JL Academy | 09.21.15 | 4:05pm

 

“Ugh!”

 

The soccer ball blazed barely through the goalie’s fingertips into the upper right corner of the net.  Right now, the JL Group’s all-star goalie, a junior, a hoobae, who clearly does not have any choice, is taking a massive beating from the furious and ferocious soccer balls being hurled full-force his way.  If anyone harbored any doubt or resentment towards Amber’s place in the varsity team due to the lack of her attendance, all of that is out the window now.

 

The other teammates, who were doing drills just a minute ago, have stopped to watch, amazed and afraid at the same time, Amber shoot penalty kicks like she was possessed by the soccer gods themselves.  It was penalty kick after another and the goalie didn’t stand a chance against the adrenaline that gave her the extra edge to launch the soccer balls at blazing speeds.

 

“Sunbae—”

 

Another one zips past him.  And another one…and another one.

 

Captain Joohyuk finally sees the commotion and jogs over to where the team has huddled to watch.  Finding Amber in her true form made him nothing short of giddy.  Watching as she annihilates the ball, the goal, and the goalie affirmed the right decision he made…rather the decision he was force to make by Amber’s uncle.

 

First of all, she finally showed up to practice.  Second, she’s actually on the field, and what do you know, she’s playing soccer.  Only one thought crossed his mind:  Thank you, Krystal Jung.

 

Joohyuk extends his hand out stopping Amber from another kick.  He jogs over to the goalie and relieves him of the torture.  Joohyuk picks up the goalie gloves near the right post, grins as he adjusts the straps to fit his hands.  He takes a stance in the middle of the goal and flashes a smirk at his very visibly angry best friend.

 

“Let’s make a bet,” Joohyuk proposes.

 

With hands on her waist, she takes a deep breath, rolls her eyes with her head.

 

“You get five penalty kicks.  You get just one past me and I’ll give you my signed 2014 FIFA World Cup Messi jersey.”

 

That got Amber’s attention, not because she really wanted the jersey, but because she was surprised that Joohyuk was willing to wager one of his precious prized possessions.

 

“What’s in it for you?”

 

“The thrill of the challenge…and also your word and commitment to show up to practice the whole season,” Joohyuk smirked confidently.

 

That only added fuel to Amber’s buzzing adrenaline.  There was no way she could fathom having to waste hours of her weekdays for three months in the atrocity called practices.  But…the thrill of the challenge—the bragging right of not only scoring against her best friend but going head-to-head and possibly edging the All-Star of all-stars, team captain, MVP, Nam Joohyuk, sounded extremely appealing.

 

“Deal.”

 

Joohyuk slaps his hands together as he squats in position.  Amber takes four steps backward, three steps to the left.  He glances at Joohyuk, her target at top right, and the ball all the while channeling her annoyance into aggression and into kicking the ball.

 

“I’m also not the type to get anything less than an A.”

 

SWOOSH.

 

With his quick reflex and his natural ability to read the kicker’s aim, Joohyuk lunges in proper direction, deflecting the ball from getting inside the net.

 

Lucky block, she scoffed.  Joohyuk wore his wide grin but knew the challenge is far from over.

 

Amber picks up another ball and placed it on the penalty kick marker.  Same steps, four backwards, three to the left.  This time she only eyes Joohyuk and the ball, mentally picking the same upper right position, this time with more precision.  She channels her frustration once again.

 

“But I’m not the type to get a grade without earning it either.”

 

She runs at the ball then—SWOOSH.

 

Joohyuk lunges in the same manner only this time the ball was too high from his grasp.  The ball, however, hits the top pole, missing another goal.  Joohyuk was lucky that time, Amber knew and even he knew.

 

“!”  She belted in frustration.  Just an inch lower and she would have had this challenge conquered.

 

Joohyuk only taunted her with a laugh.  “Let’s go Am.  Come on.”

 

She takes her position.  This was her third attempt.  She’s determined not to let this get on any longer.

 

Channeling her focus, she couldn’t keep herself from scoffing as she hears Krystal’s voice in the back of her mind…

 

“I’m not the type to need you either.”

 

Oh yeah, the feeling is ing mutual—SWOOSH.

 

Amber kicked the ball so hard, a little right from the dead center, that although Joohyuk was able to deflect it with his hands, you could hear him grunt as he staggers backward landing on one knee.

