Page 20 of Pages of Amber

Twenty minutes later, an exasperated sigh cut through the air.

“Are you going to keep staring at your phone or listen? What’s on there that is taking all your attention?”

She clicked off the screen and set her phone to the side. Shehadbeen checking it a little too obsessively. Her fingers itched to pick it back up, even knowing she would find nothing.“That’s none of your business.”

“It is if you’re going to waste our time by getting distracted. This won’t work if you don’t listen. We’ve established this.”

“No problem there. I’m a great listener,”Amber argued.

“Okay, Miss‘great listener.’What was the last thing I said about Bastille?”

She floundered,“I-I… Look, your explanation was barely understandable. You were basically speaking another language.”

He tsked, “Excuses.”

“Whatever.”Amber tried another route.“We’ve got a head start on the assignment. It’s been a long day and I’m sure we’re both tired. Why don’t we continue this tomorrow?”

“Got somewhere to be?”Noah raised a brow.“Is that why you’re running out?”

As a matter of fact, she did. Like Amber had said, it had been a long day. With no one to talk to about the saga of it all, she itched to get her writing notebook out where she could put her thoughts to words instead.

“Or I could be tired of seeing your face this many times in one day,”she said instead.

A smile pulled at his lips again.“Not possible,”he answered with such certainty, Amber was almost impressed.“And you can keep lying to yourself, although I’d strongly advise against it,”he added, crossing his arms. His shirt pulled taut, probably wanting to get away from him too. Her mind formed the image of what that would look like before she could stop it. She blinked to dislodge the picture, hoping her cheeks weren’t tinged.

“Stop talking,”she blurted as she packed her things in a rush.

“As you wish, m’lady,”Noah answered, oblivious to the hard twist her thoughts had taken. The wry curve of his lips earned him a glare he expertly ignored.

“And stop calling me that,”she demanded.

Clutching her bag, Amber noticed that he hadn’t moved from his spot, not even to close the books on the table.“You’re not going home?”she couldn’t help asking.

Noah leaned back in his seat, head tilted as he looked up at her.“Not yet. I promised to help Mrs. Filch put the textbooks back in order after everyone leaves.”

“Oh. That’s …nice of you.”

His face lit up with amusement, his eyes bright.“A compliment? This little collaboration looks good on you.”

“Shut up,”Amber spat, but there was no heat behind the words. She stomped out as quietly as she could, trying not to disturb other students but at the same time, making her ire known.

Amber checked her phone again as she made her way to the front doors.Nothing.

She hadn’t seen Beverly or Lexi after lunch. They hadn’t had the same classes for the rest of the day and Amber worried the tension between them had risen with their last conversation. If this was giving them space, it really sucked.

Amber tried to imagine their reactions when she’d tell them she had been paired to work with Noah, the boy she called her nemesis and constantly argued with over the littlest things. Lexi would probably ask a dozen questions and badger Amber about how their little partnership would fail. She wouldn’t be wrong. They could barely tolerate each other. Beverly would make it into a whole thing, she’d laugh her head off then dive into imaginary scenarios featuring Noah and Amber, adding in romance and whatever. She’d had to stop her from going too far with it in the past.

Amber missed them. She had never argued with her best friends before. Sure, there were the occasional differences in opinion when it came to their fashion or music tastes or favorite celebrities, but those were never serious and they always respected each other’s opinions. None of those little incidents had gotten to a point where they froze each other out. She was at a complete loss at how to fix it.

With a heavy sigh, Amber pushed open the doors of the Academy. Despite the glare of the afternoon sun, a cold wind made its way through the courtyard, swaying the hem of her skirt and whipping through her hair. She counted down the days until February would be over, impatient for warmer weather.

A few feet from the fountain, Nigel leaned against the car. She had texted him after settling down in the library to let him know she would be out a little late. He straightened as she approached.

“Hello, Amber. Good day at school?”

She was distracted when she said,“I’ve had better, Nigel.”

“They’ve gone home.”Amber stopped her search. There was nothing to find anyway. The parking lot was empty, but she had held out hope.

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