The Secret - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Hello sweetheart.” She dragged her words. Tainting a smile and a rush forward to give a hug, she made it seem as if we were her grandchildren. The high pitchy voice and the caring tone never ceased to annoy us.

“Hey...Aunt Jan.” Dave and I would slur our words as we pulled away from her hands that had creeped up to our cheeks and then given a nice tug.

She always had the intention of being friendly but in turn freaked me out instead. Every Christmas called for a sweater. Last year was burgundy with little white christmas trees and rudolph the red nosed reindeer next to it. Then the year before that was a blue wool sweater. It was pretty plain except that the back was this large logo that said Merry Christmas in a sort of Hard Rock Cafe style. She always came during Christmas for the traditional dinner over at our place in Connecticut. Sometimes she'd bring her famous lemon bars. Why it's famous when its all runny, I don't know.

Mom always talked about how we (my brother and I) should treat Aunt Jan in the most loving way possible. Mom said Aunt Jan never married and never really had someone to talk to. Way back in her town about 6 hours from where we were staying, Mom said that Aunt Jan loved going around the neighbourhood and just talking to people. She did that because there was never anybody at home to talk to. So that's why whenever she came over to our place, Mom always had us sitting or talking to Aunt Jan at almost every second possible just to keep her company.

“And how old are you now dear?” She always asked the same question everytime she saw us. And it gets old and boring sometimes.

My brother and I would simply mumble a word or two and then proceed to get her bags and place them at a spare room where Mom had already prepared a bed for Aunt Jan. Taking out the already expected presents, Dave and I simply smiled as we accepted the gift and then rush back to our rooms to put it down. Aunt Jan always smiled; she'd always had that high pitched whiny sound that we just couldn't stand when she talked to us as if we were kids.

“What color is it this time?” Dave, 2 years my junior, smirked when everyone left to their own rooms. He had come over for a while.

I grinned at him and pulled out the sweater from the bag.

“Orange, huh?” He turned to sit on the floor as he pulled out his gift, “She got me this.”

Holding a book and a blue sweater in hand, Dave was already laughing when he saw my face. Dave never reads, and neither does he wear Christmas sweaters unless Dad forces him to. Returning back to his own room after a good laugh, Dave left the book in my room for me to read as he chugged at the sweater and played with it as if a chew toy.

“Hey.”

Peering in and taking some books out of my locker before the school bell rang, I turned to look behind.

“Tobey?”

“Listen, about the history project...”

History project?

“I'm so sorry, I know I promised that we'd work on it together at the library later tonight, but...”

“But?” I was beginning to remember we had planned to head to the library and do some reading up before our presentation.

“I have plans tonight.” He said it plain and clear.

“Tobey you've been putting this off so many times now...when in the world can we start our project? Even the Morrison twins are almost finished.”

“I know, I know, but just this once, please?”

“Well what sort of plans Tobey? Do you want both of us to fail History?”

“No of course not!”

“Then what?”

“Laura Jenkins asked me out and you already know I've had a crush on her since always.”

“That's your alibi?” I stared at him in unbelief.

“I'm sorry, but...”

“You know what,” I declared, “I'm just gonna head on over to Mr Thompson and tell him I'm working solo.”

“No, no, don't do that...I can't possibly do it all by myself.”

“Then get an alibi Tobey, a good one,” I said before turning away, “Because either you come tonight or I'm cutting you loose.”

“Can you believe that guy?” I exclaimed to Anne as I sat down next to her, piling my books and sweater on the desk.

“What guy?” She was biting her nails.

“Ew, stop that Anne, that's just gross...”

“Ugh, I told you I'm trimming them.”

“Get your nails done somewhere then, quit biting your nails,” I pushed her hand away from her lips, “You'll make 'em ugly.”

“No, I won't.” She brought her hand up again.

“Yes, you will.”

“Alright, fine,” She brought down her hand, “What guy were you talking about anyway?”

“Tobey.”

“Uh-huh...He's a bit of a dimwit, I know...what did he do this time?”

“Some friend...”

“What did he do?” Anne was a bit impatient.

“He wanted to bail on me for the History project.”

“You mean he said he couldn't come again?” She looked as if she knew.

“How'd you know?”

“Oh I heard it in the girl's bathroom...apparently Laura Jenkins asked him out...I can't believe it either...”

I frowned, “The nerve of him.”

“No, not that,” Anne shook her head, “I mean that Laura would actually ask him out.”

I grinned at her, “That's a mean thing to say,”

“Thank you.” Anne grinned.

“Anyway I threatened that if he didn't make it tonight, I'm going to Mr Thompson and telling him I'm working solo on the project.”

“And that would leave Tobey helpless...and failing history class.”