 

“ing !”  Amber lets out again.

 

Joohyuk gets up as he shakes his head and chuckles.

 

“Just give me the damn ball.”

 

Joohyuk tosses her another one as they both repositioned.  She’s down to her fourth attempt.  Now she’s really determined to pull out all the tricks in her sleeve.  She takes a deep breath and makes her approach…

 

“And I’m definitely not the type to let someone like you, no matter who you think you are, walk all over me.”

 

She clenches her fist as she runs at the ball, taking stutter steps and—SWOOSH.

 

The ball slightly curves to the mid left, close to the left pole, but by some miraculous chance, Joohyuk managed to have quick-stepped in the right direction and was able to barely push the ball out of the goal.  Even the crowd of people cooed in Joohyuk’s and Amber’s display of athleticism.

 

“ you Namjoo!  That was all luck!”

 

“Love you to Am!”  Joohyuk continued to taunt while chuckling.  She could see the evidence of her friend’s invested effort in this challenge and her accompanied frustration.  “Come on…last chance.  Messi jersey and your commitment on the line here.”

 

And for the fifth time, they’re standing head-to-head.  Amber couldn’t believe she let this go on for too long.  She had that last one.  She knew that it couldn’t have been a more perfect goal kick.  But she had to give her best friend the credit.  He is not the best for nothing.  But…

 

There’s no way I’m losing this challenge.

 

Before approaching the ball, she closes her eyes, takes a deep breath.  She calms her nerves and envisions the trajectory of the ball.  She had to be precise, unpredictable, and perfect if she wants to walk out of this challenge victorious.  She wasn’t worried about the jersey or the practices because there are always loopholes, she thinks.  More than those things it was her reputation and the bragging rights on the line.  She wasn’t going to lose face in front of her best friend and the rest of the watching teammates.

 

Channeling the frustration, the humiliation, and the embarrassment from the library episode, she opens her eyes and focused on the ball.

 

“And lastly…I’m not the type to deal with this kind of bull.”

 

Her upper lip curls for some reason.  She breathes out and whispers what can only be heard by her…

 

Touché Krystal Jung, touché.

 

Same stutter, different force—SWOOSH.

---

 

After changing out of her uniform, she slings her sports duffel bag around and heads out of the locker room.  She texts her new bodyguard/assistant/advisor/driver/butler/chief—whatever the hell he is—that she’s on her way out.

 

Upon exiting the locker room, she’s met by a grinning Nam Joohyuk still decked in his practice gear.

 

“Practice doesn’t end for another hour,” he crosses his arm and flashes his friend a reprimanding look.

 

Deadpanned and uninterested, she retorts, “Which is why I’m wondering why you’re here and not out there.”

 

Amber starts walking towards the exit of the school with Joohyuk walking alongside.

 

Slinging his arm around Amber’s shoulder, he asks, “You can’t possibly still be mad about what happened earlier?”

 

By earlier, he meant Krystal and Amber’s exchange—rather Krystal’s knockout performance—in the library.  The only answer he got was her pushing his arm off her shoulder.

 

“I think I owe her a thank you… You put on quite the show today.  Now the kids can’t say anything about you and why you’re actually in the team.”

 

Still no answer.  She’s still mad.  She’s still annoyed.  She’s planning revenge.

 

After a few moments they reached the outside of the main entrance and the limousine can be seen parked about twenty yards away.  Amber rolls her eyes and makes a mental note.  Remind me to tell Donghae to pick me up in a normal vehicle.

 

Joohyuk presses his hand on Amber’s shoulder, stopping their tracks.  “Look Am…I know you hate getting all sentimental but…I’m proud of you.”  Joohyuk was beyond ecstatic.  He wasn’t just talking about soccer, he was talking about how she was able to manage the situation with Krystal earlier.  Him and Kai would push her buttons but all jokes aside, he was impressed at how well Amber handled her emotions.  No extreme lashing out.  No episodes.  No bruises.  No trips at the principal’s office.  And for those reasons he was sincere in his praises because he was there since the beginning and has seen the worst and now witnessing the progress.

