In My Head

Secret ~ Jake

Kaden drops his bag next to mine on the bench. He rubs his head and lets out a sigh, puffing his cheeks up. He only does that when something's really bothering him. We're all nervous about the game, but there's got to be something else on his mind.

I glance around the locker room. Zack and Mike are kind of close to us, but it's loud enough in here that they won't be able to hear us talking if we keep our voices low.

"What's on your mind?" I ask without looking at him. I bend forward and unzip my bag, shuffle around for my jersey. I pull my shirt off and put my jersey on, then dig in my bag for my shorts.

"Last night." Kaden pulls his shirt off and stares forward. "It happened again."

"How bad?" I change into my shorts.

"Really bad." He stares over at me, but his eyes are looking inward.

Really bad means it wasn't just a space-out. "When were you going to tell me about this?"

He shrugs, puts his jersey on, and sighs.

"How bad is really bad?" I raise my eyebrows at him.

"It wasn't like it usually is . . ." His mouth opens and closes a couple times, like he can't think of the words to explain what happened. Finally he shakes his head and looks over at me. "I dunno, man."

"Was it a jerk or a space out?"

"No, you're not listening. It was different. Like . . ." He grabs his head with both hands. "Like I woke up, and I was somewhere else. It was fricking scary."

I do a double take. "Dude, you need to tell somebody."

"Like who?" he asks.

"I don't know, Coach Kingsly, your parents?"

"If I told them, they wouldn't let me play."

"Maybe you shouldn't play," I say. Kaden rolls his eyes at me. I lean in close to him and lower my voice. "This is serious, and you know it. I'm telling Kingsly." I turn around to go over to the coach's office.

Kaden grabs my arm and holds me still. "Fine, you can tell him, but wait until after the game."

I turn around and stare over his shoulder at the lockers. I'm sick of keeping all these secrets!

"Come on, Jake. It's the championship game. Besides, it's almost been a whole day already. What's wrong with waiting a couple more hours?" He pulls on my arm.

I glance over at him. One look is all it takes to punch a hole in my resolve. There's just something about his dark brown eyes and the way he's staring at me, that makes me forget what's right. "Yeah, okay."

Kaden smiles big at me. "Thanks, Jake." He lets me go and smacks my shoulder. "I'll tell them myself after the game."

I turn back to my bag, pull out my shoes, spin around, and take a seat on the bench. Whatever's happening to Kaden, it's definitely not normal, and it's definitely a big deal. At least after tonight it won't be a secret anymore.