Secret Secrets

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

So Della had known Maxwell. Or at least known of him. But how had she ended up with a mysterious box which held his name? It clicked it shut and brought it back over to my bed with me, setting it on my nightstand. Beside the digital alarm clock that gave me the time of 12:45.

I  wished I had the power to make time fly. Make classes be over so I could see him-Maxwell. Ask him about the box, ask him more about Della. But sadly, all I could do at that moment was wait. So wait I did, but before I knew it, waiting had turned into a sound sleep.

"Venice!" It was Eliza's voice, the kind of sing-songy voice that made your head turn. She was waving at me wildly from across the playground. She had just gotten off her bus. My face felt happier. Morning recess was always a drag until Eliza got there.

As she drew closer to me, I noticed she was fidiling with something in her hands. Small silver chains of some sort. They were knotted together and gleamed in the morning sunlight. "What do you have there?" I asked her, adjusting the straps on my backpack.

Eliza looked up from her chained-mess. "A present for you!" She exclaimed.

My ears perked. "A present?"

Eliza tugged once more on the chains, finally freeing them. I could see now that they were necklaces. Each one had a ether side of a heart clipped onto their chains. One said "Best" and one said "Friends." Eliza handed me the one that read "Best".

"Why do I get the 'best' one?" I asked, opening the clasp so I could put it on.

"That's simple," Eliza smirked. "because you're the best!"

I draped the necklace round my neck, feeling flattered. As I struggled to hook the tiny clasp, I thanked her.

She waved her hand, as if to say "no thanks necessary" but instead she said: "Don't be so sappy."

The clasp clicked and the necklace hung perfectly around my neck. "Me? Sappy? You're the one calling me 'the best'!"

Eliza couldn't help but giggle. "That wasn't sappiness-that was the truth!" I smiled at her as the bell rang and we immediately hooked arms and walked into the school, drenched in friendship.

I opened my eyes. Great. I still had Eliza on the brain. My clock read 2:14-Gabriel and Maxwell would be there soon. I double checked to make sure the box there, which it was, and just as I grabbed it off my nightstand, I heard a knocking on the door. "It's open!" I called, and shoved the box under my blankets.

When the door opened, the first face I saw was Gabriel's. He was smiling at me, but he also had a look of concern. Maxwell followed close behind him. "How's my patient?" Gabriel teased, taking a seat on my bed near me.

"I'm alright," I said, re positioning myself. "how was school?"

Gabriel laughed, and kissed my forehead-just as Dax had. "Boring."

Maxwell coughed, as if to make himself known. I looked past Gabriel to Maxwell. "I'm not ignoring you," I told him with a smirk.

Maxwell chuckled-a deep, rich sound. "I want to talk to you too, beautiful."

I rolled my eyes. "About what?"

Maxwell took a few steps closer to me. "We're all just pretty shaken up about what happened last night."

I bit my tongue. "Yeah well I am too."

Maxwell stepped over to my nightstand and drummed his fingers on it. "I wonder how long Della knew you knew about her."

I shrugged. "I have no idea."

Gabriel began thinking too and moved his hand a bit closer to me, bumping where the box lay as he did. I cringed, and he shot me a confused look. "What are you hiding there?"

Sighing, I slid my hand under the blankets and slowly revealed the box. Maxwell recognized it right away. "Venice, where'd you find that?" His bright eyes became huge.

I air felt awkward. "I...found it on Della's desk."

Maxwell snatched it from my hand, but didn't appear mad. "That's odd."

Gabriel itched his forehead. "Why did Della have that, Maxwell?"

Maxwell's eyes danced back and forth between mine and Gabriel's. He leaned on the nightstand for extra support and began to fidget with the box's hinges. "I didn't just come here because my flight tickets got switched," Maxwell explained. "I came here for Della."