Amber had not seen Emma staring at her that way so she asked her, “What?”
Emma’s expression immediately changed and she subtly smiled. “Nothing. Let’s go.”
Amber walked up to her and they both went back to the classroom, but her mind was not settled. She needed to know the reason behind the way Emma looked at her because that will be the first time she would do that, so she asked again when they sat down.
“Are you really sure it’s nothing?” she stared into her brown eyes. “I mean, we are both friends and I don’t see why we need to hide anything from each other.”
Emma broke into a smile and said, “Actually, there is something, but I first thought you might think I am crazy so I acted like it was nothing. It isn’t something serious though.”
Amber nods her head and Emma continued, “What an anger! Such fierceness I see in you,” she demonstrated with her hand and Amber arched her brows at her.
“What?” she asked and Emma dropped her hand to the side.
“Okay look, I was surprised at what you did back there. I mean, the anger and the way you slapped that junior, and not to talk of when you stopped me from interfering. I guess you wanted to deal with the matter yourself but hey, I haven’t seen you that angry before. I admit it’s cool though,” Emma giggled and Amber blinked twice at the last statement she made.
“You know, you can be crazy sometimes.”
“I know. That’s why I said it isn’t something serious,” Emma said and smiled widely.
“Because how can you call that cool. Anger is cool? Seriously?” Amber huffed and shook her head.
“Come on. It was as if something triggered you back there and from the look on the junior’s face, one can tell he was shocked. And by the way, what does he mean by ‘the whole school knows you are incapable of handling a guy?’ huh?”
“Ugh! Mirabel doings,” Amber groaned as she leaned her back and Emma clicked her tongue.
“Mm-mm, I know right? Well, that would remind him that you can handle a guy better but Amber, you need to be careful,” Emma warned.
Amber arched her brows and asked, “Why did you say I need to be careful?” she sat up and fixed her eyes on her.
“I mean, he can be someone who will not back down because he got slapped by a girl, not regarding the senior title though. You know those juniors can be demons sometimes. You can be walking alone one day and he and his gang might just attack you from behind or he can try to set you up on something you didn’t do. That would be a horrible thing to do though but don’t worry, you’ve got me,” Emma offered her a smile and patted her shoulder.
“Wait, what?” Amber’s expression turned into shock as she thought on what Emma said. “Are you saying that he-he is going to do those things to me? You know I haven’t crossed paths with juniors and this is my first so is that what they do? That is what they’ll do to me? Wait, wait, if he attacks me, will I—die?” Amber expressed her worry with her eyes wide and when Emma saw how scared her friend looked, she busted into laughter.
Amber looked at her with a face that says ‘this is not a joke.’
“Sorry, I couldn’t help it,” Emma apologized and cleared her throat before saying, “That is not what I mean. You are not going to die so you don’t have to worry about that. If he attempts anything, we can report it immediately and he will have to serve detention. Simple!”
Amber thought about it and pursed her lips. “No,” she suddenly said. “He won’t serve detention.”
“And why won’t he?” Emma gave her a questioning look.
“Did you suddenly forget that we have exams next week? He can’t be serving detention while we write exams.”
“Oh! Then he can be suspended, right? Great!” Emma said with a smile.
“Ugh!” Amber groaned and rolled her eyes before she leaned her head back. She doubted if he would be suspended since they would be out of school soon and she brushed it off. “Sometimes you can be so difficult to understand,” she said and Emma hummed in response as she also leaned back.
“But you are the only one who still understands me better,” Emma said and Amber agreed with her. She also hummed in response before drifting into her own thoughts.
It was true that she understands Emma better and vice versa, so whenever the thought about making new friends and trying to blend in when Emma leaves crosses her mind, it pained her. It was because no one can replace her best friend and somehow, it hurts her so badly that she wonders if Emma has ever thought about not leaving.
She moved her hand from where she placed it to reach for Emma’s own. Holding it in hers, she said, “I just want to finish my exams, graduate and start anew in the university, without having to worry about Mirabel or Kevin or any of this shitty place.”
“Me too,” Emma said, “but what about prom?” she asked and Amber looked at her.
“I don’t care,” she answered and Emma started laughing.
Amber soon joined her in the laugh and in her mind, she said, “Yeah, fuck prom.”