 

“…As your friend, not just as your captain…I’m proud of you,” he patted Amber’s shoulder and he was sure that he saw a small smile emerge from her lips.  She was proud of herself too.  She’s still pissed but she got to give herself some credit.  She’s come a long way.  Her anger this time is far from the blistering hurricane that ravages everything on sight.  But…

 

“But Krystal though…” but then again, he took too much enjoyment in pushing her buttons, hitting every right nerve.

 

What a perfect way to sour the moment and to usher her annoyance back in full gear.

 

“I’m gonna kick your ,” Amber rolls her eyes, throws a hard jab, and starts walking again.

 

Joohyuk chuckles, rubbing his shoulder, “I’d actually like to see you try.”

 

Without turning around, she made sure to remind Joohyuk, “Just bring the jersey tomorrow.”

---

 

The next day | JL Academy | 1:22pm

 

KRYSTAL POV

 

When I moved here, I had one goal: graduate, get into Harvard and move back to the U.S peaceably and quietly—no drama.  So far I met new friends, enjoyed their parties and yes, I’m extremely grateful for the added bonuses.  But the last thing I need (and number one thing I should have tried to avoid in the first place) is having to deal with a stuck-up, snobby, snotty, jerk, perfectly embodied in the form of Amber Liu as a partner.  Forget everything I said about partnering with her as maybe not a bad thing or her being “more than what meets the eyes”.  I’m the idiot who thought that beneath that cold and arrogant exterior is actually a normal decent human being.

 

Apparently we weren’t the only ones in the library yesterday and exaggerated rumors about what actually happened spread like wildfire making me a prime target of Amber’s fangirls.  Apparently, I cursed Amber out and dropped incessant profanity while I slapped her on the face.  I mean…really?

 

As soon as I pulled my hand after grabbing my books out of my locker, a hand suddenly jammed the door closed.  This has been happening all day.  I’m convinced that Amber’s fangirls are borderline psychotic.

 

“So you’re the new girl that had the nerve to disrespect our Amber.”  There were these two girls who were slightly shorter than I am.  Both of them had this scowl painted on their faces looking at me like I did something criminal.

 

I rolled my eyes while they stepped closer.  “I don’t know who you think you are but in this school, you don’t mess with a Top Elite, especially Amber.”

 

This situation is so laughable that I couldn’t keep myself from chuckling.  People like this actually exist in real life.

 

I turned around dismissing them only to get blocked by one of them.  They continued their imbecilic threats, “I don’t know if they even believe in manners in America but you’re in Korea now.  In JL Academy of all places.  So you need to start showing respect and manners around here especially to our Amber.”

 

Oh my god…I can’t deal with this kind of shallow stupidity.

 

“Is there a problem here?”  A familiar voice asked from behind us.

 

I turned around and it was Kai.

 

“K-Kai s-sunbaenim…” The two girls bowed right away.  Sunbaenim?  That means I’m older than these two girls.  Respect?!  Speak for yourself.  I couldn’t hide yet another scoff.

 

“Is that how the hoobaes talk to their sunbae these days?” He asked with a nonthreatening grin.

 

One of the girls answered, “B-But s-sunbae…w-what she did to A-Amber—”

 

“Don’t worry about it.”  He took another step closer towards them.  “What I’m more worried about is how the hoobaes are speaking to their sunbaes these days.  So…should I be worried?”

 

Kai stood comfortably with his arms crossed with unreadable smirk and waited as the two girls timidly answered, “N-No s-sunbaenim.  We’re sorry.”

 

“You don’t need to say sorry to me.”  He then nodded towards me.

 

The two girls looked at each other in frustration.  I could care less of their hollow apology but now I’m slightly confused as to why Kai is doing this for me.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m very grateful…but why do I feel weird about this?

 

The two girls bowed, apologized and walked away.  And after some quiet seconds, Kai then turned to me and said, “Don’t worry, I’m sure they won’t bother you again.”

 

I smiled and told him, “Thanks.  But I wasn’t worried in the first place.”

 

“I know you wouldn’t but…I just wanted to show off,” there was that nonthreatening, charming grin that he has mastered and perfected in flashing.

 

On the other hand, I’m not really sure what to say next.  It’s kind of awkward since, you know, there were some truth to the rumors and that I just happened to may have slightly lost my temper with the whole Amber partner project thing.  Whatever this is then, I wasn’t expecting it.

