Amber was a block away from school when the sky began to darken. "Oh god, no..." she groaned. Raindrops began falling from the sky. What were at first light showers became a full-on downpour. "Ugh! Why me?" Amber griped as she ran down the street.
She was just about to cross the street, and the rain was still pouring down. Kitty and Johnny stood under a tree, his motorcycle nearby and out of the rain. They were both perfectly dry. I would be, too... if I hadn't stopped to wait for someone who didn't bother to show up! Amber thought, extremely annoyed. She glanced from side to side, then started to cross. Just as she neared the middle of the street, a car raced in her direction. She quickly spun around, screamed, and ran out of the way just in the nick of time. However, as the car passed, it sent up a spray of water from the shallow puddles. Amber was nearly soaking wet. "Grrrr..." she growled, continuing on.
Amber walked into school, unnoticed by both Kitty and Johnny. As she arrived at her locker, she heard footsteps approaching. Without turning she had a pretty good hunch of who the footsteps belonged to. A shrill voice calling her name confirmed it. "Amber!" She turned to see Kitty almost crashing into her. "Geez! Watch it!" Amber exclaimed. "This is the third time today something almost ran into me!" Kitty tilted her head, confused. "What are you talking about?" Amber counted off her fingers. "Well, let's see... you, a car, and a motorcycle. With Johnny and someone else. Who do you think it was, Kitty?" She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at Kitty. Kitty's eyes widened in realization. "Oh my gosh, I kept you waiting! I am so sorry, Amber." She looked genuinely regretful. "I should have called you, at the very least." Amber's eyes softened. "It's alright, Kitty. I'm just in a bad mood, that's all." Changing the subject, she asked, "So, did Johhny call you and ask if you wanted a ride?" Kitty began bouncing with joy. "Oh, yeah! Just like he promised. But! Guess what else he said?" Amber began gathering her books for class. "What?" Kitty looked about to burst. "He asked me out on a date this Friday night! We're going to go see a movie!" Amber grabbed Kitty's hand between hers and squeezed. "Aw, Kitty! I'm so happy for you!" Kitty smiled. "Thanks! I can not wait!"
The bell for first period rang, and they arrived at class together. They took their seats. Not long after, Johnny walked in. As soon as he got to the back of the room, Kitty sprang up from her seat and gave him a hug. It really touched Amber to see the two of them getting along so well, even before their first date. As Kitty sat down again, Amber leaned over, whispering, "Are you two together already?" Kitty was oblivious to what Amber had asked. "Uh, whaddya mean?" Amber rolled her eyes dramatically. "Oh, humor me, would ya Kitty? I mean your affections for each other are obvious!" Kitty looked into Amber's eyes. "Before things get too serious, I... I want to make sure I'm doing the right thing, y'know? Making the right choices. So we're setting some boundaries here. I told Johnny if he knows what's good for him, he'll stick to them." Amber was surprised. "Wow. What did he say?" Kitty giggled. "He said I'm hot when I'm threatening. But he accepted that, so that's all that matters." Amber nodded absentmindedly. Maybe he's not so bad. Who knows, maybe we could all be friends? The bell rang, and the class silenced. Mrs. Lancer held her attendance clipboard and said, "Well, looks like everyone's here... except Bradley Ryans." Kitty leaned over to Johnny. "Do we even have a Bradley Ryans in this class?" Johnny shrugged. "Not that I know of."
The door suddenly flew open. A dark brown haired teenage boy stood in the doorway. Mrs. Lancer shook her head. "Late on your first day, Mr. Ryans. I don't expect it to happen again. Now, please take a seat next to Mr... uh..." She snapped her fingers, searching her list, and remembered Johnny refused to have a last name. "Uh... him." she muttered, pointing at Johnny. Bradley's hazel eyes scanned the room. His eyes rested on Amber for a brief moment. She couldn't pull her gaze away from his. It was almost overpowering. She could feel her cheeks burning with embarrassment. He finally blinked uncomfortably, and walked slowly to his desk. Amber sat there, paralyzed, until Kitty elbowed her. Amber jumped in surprise. "Amber, is everything alright?" Amber nodded briskly. "Uh, yeah, yeah. Fine."
All of first hour dragged on. The whole time, Amber felt eyes burning into her. Without turning her head, she knew it was Bradley. "Kitty!" she whispered, urgency in her voice. Kitty turned to Amber. "Is something wrong?" Amber swiftly glanced at Bradley out of the corner of her eye. "He's still watching me. Why?" Kitty looked closely at Amber, studying her. "Maybe it's that huge pimple." Amber gasped, her hands flying to her face. "Oh my god, really?" Kitty giggled. "I'm just kidding." Amber smacked Kitty playfully. "Kitty! Don't do that to me!" Kitty winked. "Sorry , I just couldn't resist." Her face suddenly grew serious. "Honestly, though, I don't quite know." Amber glanced at Bradley once more. She was just in time to see him quickly turn his head the other way. No doubt he had been watching her again. This must have been how Johnny felt when Kitty was this way, she thought to herself in realization. Then she remembered the grin on his face whenever he caught her in the act. How can anyone LIKE this? she thought disbelievingly. The class seemed to end abruptly. Amber waited for the classroom to empty. Bradley, watching her, was reluctant to go. He finally left after a few moments. Why is he so insistent on watching me? she thought, shivering.
After what seemed like forever, the day finally came to an end. Amber headed downstairs. As she reached to pull open the door, it unexpectedly flew into her with great force. It collided with her, the impact sending her flying back and onto the floor. "Dammit!" she exclaimed, annoyed. "Is the whole world out to kill me?" Every muscle ached and her belongings were scattered on the floor around her. "I-I'm so sorry, Amber!" She looked up at the person whose voice was so full of remorse that it almost made her heart ache as well. It was none other than Bradley. "B-Bradley?" Amber made an attempt to get back up, but a jolt of pain prevented her from doing so. "Ow!" she said, wincing. "Please," Bradley offered, bending down. "Let me help you." He put his arms around her, guiding her to her feet. He bent down again, picking up what she had dropped. Handing her things to her, he looked into her eyes and asked tenderly, "Will you be alright?" Amber rubbed her sore head. "Uh, yeah. I'll be fine. Thanks, Bradley." Bradley smiled at her. "No problem. But, Amber?" She turned to face him. "Yeah?"
"Call me Brad." He walked away. Amber stood there in silence. The same, odd feeling she had before returned. But this time, it didn't seem so... bad.