Getting back home that day, Amber went to her room and changed into a casual cloth before joining her mother in the dining room to eat. When they were done eating, Amber cleared the plates before going to join her mother in the living room.
She took her seat on one of the chairs and called, “Mom?” When her mother turned her head to look at her, she asked, “Can we go visit Emma and her Aunt on Saturday?”
“Why not? Let’s do that,” Mrs. Morgan replied her and a smile came to form on Amber’s lips.
“Can we sleep over at their place too?” she asked, knowing what her mother would say.
“Do you want to?” Mrs. Morgan asked and Amber nodded.
“I just feel like spending these moments with Emma. I want us to revise together and make these moments count. You know she would be leaving for the States after our graduation,” Amber tried to hide the sadness in her voice and her heart ached.
“Sure! Let’s do that,” Mrs. Morgan said with a smile and Amber returned it.
The thought of Emma going to stay with her parent in the States broke her heart. She was happy for her best friend but at the same time, she never wanted to be away from her, but then, what could she possibly do? The thought of having to make new friends saddens her more because she feels that only Emma truly understands her and know how she really feels.
“Mom?” Amber called in a low voice and when her mother looked at her, she asked, “How did you and dad meet?” She has had a long day and she didn’t want to think about Kevin right now. She wanted to hear the sweet love story of her mother and start fantasizing about a romantic guy like her father. If that was what would make her forget about Kevin completely, she was ready to listen. At least, that was what she thought.
Mrs. Morgan smiled and said, “We met at school. I’ve always admired him secretly whenever I am studying in the library. Actually, he was the reason I started going to the library because he always spends his free time there, studying. I was having a hard time getting a math solution one day and I wasn’t aware that he had been staring at me while I battle with it. He suddenly came to where I was and helped me with it. He later volunteered to help me in my studies because I was really way behind. During those moments of studying, there was a spark and then we fell in love with each other. We finished school and got married and then we had...” the smile on her face was slowly replaced with a frown.
“Me,” Amber completed it for her with a smile.
“No,” Mrs. Morgan suddenly said and Amber looked at her, confused.
“No? What do you mean no?” she questioned her mother.
Mrs. Morgan’s expression shows that of a confused person. “I mean, yes but I think—”
“You think what?” Amber looked at her mother with knitted brows as she looked as confused as she was. “Mom?” she called, “What is wrong?”
Mrs. Morgan looked at her with a lost expression and she apologized with “Sorry” before standing up and walking inside.
Amber watch her mother leave and she wondered why she behaved like that. ‘Was her mother forgetting things already? Did she forget that she gave birth to her or was it hard to say?’ Amber asked herself as she looked in the direction of where her mother went.
At school the next day, Amber informed Emma that they would be coming over on Saturday and Emma couldn’t be more than happy about it. They did their reading together and when it was time for lunch, they both left the classroom for the lunchroom.
As they sat down to eat, Emma suddenly brought up a question.
“Will you be present at the bonfire on Friday?”
Amber had not thought much about that as it wasn’t on her mind. “I think I will skip that. I haven’t thought about it so I guess no,” she answered and then asked, “Are you going?”
“Yes,” Emma replied with excitement in her voice. “I already told my Aunt and I thought you also will be going. I should have asked you first,” the excitement in her voice died.
“It’s fine,” Amber said but Emma shook her head.
“It’s not,” she responded. “I can’t be there by myself so I don’t think I will be going either.”
Amber thought about it for some seconds before saying, “Alright. Let’s go together.”
She saw Emma’s face lit up and she said, “Great! Let’s do that.”
When they were done eating, they cleared their plates and walked out of the lunchroom. They had not walked far when Amber heard her name being called from behind. Turning to look at who it was, she saw that it was Kevin but before he could walk to where she stood, some guys met up with him and from the look of it, they seem to be heading somewhere.
Amber didn’t bother to wait anymore and she resumed walking with Emma. They both head back to the classroom but before they got there, they met two junior students on their way; a boy and a girl, arguing with each other where the boy doesn’t seem to be having it.
Amber looked away from them and was about to take a step when she heard the sound of a slap. Her eyes widen and when she turned and looked at their direction, she saw that it was the boy who had landed a slap on the girl’s face because the girl soon held her face as tears began to flow from her eyes.
Amber saw the wrong in it and she said to Emma, “Give me a minute.” She walked to where they stood and cleared her throat to gain their attention. She asked, “What is going on here?”
The boy, who stood tall, ruffled his hair and stared down at her. He then said, “Why do you care to know?”
Amber scoffed as she realized that she was dealing with a rude student who looked down on her. She put up a bold face and answered, “As a senior, I think I have every right to know because I just witnessed you raise your hand on a girl which is against the law of the school.”
The boy clicked his tongue and said, “Look, why don’t you stay out of this. I don’t see how this is any of your business when you have other things to focus on.”
“Excuse me?” Amber frown her brows and took a step towards him. “What are you trying to say to me?” she asked.
“I am just saying that you should stay out of this and let me finish what I started,” the boy said and with that, he roughly grabbed the girl’s arm and wanted to leave but Amber held the girl’s other arm to stop him from taking her. The girl looked from both of them and started sobbing again.
Feeling annoyed, the boy glared at Amber and said, “What is even wrong with you, senior?” he said the last word in disgust. “The whole school knows that you are incapable of handling a guy so then what is your problem with me?”
Emma couldn’t believe how rude the boy spoke to her friend and she was about to interfere when Amber stopped her with a hand, telling her not to.
Turning her head back, she dragged the girl away from him and pulled her to the back before coming to stand in front of the boy.
“Are you trying to test me, junior?” she asked as she felt her blood boil at his words.
The boy smirked and replied her, “And what are you going to do about it?” and with that, he pushed her shoulder lightly.
At the light push, Amber felt a force rise up in her and without holding back, she slapped the boy hard across the face and the sound echoed in the quiet corridor.
The boy quickly held his face as he felt a sting of pain. He had not expected her to land a slap on his face and also, there was something about the force at which she slapped him.
“Am I incapable of handling a guy now?” Amber asked him, still feeling annoyed as she watch his pained expression.
The boy gave her one last look as if marking her face and he left the place. The girl, who held a frightened look after witnessing what happened, thanked her and immediately left the place.
Amber calmed herself and just then, she felt her hand go weak. When she looked at her palm, she saw how red it was and she realized she must have use some great energy to slap the boy, but then, it doesn’t look like that and it got her confused. When she raised her head to look at Emma, she saw her best friend staring at her with a strange look on her face.
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 wh
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