Chapter 84 - 78: We could be in love

"Amber!"

Amber turned around and saw Erick and Hamish approaching her.

School has just ended and she had just finished doing a quick study at the school library when she heard her name being called.

It has been a couple of days since Hamish and her were voted as the committee members of the Open Day for their class. Although Erick wasn't a member, he always joined them for the meeting.

He would keep quiet, sitting next to her during the meeting. There were times he would just hold her hand and snooze quietly as the meeting goes on. Not that the other committee members from other classes would complain. In fact, most of the female members don't mind him being there as it's not always they get to see the school eye candy.

Though, there was one time Erick did get involved. It happened during their first meeting.

At first, there was a bit of a commotion and argument about their class choosing a Japanese stall. Apparently, the anime club in the school has also chosen that as their stall. They had told Hamish and Amber to change.

Amber was a bit upset when she was told to change their stall.

Seeing this, Erick frowned deeply and turned to glare at the protesters.

Apparently, with just one look, the many female fans of Erick could detect his displeasure and scolded those who protested against Hamish and Amber's choice of stall. These protesters then backed away. They could not be able to out-argue his fans since there were more than half of them in the committee.

That day, they were going to have another meeting, in regards to the budget for each class. Because once the budget has been settled, they can begin with their decoration and setup. It was crucial that they have to discuss the budget immediately so that each class will have more time to decorate.

All classes will be cancelled to make way for the students to decorate. But clubs were still ongoing.

Hence why Amber looked confused when she saw the two of them standing before her. From what she remembers was that they had told her before school started that they won't be coming to the meeting. They had football practice.

"What are you guys doing here?" she asked.

Erick grinned as he grabbed her hand. "Practice got cancelled." He then pulled her gently, heading towards the classroom where they will be having a meeting. Hamish followed them from behind.

When they reached the classroom, students from other classes were already inside, sitting and talking among themselves.

Erick walked in first and most of the female students started to turn and stare at him with dreamy eyes. Some even called out to him, ignoring the fact that he was holding hands with Amber.

Erick just smiled and went on to look for seats. When he found one, he immediately pulled Amber to sit next to him. Once she settled in, he slumped over the desk, while playing with her fingers. It seems like he was ready to fall asleep at any time.

Hamish grabbed a seat nearby and sat next to Amber on her right.

The chairperson of the committee was their senior who will be graduating soon. His name was Krys Williams. Although he was not as popular as Erick, he was well-liked by most people in school. He was friendly, smart and good-looking.

When he saw that everyone had settled in comfortably, he began his talk, thanking everyone for coming to the meeting. He then opened up the discussion of the budget.

Talks reverberated around the classroom as each student gave their opinions, including Amber and Hamish.

The discussion lasted for nearly an hour until they finally decided on a figure. Although it wasn't much, they can still earn it back from their stall sales. Hamish also encouraged the other students who were present in the meeting to use their own pocket money. He added that it would be more fun if there was a vote for the best stall.

He further proposed that they should get an agreement from all the faculty bodies in regards to the competition. And that it would be great if the teachers themselves would like to donate for the prize, making the competition more exciting and hyped.

Krys agreed with his proposal and asked whether Hamish would like to do the proposal to the teachers.

Hamish nodded.

Erick peeked through his eyelashes, looking at Hamish and sighed inwardly. Sometimes Hamish is too hard-working for his own good. He closed his eyes again, still holding Amber's hand.

They then discussed what kind of prize would be good for the competition. Some suggested stationeries. Some suggested movie tickets or amus.e.m.e.nt park passes for the class. Amber suggested an all-you-can-eat buffet at one of the restaurants in town.

Must to Amber's disappointment, they decided on amus.e.m.e.nt park passes.

Amber pouted. Why would they want to go to some amus.e.m.e.nt park? It's just some place for kids! Sure, it would be fun but it's more fun to sit down and have a meal!

She glanced at some of the giggling girls a few tables away, who seemed excited about the prizes.

It was then she remembered one of the rumours of the dancing fountain there. Truth be told, it's not that the fountain was dancing, but rather, the water from the fountain was designed to move around as if it was dancing.

The rumour was that if a boy and a girl meet up in front of the fountain during sunset and they confess to each other, they will be together forever.

Amber squinted her eyes at them. Surely it's not because of that, could it? That sounds like something from a manga [1]. So cliché.

She sighed as she leaned back against her seat.

Erick, who was still holding her hand, noticed her mood and frowned.

In his mind, Dane growled at him to go and make her happy right at that moment.

Erick ignored the angry growl in his mind and gently tugged on Amber's hand, trying to catch her attention.

Amber looked over and saw Erick looking up at her, with a gentle smile on his face. "What's up?" she asked.

"Are you disappointed because of the amus.e.m.e.nt park?"

She just kept silent. She did not want to look childish nor petty.

"Don't worry. I heard there's a nice food court over there. When we win, I'll bring you there," he promised, using the word 'when', instead of 'if' as though he was confident that their class will win.

Amber grinned. He really does know her well. "I'll look forward to it."

He grinned and murmured softly, "Me too."

-----

That night.

Amber was in her room, drawing on a paper, as she tried to design their Japanese cafe. On the floor, in the trash bin, there were piles of crumpled papers. She has been working on the design ever since she got home. Though, she did manage to eat her dinner before continuing on.

With a pocky stick in her mouth and her hair tied up in a high messy bun, she looked like one of those authors who are working hard to meet their deadlines.

She was so engrossed in drawing that she did not realize that there was a text notification in her mobile phone. It was until she jumped from the ringing of her phone. She looked over and was about to answer when the ringing stopped.

She picked up her phone and saw that both text message and call were from Erick. 'Hmmm… I wonder why he called?' she wondered as she opened the text message.

Apparently, he had sent a playlist link to share.

She clicked on it and smiled when she read the playlist name; 'Especially for my Amber'.

Shortly after, she could hear voices that were silvery, smooth and clear drifting in the air. It was soothing, in a way. And it was so beautiful that Amber was a bit stunned at first, listening to it.

She placed her pencil down as she immersed herself in the singing.

'Anyone who's seen us

Knows what's goin' on between us

It doesn't take a genius

To read between the lines

And it's not just wishful thinking

Or only me who's dreaming

I know what these are symptoms of

We could be in love' [2]

When the music stopped, Amber blinked her eyes. She touched her cheeks and was surprised to feel that it was wet.

Soon after, there was another message from Erick. The message simply reads,

'I'm completely in love with you.'

-----

[1] Japanese comic

[2] We could be in love - Lea Salonga and Brad Kane.