"Amber!"
Amber turned around and saw Erick and Hamish approaching her.
School has just ended and she had just finished doing a quick study at the school library when she heard her name being called.
It has been a couple of days since Hamish and her were voted as the committee members of the Open Day for their class. Although Erick wasn't a member, he always joined them for the meeting.
He would keep quiet, sitting next to her during the meeting. There were times he would just hold her hand and snooze quietly as the meeting goes on. Not that the other committee members from other classes would complain. In fact, most of the female members don't mind him being there as it's not always they get to see the school eye candy.
Though, there was one time Erick did get involved. It happened during their first meeting.
At first, there was a bit of a commotion and argument about their class choosing a Japanese stall. Apparently, the anime club in the school has also chosen that as their stall. They had told Hamish and Amber to change.
Amber was a bit upset when she was told to change their stall.
Seeing this, Erick frowned deeply and turned to glare at the protesters.
Apparently, with just one look, the many female fans of Erick could detect his displeasure and scolded those who protested against Hamish and Amber's choice of stall. These protesters then backed away. They could not be able to out-argue his fans since there were more than half of them in the committee.
That day, they were going to have another meeting, in regards to the budget for each class. Because once the budget has been settled, they can begin with their decoration and setup. It was crucial that they have to discuss the budget immediately so that each class will have more time to decorate.
All classes will be cancelled to make way for the students to decorate. But clubs were still ongoing.
Hence why Amber looked confused when she saw the two of them standing before her. From what she remembers was that they had told her before school started that they won't be coming to the meeting. They had football practice.
"What are you guys doing here?" she asked.
Erick grinned as he grabbed her hand. "Practice got cancelled." He then pulled her gently, heading towards the classroom where they will be having a meeting. Hamish followed them from behind.
When they reached the classroom, students from other classes were already inside, sitting and talking among themselves.
Erick walked in first and most of the female students started to turn and stare at him with dreamy eyes. Some even called out to him, ignoring the fact that he was holding hands with Amber.
Erick just smiled and went on to look for seats. When he found one, he immediately pulled Amber to sit next to him. Once she settled in, he slumped over the desk, while playing with her fingers. It seems like he was ready to fall asleep at any time.
Hamish grabbed a seat nearby and sat next to Amber on her right.
The chairperson of the committee was their senior who will be graduating soon. His name was Krys Williams. Although he was not as popular as Erick, he was well-liked by most people in school. He was friendly, smart and good-looking.
When he saw that everyone had settled in comfortably, he began his talk, thanking everyone for coming to the meeting. He then opened up the discussion of the budget.
Talks reverberated around the classroom as each student gave their opinions, including Amber and Hamish.
The discussion lasted for nearly an hour until they finally decided on a figure. Although it wasn't much, they can still earn it back from their stall sales. Hamish also encouraged the other students who were present in the meeting to use their own pocket money. He added that it would be more fun if there was a vote for the best stall.
He further proposed that they should get an agreement from all the faculty bodies in regards to the competition. And that it would be great if the teachers themselves would like to donate for the prize, making the competition more exciting and hyped.
Krys agreed with his proposal and asked whether Hamish would like to do the proposal to the teachers.
Hamish nodded.
Erick peeked through his eyelashes, looking at Hamish and sighed inwardly. Sometimes Hamish is too hard-working for his own good. He closed his eyes again, still holding Amber's hand.
They then discussed what kind of prize would be good for the competition. Some suggested stationeries. Some suggested movie tickets or amusement park passes for the class. Amber suggested an all-you-can-eat buffet at one of the restaurants in town.
Must to Amber's disappointment, they decided on amusement park passes.
Amber pouted. Why would they want to go to some amusement park? It's just some place for kids! Sure, it would be fun but it's more fun to sit down and have a meal!
She glanced at some of the giggling girls a few tables away, who seemed excited about the prizes.
It was then she remembered one of the rumours of the dancing fountain there. Truth be told, it's not that the fountain was dancing, but rather, the water from the fountain was designed to move around as if it was dancing.
The rumour was that if a boy and a girl meet up in front of the fountain during sunset and they confess to each other, they will be together forever.
Amber squinted her eyes at them. Surely it's not because of that, could it? That sounds like something from a manga [1]. So cliché.
She sighed as she leaned back against her seat.
Erick, who was still holding her hand, noticed her mood and frowned.
In his mind, Dane growled at him to go and make her happy right at that moment.
Erick ignored the angry growl in his mind and gently tugged on Amber's hand, trying to catch her attention.
