CHAPTER EIGHT
AMBER
Hey boy genius, there’s an interview at the Press Club on Thursday. We’re the guests of honor.
NOAH
How did you get this number?
AMBER
I have my sources.
NOAH
Your sources have been compromised. Evelyn warned me to play nice.
AMBER
*laughing emoji*
I like her
You on the other hand…
NOAH
Whatever you say, m’lady.
Can’t do the interview.
AMBER
Why not?
NOAH
I’m not a huge fan of cameras or public speaking.
AMBER
Then I guess you chose the wrong political path.
We’re doing this!
NOAH
Fine. What should I wear?
AMBER
Nothing different. Keep your tie knotted for once or slick your hair.
NOAH
Why should I slick my hair?
AMBER
It’s in the way half the time. It looks like a nest because you won’t stop raking your hand through it every two seconds.
NOAH
I thought you liked my hair.
AMBER
What in God’s name would make you think that?
NOAH
Maybe because you always stare at it?
Especially when I ‘rake’ my hands through it or was I imagining that?
AMBER
…
I have no idea what you’re talking about. What hair?
Get ready for Thursday and don’t be late.
NOAH
As you wish, m’lady.
“AMBER, HI! THANKS FOR agreeing to do this.”
She shut the door to the press room, a wide smile gracing her face. “Hi, Trent. Thanks for inviting me back.”
“Are you kidding? We loved you! The whole crew was in stitches the entire interview. Everyone agreed you needed to come by again.”
Amber flushed. “I had a blast. Thanks for fitting us in. Have you seen Noah? I told him not to be late.”
Trent shook his head. “It wasn’t a problem at all. I should thank you for the miracle I witnessed this morning.”
“Miracle?”
“I would’ve never guessed our student body president had a funny bone. He and his friends have been here since 7:00 AM. We were all waiting on you.”
Amber blinked in surprise. Noah had gotten to school so early? He hadn’t exactly jumped at the news that they would have an interview. She had fully expected to hunt him down and drag him into the press room. Maybe his nerves had forced him into arriving early. A twinge of guilt ran through her at the thought of Noah tossing and turning all night, unable to sleep because she’d forced him to come for the interview. She shook the guilt off as Evelyn spotted her and came over.
“Hi, Amber. You look so pretty. I love your hair,” she gushed.
Amber skimmed her waves self-consciously. They were the main reason she’d been late. Beverly had the hair inspo saved on her board for weeks and Amber had finally given it a try. It had taken a few bobby pins, and help from Dottie to get the style right. The front of her hair had been parted in sections and crisscrossed, held back with colorful little hair ties. Dottie had suggested the gemstones.
“Thank you.” She blushed lightly. “I hear Noah’s here?”
Evelyn jabbed a finger over her shoulder. “Yeah. Over at the stage desk with Emmett and Kael. You should’ve seen the way he wrangled us out of the house this morning. I barely had my shoes on.”
“We introduced him to Kael so they could get a bit comfortable with each other before we get rolling,” Trent said. He looked down at his clipboard, his pen scratching at the paper. “He and Kael started a competition on who could mention the most words associated with or similar to others. They started with news, then science. The last round is literature.”
“The words kept getting bigger and longer.” Evelyn shook her head. “I left right as Noah got Cicero-something orations. It’s too early to remember how he pronounced it.”
“I think it's Ciceronian orations. It means speech or writing in the style of Cicero, a statesman and orator revered for his specialization in Latin prose. His literary style was majorly rhetoric, carrying eloquence and rhythm that largely influenced the understanding of literary prose,” Amber replied. She could remember the day Mrs. Wilson had first mentioned it.
She stilled when she registered the wide-eyed looks on Trent and Evelyn. Her voice trailed off, cheeks growing hot the longer they stared. God, she needed to know when to put a sock in it. They hadn’t asked her to dump random information on them. They probably hadn’t thought she would even know what the word was. Were they weirded out that she sounded like a geek?
Evelyn blinked. “I almost forgot. You’re in Contemporary Literature with Kael and Noah, aren’t you?”