 

“Listen about Amber—”

 

“Kai, I really appreciate what you did.  And about Amber...I—”

 

“Krystal chill,” he extended his two palms up motioning for me to slow down my thoughts, “About Amber…you have probably picked up that she’s a little…let’s just say she kinda does whatever she wants.  So I understand why you were frustrated as her partner.  She’s just not used to other people.  But look, I’m not here to make excuses for her.  In fact, in all honesty, I thought what you did was awesome.  No one has ever stood up to Amber and got away with it unscathed like you did.  And you know what, she kinda deserved it.”  He chuckled.

 

I don’t know whether to smile, laugh with him, or what.  I don’t know if he’s playing games with me or if this is part of some elaborate revenge plot they’re planning.  I just feel uncomfortable because I know he’s Amber’s best friend and I’m surprised how he’s somewhat implying that he’s on my side.

 

I told him, “Look Kai…I don’t want any trouble.  I didn’t mean to come off the way I did but—”

 

“I know.  You’re not the type to take that kind of bull right?” he chuckled again.

 

What does he want me to say?  I have no idea how to respond.  This was getting too awkward.  Good thing I could see Sulli in my peripheral at the end of the hallway walking this way.

 

Having sensed my uncertainty, Kai pointed it out, “You always have that look on your face,” he waved his in front of his face.  “You always look like you’re calculating an equation in your head, thinking hard, judging meticulously what my intentions are.”  He let out another chuckle as he shook his head.

 

“Soojung, hey I found you,” thank God Sulli was finally here.

 

“Hey,” I greeted Sulli and focused back my attention to Kai.  I gave him a nod and flashed him smile.

 

“Krystal…you should know.  I may be Amber’s best friend but I’m not her hitman.  So you can relax in front of me.  Remember…smile more.  It’s pretty.  See you in class.”

 

He looked at Sulli and nodded his head before walking away.

 

Once Kai disappeared at the end of the hallway, Sulli turned to me with her suppressed squeal and proceeded to project her assumptions, “Oh my god!  ‘Remember…smile more.  It’s pretty,’” she mimicked Kai while swooning.

 

“Oh my gosh Sull…calm down.”

 

“You know what I think…I think Kai has a little thing for you.”  Again with her projections.

 

“He was being nice.  Plus, Sulli, aren’t we too old to be having conversations like this?”

 

“Never!”

 

---

 

Hwang Mansion | 5:44pm

 

“Hi aunty Seol, is she in her room?” The young man flashed his charming smile at the elderly housemaid who he has known since childhood.

 

“Oh Kai, it’s good to see you.  She’s in her study.”

 

“Thanks aunty.”

 

Kai rushes up the stairs and makes a left on one of the long hallways.  He has memorized this mansion.  He spent a lot of time with Amber and her family in this house.  In fact, this was more home to him than his own.

 

After reaching Amber’s study and the obligatory knock to announce his arrival, Kai barges in, finding his friend behind her desk completely immersed in the papers in front of her.  Amber doesn’t need to look up to know it was Kai.  The two knocks followed by the unhesitant opening of the door gave him away.

 

“I need you to spare me ten minutes of your undivided attention.”

 

Silence.  A mere twitch was her response as she turns the page of the document in front of her.

 

Kai hops unto the brown leather couch situated in the middle of the room.  Amber’s study was big.  It was walled with shelves that reached two stories with endless library collection ranging from renaissance anthology to contemporary classics. Despite the countless times he’s been in this study, sometimes he can’t help but bask in the largeness of this personal library and the exorbitant hours Amber would spend in this room.

 

But the recent happenings pressed on to accomplish the purpose of his visit.  He sits forward and makes another attempt to grab Amber’s attention.

 

“Am…I need your help.”

 

Amber lets out a sigh.  That was a good sign that she was at least listening.  However, without looking up from her reading, she answers flatly, “If you’re asking me to go on a double date with you and your ‘girl-of-the-month’ and your ‘girl-of-the-month’s’ best friend, save it.  I’m not doing it.”

 

Kai lets out short chuckle as he recalled the last memory of that favor.  Let’s just say it was a double date gone horridly bad.

 

After a good silent ten seconds, he segues into a touchy topic, “It’s about Krystal.”  He knew then he got her full attention.

