Author's note: Happy Birthday Denise! This chapter's
for you!
Michael looks up in annoyance, irritated at being interrupted. His irritation
only grows when the object of his annoyance turns out to be none other than
Amy, stomping towards him, from the administration door, with an impatient
expression on her face.
Despite her relatively short height, (she was five foot two at most,) Amy had
an imposing stance about her that vaguely reminded one of a tiger, or some
other form of a vicious animal. This was more than apparent as she briskly
walked towards Michael and Sydney with an angry and determined air.
"Michael! THERE you are! I've been waiting for you in the office for like,
ever! You're supposed to be meeting with the princi-" Amy's icy blue eyes narrow
as she cuts herself off. She's obviously spotted Sydney, and seems to be less
than happy about it. "What is SHE doing here?" Amy spits out the words at
Michael, but her cold glare is obviously directed at Sydney.
Michael watches, slightly astonished, as Amy continues to stare down Sydney,
taken aback with the intensity of Amy's hateful gaze. 'Wow. I've never realized
how much she looks like a bulldog until now…' he thinks.
Michael decides that he needs to do something before this escalates into an
explosive situation, and quickly stands up, smoothly moving himself between his
angry cousin, and the startled Sydney, blocking them from each other's view.
"Amy, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were waiting," Michael tries to dissuade
his cousin's attention from Sydney, with no avail. Amy, despite her obviously
shorter height, (Michael was about an even six feet, so he towered over his
cousin,) is trying to see around him, hopping on one foot, and more than
slightly resembling a chicken.
Unable to get his cousin's attention, Michael finally grabs her by the
shoulders and forces her to look at him.
Amy scowls at him, but acquiesces. "Michael." She states loudly. "You're
supposed to meeting the principal right now. He wants to talk to your classes,
and your transfer grades, and you're LATE." Amy snaps the last word directly
into Michael's face, causing him to lean back slightly.
'Wow. Forget bulldog. Try pit bull.' Michael cocks his head at his cousin, and
tells her soothingly, "I'm sorry. I got a bit lost, and Sydney," he gestures at
Sydney, who's still looking slightly frightened of Amy, "She helped me find my
way here."
He smiles at Sydney, trying to alleviate the tension, but Sydney proceeds to
look down at her hands instead.
"Listen, Amy. Why don't you tell the principal that I'll be right there? I'll
meet you inside, okay?" Michael gently shoves his cousin towards the
administration office.
When Amy opens her mouth to protest, Michael holds up a finger to her, green
eyes flashing and silently warning her to not say anything but to keep walking
instead.
Amy makes a slight huffing sound, but proceeds to stalk back towards the
administration office, noticeably letting the door slam behind her.
Michael turns towards Sydney, who's still looking down at her hands.
"Are you okay?" He sits down next to her on the bench, and prods her gently.
"Yeah, I'm fine. She just…startled me." She looks up and smiles at him.
Michael pulls out a piece of paper from his pocket, along with a pen. "Well, I
have to go…but before I do, here's my number. Give me a call sometime, okay?
I'd like it if we could get together and hang out. " He scribbles a few numbers
down, and hands the slip of paper to Sydney. "I could help you with your
French."
She takes the paper from him, and nods towards the door. "Go, you're late
already. And believe me, you don't want to upset the principal."
Michael stands up, dusts off his pants and coat again, and walk towards the
door, but not before pausing to smile and wiggle his fingers at Sydney in a
slight wave.
She smiles back, her fingers still curled around the slip of paper. As he steps
into the office, her hands tighten around the scrap, and she slowly crumbles it
in her hand.
She stands up from the bench, sighing, but walks towards the trash can near the
bench and tosses the crumbled sliver into the basket.
Pausing for a moment to look at the office door, Sydney sighs sadly before
stepping out into the sun, steps echoing slightly on the dewy grass.