“She is,” a voice answered, startling Amber.
The newcomers stepped up to them. Kael waved at her, a genial smile bright against his dusky skin. His coily hair was cut short, shorn on both sides. Somehow, the neatness of his hairstyle must have imprinted on Noah’s. He hadn’t slicked his hair but had managed to tame it by combing it to the side. The waves now fell to his ear and away from his eyes. Noah seemed to be analyzing her as intently as she was to him. His gaze paused on her hair, his mouth popping open.
“What’s that?”
Her hand flew to her hair. He didn’t like it? Amber dropped her hand, a frown climbing onto her face. What did she care if he did? She’d never heard Noah say a nice thing about her. This wouldn’t be a first.
Evelyn smacked Noah, her tone scolding as she said, “Hey. If you don’t have anything good to say, then don’t say anything at all. We’ve covered this, Noah!”
He floundered, still recovering from the hit. “I didn’t mean...”
“We’re ready to start, Trent,” someone called out.
Trent threw a thumbs up, cupped his hands and belted, “We need only the crew in the room please. One minute to camera time. Places everyone.”
The ‘crew’ was a total of ten students including Trent, who had the role of Director and he exercised the part like a pro. His skills with directing the cameras, props and organizing the studio were impeccable. Kael was the club’s spokesman and regularly appeared before the camera, either solo, with another newscaster or the guests on set. The Press Club was a mix of debate and tech class and others who wanted to volunteer and join in. Principal Ellis had agreed to let them record student and staff interviews, share community news or announcements on the school sports teams and broadcast them on the TV’s stationed in classes and offices around the Academy. They usually came into school an hour early to film their sessions and get it running through the day by the time students arrived.
The ‘press room’ was a classroom turned studio. It was well equipped with two video cameras on tripods, clip mics, a background over the board they changed every week, a desk and chairs positioned in front as the stage. In the corner, a table stocked snacks a few of the students had brought in and next to that, a table with laptops arranged for monitoring the videos and editing for broadcasting. Trent had previously mentioned to Amber that he was looking into applying for an addition of a green screen and upgraded computers from the principal.
Amber walked over to their seats as Noah waved off the twins. He returned, taking a place in the middle while Kael adjusted his chair on Noah’s right.
“Everyone ready?” Trent asked. At the answering nods, he began the countdown. “Three…”
Amber sat up in her chair.
“Two…” She did one last check of her hair, careful not to dislodge the gems. Noah tilted his head, watching the motions.
“One.” He leaned over, enveloping Amber in a citrusy scent with a hint of vanilla.
In a second, his voice rumbled into her ear, “What I meant to say earlier is you look lovely and those sparkly things make you dazzle more than you already do.”
“What?”
“ACTION!”
“Hello, Redmington Academy. Another episode here at the Club with Kael and you’ll never guess who we have on the panel today. A star ballerina and recent regionals winner, Amber Coleman and surprisingly, our very own student body president, Noah Rhodes.”
Amber wasn’t sure what magic Kael had worn over Noah but it was working. Excellently. Noah had taken a minute to loosen up at first, only answering in single phrases until she had redirected a question about the library system to him and he had lit up under the studio lights. Now, he and Kael talked, even exchanging jokes like old friends. It was such a crazy sight and she was mesmerized, unwilling and unable to look away.
Noah glowed the more passionately he spoke about the little things she would have never imagined from him. He talked about the teachers implementing activities and tutoring groups to facilitate easy learning, the upgraded services at the library so every book could be easily shelved and located, the cafeteria bringing in fresh products every day to ensure the students had a wide pick of cuisine.
“It's hard work,” he said. “They do it for us and they do it well. I think we need to start appreciating that more.”
She nearly melted. Amber wasn’t sure if it was the heat from the lights or from fixating on the boy who, up until that moment, she had barely been able to tolerate. Then again, she had never seen this side of him. It was in one word, otherworldly . Sitting there, watching him, she began to realize that she liked this version of Noah that didn’t use his intelligence and wit to spite her, instead to entrance everyone listening to him. With this version, it wouldn’t be an entirely terrible experience of working together.
