The Secrets We Keep

by Kimberly Blackadar

With my hand in a bag of chips and music pumping in the background, I was just relaxing in the dorm room after a long day of practice—a day of drills, drills, and more drills. My head, not my body, ached, and coaching ball proved harder than playing it. It was only Monday, and I had until Friday to put some skill into the campers.

  “Man, are those girls ever gonna’ get it?” Dee asked, her head hanging upside-down from the top bunk in our dorm. Dee Richards played for Central, our rival high school, and we enjoyed a summer off from being enemies.

  I shook my head, doubtful, trying to remember the nine-year-old version of myself. “I dunno. Were we ever that bad?”

  “Hell, no!” Dee grinned. “We were born to play!”

  Then a knock hit the door, and Dee and I shouted in unison, “Come in!”

  Katrina Hinson, a sophomore at Riverside, entered. “Uh, hey, Callie.”

  “What’s up?”

  “I need to talk to you.”

  “Then talk,” I returned. At camp, we had several girls from Riverside, and they packed their drama in their duffle bags and always came to me with their ridiculous problems.

  Her eyes drifted up to Dee. “In private?”

  “We got no secrets,” Dee scoffed. “Didn’t you read the sign on the door?” I joined Dee in laughter since this was our running joke. We always referred to the imaginary sign on the wall or door that would purport any rule we wanted followed.

  Katrina shook her head. “I, uh, didn’t see any sign.”

  At this, Dee guffawed and started kicking the bed in a laughter tantrum.

  Katrina stepped closer to my bunk. “My sister is good friends with Amber, you know?”

  “Yeah…so?” I hated Amber. She dated Mike—then dug her claws into my brother. What’s not to hate about a chick like that?

  “Well,” Katrina stalled, “my sister and Amber were at this party last night and Amber…”

  “Yeah?” I asked eagerly, figuring Katrina was about to unload some juicy gossip that would put an end to Amber’s relentless pursuit of my brother. He was off in Tennessee at the time, but that didn’t stop Amber from sexting him—and doing God-knows-what-else on the phone with him.

  “Amber hooked up with Mike.”

  The truth caught me off guard, and I froze.

  “They were out by the pool, Callie.” Hurt spiraled into the pit of my stomach. “And everyone saw them together.”

  Then my pride covered the hurt. “So?” I narrowed my eyes. “I was gonna’ break up with him anyway.”

  Katrina withdrew slowly. “Okay.” She reached for the doorknob. “I just wanted to let you know—before you heard it from someone else.”

  Dee climbed down the ladder, peered in at me, and asked, “You wanna’ be alone?”

  “Yeah.”

  Dee put a hand on top of mine. “If you need me, I’m here for you, girlfriend.”

  “I know, Dee.” I choked back the rising tears.

  Dee followed Katrina out of the room, and my tears waited until the door shut behind them.

  *****