Page 17 of Pages of Amber

Mrs. Wilson tried to hide her smile at the exchange.“In any case, Noah has been trying to work on that. With the possibility that he could lose his position, he’s agreed to source for help. You, Miss Coleman. He needs your help.”

Her laughter got sucked right out, heading fast down the drain. She choked,“Wait. What?”Noah’s smug expression was back. A devious grin spread across his face as his eyes drank in her shock. How wasn’t he having the same reaction she was, and why?

“Hold on. You’ve highlighted some major issues, Mrs. Wilson but Noah and I working together?”

Noah rolled his eyes.“You’re blowing this out of proportion, Amber. Besides, you’re the one who would make it impossible to work together anyways. You’re stubborn, you want to please everyone and you’re always listening to the opinion of others above yours.”

Her anger flared, despite how true his list was.“At least I listen. You think a lack of people skills is your only problem? You couldn’t hold a conversation with a wall if your life depended on it.”

“Because I don’t have the overwhelming urge to befriend everything and everyone around me. I’m only saying not everything needs your help before it’s fixed.”

“Excuse you, Noah. You’re probably jealous that people actually ask my help to fix things even though that’s basically your job description. You know why? Because I have a friendly persona and don’t resort to scowling all the time like it’s stamped on my face!”

“Friendly persona? No one is that happy and bubbly all the time. Not even you. We both know how sharp and callous you are. Maybe it’s time you showed your real colors to your adoring fans too.”

“You are such a little pri–”

“That’s enough!”

They both startled, their gazes turning to their teacher. She threw one last death glare but jerked back when she saw how close she and Noah were. They had both leaned so far into the aisle that they were up in each other’s faces. Clearing his throat, Noah moved away. He shifted in his seat, his hands pulling at the knot of his tie. Amber pushed out a breath, her legs crossing at the knee.

“Listen up, both of you.”Mrs. Wilson massaged her temples. Clearly saying she’d had it with them.“Neither of you really has a choice here. Mr. Rhodes, you’re one of my best students. I’m asking you to help Miss Coleman with her paper so she can be done with it in record time. Miss Coleman, you are well-known and adored amongst the student population. I need you to use those exceptional skills to elevate the student’s impressions of Mr. Rhodes as someone they can approach with their issues.”

She looked between them, finality in her tone.“Without this deal, you could fail this class and you’ll be removed from your position. In other words, you have no options here. I’ve done my part and it’s time you do yours. What you decide next is up to you.”

CHAPTER SIX

“THAT’S IT FOR TODAY, guys. Don’t forget to focus on the Rights. Questions will be asked in the next class.”

Amber grumbled under her breath as she stood, pushing her chair across the floor with a squeak that got lost in the commotion of others packing up to leave the classroom. Her head throbbed as she headed towards the door, reminding her that she had barely touched her meal at lunch before the horrible conversation with her best friends, followed by the even more horrible proposition by Mrs. Wilson.

Although their teacher had allowed them to think over their decisions for the rest of the day, Amber hadn’t even begun to wrap her head around it all. There was the fact that she desperately wanted to tell Beverly and Lexi, but neither of them were exactly happy with her. A pit formed in her stomach at telling her mom about this. Amber could predict her reaction wouldn’t be a pleasant one. The only person she could talk to about this was the one person she was stuck in this with. As though she had summoned him, Noah stepped out of a classroom down the hall.

His head was down as he dropped a textbook into his bag and zipped it up. A guy followed him out of the class, saying something that made Noah smile, the smallest tip of his lips that she knew happened when he was amused but trying not to be.

Someone bumping into her back distracted Amber from further stalking their student body President. The girl, Amber realized sat beside her in class, mumbled an apology immediately.

“Are you okay, Lonnie?”Amber asked.“You look tired.”

She shook her head, a frown on her face.“It was a long class, that’s all. I might be regretting choosing Government and Politics for AP.”

Amber nodded.“I don’t know what made me choose this class, either. I thought it would be interesting and now I get to hear Mr. Turner talk about the First Amendments for a whole hour.”

“It doesn’t help that he makes the class boring. He keeps talking about witnessing the breakthrough of the anti-discrimination laws as a little boy when we all know he wasn’t even born at the time,”Lonnie whispered conspiratorially.

Amber laughed, her spirits raised for the first time that day. Mr. Turner was the oldest teacher at Redmington. Because he taught History and Government, he liked to talk about his first-hand experiences with life-changing events in the US, even when some of them had occurred more than hundred years ago. He might be a liar, but Amber appreciated it as eccentricity.

“How are you catching up?”Lonnie asked.“We started a new topic while you were away, right?”

Amber sighed, reminded of her predicament.“Yeah, it seems every class started a new topic while I was gone. It’s been a bit tough juggling it, but I’m hanging in there.”

Lonnie’s smile was sympathetic.“Good luck, Amber. You need any help, you can ask me.”She paused.“Well, maybe not in this class. And a few others.”

Amber snickered at Lonnie’s jibe at herself.“Thanks, but I–”

“She should know when to accept help more often,”Noah interrupted. Amber startled at seeing him appear by her elbow, his satchel slung across his chest, hands in his pockets. He leveled her with a mirthful stare.“What do you say, m’lady? Ready to work together yet?”

Amber glowered at him. Why was he talking about this when they had an audience? The audience who now had a wide eyed look as she stared between them. Lonnie shook her head slightly, looking an inch away from pinching her skin to test if she was seeing things. It wasn’t often that Noah talked to anyone outside his friend group, which was a horrible thing for a student President. No wonder he was on the verge of losing his position.

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