Shades of Amber (3 page)

“
It’s
from
The Phantom of the
Opera
.”

My hands clenched around
the paperback. “Sure it is.”

“
We can discuss it when we
meet again,” he assured me.

Closing my eyes, I tried
not to think about his proximity.

Could he hear my pounding
heart?

“
Right, are you psychic?”
I asked, expecting a witty comeback, but when I looked, he was
already gone.

As I took the stairs, I
wondered what drew him to me. Was I special or did I just have
peculiar timing?

This was why I didn’t
date. Everything was far too complicated.

Running through the last
few minutes gave me something to do as I hurried toward the
checkout desk. I slapped the book on the counter, which made Miss
Sorrow shake her head.

“
Did you find everything
you were looking for?” she asked as she put the receipt between the
pages.

“
Yes, thank you.” I tried
to stop there, but I couldn’t hold my tongue. “I think I found a
lot more than I bargained for.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Is
everything alright, dear? You seem rather anxious.”

“
I’m fine,” I smiled as I
grabbed the book and waved good-bye. Once I passed through the
exit, I power walked to my car, wondering why I felt like I was
running from something. Tossing my stuff in the passenger seat, I
struggled to clear my mind.

“
Why am I so freaked out?
He was just flirting.”

I didn’t want to spend my
weekend reading
The Phantom of the
Opera
, but I didn’t have a choice. I just
hoped a literary overdose wasn’t fatal.

I tapped the console with
my fingertips. “This is good. I’ll be able to forget about that
guy, and everything will go back to normal come Monday.”

After I parked my mom’s
old Honda in our empty driveway, my thoughts wandered back to that
guy. He was cute and if he hadn’t been so full of himself, I
might’ve fantasized about seeing him again.

“
Yeah, right.” I swung my
bag over my shoulder and headed for the sidewalk. The sight of the
porch light made me smile. It was comforting to know my parents
didn’t want me stumbling around in the dark. Taking the stairs two
at a time, I hurried to my room and closed the door. It was Friday
night, and I was stuck reading while everyone else was
out.

Pulling off my coat and
boots, I lay on the bed, and read until the words became blackbirds
on snow. I made it through a hundred pages and conked out at 3
a.m.

I spent all of Saturday
reading about the Phantom and his “death’s head” until there were
fifty pages left. I looked at the clock and blew out a frustrated
breath. It was after eleven.

When I woke up at 9
o’clock, I inhaled a bowl of cereal, and then jumped right into the
story. I agonized over what would become of Christine, The Phantom,
and Raoul, until I finally reached the last page.

Yes!

Showered and dressed, I
raced down the stairs, only to find my parents at the
bottom.

“
Well, there you are! We
thought you’d been lured away by the Phantom, himself!” my dad said
as he burst into laughter.

Mom hugged me, and thumped
him on the arm. “Shame on you! At least she was doing homework.”
She squeezed my arm. “How was the book, honey?”

I sighed. “It was darker
than I expected, but it was pretty good. Where are you guys
going?”

She ran a hand down her
navy dress. “We were hoping you’d want to have some family time,
maybe a trip to the museum?”

“
Sure let’s go,” I said
even though I was frowning inside.

My mom beamed at me, and
hurried into the living room to collect my four-year-old sister and
one-year-old brother. Five minutes later, she had Matthew in her
arms and Kimmie at her heels, dancing in a fur coat.

“
Mom, it’s not that cold
out.”

She grabbed Kimmie’s hand
as dad opened the door. “You know how kids are; they always wear
too much or not enough. You used to wear layers in the summer,” she
said with a laugh.

Before I knew it, it was
seven o’clock and we were just getting home. I said goodnight and
climbed the stairs, closing my door behind me.

We’d gone from the Museum
to one of the cafés in the Art District to The Aquarium, and then
had dinner at The River Rock Cafe. Deciding to take a shower, I
grabbed my towel and traipsed down the hall.

Some of my friends
couldn’t wait to get their degree and pursue more exciting lives,
but I thought Chattanooga was a great place for family.

Wearing the
Hello Kitty
pajamas
Shanika gave me on my last birthday, I snuggled under the blankets
and eyed the book on my nightstand. My fingers traced the cover’s
white mask as I remembered the stranger’s words. I’d combed through
it, looking for that phrase, but it wasn’t there. Maybe it was in
another version, but then it dawned on me—it was probably in the
movie.

It didn’t matter. We’d be
on another book soon.

2010

The sound of books
slamming brought me out of my thoughts just in time. Class was
over. I rubbed my neck as I walked outside. The sky looked so
gloomy that even the sun was hiding. I wasn’t surprised; I felt
like disappearing too.

Hugging my backpack to my
chest, I set off toward the cafeteria. I used to spend my free hour
in the library, but it’s been weeks—not since the night I saw Troy,
and I don’t know if I’ll ever have the courage to go
back.

A few months ago, I was
cheerful and smiling, but that was before I saw
him
again. I should be happy, right?
My lost love has finally returned, but at what cost? His love was
like a drug that scorched my system, and I’m afraid that if I let
him, he’ll turn my life inside out again.

I bought a Cola from the
vending machine and claimed an empty table in the corner. Troy may
be back, but I’m the one acting like a ghost. I pulled out my
dog-eared copy of
The
Phantom of the Opera
and stared at
the cover. Three years ago, I never would have thought a single
book would play such a large role in my life.

My fingers traced the
white mask.

Lovely

From the moment I saw
you,

I knew you’d be
mine.

