Open Secret (eBook)

Chapter One

Kisairi

What am I doing here? I asked myself as Beatriz, her friends, and I waited in front of the high school. I had lost count of how many times I had asked myself that question in the past eight years since Beatriz convinced me to join her friends. I had a reason back then: we had a group project and I didn’t want to fail that class. But after that project ended, I had no reason to stay around such an unorthodox group as that one. So, what was I doing there?

I looked at Beatriz who looked at me with her peculiar golden-brown eyes and smiled at me before continuing her conversation with her friends, and I sighed. I knew I was lying to myself. I did have one reason to be here.

“I can’t believe the teacher gave us homework today. Why do they never respect Fridays?” Beatriz said.

“Girl, what are you complaining about? Kiki has been tutoring you for every single class since first grade. That’s the only reason you have good grades. Imagine how different our story would be if she had tutored all of us for the past eight years,” LaKisha said to her.

“So true, Kisha. Bea is so lucky to have Kiki as her personal teacher. I still have hope that she will say yes to help us too,” Dante said, and smiled at me.

I looked at him and was about to tell him that he could sit comfortably and wait for a “yes” that would never come when his cell phone rang.

“Saved from rejection by the ringtone,” Joshua said to Dante.

“You know it, dude. Mom and Dad are here. Let’s go, little sis,” Dante said to Nyssa who rolled her eyes. Nyssa never liked it when Dante reminded her that he was the oldest. I don’t blame her. He might have been born first, but Nyssa was definitely more mature than him.

“Yes, big brother, by two minutes,” she said and kissed Beatriz, Joshua, and LaKisha on the cheek. “Bye, Kiki,” she said to me with a smile. I waved my hand slightly.

“Kisha, if you like, we can give you a ride,” Dante offered to LaKisha. If he hadn’t, Beatriz probably would have. We all knew that, if LaKisha’s mom wasn’t waiting for her at the entrance when classes ended, that meant LaKisha would have to wait a while or take the school bus.

“I’d be stupid not to take that offer and wait here with these two opposite energies,” she pointed at Beatriz and me, “or all alone until Mom picks me up. Thanks, guys. Josh, your mom just got here, too,” she said and kissed Beatriz and Joshua each on the cheek. “Bye, Miss Seriousness,” she said to me and started walking away with Dante and Nyssa. Joshua kissed Beatriz on the cheek and waved me goodbye.

“You have the weirdest friends,” I said to Beatriz as soon as we were alone, and she laughed.

“You say it like you haven’t been part of this gang all these years.”

“I’m still surprised they haven’t kicked me out of the group yet. It’s not like I talk with them regularly.”

“Hey, you talk way more to them now than you used to when we were kids. If they didn’t kick you out back then when they spoke to you and you literally just ignored them, I really doubt they will do it now. And you know they won’t rest until you tutor them, especially now that we are starting high school. Besides, we are all so different that they have no excuse to do it. Tell me, where can you find an amazing group like ours? We have everything: you, the only white girl I know that, without having to dye it, has bright red hair, eyes of two different colors, and doesn’t smile at all in front of others; Kisha, a black girl with gorgeous curly hair and body and an amazing sense of fashion; Josh, a Dominican boy who is also emo and likes to spend more money than girls straightening his brown hair and buying eyeliner; Dan and Nyss, the twins of a Barbie-looking family who couldn’t be more different; and me, a Puerto Rican girl who can barely shut up, who loves to dance and enchant everyone with my beautiful golden-brown eyes and gorgeous caramel skin. We are the most perfect, imperfect friends anyone could find. That’s why we’re awesome.”

I stared at her for a moment. “What is it with everybody and nicknames? Saying someone’s proper name is not that hard. And Nyssa and Dante are physically different because they are fraternal twins, not identical. They are, after all, a girl and a boy. But they do share similarities, even when Nyssa is a bit chubby and has dark blonde hair and Dante has black hair and is skinny.”

