The Secret I Tried to Keep

Chapter 2

(Cassie in media.)

The plan was simple.

Cassie, with her thin Asian features, was the best suited for the role. She would go to be approved by my parents. They were the type to judge a book by its cover, so feeling that Cassie's parents had the same expectations of her would already put her in a good standing with my parents. Then, we would go to Aria's house to get ready. The tricky part would be convincing my parents that I had to spend the night.

I was in my room, thinking over my plan before I took a deep breath. I could do this. I went to my parents' room. I knocked lightly and waited.

"Come in," my mother's voice came. I pushed the door open and gave the best worried look I could muster.

"Mama, Papa, I have a partnered science project that has to get done. My partner and I chose to do it over the moon and its gradual changes overnight. We have a few months to complete it, but it's something we have to pull an all-nighter for. And this weekend would be the best weekend to start since it's not a school night," I explained in a rush. My parents looked at each other before they looked at me.

"Is your partner a boy?" My mother said like it was a bad word. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"No Mama. Cassie is a girl. She is taking all AP classes and has a 4.2 GPA," I said. I knew it would be exactly what my mother wanted to hear. My parents debated quietly.

"We will meet this Cassie, speak with her parents, and then we will see," my mother said. I nodded. We expected this and already had a plan. My parents and I moved to the living room to wait. Dali moved to the kitchen to study while I picked up a book. We had a TV but barely utilized it because my mother was certain that it would kill our precious brain cells. A few moments passed before the doorbell rang; right on time.

My mother opened the door and invited Cassie inside. I was almost shocked at how convincing it was. Aria did a great job. Cassie was dressed in a simple white button up shirt with a cardigan over it. A pleated black skirt that passed her knees, and chunky black flats. She even wore the floral white socks with the ruffles. Her hair was pulled into a bun and chunky glasses sat on the bridge of her nose. Cassie offered a generous bow to each of my parents.

"Mr. and Mrs. Shandi, it is a pleasure to be invited I to your lovely home. Thank you," Cassie said in a gentle voice. I could see the beginning signs of approval from my mother. My father seemed indifferent.

"You are Cassie, yes?" My mother asked.

"Sit down, child," my father said cutting off whatever Cassie was about to say. Cassie obeyed and I sat beside her.

"It's Cassidy, mam," she corrected.

"Tell me about this project," my mother said. Cassie and I got our stories perfect before the end of school and she was prepared. Cassie went into detail about how things can change in subtle ways without us realizing and it could be possible for the moon as well. Cassie used big words and astrology jokes and after twenty minutes, my parents looked pleased. That left one last obstacle.

"Of course, I will have to talk to your parents if my daughter is to be spending the night," my mom said. Cassie smiled easily.

"Of course Mrs. Shandi. I would have been worried had you not asked," Cassie said before she pulled out her phone and dialed 'home'. We actually changed the caller ID, so 'home' was actually Aria.

"Hello? Mother, it's me. Remember I was telling you about my project partner, Chandria? Her mother would like to speak with you... Yes mam, here they are," Cassie said before she handed the phone to my mother.

"Behti speaking," my mother said. She talked with Aria pretending to be Cassie's mom for what felt like hours, but it was actually only ten minutes or so. Finally, my mother was relaxed and laughing. They talked a little longer before my mom hung up and handed the phone back to Cassie.

"You will be back by the end of the weekend," my mother said to me. I tried not to act as shocked as I felt. I can't believe Aria convinced her to let me stay the whole weekend. This day would go down in our family's history book.

"Yes mamma," I agreed before I turned to Cassie. "I'll go pack a bag," I explained. I darted upstairs with a huge smile on my face. My one night of freedom just turned into a whole weekend. I rushed around my room, trying to pack as quickly as possible.

"Someone is up to no good," Daari said with a smirk from my door. I smiled at her before I shrugged. Daari was the one sibling I could trust with anything besides my older sister, Fehtra.

"It's a party," I whispered. "I'll let you know how it goes if I get away with it," I added with a smirk. Daari chuckled. She felt the same as me when it came to our academically obsessed mother. Daari wanted to play sports, but couldn't because it would "interfere with our academics", according to our mother. Dari even got the short end of the stick and had to go to an all-girls school.

"Have fun for the both of us, okay?" Daari hugged me. I thanked her before I went back downstairs. Cassie was laughing with my parents.

"Have you heard from any colleges, Cassidy?" My mother asked.

"Princeton and MIT, but I'm really waiting to hear from Yale," Cassie answered easily. Well, the first part of that was actually true. Cassie was accepted into Princeton and MIT but she was waiting to hear from Juilliard. She was a phenomenal and nationally ranked dancer and musician. We all planned on going to either New York or California together.

"Wow, impressive. Chandria is still waiting to hear from Harvard. That's where her sister went. Well you girls study hard tonight. Be good," my mother said as we all stood. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I actually already got my acceptance letter; I was just hiding it from my mother.

"Don't work too hard, honey," my father called after us as we made our way to Cassie's car. I offered a smile and a wave before Cassie drive away slowly. I didn't breath until we rounded the corner.

"Wow," Cassie said, keeping her eyes on the road.

"Yup," I agreed.