 

Amber pauses halfway through reading a sentence and finally looks up at Kai.  He got her undivided attention alright.

 

Kai stands up from the couch and approaches Amber at her desk.  Reaching it, he leans over with his hands propped at the edge of the table.

 

“Amber…I’m asking for a favor.”

 

“Why?”

 

Not minding the hostile tone in that question, he continued his request, “I need you to throw out any revenge plots that you’ve already concocted in your head out the window—”

 

“Why should I?”

 

Kai holds out a finger and continues, “I need you to go easy on her.”

 

“No.”

 

“Amber—”

 

“Jongin, why do you care so much about her?  And since when did you care?”

 

He lets out a long sigh though he’s far from defeated.  As stubborn as Amber was, it just takes a little bit pushing to get her to comply.  Kai knows Amber has a soft spot for him and as adamant as she sounds at the moment, Amber could never really say no to him and he was assured of that.

 

He then said in the softest tone, “I’m asking for a favor, Am.  Please.  Please be nice to her.”

 

Amber, on the other hand, leans back on her chair, crosses her arms, a little taken aback by her friend’s persistence on this subject.  She was growing to be more suspicious and she’s determined to get a clear answer before she makes any agreement.

 

“Why?  You still didn’t answer my question.”

 

Kai smiles as he lets out another long breath.  He takes the seat in one of the chairs in front of her and takes a long look into her friend’s his eyes.  He knows the only way he’ll get her to agree is if he lays it all out there.  No beating around the bush.  No bull.

 

“There’s something about her.  It’s gotten my interest.”

 

“So you like her.  As in you like her for real?”

 

“I’m curious.  I’m interested.”

 

“So what does this have to do with me?  Do what you always do—your Kai Kim Jongin that makes the girls drop their in a heartbeat.”

 

He muzzled his chuckle to keep his serious tone.  “I said I’m curious and interested.  I want to get to know her more.  But I can’t really do all the Kai-Kim-Jongin--dropping moves I wish I could do if she has already stiffed-arm me from the beginning.  And could you guess why?”

 

Now it was Amber’s turn let out a heavy sigh with a few curse words she managed to sneak in.  I can’t believe he’s asking me to do this.

 

“You never know, maybe you two might actually get along given that you both have quite a similar personality.”

 

Scoffing, she jeered back, “That’s impossible.”

 

“Come on.  Do it for me…as a favor.  Please?”

 

Of all the girls in ing Korea—hell!  In ing JL Academy…

 

She shakes her head and scoffs a second time.

 

She looks at him in the eyes and searches for that genuine affirmation.  “You like her?”

 

There was that hesitation.  For the first time he didn’t throw out a quick superficial answer that usually sounded like, “Dude she’s hot, of course I like her.”

 

This was different.  His response and his hesitation were different.  He says, “She’s different.”

 

It was right there.  She sees it.  He isn’t lying.  This isn’t one of those flings.  It isn’t another one of his flippant whims.  She wasn’t just a conquest.  And she wasn’t just a girl.  For once she saw her best friend taking genuine interest in someone and not just in something.

 

So how was she to say no?

---

 

Following week | JL Academy

 

KRYSTAL POV

 

Thanks to Kai, Amber’s fangirls have ceased fire and everything seemed to have adjusted back to normal.  It only made the teasing worse since Sulli can’t help but bring it up over and over again.  The others have gotten a wind of it and have taken it upon themselves to over-interpret every little interaction between myself and him.  We greeted each other once since our last exchange and they went bananas.  But it was all in good fun, nothing serious.  Although it does get annoying, I’d rather deal with their teasing than the fangirls’ harassment.

 

But now I’m sitting here in our Senior Independent Study class.  My partner is late again if she even decides to show up.  I’m looking around the room and most of the teams have gotten their brainstorm ideas out of the way and have narrowed their potential projects to two or three ideas.  Some have already started on their research and planning.  And I’m sitting here alone trying to brainstorm by myself and hoping to God that if Amber does decide to show up that it won’t result in the same outcome as last week.

 

Speaking of which, last week, after that day, I told Jessica everything about it…

---

FLASHBACK

 

“You know what I think?!  She has a superiority complex.  She thinks she’s better than everyone else and takes every opportunity to look down on people!  And for the record, to the degree that she hates working with partners is to the degree I hate being stuck as her partner!  UGH!”

