Two Can Keep A Secret

Chapter 1

How many days does it take to get to the center of a decades-old conspiracy?

The same amount of days it takes to solve a murder.

***

Suspicion: Mrs. Harris hated me.

Clue #1: I had come into class about a minute late. By the time I reached my desk in history and allowed my velvet bag to slide off my shoulders, the sleep had cleared from my eyes and I scanned the practically empty classroom. Turning my attention to the smudged whiteboard, I caught the eye of Mrs. Harris who stared at me judgmentally. It was common for me to come late to class. It still mystified Mrs. Harris how I managed to get good grades in her class.

I stifled a yawn as I looked around once again. It seemed that everyone had decided to sleep in today. In the front row sat the smartest students, who stored textbooks in their brain and aimed for higher than top mark. In the middle rows, where I sat, were a range of people, from smart to dumb, from bold to shy, from lost to bored. The back row was occupied by the slackers when they even bothered to come to school.

I squinted at the back row and to my utmost surprise, wrapped in a black hoodie and trademark smirk sat Colt Dean. He was a perpetual loner and considered the school's bad boy.

(See, with a name like that, why wouldn't you be a 'bad boy'? His parents obviously wanted this to happen or they would have given him a name like Paul or Frederick.)

It wasn't that hard to get tattoos, piercings, and an all black wardrobe. Not that I'd do it, but I could. Out of all the people I expected to show up in school relatively early, Colt was not one of them. I was willing to bet I could count the number of times he'd been in this class on one hand. 

Clue #2: Mrs. Harris, still amazed by my stunning scores in her class, had made it her mission to remedy this.

"Alyssa Black, you will be working with Colt Dean. Sarah Linus, you will be wor..." Mrs. Harris said. My head snapped up, confused and shocked. If that wasn't proof, I didn't know what was. Every other history project, she paired me with someone who would leave all the work to me. I had known that a project with Colt was unavoidable but honestly, I thought she would save it for a grand finale. I didn't even know what we were working on. 

Finally done reading off the list of names, Mrs. Harris placed her clipboard on her desk and scanned the nearly empty room with a sigh. "For all of your classmates who didn't bother to show up early for class today, please let them know this final project is worth thirty percent of your grade." She took a quick look at her watch before continuing. "We'll be using today's period to work on the projects and if possible, I might get us in the library next week. Other than that, though, this project is something you will need to work on at home." 

As she sat down, I looked back at Colt who had turned his annoying smirk in my direction.

"Did you hear what she said?" I asked, approaching his desk. I doubted he had, but it didn't hurt to ask.

"Yeah. I figured you were too busy checking me out to pay attention," he taunted. That made no physical sense, since I literally sat in front of him.

I ignored the bait, nodding. "Good. Here, take my number and we can divide the work tonight."

"I never thought there'd be a day where Alyssa Black would be throwing her number at me," he yawned, leaning back in his seat.

I shrugged, still not falling for his stupid antics. "Well, I guess today's your lucky day."

Clue #3: Mrs. Harris seemed completely unbothered about the events that followed. Considering these events would later lead to the very unraveling of my junior year career, this is damning.

The bell rang and I gathered up my books to leave. Beside me, Colt stood up. We walked out of the class together in silence while Mrs. Harris worked to persuade the rest of our classmates out of their seats. As soon as our feet stepped out of class, we were greeted with the usual rush of students in the crowded hallway. Right away, I could spot the key players in Clement High.

Mindy Guo, a junior like me, smiled cheerily at one of her friends. They were both dressed in their cheerleading uniforms and Mindy's long, glossy black hair was pinned in a tidy bun. I didn't really know her much but I did know that she was in every school-sanctioned club there was (and in charge of most of them) and in picture perfect love with her boyfriend, Jack Jacobs. But to be fair, almost every girl was in love with Jack.

The spokesman of people most definitely not in love with Jack was shoving an innocent bystander at the far end of the hall. Reina Amaro was outfitted in a ripped black jacket and matching black combat boots. Her curly hair was pulled back in a ponytail today, emphasizing her mischievous white grin that contrasted with her olive skin. I didn't really see her around school but she was usually the topic of whispered sneers.

Suddenly a muscled and tall guy, Davy Turndel, bounded towards us and clapped Colt on the back. In what he thought was a hushed tone, he began to speak with Colt. Social etiquette demanded I walk away but there was something so odd about Davy's behavior that I couldn't help but position myself in a way that allowed optimum eavesdropping.

"So have you talked to him yet?" Davy's voice sounded friendly but there was a harsh undertone, as if there was only one correct answer to his question.

Colt didn't seem bothered. Shaking Davy's palm off his shoulder, he answered, "No."

Davy's voice changed to a more insistent, desperate tone. "You said you would! You know how much this means to the team!"

I rolled my eyes at the mention of the football team. Clement High football was a mixture of athletic talent and cultism.

"Too bad," Colt said.

A look of concentrated anger flitted over Davy's face, going as quickly as it came. "If I were you, I'd rethink that decision. Football's a dangerous game."

With those laughable words, he stomped off. For the first time since I had arrived at school, I smiled.

Colt looked at me, confused. "What?"

"Nothing," I said. His confrontation with Davy had already made him seem more tolerable. Anyone who didn't succumb to the 'charms' of football was worth a chance in my book . "I'm just curious about what you did to him that has him acting like a movie villain."

He grinned back and at the time, I thought I was imagining how his eyes had darkened angrily. "That's the thing about the people here. You don't need to do anything to them, they act like that all on their own."

For all my talk about clues, I hadn't picked up on that one.

A/N: Hey guys! This is my first published book on this account! If you liked it, let me know what you think! Also, I will say the first couple chapters are a bit of a cliche start but around chapter 5, the mystery really begins.