MY LIPS ARE SEALED

Isabelle grabs my hands in hers. “Heidi, PLEASE,” she begs. “You can’t tell ANYBODY. Please, you have to PROMISE ME!”

My mind is a total mishmash of thoughts right now.

I’m reeling from the discovery that my new friend is a genuine, bona fide princess.

A royal A-lister!

I never dreamed I would have an actual princess for a friend.

I am equal parts excited, starstruck, and for the second time in an hour, blown away. At the same time, I need to support and comfort my friend, who is completely freaking out right now.

“I won’t tell a soul, Izzy. I promise!”

Then I ask myself, Can I really keep this promise? A secret this big?

Eek!

And why would she want to keep such a cool thing a secret? I’m sure if everyone knew about this, Isabelle would become the most popular girl at school overnight.

“But I don’t understand,” I say to her honestly. “Being a princess is so special! Why wouldn’t you want anyone to know?”

Isabelle’s lower lip starts to tremble like she’s about to cry. She’s in agony that I know her secret. She flops onto her bed, flat on her back.

“I absolutely can’t have anyone find out about this, Heidi!” She sits back up and begins to tell me about her royal heritage.

I listen with rapt attention, of course.

“Here’s the story, Heidi. I come from an ancient royal, magical family, but we’re no longer a ruling monarchy. The monarchy was done away with a long time ago because that kind of power wasn’t needed in the magical community. Instead of the magical world being ruled by one royal family, the Council of Magic was formed.

“My family will always be lifelong members of the council because of our heritage, but now there are other voices besides just ours.

“So, truth be told, I’m a princess in name only. It’s nothing but a formality nowadays—a nod to traditions of old. It’s not like I’ll rule anything in my lifetime—”

I butt in to try to help lighten Isabelle’s mood. “But you will rule in the fashion industry one day!”

She laughs a little, and I hear some relief in her voice.

I decide to go on. “Honestly, Isabelle, being a princess sounds so cool to me. It’s hard to understand why you’d want to keep it a secret.”

Isabelle lets her leg dangle over the side of the bed.

“I know it might be hard to understand, but think of your favorite person in the world, like, your very best friend. Now imagine if they only liked you because you’re a witch?”

My best friend, Lucy Lancaster, has no idea I’m a witch. She truly likes me for me.

I know this because one afternoon Lucy actually knew I was a witch. She even had my powers for a few hours! But then due to a magical occurence called “The Forgetting,” she didn’t remember that this happened, and everything went back to normal. Thank goodness.

But I must admit it would be a total bummer if somebody liked me just because I’m a witch. How could I trust someone like that?

I give Isabelle a smile because I totally get what she’s saying now.

“I guess it would stink if somebody only liked you because you’re a princess.…”

Isabelle grabs her soccer pillow and hugs it close. “Exactly! And the whole reason I chose to come to Broomsfield Academy without a title is so I could be a normal magical student.

“Trust me. If everyone knew I came from a royal family of witches and wizards, they’d want to know me for all the wrong reasons. They’d probably want special favors, too, like trying on my tiaras or wielding my scepter.”

We both giggle. I take off the tiara.

“Well, I’ve heard that fame can do weird things to people,” I admit. “You’d probably never know who you could trust.

“I always imagined that being royalty like a princess would make your life easier. I guess I never thought it could make your life so much more difficult!”

Isabelle sighs. “Yup.”

“Does the school know about your background?” I ask.

Isabelle nods. “Oh yeah. The administrators know everything about my family history, but they also respect my wish to keep my background quiet.”

I’m still bubbling over with questions. “Does Hunter know?”

Isabelle’s eyes grow wide again.

“No way, Heidi!

“I don’t want any of the students at Broomsfield Academy to know, especially Hunter. I want him to like me for me—not just because I’m a princess. If Hunter found out, that would be the worst!”

I carefully lay the tiara and scepter back in the velvet-lined case. “Well, if I were a princess, I’d have a really hard time keeping it a secret.

“I’d want everyone to know. I’d probably blab it all over the place.”

Isabelle shakes her head firmly. “Believe me, Heidi, you wouldn’t. So please will you promise, promise, PROMISE to keep my secret?!”

I cross my heart. “Don’t worry, Isabelle. My lips are sealed, and I promise, promise, PROMISE, your secret is safe with me.”

Isabelle flops back onto her bed in relief.

“Thanks, Heidi. You have no idea how much that means to me.”

Then Isabelle bounces back up and makes a dash for her box on the desk—the box I was supposed to get—and rummages through it. She pulls out a black fedora.

“Voila!” she cries. “This is the hat I was talking about.” She hands it to me.

I pop it onto my head, and it fits perfectly.

I walk over to her mirror and look at the hat from all sides. It certainly makes me look cool and mysterious.

Isabelle claps her hands. “I knew it would look amazing on you! It’s so striking with your red hair too! You must keep it!”

I tip the hat to one side. “Are you sure?”

Isabelle nods enthusiastically. “Absolutely!

“I never wear it, and it looks way better on you than it does on me.”

Isabelle grabs her soccer cleats. “Hey, I have to head to practice now.” She looks at me. “And, Heidi, thank you again for keeping my secret. You are a good friend.”

I grab my stuff, and we walk out together.

I still can’t believe Isabelle is a princess.

The only downside is, now I have to keep this humongous secret.

Help!

Sunny wanted the scoop on Isabelle, and wow, what a scoop this would be!

I promised Isabelle I would keep her secret, but this is too much of a secret for one girl to handle!

I’m positively bursting! What am I going to do now?

Two words: I’m doomed.