Emma cried and cried. She couldn't help herself. She couldn't believe Amber took it that far. She was glad when Amber got sent to her mother's office and hoped she got what she deserved. "It's okay. It's over now." Corny whispered to her as he held her. She couldn't help but cry even harder. What if all of the girls attacked her like Amber did? She didn't understand their hatred for her. Was it simply because she was prettier then they were? That was something she couldn't help.
"This is just unbelievable," Velma cried. She looked like she was going to faint or something. "What's unbelievable is your daughter, Velma. What's wrong with her attacking Emma on the air like that?" Corny retorted.
"This has nothing to do with you." Velma told him then turned to Emma and said "Do you know what provoked Amber to do this to you? I saw you two trying to get in front of each other during that last dance is that why she did this?" Emma just held her head down and started to cry again.
"Emma answer me. I can't help you unless I know exactly what happened."
"Amber is jealous of Emma that's all it is." Corny said speaking up for her. He still had his arm around her and she buried her face on his shoulder.
"If you don't mind I'd like to talk to Emma about it." Velma said to him. "Alone please." She added when he just stood there. Emma didn't want him to leave her side but watched as he let her go and headed back to his dressing room.
"Emma, let's go to the back room and talk okay." Velma said and walked off. Emma followed her and Penny gave her a sympathetic look as she passed by. Emma sat down in one of the empty chairs in the room and Velma sat in front of her.
"Emma, I'm sorry about what Amber did, and I know she doesn't like you but what happened out there? Did you say something to her?"
"No, not really. We were having a heated discussion about her pushing me then she attacked me," She said deliberately leaving out what she said about Link. That really wasn't anyone's business anyway, so she didn't get why Amber attacked her because of that. She secretly hoped Amber would get kicked off the show but she knew that would probably never happen. "Is that all that happened?" Velma asked her
"Yes that's all. This isn't the first time she's attacked me," Emma said looking down at her dress. It was brand new and her mom had bought it for her to wear on the show but now it was ruined. The strap was broken, there was a tear at the waist, and there was a bloodstain on it that must have belonged to Amber since she wasn't bleeding anywhere. "What do you mean it's not the first time?"
"She pushed me down at school the other day, and claimed it was an accident but it wasn't."
"I'm sorry about that. I need to talk to Amber. Then I need to have a meeting with Mr. Spritzer and Corny about how to handle this. Can you stay here for awhile?"
"Sure, I have no where to go anyway." She said and Velma got up and left. A minute later she walked out of the room to find Penny. She wasn't where she was standing during the show.
"Penny left, Emma." She heard a voice say from behind her. She turned around and saw Tracy standing behind her.
"Excuse me?" Emma asked confused.
"Penny. That's who you were looking for right? She had to leave. Unless you were looking for someone else." She said pointedly.
"No, Tracy I wasn't looking for anyone else and if I were that's my business."
"Link is my business Emma. Don't think I haven't noticed the way you're always flirting with him."
"I don't have to answer to you." She said and started to walk away. Tracy was bothering her even more then Amber. She didn't know what happened between her and Link but she was very tempted to tell her. Tracy grabbed her arm and pulled her back.
"You do have to answer to me when it comes to Link. Stay away from him." She threatened.
"Let go of my arm." She shrieked. She was in enough trouble already and she didn't want to make it worse. She was glad when Tracy let her arm go. "I mean it Emma. Stay way from Link."
"Tracy just leave her alone." She heard Corny say as he walked over to them. He immediately put his arm around her. Tracy looked from Corny to Emma. She knew something wad definitely going on between them but she didn't care what or who Emma did as long as it wasn't Link.
"Fine, I have to go anyway." She said and turned away.
"Are you okay, now?" Corny asked her when Tracy was out of sight.
"I'm fine now. I'm afraid I'm going to get kicked off the show though and it's not even my fault."
"You're not going to get kicked off the show Emma not if I have anything to say about it," He said and pulled her into a hug. He started to kiss her slowly and then pulled back suddenly. "Emma I have to ask you something."
"What is it?"
"What were you and Amber fighting about? I heard you say something about Link. Is that why she hates you?" Emma nodded and said "She's mad because Link likes me. That's why Tracy doesn't like me, either."
"They're going to have to get over it. It's not like you are leading him on or anything. Try not to let them get to you." He said and kissed her again.
"Don't worry I'm not. Can I still come to your place later."
"If you still feel like it."
