That's a pretty dangerous age to hear about self harm, especially from someone who you admire (and I am guessing she looks up to and admires you, just because you are older.) Very rarely do I advocate not telling children about a topic, but self injury might just be an exception, especially she is going to see scars.
I understand that it is hot in the summer and everything, but it is possible to wear long sleeves, especially just for a short period of time. There are tons of light sweaters and cardigans out there. I have a few super light cotton (but not stretchy) shirts that are barely warmer than wearing short sleeves. If you are outside you can always say you are preventing sunburn, and if you are inside, well there tends to be a lot of air condition, at least where I live.
If you absolutely have wear short sleeves around her I would probably say something like "I was really sick last year, and I have scars from that." She might not press you for more details, but if she does maybe just say that you weren't thinking straight because you were sick, and you did some stupid things to hurt yourself. This isn't really how I view self injury at all, but I would go out of your way to keep it from appearing normal or okay to do.
I guess it depends on how severe you scars are too.
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