The School of Secrets

This world is full of secrets. Some people love them, and others don't. There is one specific place full of secrets, and that's an academy. 6-12 grade Williamsburg Academy for Young Boys and Girls, to be precise. It has so many secrets that it might as well be called Secrets Academy. Everywhere you look people are whispering, who likes who, what the lunch ladies put in the student's lunch today, and what secrets Jackie Ferrel is keeping. Jackie Ferrel is the quietest and smartest girl in the whole school. She's in tenth grade, and she has seemed to become quieter and smarter in the past few days. Her clothes used to be tattered and old, but she got new designer clothes which she managed to make ugly.  

"Jackie's doing something, I can tell," Jenifer Amor remarked to her best friend, Makenna Hall. 

Jenifer is the most popular girl in WAYBaG. She and Makenna love revealing secrets of other students and even teachers, even though they have deep, dark, secrets of their own. 

"I need to video this," Makenna said, taking out her yellow phone. "OMG, this is so weird."

"Why is Jackie chanting something and doing some weird hand motions in her locker. Wait. What's that smell?" Jessica asked. She sniffed the air, then she plugged her nose with her perfectly tanned fingers, showing off her long red acrylic nails. 

"OMG! I have the best idea ever!" Makenna squealed.

"What?" Jessica urged, impatiently. "Hurry up and spit it out, Makenna we have cheer."

"We should stay after school and sneak into Jackies locker to see what is going on. Then, we tell the whole school." 

"OMFG, yes! Okay, let's go to practice." 

Across the hallway, Emma Murphy saw Jackie doing what Jessica said. She knew Jackie well enough, she knew she was nice and got the best grades but they weren't best friends. Emma didn't know if Jackie even had a best friend. Emma wasn't popular, she had a few friends and nobody bullied her but she knew Jessica and Makenna didn't like her. 

"Hi, Emma!" Rose and Violet Kelley bounded up to her. There were a lot of things Emma liked about the twins, but she loved their amazing tan and Australian accents. 

"Hi Rose. Hi Violet. Did you see Jackie?" Emma took some books out of her locker. 

"Ugh, yeah," Rose flipped her long, straight jet black hair identical to Violet's. Violet just rolled her eyes. 

"She is so weird," Violet added. 

"I have an idea," Emma glanced over her shoulder at Jackie and fidgeted with her midlength blonde hair. "We need to find out what is in her locker and what she's doing." 

"Oh yeah! We should!" agreed Rose. She was the trouble maker of the three.

"How, though?" inquired Violet. 

"We stay after school and look in her locker and put a camera in it or something. I don't know." Emma shrugged.

"Let's do it tonight." Rose cried, and threw her hands in the air raising her cute rose crop top. Rose and Violet always wore the color of their names or black and white. Today Rose wore a rose-colored long sleeves crop top with skinny white ripped jeans and rose high top vans. Violet wore a violet tube top with a black mini skirt and purple vans. 

A few lockers away Oliver saw what Jackie was doing and decided to stay after school and see what was going on. Oliver Ellis was the most popular boy in the school and was dating Jenifer. Oliver had the deepest darkest secret of the school, for the students, at least. 

Liam overheard the girls and decided to tell Jackie. He was the nerd of the school. He had a huge crush on Jackie, so he followed her around like a lovesick puppy. He waited until Jackie was done with whatever she's doing and walked up to her. 

"Um, hi Jackie," he said nervously.

"Hey, Liam," she turned around and smiled.

"I hear some girls, Emma, and the twins, I think, saying that they're gonna stay after school and break into your locker and see what you're doing." He tried to look into her locker, but Jackie's pudgy body covered it up.

Jackie frowned. 

"Oh, ok. Thank ya. I'll stay after school and talk to them when they break into ma locker." she said in her southern accent.

"Can-can I g-go with you? Please?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Jackie replied, not paying attention. She hurried off to class.

That night eight students with secrets were all hiding in the school going to break into Jackie's locker. 

"Have all the teachers gone?" Jessica asked.

"I don't know," replied Makenna. They were hiding in the girl's locker room.

"Well go check!" Jessica demanded. 

"Fine, I'm coming." she trudged off to check. 

Right beside them, Oliver was in the boy's locker room.

Emma, Rose, and Violet were hiding in the cafeteria. 

"Can we go now?" Emma demanded. "I'm so bored!"

"I'm not," shot Violet stuffing herself with the school's supply of pop tarts and Sour Patch Kids. 

"Well I am," Rose shot back. "Let's go." 

Violet stuffed the rest of the food into her backpack.

"You know that's stealing private property, right?" Rose raised her eyebrow at Violet. 

"Well F them, I gonna take this." they left. 

When all the students rounded the corner they all saw each other and gasped. 

"What are you doing here!?" everyone asked. 

"I wanna know what's going on with Jackie," Rose replied.

"Hey, me, too!" Oliver said. 

"Us too," Jessica repeated. 

