Best Kept Secret Read Free Page A

Taylor say anything about Forrest moving? Maybe he broke up with Taylor because he was leaving town, and she didn’t even know!
    But the answers to all those questions would have to come later. I first had to figure out how to gracefully exit my bathroom stall. Should I have bolted out and washed my hands like I hadn’t heard a thing? I had been so very quiet: I didn’t even tear a square of toilet paper while I eavesdropped. I would have startled them if I had just darted out. I probably should have cleared my throat when I was in the middle of listening in, so they’d have known they weren’t alone.
    Instead, I stood there, pants zipped, wishing I could wait in the stall until they left. But time was too tight and I had to get to gym class. I fake-coughed, flushed, and tried not to make any eye contact as I washed and dried my hands. Taylor and Tia said nothing to me or each other. As I placed two hands on the exit door, my grin was a mile wide.
    At study hall, I followed my usual routine, sneaking behind the cafeteria to the dank staircase that leads to the new Pink Locker “office.” But it was hard to stay focused. Our underground location didn’t help. I wished I could open my locker, open the funny alphabet combination lock, and return to our fancy offices behind the pink locker door. The bomb shelter basement was a major step down. Actually, it was thirteen dusty, creepy steps down.
    When I arrived for today’s meeting, Piper and Kate were already there. They were sitting around the makeshift desk we made out of massive packages of paper towels. The lighting was low budget—single lightbulbs with hanging pull strings. I was going to tell them about Forrest, but it was clear they already knew. Kate bounded up to me. “Did you hear? Did you hear?”
    â€œHear what?” I said, playing dumb.
    â€œAbout Forrest? He’s a free man. He dumped Taylor.”
    â€œYes, I guess I did hear something about it,” I said. And then I couldn’t take it anymore and I grabbed both of Kate’s hands and started jumping up and down with excitement, like I had just won a game-show grand prize.
    â€œShh! We should get to work,” Piper interrupted. “You won’t believe how many questions came in overnight.”
    Get to work? Piper?
    Piper almost never wanted to work. She was queen of goofing off. But there she was, laptop open and humming, waiting for us like a teacher annoyed at her chitchatting class.
    â€œFirst question: ‘I am gaining weight, my boobs are growing, and my clothes don’t fit. I know everyone says this is normal. Some of my friends say they’re jealous, but I don’t like my new, bigger body. What do I do?’ ” Piper said.
    â€œI’ll take that one,” I said, even though it would be hard for me to identify with this fast-blooming girl. I am the slowest-blooming girl I know.
    â€œHey, did we get any more of those weird e-mails?” Kate asked.
    â€œDefine weird,” Piper said.
    I knew what Kate meant. After our first week running the new adult-free PLS, we had received a couple messages that said stuff like “Shut down the PLS, girls! It’s for your own good!”
    â€œYeah, there was one, but I think someone’s just having fun with us,” Piper said. “They’re always signed ‘A Pink Friend.’ It’s probably Taylor Mayweather again.”
    That was so typical of Piper. Worrying was not her thing. But I, for one, was worried. And much as I didn’t like Taylor, I doubted it was her. She wouldn’t call us “girls” and she was far too dramatic to send in an anonymous message only three people would read. If Taylor was going to be mean, she wanted to be seen. I wondered if it was Edith, trying to get a message to us.
    â€œSecond question,” said Piper. “ ‘My mom won’t let me shave my legs. What do I do?’ Third