“Yuck...you feel pity for him?”

Anne merely shrugged, “Hey that reminds me, I tried to call you last night.”

“Really?” I asked, “I don't remember any phone ringing. I guess Mom wanted Dave and I to keep Aunt Jan company. Maybe she pulled the plug.” Mom could be a little over the top sometimes.

“Your Aunt Jan came over?”

I nodded, “I got an orange sweater this time.”

We grinned at each other before bursting into laughter.

“You're a terrible neice, Emma,” Anne laughed, “What's wrong with her sweaters anyway? Their pretty cool in a sort of, vintage way.”

“You can't be serious,” I stared at her.

“Aw come on, their pretty nice...I mean, a little like what a pre-schooler would wear but...it's kinda cute,”

I grinned and laughed away as the teacher started her lesson.

“Well...you're right, this is the worst, so far.” Anne remarked, holding up the sweater later in my room after school.

Dave peeked in, “Hey Anne.”

“Hey Dave,” Anne turned to look at him, “What color did you get?”

“Blue...oh and just to warn you guys, Aunt Jan and Mom should be coming home just about now from the mall.”

“Why'd they go there for?” I asked, turning up the speakers to The Click Five.

Dave shrugged and walked back to his room as Anne pulled out her books from her bagpack.

“Time to work.” Anne remarked as she pulled out a pen and started on homework.

Looking back at the sweater, I wondered if I should tuck it way back in the closet or just drape it on for Aunt Jan to see when they get back, which took just a few more minutes before we heard the sound of the car pulling up and the door open followed by the sound of the footsteps on the wooden floor.

“Oh it's Anne!” Aunt Jan exclaimed as she pulled Anne's cheeks softly.

I watched as Anne huddled over as she sheepishly smiled and avoid screaming at Aunt Jan to stop.

“Oh,” Aunt Jan exclaimed again; this time more like Santa Clause, “You're wearing the sweater.” She came over to give me a hug and then left with Mom, claiming she was going to bake her famous lemon bars for the kids to enjoy, as usual.

Anne and I rolled our eyes at each other knowingly, and ran up the stairs to my room having falsely assured Aunt Jan just how excessively happy we were to have such a treat. We practiced our French, did manicures on our Chemistry books and took photos of each other in the sweater Aunt Jan had given. Time passed so quickly; we hadn't been studying, you see, and we just about to fall asleep in a nap when we heard Dad call us down for dinner.

“I have to go to the library later.” I remarked, before stuffing a spoonful of mash and beans into my mouth.

“What?” Mom was a bit shocked, “But your Aunt Jan is visiting. Why on earth do you have to rush off so soon?”

“History project,” I swallowed the mash, “It's pretty important. And besides, I already asked Dad.”

Anne nodded as Mom glared at Dad as he avoided being questioned.

“What sort of history project is it?” Aunt Jan spoke up, “Maybe I can help.”

“Well...” I doubted that but I explained it anyway, “About the World War 2. We're supposed to talk about the parties involved and the effects it has brought on mankind.” I rememebered the title of my project.

The sudden clash of metal and clay turned our attention to Aunt Jan; her spoon had somehow slipped and fell on the plate in front of her. But she quickly picked it up, apologized for her intrusion and reached for the mash. The cosy warm sound of dinner; with the clashing of metals and the big noises the clay bowls make when they are hit hard on the table was quickly interrupted by the sudden degree of sound that made everyone look at each other and wonder why on earth that had happened.

“A tragedy.” I heard Aunt Jan avoided eyes as she passed the mash to Mom after taking a few spoonfuls for herself, “But don't worry about me,” She smiled, instantly assuring everybody that she would be fine while I'm gone. “I'll be fine Emma, run along.”

“Still,” Mom wasn't convinced, “Couldn't you wait until another time? It is a bit rude don't you think, Emma? I mean what if you were visiting someone and they too didn't have the time to spend it with you?”

“But mom it's a school project, I have to get it done quick,” I pleaded my case, “And...since my partner bailed on me, I have to do the whole thing myself.”

“Who's your partner?” Dave asked.

“Tobey,” I answered.

“Yeah,” Anne explained, “He said he had a date tonight but we still aren't sure if he'll make it tonight for the project.”

“Oh, and you're on the same team, Anne?” Aunt Jan asked.

“Nope, I'm a different class so we have a different type of project.” Anne answered.

“She's helping me out abit.” I spoke up.

Dad chuckled, “So Tobey left you guys for a date?”

“Apparently.” I sighed, wondering how on earth was I ever going to get the project done.

“When do you girls plan on getting started?” Dad asked.

“Well...” Anne looked at her watch and then at me, “About now?”