Amber looked over and saw Erick looking up at her, with a gentle smile on his face. "What's up?" she asked.
"Are you disappointed because of the amusement park?"
She just kept silent. She did not want to look childish nor petty.
"Don't worry. I heard there's a nice food court over there. When we win, I'll bring you there," he promised, using the word 'when', instead of 'if' as though he was confident that their class will win.
Amber grinned. He really does know her well. "I'll look forward to it."
He grinned and murmured softly, "Me too."
-----
That night.
Amber was in her room, drawing on a paper, as she tried to design their Japanese cafe. On the floor, in the trash bin, there were piles of crumpled papers. She has been working on the design ever since she got home. Though, she did manage to eat her dinner before continuing on.
With a pocky stick in her mouth and her hair tied up in a high messy bun, she looked like one of those authors who are working hard to meet their deadlines.
She was so engrossed in drawing that she did not realize that there was a text notification in her mobile phone. It was until she jumped from the ringing of her phone. She looked over and was about to answer when the ringing stopped.
She picked up her phone and saw that both text message and call were from Erick. 'Hmmm… I wonder why he called?' she wondered as she opened the text message.
Apparently, he had sent a playlist link to share.
She clicked on it and smiled when she read the playlist name; 'Especially for my Amber'.
Shortly after, she could hear voices that were silvery, smooth and clear drifting in the air. It was soothing, in a way. And it was so beautiful that Amber was a bit stunned at first, listening to it.
She placed her pencil down as she immersed herself in the singing.
'Anyone who's seen us
Knows what's goin' on between us
It doesn't take a genius
To read between the lines
And it's not just wishful thinking
Or only me who's dreaming
I know what these are symptoms of
We could be in love' [2]
When the music stopped, Amber blinked her eyes. She touched her cheeks and was surprised to feel that it was wet.
Soon after, there was another message from Erick. The message simply reads,
'I'm completely in love with you.'
-----
[1] Japanese comic
[2] We could be in love - Lea Salonga and Brad Kane.
My all-time favourite love song! Do you have a love song in mind when it comes to a relationship that you're currently in or to a relationship you know? Do comment!
Oh, if you love food, do give my other novel a try:
https://www.webnovel.com/book/13828898106560205
Thank you!
It has been a couple of days since their budget meeting. And Hamish and Amber had discussed with the rest of their class that they will then divide the class into several groups such as decoration, grocery shopping, costume sewing and whatnot.
Once the group was listed, Hamish and Amber gave them the opportunity to choose which group they wanted to work in.
After choosing the group, Amber began writing on the board while Hamish talked in front of the class to tell them to pick which roles they want to assume during the Open Day; hostess, cashier, servers and more.
Since Erick and Hamish were two of the most popular guys in school, these two did not get the chance to pick their roles as the others had already chosen roles for them. The two of them will be the hosts who will guide the customers to their classroom.
Other than those two, Zoe was also chosen as the hostess, since she was also known as one of the beauties in school as well. Other than being the hostess, she also joined the costume design team since she was good at sewing.
As for Amber, since she was good in arts, she joined the decoration team. Dana, on the other hand, joined the cooking team where she will brainstorm with the others to come up with the dishes. The other day Amber had given Dana her list of food that was simple yet delicious to make.
Dana just smiled in bemusement when Amber had handed her the paper with an excited gleam in her eyes. Although the food looked simple, the process of making them wasn't so simple at all. Hence why Dana did not promise her that she will choose all the items in Amber's list to be included in their menu.
Erick was standing in the middle of the room, where the costume design team was surrounding him. They were going to take his measurements for his clothes. At first, there was a small argument on who should take his measurements. Most of the girls argued that they can do better than the other. Zoe was one of them.
Erick scratched the back of his head, looking awkward. As much as he wanted them to stop arguing, he did not know what to do to stop them. Although he did not care about who will be taking his measurements, Dane has a lot of things to say about that. He had been growling furiously in his mind, snapping at how disgusting he felt when he thought of humans, other than Amber, touching them.
Before he could say a word, one of the guys from the costume design team stepped forward and said that he will be taking the measurements.
The girls looked dissatisfied with the result. They were about to argue when Hamish stepped in and asked with narrowed eyes, "Is there a problem here?"
The girls, including Zoe, immediately shook their heads and went on to take measurements for the others.
The guy who volunteered to take Erick's measurement was actually from their pack, meaning that he was also a shifter. He was also close to Erick and Hamish.
