Promise you won't tell.

[Jared Handley]

Philip Sully has a secret. Its weight slows his progress and makes his book bag float in comparison--third grade Science, Math, and Spelling books within--as he pulls the pavement with each labored step between his front door and his locker.

The principal is on the stoop when Philip summits the stairs, and while he knows Philip to be one of the Good Kids, his sensors catch something, but he'll let the boy pass on precedent.

The secret has swollen and tickles Philip's insides as though it's laughing from his chest down to his groin. After four toe-tapping minutes of eternity, Roger Clempton-Sullivan, Philip's front-desk neighbor in every class and thereby best friend, arrives.

As if fenced by rotten boards, the secret snaps through finally and fully, a stampeding herd no man could wrangle alone.

[Sandra Davies]

In my experience, saying you DON'T want to know has the secret-holder desperate to tell ... sooner or later you'll know who is the only person who doesn't know - and he'll be the one it's all about.

[Sissy Anderson]

Love the last line, very much.

[Gita]

Hey, you can tell FAMILY, right?

[Kristine_ES]

this one makes me afraid, in a stephen king kind of way, am i off base here?

[Heidi Romano]

Man, this is very evocative for me, probably because I work with kids, and know exactly what this would look like. I love clever, slice-of-life stuff!

[Ron. Lavalette]

I, too, have no desire to know; it's fun just to watch them squirm, resist bursting. Greatly enjoyed this, JC.

[Jared Handley]

You'll have to ask Roger, I'm afraid. I just saw a couple of kids whispering today and it made me reflect on how secretive we are as kids. And further how important those secrets are to us, while impossible for us to keep secret.

[Teresa]

Looks like you've promised not to tell... Cute anyway.

[jkdavies]

i don't want to know... I will feel compelled to spill it.. great writing about how you can't contain it, how they get a life of their own

[Jeanette Cheezum]

Okay, mums the word.