As the students got to work on the locker, Oliver took Rose aside. 

"Um, Rose. I need to confess something..... I like you. A lot." he said.

"What about Jessica?" Rose asked. 

"I'm going to break up with her, tonight," he said, finally.

Jessica came up to Oliver.

"Hey, hon." she didn't acknowledge Rose's presence at all.

"Um, Jessica...." he began.

"I want to break up with you." she finished. 

"Oh! Me, too!" he smiled at Rose.

"Really?" Jessica narrowed her eyes. "Oh." she walked away.

Oliver got a call as she walked away. He read the caller id and his blue eyes became worried. He answered.

"Whereareyou!!!!???" Oliver's dad said, he was drunk, again.

"I'm at a sleepover, dad. I already told you!" he looked at Rose.

"Youdidn'ttellme! Ifyoureallyaretellsomeonetotalktome!" Oliver's dad shrieked. Before Oliver could even worry, Rose spoke in a low voice.

"Hey Mr. Ellis. Oliver's okay. He's at my house. We need to go. Bye." Rose winked at Oliver. Oliver felt his knees go weak.

"Oliveryoudidnottellme! Don'thangupthephone! Wherearey-" Oliver hung up.

"Was he drunk?" Rose asked. 

"Yeah." And then Oliver's deepest, darkest secret came out. He would die if anyone knew. Literally. His dad had been selling illegal drugs and he would come very late. He would make Oliver take them claiming they were medicines but Oliver knew better. His dad was the one who killed his Ma. He was drunk and on drugs one night when Oliver's Ma fell asleep on the couch. His dad was very angry and choked her. Nobody knows other than Oliver and of course, his dad. He threatened to kill Oliver if he told anyone.

"You're obviously living in the wrong house," Rose hugged Oliver.

"Please don't tell anyone," Oliver said, "I would die if anyone knew." 

"Well, Violet and I have a secret, too." she took a deep breath and let it out.

"We used to be best friends with Jackie until she started doing whatever she's doing. Not even Emma knows." 

"Oh, that's not so bad." Oliver breathed. 

"Let's go back," Rose said, interlocking hands with Oliver. They heard a gasp from Jackie's locker so they ran over.

"There's a camera and a microphone and a police ID." Makenna gasped.

"What are you doing in my locker?" Jackie asked, suddenly behind her.

Makenna turned around and put her hands on her hips, not at all scared. She narrowed her eyes at Jackie.

"We wanted to know what you were doing." 

"Yeah," Emma said. "Why have you been suspicious lately?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Jessica remarked, crossing her arms. "You've been playing police. Awww, ain't that cute?" she laughed and Makenna joined her.

Jackie sighed. 

"No, I'm not playing police. I am an undercover police for the school and my name is Janet Cardielle. I'm trying to figure out who killed Leslie Murphy." 

There was a murmur between the students.

"Should we believe her?"

"I always wondered."

"I heard Leslie was in a car accident."

"I heard Leslie committed suicide."

"Leslie? Leslie Murphy?"

"As in Emma Murphy!?"

Everyone stared at Emma.

"What happened?" Violet asked gently.

Emma broke down crying.

"We-well. My sister was dating her 12th-grade professor a-and she got caught and, and, and, someone killed her because she did it and-"

Nobody could understand what she said next.

"I'm sorry," Jackie said, or now, Janet. 

No one noticed Liam was there until he spoke.

"There, there Emma." he slowly patted her head then turned to Janet.

"Um so did you lie about your age, too?" he asked.

"Yes I did. I'm not 16, I'm actually 21."

"Eww. I can't believe I liked you." he gags.

"You did?" Rose asked, surprised. 

"Yeah....oops." Liam just realized what he said. 

"Well, back to Leslie," Janet spoke slowly. "There are three suspects in this group."

"Who is it?" Jessica demanded, grinning.

"Dude, why are you smiling?" Oliver asked her, looking worried.

Janet answered Jessica. "The three suspects are Makenna, you, and... Liam." She looked at the group.

"WHAT!?" Makenna yelled.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS!?" Liam shrieked.

"Ha, your lying." Jessica smiled, the stopped. "Your kidding, right?" 

"No." Janet frowned. "And you are the most suspicious." 

"WHAT!? NO!?" Jessica crumples on the floor and starts screaming. "My daddy is the mayor of the town and has almost as much power as the president! You are accusing me of something I didn't do!!!" she started crying.

"Oh girlfriend, that is so fake." Makenna rolled her eyes. 

"I think we've had a tiring night," Janet said. "I will not be here tomorrow but I will be still keeping an eye on you."

The students filed out.

"That's so creepy that there's a killer between us," Emma said to Violet.

"I'm kind of scared," Rose told Oliver, gripping his hand tightly.

"This is not fair. I didn't do anything." Jessica fumed. 

Liam and Janet walked out silently.

Makenna was the last to come out, Makenna was also the killer.