Page 23 of Pages of Amber
Amber rolled her eyes at his bored expression.“This is when you’re supposed to be learning conversation cues, boy genius. Or this really isn’t going to work.”
“You’re trying to get him to hold a conversation? You do realize this is Noah Rhodes you’re talking about, right?”Evelyn looked between them.
Noah scowled at his friend.“I’m standing here, Eve. In case you forgot.”
“That’s exactly why I’m warning her. Now what’s happening and why are you doing whatever it is you’re doing? It’s weird enough that you two are talking to each other and it hasn’t turned into a screaming match yet.”
Amber spun her head.“You didn’t tell her?”
“He never tells us anything,”his friend complained.“We always have to force it out of him. Well, Emmett fights it out of him. I usually guilt him into telling me.”Amber laughed at Evelyn’s serious expression. She’d pay for a chance to see Noah roughhousing. He was always so rigid.
“You’d be surprised how well it works,”Noah murmured.
Evelyn shot him a thumbs up and a cheesy smile, her eyes falling on Amber expectantly. She paused, wondering if Noah wanted her to say anything but when he didn’t object, she laid it out for Evelyn whose eyes widened by the end.
“So if you don’t do this, you can’t pass and he could be ousted from office?”Amber nodded with a wince. Evelyn let it sink for a minute before her fist went flying into Noah’s arm. He jumped back, a yelp escaping him.“Why didn’t you say anything? You jerk! This is serious. You could lose your position, Noah.”
“That’s not gonna happen. We’re working on it,”he muttered. Amber didn’t miss how he avoided Evelyn’s eyes. His friend was worried about him. Could he not see it?
“He’s right. It’s a tough spot but we’re making the best of it.”She pointed at Noah.“Or we would if this one wasn’t so uncooperative about my idea.”
“Because it won’t work,”he argued again.
“Try not to be so negative, Noah.”Evelyn hissed.
“That’s exactly what I said!”
“Great,”he drawled.“Now I have two of you ganging up on me.”
“We wouldn’t need to gang up if you weren’t being so difficult all the time. What’s the plan about, Amber?”
“It’s nothing more than an experiment right now. I figured since Noah isn’t able to get people to communicate with him because they see him as unapproachable or uninterested, why not take him to them instead? If they see him actively trying to engage and asking questions on their welfare, they’re bound to open up.”
“I like it. The students don’t know a version of Noah that’s actually interested in what they have to report or talk about so we need to make them see it. It sounds like this could work,”Evelyn cheered, his smile lighting up her olive eyes. Amber appreciated her support.“Noah, you in or are we going to have to force you?”
He looked between them, his jaw shifting. His eyes roamed their faces, stopping on Amber’s. She blinked at the look in them but it was gone before she could dwell on it.
“That doesn’t seem like much of a choice.”
“Because it isn’t.”Evelyn fluttered her lashes. The innocuous smile on her lips prompted a smile from Amber. Their easy camaraderie was charming to witness. Noah was usually all brooding looks and sharp edges. Evelyn worked around those edges, wearing them down to obtuse points.
“Are you guys headed to lunch? Emmett said he’ll meet us there. His class is running a bit long.”
“Emmett is your twin, right?”At Evelyn’s nod, Amber smiled.“He played really well in the last game. Jacob says he’s a great co-captain.”
Evelyn giggled.“Thanks. I would tell him, but his ego might explode if he knows you said that.”
“Maybe I’ll meet him myself to tell him. I wouldn’t want to miss that.”Amber wiggled her brows and they laughed. Noah folded his arms, taking in the interaction, making her remember she hadn’t answered Evelyn’s question.“I’m hoping Noah and I could start our little experiment at lunch. I wanted to test him out on a couple of my friends.”
They began to walk towards the cafeteria with Evelyn between them. She suggested other ideas to get Noah involved with the students and Amber shared hers, asking what Evelyn thought about them. She wondered why they had never talked more as she realized how radiant, funny and lively Evelyn was. They seemed to have so much in common, especially when it came to needling Noah.
They stepped into the cafeteria and Evelyn wished them luck, heading over to the counter to get her meal. Amber looked over at her usual table, where Beverly and Lexi were already seated. Willow and Casey sat at the table today talking to a dark haired guy. Amber recognized Jacob sitting beside Beverly. They were doing this with a full audience then.
“Come on, let’s get this over with,”she murmured, unsure if she was trying to encourage Noah or herself. Beside her, the man of the hour drew a face, digging in his heels. She grabbed at the sleeve of his jacket to get him moving.“Fix your face or you’ll scare them off before we start,”she hissed.
With every step, her worry heightened. She hadn’t given Willow and Casey any more information about the thing she was doing or told Beverly and Lexi about the deal with Noah. Her best friends had avoided her the whole morning, refusing to say more than five words at a time to her even when they shared classes. She secretly hoped that this experiment would melt their anger a bit if they had something else to focus on.
Amber and Noah took the last free seats, a hush greeting them. Amber tried not to notice Bev and Lexi’s baffled stares.