 

“Are you done?”

 

“Ugh!  She’s an .”  I jumped on Jessica’s bed and grabbed a pillow and pressed it against my face while I let out another frustrated scream.  I’ve been venting to her for the past thirty minutes about everything that just happened.

 

“Soojung,” she pulled the pillow from my face, “Amber is…well…she just needs to take time to warm up to people.  You have to be a little bit understanding.”

 

I stared at her deadpanned.  I can’t believe she’s taking her side.

 

“Unnie…are you serious right now?”

 

Poking the side of my cheek as she snickered, she said, “I’m serious…she’ll warm up to you eventually.  Believe me, those were my first impressions of Amber too until she realized I was Tiffany’s best friend.  And after a while…Amber’s actually…nice.  Look, she just appears that way but if you get to know her, I think you’ll find that you both of have a lot in common.”

 

“What kind of alternate universe have you deluded yourself in living where the word ‘nice’ and ‘Amber’ is allowed to be used in one sentence?!  Are we talking about the same person here?!  Amber Liu?!  Miss I’m-better-than-everyone-else-Amber-Liu?!  Are you actually defending her?!  Worse—why are you’re on her side?!”

 

She pressed both hands on my shoulder, “Woah!  Let’s calm down Soojung.  First of all, if you continue on like this you’re gonna get wrinkles by the time you’re in your twenties.  Second, I’m not taking her side.  I’m not defending her.  And lastly, yes.  I’m talking about Amber Liu, your classmate, your partner.”

 

Cupping my cheeks she continued to explain, “Be patient, Soojung.  Yeah, I know she gets condescending.  She’s a little rough around the edges.  She’s arrogant but with a good reason.  And I know it’s unfair for you.  But I’m telling you…patience and a lot of persistence and you both will find a way to finish this project and get the grades you both want.  Just take it as a learning experience.”

 

I sighed.   I have to give my sister a benefit of the doubt.  She seems to know Amber a lot more than I do so there has to be some truth to what she’s saying.

 

She pinched my chin and added, “Want me to talk her?  Give her piece of my mind?  Even though you had no qualms in doing that all on your own already.”  She paused to laugh and then added, “I can’t believe you said all those things to her.  Tiffany would have been proud to have witness that!  And she would have backed you up on it too.”

 

I let out a cynical chuckle.  “What about Tiffany unnie?”  I asked naturally.

 

“If there’s one thing you should know about Amber is that it’s Tiffany who was the one to really help her get better.  And because of that, Tiffany is probably the only person that that kid really listens to.  So don’t take her arrogance or her coldness too personally.  Nine out of ten people she meets she’s like that to.”

 

“Get better from what?”  I was struck by curiosity again.

 

Jessica flashed me a toothless smile as she rubbed the top of my head.  Her answer only deflected my question, “Soojung…just hang in there.  Just like in the world of business and politics, a little civil negotiation and compromise won’t harm anyone.  And remember…patience and persistence.  Trust me.  She’ll eventually warm up to you.”

 

---

 

“Ahem.”

 

I paused from scribbling and looked up to see my partner unexpectedly.  When did she come in?

 

Patience and persistence.  This is for Harvard.  You can do this Soojung.

 

I stared back up at her.  She still has the same neutral expression but one good sign was her hands in her pockets.  It’s a good in that she doesn't appear to have planned on pulling the same stunt she did last week.

 

Inhaling long and exhaling through her nostrils, I could already read how forced all of this was.  But then the next words that came out of came as a surprise.

 

“Is that seat taken?”  She nodded at the empty desk in front of me.

 

I scrunched my eyebrows viscerally because it was unexpected.

 

She pulled the desk that was in front of me and shifted it to face my desk.  The other classmates in the room glanced our direction and had surprise written all over their face.  I took a glance at Kai and Joohyuk, her best friends, and just found them mischievously grinning at the situation, which only aroused my suspicions.

 

Amber then sat in front of me clasping both of her hands together on the desk.

 

She breathed another long sigh and at this point I reckon it’s habit that gave way for predictability.  And my prediction: she’s probably going to say another unexpected thing.

 

“You’re right.”  As predicted, this was rather unexpected.