You are the most
beautiful,

Most lovely girl I could
find.

And though,

You don’t know
it,

I’m sure we’ll
be…

Together for the
rest

Of eternity.

-Troy

Chapter 4

September 31,
2007

I got to school just in
time for my 10 o’clock Lit class, and I mean that literally. I
stepped over the threshold right as the bell rang.

Ms. Mitts waved me in
before closing the door. “Good morning, Jade.”

“
Good morning,” I replied
as I caught sight of the only available desk. There’d be more soon.
People always dropped after they received their money.

I walked down the middle
aisle, heading for the seat on the back row. To the left, a girl
played with her phone, and to the right sat a guy with his nose
buried in a book. Neither of them stirred as I grabbed my notebook,
which made me nervous. I didn’t want to get partnered up with a
slacker.

Ms. Mitts cleared her
throat and began writing on the whiteboard with a green
marker:
Phantom of the Opera
Discussion.
She put the lid on and turned.
“Today, we’re going to break into pairs and discuss what we liked
and disliked about the book, as well as what we didn’t
understand.”

Ten minutes later, she
called my name and told me to make friends with the person on my
right. I was curious to know what he looked like minus the book.
Maybe he’d be the cute distraction to my boring
semester.

To my surprise, I found
the same hazel eyes from the library. I gripped the edge of the
desk so hard that I would have damaged it, if I were more than the
average girl.

His lips curled up,
revealing his nice, white teeth.

I wanted to say that he
was in the wrong class when Ms. Mitts gasped. “I’m sorry! I almost
forgot to introduce our new student: Troy Montague. Jade, be a dear
and help Troy catch up.”

The finality in her voice
made me shudder. I felt like pulling my hair out even though he was
watching me.

“
Okay class, get started.”
She tapped the marker against her desk. “And play nice, you’ll also
be partners for the mid-term project. Exchange names, phone
numbers, and emails!”

I put my head in my hands,
wondering if I’d look down and see myself naked. Surely, I wasn’t
really sitting next to the handsome guy I’d been thinking about
since Friday night.

Desks screeched across the
linoleum as people paired off. I held my breath as my desk shifted
to the right. I tried to move back, but I wasn’t strong enough to
do it without drawing attention.

“
You intrigue me.” His
words were quiet and accompanied by a smirk.

“
Excuse me?”

He shrugged and tapped a
pen against his black notebook. “You don’t introduce yourself when
we meet, and then you pretend we don’t know each other. Do you do
that with everyone?”

“
No, I didn’t introduce
myself because I never thought I’d see you again!” I
hissed.

Why was I so frazzled? I
didn’t have time to get caught up in drama, I had to keep my grades
up and make the Dean’s List.

He smirked. “Ah, so I’m
special.”

“
Yes. I
mean, no.” I shook my head. “
You
are a stranger.”

He touched one of my hands
before I hid them beneath the desk. “That’s alright.”

I raised my
eyebrow.

“
We’ll be seeing a lot of
each other.” He traced the line that separated our desks. “You have
to get me caught up, remember?”

“
How could I forget?”
Taking a deep breath, I opened my notebook until I found a clean
sheet of paper, and then I looked him square in the eye. “Hi, I’m
Jade Nightingale.”

“
Jade,” he whispered.
“That’s a beautiful name.” He leaned so close that I could smell
his cologne. It was spicy and unique. “That wasn’t so hard now, was
it?”

I rolled my eyes. The guy
was infuriating, but his cursive turned my name into a work of art.
“You have really nice handwriting,” I said as I scribbled his in my
cursive-print.

“
Thanks.” He smiled.
“Beautiful penmanship for your beautiful name.”

Perhaps, I mistook his
friendliness for flirting.

His easygoing demeanor
made it hard not to smile… until he asked the next
question.

“
What’s your phone
number?” He sat quietly, watching me.

I rubbed my throat. “I
prefer email,” I said as I leaned over to get the water from my
bag.

“
You don’t have a phone
number?”

I tried to look him
straight in the eye, but settled on the space just to the left of
his head. “Nope, just an email address.”

From the way his eyes
sparked, I knew he was laughing on the inside. “Okay, I guess we’ll
just have to meet up every day, so you can help me get caught
up.”

“
Excuse me?” I put down
the water and crossed my arms.

“
Well.” He exhaled. “If
you had a phone I could call, and you could tell me what I’ve
missed over the last two weeks, but you don’t. So we’ll have to
meet up.”

I waved my hands. “Let’s
worry about contact info later. What did you like about the book?”
I paused, remembering the quote I couldn’t find. “Or did you just
watch the movie?”

He chuckled and tapped my
desk with his pen. “Why would you think that?”

I shrugged. “I didn’t find
your words in there.”

His hand rose, and for a
second, I thought he might touch my hair. “I read the book, and
watched the movie. The quote is from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s song:
‘All I Ask of You’.”

“
So did you like the book
or not?”

He leaned close. “I like
that it kept the reader on his or her toes, but it was also
predictable.”

I wrote his response. “How
so?”

“
The good guy always gets
the girl. People would never expect Christine and the Phantom to
end up together.”

“
So are you the good guy
or the bad boy?” I bit my lip, but the words were already
out.

He smirked. “I’m
definitely not the good guy.”

I looked from his black
motorcycle boots to his dark blue t-shirt and leather jacket. No,
he was definitely not the “good guy.” I glanced toward the front,
and realized we were one of the only pairs still
talking.