Secret's Out

Mimi pushed through the heavy door with her bag dragging behind her. Miss Patty waited in a plain office that smelled like old wood and lemon cleaner. The headmistress laid out the rules fast—wake-up bells, bed checks, no boys, no backtalk—then nodded toward a blond girl lingering in the doorway. Heather. New roommate. They unpacked side by side while the late light slid across the cinder-block walls. Heather fed her stories between hangers of uniforms: Florence ruled the halls like a junior queen, everyone handed her cigarettes or secrets just to stay safe. Maria followed Florence like a shadow and stayed quiet until she needed to be cruel. Past midnight, the dorm hallways sat under a thick hush. That was when Miss Patty slipped out of the main building and down the back path where the floodlights missed. Maria met her at the old gardener shed, jeans already half off, belt loose. Patty’s hand slid between the girl’s thighs, quick and sure, her other palm covering Maria’s mouth to keep the sound inside. Maria came once with her legs shaking and again when Patty pressed two slick fingers inside her, the wood floor creaking under their weight. They never noticed the small gap in the warped planks. Mimi pressed her eye to it, heart hammering, watching Miss Patty drop to her knees and pull Maria’s panties all the way to her ankles. The secret dripped wet into the dirt while the crickets kept their steady song outside.