Best Kept Secret by Debra Moffitt

was fine with him never seeing it. Then he would never be reminded of the PLS or check to see if we were still running the site.
    Meanwhile, Bet decided to give a few of us a private showing of part 2. She reserved a room at the local library for after school on Friday. This was right after MSTV aired her replacement show about the Catch-It-in-Your-Mouth Olympics. That report, too, might have landed her in Principal Finklestein’s office, but she had turned the whole messy affair into a public service report about choking. Who could argue with that? Quite accidentally, I was the star of this show.
    Bet dropped her camera only after I yelled for her to call 911. Then she started filming again once it was clear Piper was OK. So there’s plenty of footage of Piper just standing around looking dazed and exhausted. Later, she interviewed the school nurse who said it was “a tremendous blessing” that I knew the Heimlich Maneuver.
    Piper, as you might have guessed, told scads of people about what happened.
    â€œJemma gave me the John Jacob Jingleheimlich Schmidt Manuever!”
    Piper had always done this—mishmashed her words. But with this one, it became clear to me that she did this on purpose, to make light of what was actually a really scary situation.
    And although Piper had told the story many times, my hero status didn’t really gel until everyone saw Bet’s report. Everyone else seemed to watch it with the calm of knowing that the story had a happy ending. But I had to look away. Thank goodness, from where Bet had been shooting, the camera couldn’t see that terrified look on Piper’s face or hear her struggle to breathe. I will never forget it. Mr. Ford had me stand up after the closing credits of You Bet! People clapped.
    â€œI hope you’re around the next time I’m eating peanut brittle,” Mr. Ford said.
    Embarrassment was definitely my first reaction, but I also allowed myself to feel a little proud. Maybe I was a woman of action.

Twenty-five
    Later, I had a date at the library to watch Bet’s top-secret part 2 “The Past Is Pink” report. I had to admit I liked the intrigue of it. In addition to meeting at a secret location, Bet created some code words for the occasion. We were meeting to discuss “the diorama,” she said. And she gave us all code names, like the Secret Service gives the president and his family. I was “Lifesaver,” Piper was “Lemon Drop,” and Kate was “KitKat.” Bet called herself “Duck13.” And then there was “Bride2Be.”
    Bet invited Ms. Russo to join us at the library. I was glad she did, because I wanted to speak with her right away about that new threatening message. I launched into it as soon as Bet shut the meeting-room door.
    â€œBefore we get started, did you send us that message that said ‘I know who you all are. Stop now or you’ll be very sorry’? Please tell me that it was you pranking us or testing us or something.”
    â€œWhich one?” Ms. Russo asked.
    â€œIt was tray creepay, and you didn’t sign it ‘A Pink Friend,’ like usual,” Piper said.
    â€œI always signed them from ‘A Pink Friend.’ It’s a new message?” Ms. Russo asked.
    She knit her brow in confusion, so Piper called up the message in question and showed it to her.
    â€œThat one is not from me,” Ms. Russo said.
    Me, Piper, and Kate all exchanged looks and made a silent pact to take up this issue later. Bet hardly noticed, so intent was she to show her report and talk about being censored.
    â€œI feel like I should say something important about prior restraint and censorship, seeing how we’ve been forced to meet in a clandestine location,” Bet said.
    We brought our chairs into a half circle around the table, where the laptop was open and the video was in freeze-frame.
    â€œJust hit play, Duck13,” I said.
    â€œOh, all