The Secret between us

Episode 1: The Notebook The rain had started before the final bell. Maya Carter stood beside the classroom window, watching drops of water race down the glass. Outside, the school courtyard had almost emptied. Students who had been laughing and shouting only minutes earlier were now rushing toward the gates, covering their heads with bags and jackets. Maya sighed. She had forgotten her umbrella. Again. “Perfect,” she muttered. She looked down at the worksheet on her desk. She had promised herself that she would finish her history assignment before leaving school, but the last twenty minutes had somehow disappeared. Everyone else had already gone. Even her best friend, Tessa, had left after reminding Maya three separate times that she wasn't going to wait for her. Maya packed her books slowly. There was no point rushing. She would probably get soaked anyway. As she reached for her final notebook, something fell from the bottom of her desk. Thud. Maya frowned. She crouched down and pulled out a small black notebook. It wasn't hers. The cover was old, scratched at the edges, and had a faded silver symbol pressed into it. There was no name written anywhere. Maya turned it over. Nothing. She opened the first page. Blank. The second page was blank too. She almost put it back. Then she noticed something written near the bottom of the third page. Don't trust anyone who finds this. Maya stared at it. “Okay...” She looked around the empty classroom. For some reason, the room suddenly felt different. She turned another page. There were handwritten entries. Some were only a few lines long. Others filled entire pages. The handwriting was neat but rushed, as though whoever had written them was afraid they might run out of time. Maya read the first entry. September 4 I don't know why I'm writing this. Maybe because saying it out loud would make everything worse. She turned the page. September 7 Someone followed me home today. I don't know who it was. Maya's eyebrows pulled together. This wasn't a normal diary. She kept reading. Then she saw a name. Daniel. Maya stopped. Daniel Reed. The new student. She had noticed him during morning assembly on his first day. Everyone had. Not because he had done anything special. He simply stood at the back of the crowd, quiet and expressionless, while the principal introduced him. Daniel hadn't smiled. He hadn't talked to anyone. And when the principal asked him to say a few words about himself, he'd only said: “My name is Daniel. That's all you need to know.” The entire assembly had laughed. Daniel hadn't. Maya had thought he was strange. Now she was staring at his name in an old notebook she had found beneath her desk. She flipped through the pages faster. Daniel's name appeared again. And again. And again. Then she found something that made her heart skip. September 19 Maya Carter doesn't know anything. She shouldn't. Maya froze. She read it again. Then a third time. Her name. Her full name. She slowly closed the notebook. For several seconds, she didn't move. The rain continued tapping against the windows. “How does he know my name?” A sound came from the hallway. Maya looked up. Footsteps. Someone was walking toward the classroom. She quickly shoved the notebook into her school bag. The door opened. Daniel stood there. His hair was damp from the rain, and he was holding a black jacket over one shoulder. He stopped when he saw Maya. Neither of them spoke. Daniel's eyes moved from her face to her bag. Then back to her face. “You found it.” Maya's stomach tightened. “You know this?” Daniel stepped into the classroom and closed the door behind him. “Where did you find it?” “Under my desk.” His expression changed. For the first time since Maya had met him, Daniel looked genuinely worried. “Give it to me.” Maya held onto her bag. “What is it?” “Nothing.” “Nothing doesn't usually have my name written inside it.” Daniel went completely still. Maya watched his face carefully. “You knew my name was in there.” He didn't answer. “Daniel.” “I said give it to me.” “No.” The word came out before Maya could think about it. Daniel stared at her. Maya wasn't sure why she'd refused. Maybe it was curiosity. Maybe it was the strange warning on the first page. Or maybe it was the fact that Daniel looked terrified. “You shouldn't have read it,” he said quietly. “I didn't know it was yours.” “You should have stopped when you saw my name.” “I saw my name.” Daniel looked away. Maya took a step toward him. “What is going on?” “Nothing you need to worry about.” “Then why does your notebook mention me?” Silence. The rain became louder. Daniel finally looked at her. “Because someone wants you to think it does.” Maya frowned. “What does that even mean?” Daniel walked toward the door. “Forget you found it.” He opened it. Maya followed him. “Wait.” He stopped. “Who wrote it?” Daniel didn't turn around. “I did.” Maya's eyes widened. “You wrote that stuff?” “Yes.” “Why?” Daniel hesitated. Then he said something that made Maya's curiosity turn into fear. “Because I knew you would find it.” He walked away. Maya remained in the doorway. She watched him disappear down the hallway. Then she looked down at her bag. The notebook suddenly felt much heavier than it had a few minutes ago. She returned to the classroom and pulled it out. There had to be an explanation. There had to be. Maya opened it again. She went back to the page containing her name. The handwriting was unmistakably Daniel's. Maya Carter doesn't know anything. She shouldn't. Underneath it was another sentence she hadn't noticed before. Her hands trembled slightly as she read it. But eventually, she will. Maya turned the page. There was a date. Tomorrow. And beneath it: She will ask me about the photograph. Maya stared at the words. “What photograph?” She flipped through the rest of the notebook. Nothing. She searched every page. Nothing. Then something slipped out from between the pages and landed on the floor. A photograph. Maya picked it up. It showed four people standing in front of the school. Two adults. Two children. She recognized one of the children immediately. Daniel. He looked younger, maybe eight or nine years old. But the other child was someone Maya had never seen before. She turned the photograph over. There were three words written on the back. Ask your mother. Maya's heart pounded. She looked at the classroom door. Nobody was there. She looked at the photograph again. Why would Daniel have a photograph involving her mother? And why had he written her name in his notebook before she had even met him? Maya shoved the photograph into her pocket. She closed the notebook. For the first time that afternoon, she forgot about the rain. She forgot about the assignment. She forgot about getting home. There was only one thing she could think about. Daniel Reed knew something about her. Something she didn't know herself. And somehow, that old notebook had been waiting for her to find it. END OF EPISODE 1