When school ended, they both decided to explore some places because Amber suggested it and Emma agreed right away. The reason Amber suggested it was because she wanted to clear her thoughts and act like everything was normal, after the way her mother reacted the day before, about the thought of Emma leaving and then Kevin, though she worried less about him now but she still feels bad for him. And also, something doesn’t feel right with her.
“I love admiring beautiful things even though I know I am not going to buy them or because I don’t have the money for now.” That was Amber’s response when Emma asked and both of them walked out of the school and went around the near shops to their home in Cinder.
They walked into different shops where they had to pretend like they were actually going to buy something and then got chased out by the shop owner when they realized they were not going to buy anything, while some of the small shops owner were kind enough to allow them get in and check what they had.
After spending most of their day out in the small city, the light in the sky had brightened down and now had shades of orange in it, still, Amber insisted on visiting one last shop.
They came to stand in front of a book shop and they realized it was closed. Emma let out a sigh and said, “Amber, it’s late. I really should get going. My aunt will be worried if she doesn’t see me and it’s really late.”
“Just one more, please,” Amber pleaded.
“I’m sorry but I can’t. I need to go now and you should also go back home. We’ve stayed out too late without informing anyone and you don’t want your mother looking for you in the night, do you?”
“Ugh fine! You go ahead. I will go home very soon.”
Emma gave her a hug and when she released herself, she said, “I am serious. Don’t be late outside, okay?”
Amber used the finger sign and nodded her head with a smile. “Goodnight Emma.”
“Goodnight. See you in school tomorrow.” She winked at her and waved before running ahead.
When she had gone out of sight, Amber looked up at the sky and realized that it would soon get dark but there was still some time left before that and she moved her eyes to look inside the book shop.
She would have gone home like Emma said but there was something about the shop that caught her interest. It looked old and unique, compared to the rest of the shops she had seen and she had the urge to check what was inside.
As she thought of what to do, her eyes moved to the side of the glass where some words were written on it and she moved closer to check it. She read, “Let the books take you into the world of the unknown.”
Amber was thrilled by the words and she wanted to explore it. When her eyes looked inside the glass, she noticed a candle light burning, which she had not seen earlier and she guessed that someone was inside.
“Hello,” she called but received no response and a frown came to form on her face. She knocked on the wooden door and she heard it creak before slowly opening itself like someone was pulling it back from the inside.
She looked inside and she saw no one in sight except for the shelves that held books in it. Bracing herself, she took a step in.
Immediately she stepped inside, the door came towards her and her eyes widen in shock before she immediately stepped away from it. She heard it let out a soft click and she held her chest, breathing out as she felt her head spin.“Seriously?” she said as she caught her breath. It was because the door came rushing to her as if the person holding it from behind suddenly pushed it in her direction and if she had not stepped away in time, it would have slam against her face. But then, there was no one behind the door and if the door were human, Amber would have said that it had a few loose screws in its head.She walked to the door and held the handle to open it and see if the door was faulty but when she tried to open it, it wouldn’t open and she furrowed her brows. She tried again and then again but it just wouldn’t open.“Ugh!” Amber groaned aloud and gave up. She turned around and called, “Hello? Anyone here?” when she got no response, it infuriated her and she said, “I know someone i
“About the door,” she paused before she continued, “...didn’t you read the notice I posted on the window?”Amber moved from her thoughts and stared at the back of the woman with a small frown on her face. “What notice?” she asked.The woman’s finger stopped trailing across the books and she pulled out a book. Turning around to walk to a table, she replied, “Mind the door.”When she noticed that Amber didn’t get what she said, she explained, “Just like the way it is posted on a glass door. Mind the glass-Mind the door.”“Oh!” Amber said when she finally got what the woman was trying to say. “I must have missed seeing that.”The woman raised her head to look at Amber properly. “What did you see then?” she asked and Amber arched her brows as she tried to recollect what she saw at the glass and she parted her lips to speak. “Let the books take you into the world of the unknown.”The woman stared at Amber and said, “If you can read that then you must be here for something. But from the loo