He chuckled as he watched the girl's scurry away. "Seems like you have it rough, huh, Erick?" he commented, still chuckling.
Erick rolled his eyes. "Hardy har har, Isaac."
Isaac grinned as he took out a measuring tape and began to measure Erick's size. "I wonder what would be your mate's reaction when she found out that you're her mate and you're a playboy."
Erick narrowed his eyes, giving him a silent warning.
Isaac laughed and continued on with the measurements. He knew when to back down and when a joke is enough.
By now, everyone in the pack already knows who Erick's mate was. Although there was no pressure, they believed that the sooner Amber knows about shifters and mate, the better.
But Erick had argued that he wanted to give her time to get used to him. Only then he will tell her all about him.
The shifters in the pack respected his decision and admired his patience. It was not easy to be far apart from one's mate. Especially when they are just nearby.
Isaac himself doesn't have a mate yet. And he was not in a rush and was not pressured at all.
Few minutes later, he was done with Erick's measurements and turned to Hamish. "You're next."
Hamish nodded and stepped forward.
Seeing that he was no longer needed, Erick walked over to where Amber was talking with a few of their classmates.
She looked very animated with her hands waving here and there as she tried to explain to them what was her vision for the decoration.
Erick leaned against the wall with a small smile on his face as he watched her. He did not want to bother her now since she looked like she was having fun.
After the day he had given her the playlist link and told her that he loved her, she had been acting shy with him. One time, Erick only touched her cheeks and she already turned beet red in embarrassment.
He wasn't sure whether it's a good thing but he hoped that it would at least pull her closer to him.
There were many things that he wanted to do for her but he wanted to take it slow. Patience is a virtue, one has said. And he believed that if he was patient enough, it would be worthwhile. I mean, look at Mary and Fergus.
Now leaning against the wall as he watched the happenings around him, he started to feel bored. Just because he already had a role of a host, the other students believed that he didn't have to contribute anything else. As long as he comes to the Open Day, it would be fine. Seems like they have heard news of him not attending one for the last two years as he usually skipped all school events.
Getting bored, he went over to the cooking team.
Coming closer, he saw Dana and the others looked like they were in a deep discussion with brows furrowed on their foreheads.
Not wanting to disturb them as well, he decided to just eavesdrop, instead. Luckily, he has a good hearing than normal humans.
It appears that they were having a slight argument on which food to choose since they do not want to spend too much, lest they went overboard with their budget.
He then walked over and said, "If there's any problem with the money, you can just come to me."
Everyone at the cooking team turned to stare at him with disbelief. "Come to you?" one of them repeated, still dumbfounded.
Erick nodded. "I can add in some cash for the food budget," he offered. He has a monthly allowance from his parents. He doesn't use his money much, other than games and football equipment. And even so, he still has lots of money leftover since he was good when it comes to saving money.
"You sure?"
Erick nodded, looking serious. Of course, he was serious. They are talking about food here. What's more serious than food?
With that, Dana and the others felt that it was a relief that there was someone who was willing to add their pocket money for the food. Not that they would want to take advantage of Erick's kindness.
A couple of hours later, school had finally ended and everyone in class went their separate ways.
Amber was packing her things when Erick approached her from behind. He slipped an arm around her and asked, "Ready to go home?"
She turned her head and found Erick smiling down at her. She then smiled back and nodded. "Yeah, I want to get started on the decorations," she said.
Erick nodded and walked with her to the car.
Outside the school, Hamish was standing near Erick's car, apparently waiting for the latter.
He looked up when he saw the couple coming his way.
"You need a ride too?" Erick asked, looking at Hamish.
Hamish shook his head. "Nah. Just want to tell you that I'll be going off with Isaac and the others. We're going to some shops to buy some materials."
"Do you guys need some help?" Amber asked, tilting her head in question.
Hamish shook his head once more. "It's no problem." He then waved them goodbye and left in a different direction, where Isaac and a couple of guys were waiting.
Amber frowned as she watched Hamish walk away. "It's strange to see you and Hamish not together," she commented airily.
Erick frowned, looking down at her. "What do you mean?"
Amber shrugged. "You two are always together. Makes me wonder who is closer to you… Your girlfriend or best friend," she mumbled quietly.
Erick began to grin widely. It's not every time he would hear Amber sulk about him, giving out jealousy vibes.
He then pulled her closer and whispered in her ear, "As I said before… You're absolutely the one I'm in love with."
Aw! Isn't Amber adorable???
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