A Secret With A Deadline
1030 Words
Kemi stared at her for a second longer. “Westbridge?” she repeated. “As in Westbridge University?”
Ariana nodded, still holding her phone too tightly.
“Oh my God,” Kemi breathed. “Ariana, that’s huge.”
The street carried on around them without pause—cars rolling past, conversations blending into the evening air, people brushing by on the sidewalk—but Ariana barely noticed any of it now. Her attention stayed fixed on the screen in her hand, the single word settling deeper in her chest every time she looked at it.
You actually applied there?” Kemi asked.
Ariana gave a small shrug. “A while ago.”
“And didn’t tell anybody?”
“I didn’t think I’d get in.”
“That’s a lie.”
Ariana looked away with the smallest smile because maybe it was.
Kemi looked ready to say something else when a car horn sounded nearby. A dark blue sedan pulled up beside the curb, music playing quietly through the open window.
“Are you two planning on blocking the sidewalk all day?”
Ariana looked up automatically, and some of the tension left her face. “Hey.”
Jordan leaned slightly across the seat, one hand resting on the steering wheel. “Are you getting in?”
Kemi grinned immediately. “Perfect timing, actually, because Ariana just—”
“She was just leaving,” Ariana cut in quickly.
Kemi paused for only a second, but it was enough to notice.
Jordan glanced between them briefly. “Did I interrupt something?”
“No,” Ariana answered too fast.
Kemi’s brows lifted slightly, though she covered it with a shrug. “Nothing important.”
Ariana shot her a warning look. Kemi ignored it completely.
Jordan pushed the passenger door open from inside. “Come on.”
Ariana adjusted the strap of her bag and slid into the seat before Kemi could change her mind and continue talking. The car smelled faintly like coffee and his cologne—familiar enough to make her relax despite herself.
As Jordan pulled away from the curb, he glanced at her briefly. “So what were you two talking about?”
“Just graduation stuff.”
“Mm.” He tapped the steering wheel lightly. “You look stressed for somebody discussing graduation.”
“I’m tired.”
“That’s becoming your favorite answer.”
A small smile touched her lips before fading again. Outside, the streets looked the same as they always had—small businesses, old buildings, people heading home before dark. Ariana had spent her whole life here, but lately everything felt strangely smaller than before.
“Working tomorrow?” Jordan asked.
“Yeah. Morning shift.”
“That place would collapse without you.”
Ariana laughed quietly. “My mother would disagree.”
“It’d survive maybe two days.”
“That long?”
Jordan smirked, but his expression softened when he looked at her again. “Are you okay?”
Ariana leaned her head lightly against the seat. “Yeah, I'm okay. Why are you asking?”
“Because you disappear into your head every five minutes.”
She looked out the window and the silence stretched naturally between them. Jordan slowed at a red light and spoke again.
Jordan glanced at her briefly.“Did something happen?” Ariana’s fingers brushed against her phone inside her bag.
Just tell him.
The thought came quickly, then disappeared. “I’ve just been thinking a lot,” she finally admitted.
“About what?”
The light turned green again, and Ariana watched Jordan start the car.
“The future.”
Jordan laughed softly as he turned onto the next street. “That sounds serious.”
“You know Tyler already committed to LSU?” Jordan said, tapping lightly against the steering wheel. “Apparently he’s been posting about it all day like he just got drafted into the NBA.”
Ariana smiled faintly. “That sounds like Tyler.”
“And Mia’s going to Houston.” He glanced at her briefly. “Feels weird everybody’s actually leaving now,” Ariana added
“Not everybody.”
Jordan shrugged. “Most people are still staying close though. Smaller schools. Community colleges. Stuff around Louisiana.”
Ariana nodded absentmindedly, tracing her thumb along the edge of her bag.
“What about you?” he asked. “Did you end up applying anywhere else besides Northridge?”
The question settled between them for a second too long.“ A few places,” Ariana answered carefully.
Jordan looked at her briefly, like he noticed the hesitation but couldn’t place why. “Any good ones?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Before she could say something else, her phone buzzed inside her bag. She pulled it out absentmindedly, but the second she saw the sender, her expression changed.
Westbridge University.
Another email.
Her stomach tightened as she opened it. Jordan noticed immediately. “What?”
Ariana kept reading, her eyes moving more slowly with every line. The blood slowly drained from her face.
Before Jordan could ask again, Ariana locked her phone quickly and slipped it back into her bag.
“Can you just take me home?” she asked, trying to keep her voice normal.
Jordan glanced at her briefly. “Home?” A small crease formed between his brows. “I thought we were going to Eli’s first.”
Their usual place.
The small diner near the lake where they ended up most evenings whenever neither of them wanted to go straight home yet.
“Not tonight,” Ariana said quietly.
Jordan slowed slightly at the next turn, studying her expression for a moment longer. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
He rested one hand loosely against the steering wheel, still watching her for a second before nodding. “Alright.”
Ariana looked back out the window, but her mind was no longer on the passing streets. She stared ahead through the windshield, already imagining her mother checking her email after closing the restaurant later that night. The university had sent a confirmation notice to the parent contact attached to her application.
- Writer
