaking platter of their pesto pasta. I have to go with my regular two banana muffins and apple iced tea. And it's not because they're my favorite. Neither is it because I'm on a strict diet to lose weight like Belle and Claire think.

Maybe I should've just waited for Irvin. If I managed to woo him back, he would have taken me out to a fancy dinner—for free. Then I wouldn't be here trying to properly allocate the remaining whatever's left in my wallet.

I am indeed being followed by a cloud of misfortune.

"Two banana muffins and apple iced tea, please," I say to the lady behind the counter.

"Wow, you're really sticking to your diet, huh?" Belle remarks in awe. "I should start doing your routine. It's effective, you know. You really lost weight."

Of course I lost weight. Imagine having to live off dry-ass muffins and being haunted by problems and memories every single night. I just smile, which is a fragile move enough as it is. What really breaks me in is the lady's next words.

"That would be seven dollars."

I suck in a breath of shock, but I quickly force myself to recover. "Um, but the muffin is just a dollar each. And so is the juice."

"Sorry," the lady replies. "The prices got updated. The muffins are two dollars each now. And the juice is three dollars."

"What?" I lean forward, propping my hand against the counter. "Your prices just jump overnight?"

"Don't blame me, miss," the lady says in a tone that suggests she's been saying this all day. "I'm not the one who decides on the prices."

With shaking fingers I get a ten dollar bill, but inside I want to scream. This is daylight robbery. Yesterday they were a dollar each, and now I have to pay two dollars for them, even though they taste like the Sahara. I can't possibly just hand over my money for this.

"This is injustice," I tell the lady. "Why did the prices just go up like that?"

To my horror, she starts speaking louder than what is considered conversationally appropriate. "I can call the manager for you—"

"There's no need for that," I say hastily. "I just want to know why—"

"What's happening?" Belle interrupts, peering over my shoulder. "Is everything okay?"

"The prices skyrocketed." I scoff. "Can you believe that?"

Simultaneously, Belle, Claire, and I turn to the menu boards behind the counter. Sure, the prices have been updated, but that doesn't mean it's fair. No wonder this place isn't packed like it used to be.

Claire winces. "Wow."

The lady sighs heavily. "Miss, if you can't pay, please step out of the—"

"Excuse me?" I blurt out just as Belle and Claire say in chorus, "Oh, no."

I step closer to the counter, resisting the urge to jab a finger at the lady's face. I can't believe she just said that. In front of my friends and all these people. I can feel my cheeks heating up, but I force myself to stay steady.

"Me? Can't pay?" I laugh derisively, turning to all the ones who are in line. "You're in luck, people. Order all your overpriced meals because it's on me."

They all smile, looking pleased with the idea. Some of them actually cheer, including my best friends who clap and pat me proudly on the back. Seeing them like that, combined with the simple euphoria of spending money again, is enough to lift my spirits.

But not for long.

[Photo: Felix Mallard as Joseph Yates]