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said, getting up and going over to my secret box. I looked toward the door to make sure no one was coming in to catch mered-handed. Then I opened it and two new letters were sitting there patiently, waiting for me to take them out.
    â€œWhat’s the difficult one about?” Mr. Trigg said.
    â€œHonesty. A girl’s friend asked her for her opinion and she gave it, but then the friend told her she was wrong. She wondered why the friend asked for her advice in the first place,” I said, sitting down again and stuffing the new letters in my bag.
    â€œAh, the old ‘Tell me what you really think’ trick,” he said, leaning back in his chair and putting his hands behind his head. “So what’s hard for you about answering it?”
    â€œI realized that I have a hard time getting through the day being truly honest. I feel like I’m always hiding the truth to protect others’ feelings. Do people really want to hear the truth?”
    â€œDo you?” Mr. Trigg asked.
    I bit my lip and thought for a second.
    â€œYes,” I said. “I think I do.”
    â€œWell, maybe that’s why you’re a good writer.You’re not afraid of hearing the truth. You might be afraid of telling it, though.”
    After I left Mr. Trigg’s office, I couldn’t stop thinking about the conversation I had with him. If I wasn’t afraid of hearing the truth, why was it so hard to tell it sometimes?
    I stopped by Hailey’s practice, and she was just finishing up. I waved. She waved back.
    â€œWant to walk home together?” I called. She nodded and ran off to get her things.
    She joined me and we walked for a minute in silence. I could hear the wind blowing through the trees. The spring air smelled sweet and fresh, and put me in a better mood. “Do you always tell the truth?” I asked her after a while. She was fishing something out of her bag. She stopped and looked up, a pack of gum in her hand.
    â€œSure, I guess. Well, maybe not always .”
    She held the pack out toward me. I took a piece, unwrapped it, and put it in my mouth. It was one of those weird flavors that Hailey always buys, like kiwi-melon or something likethat. I preferred straight-up mint, but chewed it anyway.
    â€œWhat about you? And why in the world are you asking me this?” she said, chomping on her gum. She looked at me questioningly.
    â€œI don’t know. You just seem to say whatever’s on your mind so easily.”
    â€œI do?” Hailey stopped walking and looked at me. “That’s what I think about you.”
    My mouth hung open for a second. “Really? I feel like I think something, but then change it before it comes out of my mouth. Especially with Michael.”
    â€œBut we all do that with boys. I hope you don’t do that with me!” she said, and looked at me hard.
    â€œNo, of course not,” I said, and crossed my fingers behind my back. Innocent Girl Discovers She’s a Big Fat Liar.
    â€œPhew! Because what’s the point of having a best friend if you don’t tell each other what you really think? Want to come over? We could make a new list of ways to get Michael’s attention. I have some more ideas.”
    â€œSure,” I said. What was going on with me these days that I couldn’t even tell my bestie how I really felt?
    Hailey’s list was kind of the same as it was the first time. She did have one possible idea, though. She offered to fake being sick on the opening night of the play so I could call Michael at the last minute and ask to go with him. The only problem was that I could easily just go with another friend or my mother on opening night. He wouldn’t buy it. Hailey promised she would come up with a better plan. After that, I tried to change the subject to who she liked these days, but no one was catching her eye at the moment. Then I had to go home and finish boatloads of homework.
    That night I tried