The next day, Amber and Craig were still ignoring eachother. When both of them were around, conversation was difficult. Each acted as though the other didn't exist.

It was more difficult for Amber. She had no friends to chatter with when Craig was around. Craig, on the other hand, could start up a conversation with one of his friends whenever he saw her.

Right before first hour, Amber sat in the classroom and pretended to be reading a book. She didn't notice that the book was upside down, and was titled, 'Changes in a Young Man's Life.' She moved her eyes, unseeing, when Terri walked in.

Terri stood in front of Amber, and stared quizzically at Amber's book.

She stifled a laugh, and said, "Uh...Amber?"

"Hmm? What?" Amber blinked, seemingly getting out of a trance.

"Amber? Do you realize that you were reading a book upside down? And that it's called 'Changes in a Young Man's Life'?"

"Oh!" Amber looked at the cover of the book, blushed, and put it back.

Terri giggled and Amber grinned sheepishly.

"Well, that's one way of getting information," Amber remarked.

"Though I'm not sure you want that kind of information," Terri replied.

"Probably. And it doesn't help that it's upside down, does it?" Amber joked. They laughed.

When the laughter subsided, there was a cheerful atmosphere around them. Amber felt happy; she didn't feel shy with Terri. It was easy to talk to her, and the conversation was friendly and comfortable. They were both enjoying themselves.

When Craig walked in the room, Amber started speaking louder and more animated than before. Amber was grinning from ear to ear; she resembled the Cheshire Cat.

Craig noticed and glanced at Amber. Amber stubbornly kept her back to him, and spoke even louder. Craig sighed audibly, and started talking to Jimmy about pointless things.

Craig was walking down the hall with Manny, trying to ignore her incessant chatter. She was blathering on about cheerleading or something of the sort, and he didn't care one bit.

He finally cut her off by telling her, "Manny, please shut up."

Manny pouted, and complained, "Craig! What is up with that? You don't care anymore! You used to listen to me. Really listen, not just staring off into space and pretending to. You're being mean!"

Craig responded, "I never did care, Manny. So just go away, and talk to someone else that is actually interested."

Manny's frown deepened, and she announced dramatically, "You know what, Craig? It's over. We're through. Good bye!" She stormed past him, and stomped into her classroom.

Well, Craig thought, That got rid of her...
Amber was ranting about how medical tests are stupid, when Terri stopped listening and looked away. Terri was gazing at Manny, who was fuming. Manny was at the other end of the cafeteria, but Terri and Amber could hear her quite clearly. Everybody had stopped eating their lunches, and openly stared at her.

Manny loved the attention, and continued to get even louder.

"Boys are idiots! Scum! Especially ones named Craig," Manny declared. She screeched, "Boys don't have any brains or hearts! I'm warning all you girls, stay away from them!"

"Wow," whispered Terri, "I wonder what Craig did to make Manny so mad. She's practically having a fit!"

"Yeah. She's definitely raging mad," Amber whispered back. She thought, If I was speaking to Craig, I would ask him.

As if reading Amber's mind, Terri commented thoughtfully, "You know, if you were actually talking to Craig, you could ask him."

"Yeah," Amber trailed off.
During Manny's performance, Craig covered his ears and hid his face. Now, any shred of pride was gone. He was extremely embarrassed.

He dared to lift his head up, which ended up being a bad move. With a groan, he dropped his head on the table. Manny was still going at it.

Craig wondered how much of this he would have to endure. His friends were poking and prodding him, making fun of him. They were winking and nudging and elbowing, and they thought of it as all a big joke.

They didn't understand that he was trying to Amber, and that she didn't seem to have a spark of interest in him. This was rather depressing, considering that he had managed to gain the attention of most of the other girls in the school.

After waiting for a couple of minutes, he chanced a look up again. She was still yelling, so he decided that he should probably leave. He got up, and walked out the door, hearing Manny's voice behind him all along the way.