All she had to do was get this part of him out more. It was a challenge Amber found herself eager to accept.
“Thirsty?” He held out a bottle of water. Tipping her head back, she followed his arm up to his face. His gaze was steady on her, face blank but the barest hint of a smile nestled in the corner of his lips. He had come alive in front of the camera in a way she had never seen before, maybe except for when their countless arguments got particularly heated. A bit of that energy still lingered around him.
“Thanks.” Amber accepted the bottle. She twisted the cap and took a sip. “I should be asking you that though. You stole the show today.”
“He sure did,” Kael called. Dropping a hand over Noah’s shoulder, he thumped his arm. “That was amazing. Trent keeps going over all the footage. For the first time ever, he can’t decide what to edit or cut!”
A dark flush swept over Noah’s face, his freckles standing out. She traced the dots, her smile curling against her face. She had taken a chance on this interview and it was paying off. Amber hoped this was the start of a new era for the school president.
“You should come do another interview soon. You and me. We’ll be the station duo,” Kael exclaimed. His enthusiasm made Amber giggle as Noah quickly shook his head.
“I think I’ve had enough of the questions and cameras for one day.”
Kael shrugged. “The offer still stands, man.” With a pat on Noah’s shoulder, he headed out of the press room. Amber checked the time on her phone. They had another five minutes before the first bell rang.
Noah pulled over a chair, a sigh leaving him as he stretched out in it. She followed the movement, surprised he wasn’t eager to leave since the interview was over. Across the room, Trent and a few of his crew were hunched over the laptops. Most of the other students had left along with Kael. The silence between them felt foreign. Anytime they had been within several feet of each other, it was because they were arguing. She tried to embrace the change. if they were going to do and actually get work done, they needed to be cordial at the very least. Shifting in her seat, Amber decided to offer an olive branch.
“I thought you said cameras and interviews weren’t your thing or did you grow a new talent overnight?”
His lips quirked. “The second one. But it’s a secret. I might lose it if you tell.”
“Really? Then everyone is going to find out about it. I can’t have our multi-talented President adding another gift to his portfolio.”
His head fell back, dark eyes meeting her. “Multi-talented, huh?”
She flushed immediately. Turning away, she let out a low scoff, “I didn’t say that.”
“Sure, you didn’t,” he chuckled, causing a second wave of heat to bloom onto her cheeks. Noah folded his arms, then loosened them. He settled for digging them into his pockets. In a soft voice, much softer than she had heard from him before, he said, “I didn’t get to thank you for what you did at lunch yesterday. You didn’t need to defend me, especially with our history but you did it anyway. It meant a lot.”
“Oh.” The word left Amber on a breath. Her lungs emptied as did her brain. Noah was thanking her. He was being nice to her on purpose. Kicking herself, she tried to restart her brain to mouth coordination. Instead of saying something reasonable, she muttered, “It’s been my job for years. No one gets to take that away.”
A crease formed over his forehead, partially hidden by the tips of his hair. “What?”
She couldn’t take it back. Actually, a part of her didn’t even want to. This new atmosphere between her and Noah didn’t have to feel completely foreign, only more courteous.
She smiled, her fingers picking lint from her skirt. “It’s my job to torture you, boy genius. I’m not giving that to just anyone.”
A moment of silence followed her words and Amber cringed, wondering if she had gone and messed it up. A loud laugh burst from Noah, filling the press room and turning the heads of the crew from their screens.
Amber stared at him in bewilderment, an odd comfort filling the air between them. His head tipped back, his hair falling out of its tamed state and flopping over his eye. He put his hand up to push it away, small chuckles still pouring out of him. She ogled at the simple action of brown strands slipping between his fingers, her mouth falling open subconsciously.
The worst part about being unable to look away was the skip of her heart when he turned to her, a golden gleam enveloping his irises and the most devastating smile on his face.
“Torture away, m’lady,” he answered, his voice rough after the belly-laugh. “I’ve always only been yours to torture anyway.”