I agreed to go then and nodded; taking leave of the table.

“That's so soon!”Mom looked up almost immediately, “And you hardly ate, Emma.”

“I had enough, Mom” I stood up with Anne to bring the plates to the kitchen and went right away to gather our bags and head for the door to walk to the library which was just a few blocks round the bend, “See you guys later.”

“You know I think I'm beginning to like her lemon bars.” Anne said when we started down the path.

“I can't stand them...how could you like them? It's all soft and squishy...”

“I don't know, they don't seem soft or squishy to me.”

I made no reply to that, but spoke up a while later, “Tobey has to come tonight...or else.”

Anne laughed, “Or else what? You're gonna beat him up? He's probably cruising around with Laura,”

“I didn't know she liked him.”

“I don't know...opposites attract maybe. But do you like her anyway?”

“I guess I'm alright. I don't hate her but I don't like her anyway. She's a bit...different.”

“Different? You mean weird?”

I laughed, “No, not that...I mean that she just has that vibe that's so hard to talk to her.”

“I get that, too, sometimes when I talk to her,” Anne said, “But after a while, she's okay, really.”

I shrugged as we continued down the bend.

“Have you worked on any sketches yet?”

I shook my head; I didn't really have the time to continue sketching new fashion designs.

“It's been months Emma, I wanna see new stuff.” Anne complained.

“I've been pretty busy lately. Besides, you always have something to say about my sketches.”

Anne stopped walking and grinned at me, “I do not.”

“Yes, you do.” I walked ahead anyway.

“I give you feedback...construct...const...constructive criticism...everybody needs that,” She linked her arm in with mine, “Besides, I'm the only who can say that because I'm your best friend.”

“Really?” I mocked her in a laugh.

“You're really mean, you know that, Emma,” She tugged at my arm to keep walking anyway, “And...you aren't so bad. I have to admit I'm kinda jealous of you.”

“Kinda?” I grinned.

“Don't push it, Emma.” She laughed and continued, “You actually know what you're doing, know what I mean? You know fabric, you know shapes, you know accessories...that kind of stuff. You even changed the dress I bought you for Christmas last year.”

I thought for a minute, suddenly feeling guilty for transforming the dress she had thought so long for. It was a pretty pastel color of blue; material that was a little coarse and was able to stretch in the neck line; it was semi-sleeved, with puffy endings and a pastel yellow ribbon at each side. The dress was pretty long; a supposed summer dress, intended for long use on grass or a blanket with it's own dish of creeping crawlies and earth.

“Oh that.”

“Yes that.” Anne pretended to be hurt, “In any case, I should've known buying you a dress was wrong. I should have gotten some buttons and some material, right?”

“Well...no, don't say that...I love the dress,” I remembered the way it looked on me; regular, “It's just...”

“Just?”

“You know already, don't you Anne? You know I can't sit still when I see something new, or...”

“In need of repair?” She grinned.

“Hey I love the dress,”

“But you just wanted something more special.” She concluded, “Something far more perfect?”

“I'm sorry.” I had to say it.

“Hey I'm not hurt. I gave it to you, it's not my business what you do with it. It's the thought that counts. And besides, I like what you did with it.”

I grinned; me too. I had completely turned the neckline into a boat neck shape, cut of the sleeves to make it sleeveless and sowed the ends inwardly. Then I cut the dress to about knee length and sowed them inwards as well. I removed the extra string of cloth provided to be used as belt, as well as the hook for where the cloth would have gone through. I pulled the threads inside tighter until I formed a cinch or rather, a pinch at the waste. A zipper on the inside and the dress looked completely stunning. Of course, it did help a little with a little more coarse material to make it look chic and expensive. Not to mention the fake jewels and shiny crystals to create a rough outline of the boatneck.

Needless to say I had spent a month on the dress, and a whole lot on my allowance. I've tried it a million times in my room, staring at myself in the mirror and awing at myself for the transformation which I had so conveniently thought of when reading a Vogue magazine. I imagined myself making dresses such as this dress, as well as all the other dresses in my closet, for movie stars and celebrities. Of course, I have to make the dress a little longer for the red carpet and pop in a few recommendations of the classic white gold jewelry and purple killer pumps for a rich cream or white colored tube dress. Statement was everything, including a purple clutch ornamented fully with jewels and some purple triangular earrings designed by yours truly of course; 2 colors always did the trick.

“I'd hire you one day.” Anne interrupted my thoughts on the transformation.

“Why not today?” I grinned, walking still in arm with her, “When the price is low?”

Anne smirked, “Okay, designer...Whip up a dress any day for me...don't worry about payment,” She joked, “I'll have my allowance by the end of the month...”

