“Guilty.” As if once wasn’t enough, he said it again. “Guilty.”
Evan Andrews raised his eyebrows as Peter repeated the word slowly. “Guilty.”
“Are you feeling okay?” he asked.
Peter grinned sheepishly. “Sorry, Evan. I just like the word. Guilty." He twisted backwards in his seat, oblivious to the bus driver’s glares.
Evan smiled a little and shook his head. Maybe the stress of end-of-the-year exams had finally gotten to him- Peter had a tendency to overreact.
“Are you planning anything this weekend?” Peter asked after a minute of silence.
He shrugged. “We’re going to visit my cousins in Orem, I think. Dad’ll probably spending all day comparing my basketball skills to Josh’s.”
Peter looked sad and a little scared for a moment, but the odd expression vanished a few seconds later. Evan decided he must’ve imagined it. “Oh . . . fun,” his friend croaked.
“Peter, are you sure you’re all right?” he repeated.
“Yeah, I’m just tired.” Peter cleared his throat. “Where’s Ambrr? I haven’t seen her since school ended.”
Evan shrugged. Peter could find Ambrr in seconds at school assemblies, lunch, or in the hallways. If he hadn’t seen her, Evan had even less of a chance of it.
“I hope she doesn’t miss the bus,” Peter continued.
“Remember last time it left without her?” They grinned at the memory. Ambrr had chased the bus for at least a mile and a half. She’d almost chased it to the freeway. Her rant at the bus driver the next morning was well-remember by all students. Even now, the bus driver glanced nervously out the window before he inserted the keys in the ignition.
“Here she comes,” Evan said as a figure raced over the school grounds. Ambrr Monstalki climbed onto the bus. She slid into the seat next to Peter and smiled at Evan.
“What took you so long?” Peter asked.
“My history teacher wanted to talk to me about ‘behaving myself.’ Apparently my ‘arrogant behavior undermined the point of the class: the adulation of historical artifacts.'” She rolled her eyes.
“What did you do to misbehave?” he asked as the bus left the loading zone.
"I might have implied that the ‘Makers of History’ were ugly,” Ambrr muttered. “Three hundred years ago, having a straight nose and a frilly coat was very fashionable,” Evan informed her.
“Yeah, and doctors put leeches in sick children to make them feel better,” she countered. “We have excellent role models.”
Evan and Peter exchanged looks. It was definitely time to change the subject again. “Have you had the math test yet, Peter?”
He nodded. “I can’t get the hang of slope intercept.”
Ambrr attempted to flip her curly red hair when he said that, but failed because it didn’t reach her shoulders. “Peter, that doesn’t matter. Excel anyway.” Softer, she added, “No regrets.”
“Is that your family motto, Ambrr?” Evan asked half-jokingly.
She grimaced. “With Myrrdin taking all those medical classes his freshman year, Mom’s setting an even higher standard for me.”
He didn’t know why she was so concerned. She was in two honors classes and could outrun everyone in junior high and all the high school freshmen. Whenever she did something, she conquered it.
“Don’t worry about it,” Peter said, whose thoughts had probably matched Evan’s. Ambrr’s smile disappeared and she looked away.
“Are you coming to night games tonight?” he quickly asked Evan.
“I thought it was canceled.”
“That’s what I told everyone because I’m sick of Jason Handler acting confused when a girl can outrun him,” Ambrr said. “But you can come.” She handed him her cell phone. “Check first.”
Evan shook his head and opened up a new text message.
“By the way, I can’t make it tonight, Ambrr,” Peter joked.
“Don’t,” she growled. He paused halfway through his message. “That’s not funny, Peter.”
“Sorry,” he muttered.
“Don’t apologize to me- you know how Bast feels about that!”
“Sor- er, okay. I don’t care much for that etiquette anyway.”
Ambrr’s voice dropped to a nearly inaudible hiss. “Do it to your equals and your superiors- not to me. You’re in enough trouble already.” Louder, she added, “Have you sent that message yet, Evan?”
He looked up. Ambrr’s intense gaze and Peter’s cartoonish round blue eyes were both on him. “Yeah.” Evan dimly realized his hands were shaking. He hastily pressed send.