“Oh, and don’t forget the eyes. Nyss has beautiful hazel eyes, while Dan has penetrating blue eyes that melt the girls when he looks at them,” she said and laughed when she saw me rolling my eyes. “I know they are fraternal twins, Little Monkey. You’re such a nerd. And I’ll answer the same thing I have always answered: nicknames are easier and sometimes unique. Or do you know any other person that calls you ‘Little Monkey’?”

“No, nobody thought I was a monkey when I was climbing trees in first grade.” Nobody cared enough to notice I was climbing a tree in the first place.

“Exactly. For me, you looked like a little redheaded monkey every time you climbed a tree at lunchtime. Shame on you for wasting a precious hour of eating, playing, and having fun to go climb a stupid tree.”

“Aunt Christina is here,” I said when I saw my aunt’s car approach.

Beatriz entwined her arm with mine, and we started to walk. “Ari is awake! I’m letting you ride shotgun. It’s so much easier to play with her if I’m in the backseat, too,” Beatriz said, but I knew that already. We might be fourteen years old, but whenever Beatriz was with her brother or my cousin, it was like she was seven years old again.

“Bendición, Auntie,” Beatriz said to Aunt Christina as soon as we got in the car and kissed her on the cheek. I shook my head a bit, still not used to hearing Beatriz call her like that, even after so many years. Why would you call someone “aunt” if they were not your family?

“Cousin!” Ariana yelled and got out of her carseat to hug me. I patted her back awkwardly. I have never had the heart to reject my cousin or Beatriz’s constant invasion of my personal space.

“God bless you, sweetheart,” Aunt Christina said to Beatriz after Ariana settled in the back again and then looked at me. “Looks like you’re stuck with me in the front seat.”

“No complaints; you’re good company,” I said, but unlike her, I didn’t smile even though I did mean what I said.

“Glad to hear that,” she said and started to drive. I was glad that, like Beatriz’s friends, Aunt Christina knew I didn’t smile at anyone and no longer took it personally.

I stared at her for a few more seconds. I knew she was a year older than my mother, but from photographs, you can see they might as well have been identical twins. So, occasionally, I tricked myself into believing that I was looking at my mother instead of my aunt. If only for a moment, I could imagine that I was looking at my mother’s pale skin and red hair, that, if I stretched out my hand, I could entwine her slim fingers with mine and feel her warmth, and that, when she looked at me, those soft royal-blue eyes held the love and tenderness I always felt when I was in her arms.

I felt a caress on my right arm, and I looked at Beatriz through the small mirror on the car visor. She smiled and squeezed my arm a little, letting me know I wasn’t alone, that she was right there with me. After a couple of seconds, she let go and went back to playing with Ariana while I continued to stare at her through the mirror.

I often wondered how Beatriz and I were still friends after all these years when we were, and still are, as different as the day is from the night. I wished I could understand why she had decided to become my friend in the first place. What had she seen that made her want to be close to me even when I didn’t even talk to her? Why hadn’t she left my side in all these years when I wasn’t even close to what her other friends were like? Would she someday get tired of me being so different and leave me?

I still remember the numbness, the voices of the people sounding so far away even when they were right beside me. Nothing made sense to me anymore after that dreadful night. And no matter how much my aunt or uncle tried, they couldn’t bring back the kid they once knew. Therapists, teachers, everybody gave up after trying for some time—but not Beatriz. What did she have that made her different from everyone else?

“We’re here!” Arianna said when we arrived at the house, bringing me back to the present moment. I couldn’t believe I was still asking myself those questions after all these years.

I was getting out of the car when I noticed that Beatriz had left her backpack in the back seat. I grabbed it and started walking toward my room.

“Why do you always have to notice when I leave the backpack in the car?” She asked when I entered the room.

“Because I know you like to do that to have an excuse not to do your homework, especially on Fridays. It’s a pretty lame excuse since the car is literally in the garage, and it doesn’t take more than five minutes to get it,” I answered and sat on the floor in the middle of the room.

I was waiting for her to finish her last question on the English class assignment so we could start our math. I always left that class for last since it was the class...