I laughed, “I can't wait until I'm outta school and then outta college. Fashion school here I come!”

“Look out. Emma's here to stay,” She chimed in. But she stopped momentarily when she noticed someone familiar, “Isn't that Tobey?”

I squinted my eyes because of the distance, “Yeah...yeah I think it is...but who's he with?”

“No that can't be.” Anne's tone was starting to make me scared, “No, no, please, it can't be! How could he?”

“You know who's that?” Walkingcloser towards the large entrance of the huge library that closes pretty late into the next day wasn't helping the blurry vision I had.

“Laura Jenkins. That's Laura Jenkins.” Anne seemed excited to have figured out the answer to the question, “Why's she here?”

Good question. Why was she here?

“Can they see us from here?” I asked, “Wanna call them?”

“No, we'd only be annoying...look at them.”

I did look. Smiling, giggling and the awkward air of the right words to say; it was absolutely revolting, like a predictable movie. And it was just like a movie, except that the victim was our best friend. And the predator...well, we don't really know her well enough. But besides the obvious, he was carrying the things needed for the project (which I had conveniently called him earlier to make him bring everything or he fails History...how clever am I?), and they were so focused on each other, they didn't even notice probably the two most outstanding people walking towards the steps. I say we were outstanding not because they was nobody around. In fact there was a lot, but they were all lazing around with their books in hand, studying away, and Anne and I seemed like the only 2 people who seemed to be walking.

We were in plain view but we weren't noticed. And yeah, we sure did take advantage of that. Prying around together like a spy. We watched and heard the conversation; violation of private conversation but we didn't care either. Tonight we were like James Bond, or rather, Jessie and Jamie Bond. She was Jessie and I was Jamie.

Slowly we crept up to the unassuming couple; too absorbed in the own little heads about the other that they hardly noticed us.

“So...” Anne was immediately behind them, “What are you guys up to?”

“Anne!” Tobey jumped far away, “What are you doing here?”

“You don't have to be so scared, Tobey, I'm not going to eat you,” She narrowed her eyes; proving a lie was present, “I just want to say hi to Laura.” Turning to Laura in the biggest smile, “Hi Laura.”

“Hi Laura.” I chimed in at perfect timing; both of us faking smiles and expression.

“What are you guys doing here?” Tobey wanted to scream but the others at the library was already giving looks.

“Oh I don't know, Tobey...” I wanted to strangle him for bringing a date to help out in our History project; besides, I didn't know her well enough, “Something to do with a History project maybe?”

Tobey scratched his head, “Um...yeah, of course I remember. But I mean, why is Anne here?”

Tobey could hardly finish 'here' when Anne poked in, “I'm here to help in case you didn't show up. But since everybody's here...we may as well start now.”

“Fine.” Tobey resigned and walked with Anne side by side, leaving me in same course with Laura.

“I didn't know you and Anne knew Tobey.” she started.

“We sit together at lunch everyday.” Everybody already knew that.

“He's sweet.” She remarked.

“Oh.” What else could I say? It's enough I'm already shocked she could hardly notice Tobey, Anne and I having been friends since middle school started.

“What's he like in your point of view though?” We finally entered a good quiet spot to carry out the project with disturbing the other people in the library.

“Huh?”

“I mean what's he like with you guys?” Laura pulled me back from going further to join the other 2, “Emma, I've dated so many guys before and I'm hoping he isn't a jerk like the rest of them. I've seem him around before, never really could see him as my type until 1 of my girlfriends were talking about him.”

“No...no of course not...Tobey isn't like that at all.” My eyebrows furrowed at her indirect accusation. But she still seemed unconvinced, “Look, Tobey is a great guy. You won't find another like him,” I couldn't believe I was actually starting to give some advice.

Laura looked genuine, “Thanks...”

“No problem.” I shrugged and wished immediately to get out within her reach of lovey dovey sappiness.

“Alright. I have the poster card and the laptop,” Tobey announced later when everyone was seated around the large table, “We can offically start the project.”

“Great.” I jumped up; I was happy to quickly get it over and done with, “I have just the layout I was thinking of earlier.”

Finally went the draft was done in about 15 minutes later; including designs for computer slides and the huge posters, we got to dividing the task since we had extra helping hands.

“Alright, I'll start drawing now.” I informed the group as Anne and Laura as they set out to find more books for research.

“And I'll start on the computer slides.” Tobey said happily as he turned on the computer and immediately connected it to the internet for extended research, “See? You could trust me after all. Tobey once again, saves the day. You can trust Tobey because Tobey...”

“Tobey,” I interrupted, realizing something was missing, “Where are the crayons and the magic markers?”

To read more of this : A Little Something To Read