Secret, No More
I woke with a start as a ruler slapped my desk.
“Campbell McKarthy!” my teacher’s voice rang in my ears. My head snapped from my desk. All eyes were on my teacher and I. I groaned and put my head back on my desk.
“Campbell do you feel okay?” my teacher asked.
“Yes,” I mumbled.
“Okay then pay attention to the lesson,” my teacher ordered.
“Okay,” I mumbled.
“I wish that dream would come back. That dream was a weird one,” I thought to myself.
Soon the bell rang. Thank goodness, school was finally done for the summer! My best friend, Amanda, sat with me everyday on the bus. We talked about every subject there possibly was, except not today. Today’s bus ride was really quiet for both of us. Finally Amanda asked, “What was wrong with you today?”
“What do you mean?” I asked back.
“You fell asleep in class you never do that ,” she shouted kind of sassy.
“Yeah I had a weird dream,” I whispered.
“What was it?” questioned Amanda.
“It was about my mom. She was riding a horse, then she fell off it. Her scream scared me, but then I woke up,” I answered.
“But your dad told you she left you guys when you were only two,” Amanda reminded me.
I pulled my long blonde hair into a ponytail.
“Yeah I know, it was just a dream,” I exclaimed.
We sat in silence once again. When my stop came, I bounded off the bus and ran strait to the barn (my favorite place to be).
“Hey Jessie,” I said soothingly to my horse. Jessie trotted over to where I was. I stroked her smooth mane. Her coat was a brown gold color. I thought it was the best color ever! My dad said I was a horse because I am always in the barn. As I was talking to my horse, my dad called my name, “Campbell,”
“Yes,” I called back.
“Telephone,” he yelled.
I sprinted out of the barn and exploded through the back door. Dad handed me the phone.
“Hello,” I said out of breath.
“Hello,” said the voice at the other end.
“Who is this?” I asked.
“It’s Amanda silly,” Amanda giggled.
“Oh I didn’t recognize your voice,” I breathed.
“Hey, you know about your dream, well I was thinking that we could go to the library and see if it has any information about your dream, because maybe it was real,” she explained.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I shouted over the phone, “it was just a dream,”
“No, no, no you didn’t let me finish what I was going to say,” Amanda whined.
“What,” I grumped.
“Well my mom said that there was a horse accident eleven years ago, but then she walked out of the room and she had a weird look on her face,” Amanda whispered.
“Oh my gosh, and I am thirteen,” I breathed.
“Yeah I know, that’s why I called,” she explained.
“Ok, I’ll meet you at the library,” I yelled. I hung up before she could say anymore.
I pedaled as fast as my bike could go, until I ended up at the Council Grove library. Amanda was already there, sitting on the steps to the library.
“Hi, sorry I’m late,” I shouted as I climbed off my bike. We raced into the library and went strait to the computers.
“What year was it that your mom left you?” Amanda said out of breath.
“Um, 1994,” I thought out loud.
“1994 info,” Amanda exclaimed as she typed in 1994. As a huge list of information came up as I held my breath. Amanda scrolled down and at the bottom there was a link that said Horse Racers in 1994. Amanda clicked it and at the very top it read “EMILY McKARTHY’S DEATH” as the title. I gasped. So did Amanda.
“My mom….. she’s…. dead! Why would my dad lie about this?” I screamed.
The librarian put her fingers to her lips.
“Emily crashes into another horse and falls to the ground in the Council Grove horse race in 1994,” Amanda read out loud. I felt hot tears rolling down my face. Amanda looked up at me, she had tears in her eyes as well.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.
I turned and ran out of the building and left Amanda to read the rest of the article by herself. As I pedaled home I couldn’t help but think why my dad kept this secret from me for so long. Just then a waterfall full of tears exploded from the back of my eyelids.
I slammed my new orange bike on the ground and ran up to my room. I threw myself down on my big brown and pink bed and covered my head with my soft, fluffy pillow. I cried and cried and soon I found myself asleep. I dreamed of my mom. When I woke up my dad was standing in the doorway.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” he said soothingly.
“Go away,” I yelled, “I don’t want to see you!”
“Alright,” he said, “but you have to promise me you will tell me in the morning.”
“Morning,” I thought, “did I really sleep that long?”
“Fine,” I mumbled. I listened to his footsteps die away, then I hopped up from my bed and grabbed my cell phone to text Amanda. But Amanda had already beat me to it. There were seventeen texts from her. Most of them said, “I’m sorry,” or “R U ok?” But one that really caught my eye read….. “I was able to get my mom to say where your mom was buried.”
“Oh my gosh,” I whispered.
“Where is it?” I texted back. She responded right away.
“In the cornfield at the back of your house,” Amanda texted.
“Really?” I texted.
“Yeah,” she texted.
“Okay, I will go back there tonight but I want you to come with me,” I texted
“Alright,” she texted.
“Meet me at 10:30 tonight,” I texted.
“Okay,” she texted.
I fell asleep texting with Amanda but when I woke up it was 10:39. I hopped out of bed and opened the window. I gust of wind hit me in the face as the window creaked open. Amanda was at the bottom of the window looking up. I peered down, it was a long way down but I think I could make it. I jumped. When I hit the ground I felt a sharp pain in my right ankle.
“Ouch!” I screamed.
“Shhh, keep it down or else your dad will hear us!” Amanda whispered. As she said that, footsteps came around the corner of the house. It was my dad.
“Campbell, Amanda?” he asked.
“Yes,” we said in high voices.
“What are you two up to now,” he questioned.
“It’s a long story,” Amanda explained.
“Oh, I see well I would like to hear that long story inside,” he exclaimed.
I looked at Amanda for help to get up.
“Um, Mr. McKarhty,” Amanda shouted.
“Yes,” he questioned.
“Well Campbell jumped out of the window and hurt her ankle,” Amanda exclaimed. My dad walked over, picked me up, and carried me inside. It was nice and warm inside. My dad set me down on the couch.
“Okay, so now about that long story you promised me,” my dad said questioningly.
As Amanda talked, my dad iced my ankle, and I thought. Suddenly it hit me, the only reason my dad kept this a secret from me was so I was able to learn when I was given consequences I would just have to learn to over come them.
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