Tarnished Gold (Landry 5)

"A little," I said. I could never even begin to tell them the true reason for my melancholy.

"Well, if you had a future waiting, you wouldn't be so jittery," Evelyn declared pedantically. "Now what are you going to do the day after tomorrow, sit on the side of the road at your stand and wait for some handsome prince to come riding along?"

Yvette laughed.

"Yes," I said, smiling. "That's exactly what I will do." "Well, you'll grow old waiting for a handsome prince in these parts," Yvette said.

The two of them looked at each other in a way that told me they had been talking about me at length.

"Don't you even think about being with a man?" Evelyn asked, flashing a sly glance at Yvette.

"Of course," I said, but with less enthusiasm than either of them would.

"You never talk about it when we talk about it," Yvette added. "We know you never been kissed," she said, shifting her gaze to Evelyn, who smiled. "Much less . . . touched." They giggled.

"You two don't know everything about me," I said, but in a sad, unfortunate tone of voice. It wiped the smiles off their faces for the moment. Yvette's eyes grew as small as dimes and glittered with suspicion.

"What have you been keeping secret?" Yvette said. "Someone visit you in the swamps?"

I reddened.

"Someone has!" Evelyn declared. "Look at her."

"No." Butterflies beat small wings of panic in my stomach.

"Who was it?"

"What did you do, Gabriel Landry?"

"We always tell you everything that we've done," Yvette said petulantly.

"Nothing.we've done nothing," I insisted.

They laughed.

"Liar."

"You better tell us, Gabriel Landry or . . ."

"Or we'll make something up and tell everyone tomorrow before graduation," Evelyn announced. Yvette nodded, happy for the plan. "We'll claim you told us in secret. Everyone will believe us because they know we're friends and we talk on the way home from school every day."

"That's right," Yvette said. "If we both swear to it, everyone will believe it."

"But there's nothing to tell. I . ."

"What?" Yvette demanded. She put her hands on her hips. Evelyn stared, anticipating. I took a deep breath. If they spread rumors about me tomorrow, they could ruin graduation for Mama.

"All right, I'll tell you, but you've got to swear to keep it secret."

"We'll swear," Yvette said.

"On Saint Medad. Swear."

They did and crossed their hearts.

"Well?" Evelyn said.

"Sometimes in the afternoon I pole my pirogue deep into the swamp to a small pond I've found. No one else ever goes there. I take off my clothes and go swimming."