ETERNAL SECRETS

Chapter 005

"How was school, Kookie?" She entered the house and was greeted with the same question she always heard coming out in her uncle's mouth.

"It was fine." Was all she that slipped from her mouth.

Quitely she set her bag on the floor and entered the kitchen to get a glass of water. Turning around she saw her uncle staring at her with an unreadable expression.

"What?"

"Something happened at school." He said , tapping his chin as he watched her reaction.

"Nothing happened." She replied with a blank face as she drank her water and washed the cup.

"Kookie, I know that look on your face better than I remember my home address. Now, care to share what happened? Did someone bother you?" He pestered her to answer.

She turned on her heel, hands on the kitchen counter staring at him with a poker face. A sigh escaped the girl's face as she pushed her braids to the side.

"No, no one bothered me, it's just. I met two girls today. They kept following me around during lunch and to my classes today and I've just met them. They probably already think of me as a friend but you know what I'm like uncle." She concluded, tapping her feet against the floor while she awaited his response.

"Seems to me these girls just want to be in your life. You've just met them right? Maybe they're just trying to befriend you. After all when was the last time I heard you say the word friend without it leading to"

"What are you doing here, dear brother?" Her mother's voice cut through the air like a knife, completely stopping him from speaking.

He straightened his posture on the sofa that he sat on, making eye contact with his smiling older sister.

"I just came to visit." He replied in a monotone voice as he watched his sister put down the bag on the kitchen counter completely ignoring her daughter and taking a seat across from him.

"Mommy!" Two little girls came running into the living room and into their mother's arms who happily squeezed them in her arms, planting little kisses all over their faces while they giggled.

"Hi Uncle!" One of the girls enthusiastically greeted him while the other followed.

He chuckled and greeted them back before looking into the kitchen where Kookie stood still, watching the interaction with an emotionless face.

"Aren't you going to greet your oldest daughter Miranda?" He gestured towards the kitchen causing her to become quiet for a moment before sending the two girls outside to play.

"You should get going before it gets late, Chris." She smiled at him who only nodded.

He walked towards the kitchen, pulled Kookie into a loving hug before leaving. Silence then filled the air like toxic fumes in a factory. Kookie picked up her bag and began to make her way towards her room when her mother's voice brought her to a stop.

"Aren't you going to greet your mother?" She gulped, turning around to see her mother still sitting on the sofa with her arms crossed over her chest, one leg over the other, and staring into her soul.

"Hello Mom." She greeted causing her mother to release a small smile.

"That's better, how was school?" She asked walking into the kitchen and grabbing a bottle of juice from the fridge while Kookie fiddled with her fingers.

"Maybe you should open up a bit."

The voice in her head said, so she decided to do that.

"It was okay, I actually met two girls today at lunch. They pulled me into their little circle during lunch and stuck around me when it was time to head to different classes too. I kind of enjoyed being around them, they're chaotic but funny! Their names are-" Her mother raised her hand in mid-air signaling her to stop, which she did.

"Kookie I appreciate you sharing how to greet your day was but I'm tired right now. Plus school isn't about making friends, it's about studying hard and earning a place in a future university and then a place in society. Friends will do nothing but drag you down. They're futile and time-consuming once you get attached. Do you understand what I'm trying to say here?" She asked leaning over the kitchen counter and getting a silent nod from her daughter.

"Great! You may leave now." She dismissed her.

"What did I expect.."

Kookie silently walked to her room, shutting her door with her back to it. Her eyes settled on a dark and messy room. Papers and books were scattered all over her desk with pens and pencils on them, her bed looked like she just woke up from sleeping on it.

Her tiny bin by her desk was overfilled with squashed up pages laying on the side of it. Suddenly she felt a slight breeze hit her. Her eyes scanned her room until they found a slightly opened window and she frowned.

"I don't remember remember leaving my window open." Dragging herself towards the window, she was about to shut it when she noticed a hooded figure jumping over the fence of her backyard.

The back of the person's hoodie had a heart-shaped key logo that was colored in silver and blue.

"That's a pretty logo.." she didn't bother herself with why the person was in her backyard or what they were doing.

"What the-" her eyes caught a heart drawn onto her math notes with three words written into them.

Life goes on

"Well that's not my handwriting." She mumbled, picking up the piece of paper and getting ready to crumble it in her hands until she froze.

Taking the paper she carefully folded it and kept it in the back of her math book.

"But whoever wrote it, sure was right."