Hazel further explained to Amber, “There are some witches who, out of greed, decided to tap into the black magic and so, their heart has become corrupted. Most witches like that have done more evil deeds than good because it’s like trading your life for death or giving the devil a handshake. So, it’s more of like making a sacrifice to keep them in the world. The black stones can help to hide their appearance while they live among humans. So you see, you can be living among witches but you don’t know who is who,” Hazel said and added, “Black stones carry heavy energy and the energy can be manipulated by the witch according to her will. It can be used for good and for evil.”Amber felt her palms turn sweaty. She asked, “Is there any other reason they have to tap into the black magic? I mean, since they know the harm in it, do they still do it out of greed?”Hazel hummed a response and replied, “Whatever reason they might have, once they tap into the black magic, there is no going back s
When Amber neared her neighborhood, she sighed in relief that she would soon be home. She didn’t know how many minutes had passed since she started walking but she was glad that she made it to her neighborhood in time and she hastened her steps but then, she stopped and turned to look behind her because she thought she heard footsteps behind her.Seeing no one in sight, fear crept into her mind at the thought that the Vampires were out and looking for whom to prey on. She listened again and when she heard nothing, she dared to breathe a sigh of relief but as soon as she turned back to resume walking, she saw two men standing in front of her, grinning with lust in their eyes and what she perceived around them is the smell of alcohol.At first, she thought they were Vampires, but then, Vampires don’t drink alcohol, or do they? Amber thought and was in between confused and scared. Anyone can drink alcohol. Yes! Fangs! She looked down at their teeth but she could not see it. When they sta
Running was not an option for Amber because she knows that if she tried it, the men would get her in no time. Saving herself was not an option either, because she is no match for them and she doubted if they would listen to her pleas this time.“I—I’m sorry. It wasn’t intentional. I did not know what I was doing,” Amber apologized as she moved to the back with every step they took towards her.“You should have agreed while we were still patiently asking. We won’t go easy on you this time,” the bald man scowled at her with a look of anger in his eyes.In no time, the other two men grabbed both her arms and no matter how hard she tried to release herself from them, it only ended up in her arms being gripped tightly and she yelled in pain.“What are you doing? Let me go!” she yelled at them when they started dragging her.Amber dread what would happen to her as she is not sure of what the men want from her. Their words were clear but she perceived their intentions to be different. Or wai
Hazel thought about her dead lover who sacrificed his life in order to save hers and she will never get over the fact that he was killed by Vampires but she didn’t because of that, tap into the black magic to bring him back to life. Though, she wished that one day, she would get to see and talk to him at least, even if it was just for a short time.There was silence between the both of them as they stared into each other eyes. Hazel then held her head high and said to him, “Your words don’t move me.”“I don’t expect it to either because you have always been this way.” Hazel felt his words prick her on the skin but she waved it off.“Didn’t you say one of your own was in danger?” Hazel raised a brow at him, deciding to change the topic.“Amber Willow, she was here,” Mr. Evans said.“I never said she wasn’t,” Hazel rolled her eyes. “Then why are you still standing there? Aren’t you going to save her?”“Actually, I came here for something different,” Mr. Evans said and brought out a book
“Cowards die many times before their deaths;The Valiant never taste of death but once,Of all the wonders that I have yet have heard,It seems to me most strange that men should fear;Seeing that death, a necessary end,Will come when it will come.”--Shakespeare, Julius Caesar_In her deep sleep, Amber saw herself in an unknown place in the middle of the night where darkness filled the sky. She felt exhausted as if she had been running for a long time and her right hand seems to be heavy as if she were carrying something heavy in it. She looked down on her hand and just immediately, the sky rumbled and lightning struck, making a deafening sound. She saw a bloody sword in her hand and she immediately threw it to the ground. When the lightning struck again, she saw that she was surrounded by bodies that lay on the cold floor and suddenly, she heard a sharp cry behind her. Turning around swiftly, she heard a thud on the ground and she bent down slowly. She saw a figure of someone and h
There was confusion in the eyes of the lackeys as they look at each other and then at the boy. The man in black stepped forward. He hung the gun on his shoulder and tilted his head sideways and then, there was a loud laugh in the small room which erupted from him. When the laugh died down, Amber saw the bright face of the man turn into a dark one. “Shakespeare? Really?” the man asked and scoffed. Amber also thought about it. Why would he bring up Shakespeare now when they were in the middle of danger?She leaned closer to his neck and whispered to him with trembling lips, “What are you doing? If you wish to die then don’t drag me along with you. I have a mother who cares and worries about me and I don’t even know how her condition is right now. I lost my father and I am the only one she has. So whatever you are doing, don’t let it endanger me. I just want to return home and forget about this nightmare.”Already feeling impatient, the man roared, “Quiet!” and Amber shook with fear. T