 

She continued, same stare, same flat tone, “I need you.  And you need me.  And this, ” she drew circles with her index finger as an illustration and said, “Me and you…this is happening.”

 

Okaaay….?

 

“So we might as well make it work because I don’t plan on dropping in rankings.”

 

 Awkward silence followed…for a good minute that is.

 

I cleared my throat to finally get my word in there, “And your ‘I’m-not-the-type-to-work-with-partners’ MO?”

 

“Well I don’t really have a choice do I.”  That snarky tone though.

 

“So you’re saying you’re willing to work with me as your partner?”

 

She sighed and answered, “Yes.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Really.”

 

“You were very clear otherwise last week.  Why the sudden change of heart?”

 

She ran her fingers through the top of her head.  I could tell I was getting on her nerves with all my questions.  But you got to understand; to me this is very suspicious.  This is a complete 180 of what she showed me last week so I have every reason to question.

 

She heaves a heavy sigh and followed it with yet another predicted unexpected whisper, “Look…I apologize.”

 

“What?”  I was so shocked that my mind naturally couldn't process what she said.

 

She whispered again, “I’m sorry.”

 

She really did say sorry didn’t she?  Wow.

 

I bit down on my cheeks to keep myself from smiling.  Why do I find this so cute and so amusing?

 

And because I couldn’t pass up the chance, I leaned over and ask again, “I’m sorry, I can’t hear you?  What did you say?”

 

She pulled on her collar and grumbled, “I’m sorry.”

 

I pretended I didn’t catch it, “What?  I can’t understand what you’re saying.”

 

“I said I’m sorry!”  She shouted getting the attention of every person in the room.  Everyone stared at her confusedly with the added solicited gossip that went around the room.  I now bit my lips shut to contain a laugh but I couldn’t hinder the smile that formed on my face.  Her reddened cheeks and her flustered frustration got me.  Although I really shouldn’t be enjoying it this much, everything was unexpected.  And that much of it charmed me.

 

After grousing in embarrassment, she clasped her fingers again and looked at me with the same neutral intensity.

 

As a way for me to acknowledge her apology, I flashed her a sincere smile.  If she was willing to work as my partner, I’m willing to do the same.

 

I extended a hand out.  To cap off the agreed partnership, I told her, “Apology accepted.”

 

She stared at my hand for a good ten seconds before looking up at me.  She stood up from her seat and then took my hand and briefly shook it.

 

“9am at my place this Saturday.  Don’t be late.”

 

And without saying anything else, she took her things and left the classroom.

 

She’s still arrogant, she’s still cold but I couldn’t contain a smile as I replayed the scene back in my mind.

 

Maybe this will work out after all.

---

 

From:  Unknown 11:43pm

I’m back.  Did you miss me?

 

From:  Unknown 11:44pm

I’m coming after what I want.  And if I have to come after her first, I will.

 

Irene dropped her phone on the hard ground as her heart dropped with it.  Her breath seemed to have faltered as her mind was struck blind at the thoughts of her past and the person behind these threats.

 

No, this can’t be happening.  This can’t be happening again.

 

“Hey,” the warmth of Amber’s hand on her shoulder almost sent her into a convulsion.  She slowly watched as Amber picked up her phone for her while a million thoughts ran through her mind.

 

I can’t tell her.  I can’t risk getting her involved again.

 

She takes three quick silent breaths as she composed herself before Amber notices anything.

 

Amber hands her the phone and asked, “You okay?”

 

She gave her a smile, a smile that could always mask the emotions that raged inside of her.  “I-I’m fine.  I just have too many things I'm carrying.  But t-thanks.”

 

Amber scrunched her eyebrows seeing Irene act a little flustered.  But she figured nothing of it.  Instead, she grabs the multiple textbooks tucked underneath Irene’s arm and carries it for her, “Here, let me help you then.  Come on.  We got class soon.”

 

Amber went ahead.  Irene watched her back as she led but she couldn’t get her frozen legs to follow because her thoughts deeply paralyzed her.

 

This can’t be happening again.

---

 

Author's Note

I'm back in the swing of school again so I'm quite busy.  But I hope the long update made up for it.

Lots of character developments in this update...  Take my hand and ride this rollercoaster with me?  :)

- Z