Page 22 of Pages of Amber
“Guys.” She snorted. “I’m perfectly fine.”
“Not possible,”Casey argued.“You mentioned Noah’s name in a sentence. Willingly.”
“And without the usual venom or calling him by some other moniker, like‘the nemesis’or‘boy genius.’”
“You called him by his name,”Casey whisper-shouted, her tone heavy with emphasis and disbelief.
They were making a bigger deal out of this than she had anticipated. Okay, so she had never liked talking about Noah unless absolutely necessary, but that was because it seemed like anytime she called his name, he popped up, ready to annoy the daylights out of her. For the first time ever, she and Noah had had an actual conversation with no yelling and minimal denigration, which was already shocking bar the fact that they were trying out this‘working together’thing. Willow and Casey might explode if she told them that next.
She said instead,“Did the rest of my questions register at all or was it only that first bit?”At their glare, she grudgingly threw them a bone.“Fine, I said his name. It’s not the end of the world. I have this thing I agreed to. And I can’t do it without feedback. Should I repeat my questions?”
“No need. I’ve had a bit of time for it to sink in,”Willow answered first. Her gaze was inquisitive as she continued,“We’ve kind of been on a Noah-ban around you so I don’t know much about him. He had an older brother that went here though.”
“Yeah. Rowan, Ronan, something like that,”Casey added.“He was student body president in his 12th grade too. Charles said he was the best President we’ve had at Redmington. He played sports with the guys, helped with tutoring, was invited to all the parties and the teachers loved him.”
Amber nodded, soaking in the information. She hadn’t known Noah had a brother. Casey’s brother must have been in his class when they graduated four years ago.
“So Noah picked up the mantle?”
“Probably.”Casey shrugged.“The problem is he isn’t as well-rounded as his brother was. He’s the best student here but everyone knows how anti-social and reserved he is.”
“And grumpy,” Willow added.
“The only people he hangs around with are those twins. The hot, funny guy and his sister. Well, you too. Sometimes.”Casey sighed.“He’s more of a figurehead if you think about it since everyone approaches you with their questions and issues, even the freshmen. I don’t think he has much going for him as President.”
Amber felt a twinge in her chest for Noah, even as she tried to smother it. Was she the reason his tenure was so hard on him? Sure, Noah was more of an introvert and his sarcastic personality didn’t encourage people to stick around, but it seemed she wasn’t without fault either. Casey was right, she had stolen his job, made him seem incompetent for the position and had even rubbed it in his face that the students saw her as more approachable to address their matters to. The twinge in her chest deepened, but Amber had to stay positive. This teamwork scheme had barely begun and there were so many holes in their plan, she wasn’t sure where to start from.
But she could do this. She’d told Noah she wasn’t scared of the challenge. She needed to follow through with that. This plan was going to work. It had to.
“It’s not going to work.”
“What? Of course it will. Quit being so negative.”
“I’m simply pointing out the truth. Thisplanof yours has less than a ten percent shot at success.”
“Here we go again. Does boy genius Noah ever take a break?”
“You should consider dropping the sarcasm too, m’lady. It might run people off.”
“You little shi–”
“Noah! There you are.”
Their heads whipped in the direction of the call. It took a minute but Amber recognized the girl coming towards them. Evelyn Davenport looked surprised to see her beside Noah. It wasn’t a secret Amber and Noah liked to argue any chance they got but Evelyn must’ve been surprised seeing them talk to each other. She tilted her head, wisps of her brunette hair interlaced with green highlights flicking across her cheeks. They complimented the green of her uniform jacket beautifully.
“Hi, Amber. How are you? Your bow’s super cute.”
“Thank you. I love your highlights.”
“Thanks. I’ll be taking them down soon, though.”Evelyn shook her head.“This is a bit awkward. I don’t think we’ve spoken outside of practice. Thanks for helping me with thegrande jetélast week.”
Amber’s smile relaxed.“Anytime. I remember the first time I learnt that one. It took me weeks and I almost sprained my ankle. My mom was not happy.”
Evelyn giggled again, the sound more carefree this time.“Your mom’s a prima ballerina. You must’ve had so much fun learning from her.”
“Yeah…” Her smile felt brittle now.
“Do I need to be here for this conversation?”Noah interrupted, pulling his hands into his pockets.