"Of course I do. I need to be around someone who really cares about me." She said and then put her arms around his neck and kissed him again. "No wonder they're all jealous of you. You are so pretty and easy to fall in love with." She smiled for the first time since Amber attacked her. He was falling for her and she knew he wasn't going to let her go anywhere. Amber was definitely not going to like that. Poor Amber just didn't get it. She was no longer the hottest girl in Baltimore or the girl all the guys wanted to date. Emma was.
Amber was sitting in the lobby on the sofa across from the chair Emma was sitting in. She was calm now but sitting so close to Emma was making her sick. Emma wasn't crying anymore and in fact she looked totally confident. Amber thought Emma's tears were just an act for attention, anyway. She knew she didn't hurt her. She probably figured if she cried everyone would feel sorry for her. She knew Corny would hold her if she got emotional, and then she'll sleep with him, too. Emma had started humming the tune to some popular song like everything was just fine. Why wasn't she worried like she was? They could both get kicked off the show. Her mother made that very clear when she talked to her about happened. Nothing she said justified attacking Emma even when she explained about Emma doing it with Link. Her mom didn't care what Emma did with her personal life and pointed out that it was no excuse. She also learned Emma told her about pushing her at school, as if that had anything to do with the fight.
Now her mom, Mr. Spritzer, and Corny were in her office deciding what to do. They had been in there for about an hour an Emma didn't look worried. She must have been doing Mr. Spritzer too so she knew he wasn't going to kick her off the show. Amber put her finger to her lips. It wasn't bleeding anymore but it was swollen. Emma was looking at her now and Amber caught her eye.
"I hope you're happy now." She told Amber.
"I'm not happy Emma and I won't be until you are gone." She said coldly.
"You're getting kicked off the show Amber so you can just give me your dirty looks for the TV screen when I'm dancing with Link and all of the other guys who want to dance with me."
"Go to hell!" She screamed at the same time the door opened. Mr. Spritzer and Corny came out and looked at her, and she looked down in embarrassment. They walked by her and Corny touched Emma on the shoulder as he walked by and Emma smiled. What was going on between them anyway? That was a dumb question. It was pretty obvious! It was the same thing that was going on between Emma and Link and probably every guy in Baltimore.
"Come in girls." Velma said from the doorway. Amber sat in the chair across form her mom's desk and Emma sat next to her. Velma looked at both of them for a minute before speaking. "We've made a decision about what happened. Well, actually a decision hasn't really been made yet."
"What do you mean?" Emma asked
"We couldn't agree on rather or not to fire one or both of you so it's still possible. But for now you are both suspended form the show until you are told otherwise."
"What? Mom, come on!" Amber cried. Suspended from the show? Was she serious? Her mother couldn't do this to her!
"I'm sorry Amber but that's the way it has to be." Velma told her then turned to Emma and said, "Are you okay with this?"
"Sure Velma I'm just fine. I haven't done anything wrong so I'm sure it'll all work out for me at least." She said and looked over at Amber. Amber felt her face heat up. If she weren't already in trouble, she'd hit Emma again.
"Good, well you may leave now. I'll call you and let you know what's going to happen." Emma got up to leave.
"Mom! Suspended? You have to do something about this!" She cried when Emma closed the door behind her.
"Amber I tried okay? It's because of me you're just suspended for now."
"What do you mean?"
"Corny and Mr. Spritzer both wanted you off the show Amber, but I fought for you. I told them it's not fair to fire you and not Emma and they disagreed with me. We couldn't compromise so Mr. Spritzer decided to suspend both of you until a decision could be made."
"This isn't fair mom!" She cried.
"Honey, it wasn't fair that you attacked Emma like that."
"She was with Link, and probably some of the other guys, too."
"I told you. I don't care about Emma's personal life, and you shouldn't either. You just better hope this doesn't get you kicked off the show. Now, I'll meet you at home. I still have some things to take care of before I can leave." Amber got up and walked out. She needed to go by the dressing room to get some of her things but decided against it. Emma might be in there doing the same thing. She went out side and realized she left her purse in the room. Great, she thought and turned around to go to the dressing room. The studio was dark since most people had gone home. She slowly opened the door to the dressing room and saw a couple embracing. She recognized Brad right away and she knew he had just started dating Luanne but the girl who was sitting on the dressing room table with her legs around him was definitely not Luanne. Amber opened the door a little farther and recognized the torn sea green dress strap and the brown curly hair. Emma was worse then she thought!
She was about to run back and tell her mom but figured what was the use her mother wouldn't care anyway. It was just another thing that proved Emma was just a whore and she would probably sleep her way to the top. If going through all the council guys was Emma's way of staying on the show then she didn't stand a chance. She closed the door back and walked out of the studio. She started to cry when she realized that was probably the last time she would see the inside of it.