In The Between

i.

-p

Running to her dorm from the rain without an umbrella wasn't exactly what Amber had in mind after a day of tests.

Quietly muttering curses, Amber rushed under the cover of a shop for temporary coverage. She moved backwards to avoid have her clothes be splattered anymore with water than they already were. The girl rung out the bottom of her shirt and rolled her eyes at the sight of a couple sharing an umbrella together, like they belonged in a melodrama romance movie.

As she waited, she couldn't help but feel impatient as the rain wouldn't stop. She sighed. There was a mountain load of homework to be done by the next day and this weather wasn't making it any better.

A small idea popped in Amber's head and she glanced at the rack next to her. She innocently walked over and looked at it, making sure no one was close.

Amber grinned.

• • •

The girl giggled giddily as she calmly walked with a gray umbrella covering her from the rain. Sure, she'd just stolen someone's umbrella, but they weren't the person that had to finish packets of work for the next day.

Amber slowed her pace as she neared a convenience store. She checked the time and shrugged. She was pretty sure her dorm mate Katie had complained about how they were low on their candy stock, and Amber had promised on her rush out to get some.

She entered the store and shook off her umbrella and attempted to tame her birds nest of hair. On entering it took the girl a while to pinpoint the candy section due to it being in the back. A smile crossed her face as she also spotted her favourite--bubble tea.

Amber quickly purchased a small bubble tea for herself before heading over to the candy section.

Unexpectedly, however, the girl had to stop herself from crashing into another customer as she was turning the corner.

The customer, who wore a baseball cap low on his face seemed to glance at Amber. In return she muttered a small apology before she cautiously moved around the guy.

"Geez," she quietly murmured to herself and headed for the candy, taking a sip of her drink.

Now, for the candy...

• • •

Amber happily exited the store with her bubble tea, umbrella, and bag of candy. Seeing it was still drizzling outside, she sighed and shook her head while opening up the umbrella.

Umbrella safely over her head and candy and drink in one hand, Amber stepped into the rainy streets. A sudden wind spread a chill over her, and the girl pulled herself closer, bringing her arms closer to her body. Footsteps slowing, Amber watched from a distance as a couple crossed the street. From closer inspection, she figured that it was one of the college's sweetheart couples.

Amber took a sip of her drink and chewed the boba that came up thoughtfully. Her friend Iris had recently gotten a boyfriend, only to have them break up after a few weeks. One night, Iris had paid a visit to Amber's dorm--in the middle of the night, mind you--to rant about the guy. And no matter how long they'd been friends, Amber couldn't deny that she'd despised her best friend at that moment. Her well deserved sleep before a week of exams at been forcibly destroyed by a frustrated girl.

Relationships were simply great, no?

Amber vaguely remembered the time she'd dated once in high school. It was when she had used to think dating was something she was ready for. Heck no. She'd seen a certain decrease in her grades, and in the end, it had just ended within a month without anything significant. It was almost like those middle school dances in which the girls would nudge one unlucky girl towards the guys as the guys would push and shove to spotlight one boy towards the girl. In other words, it was useless and a sight to scoff at.

Amber quickened her pace. There was so sign of the rain even hinting at stopping and her homework wasn't going to finish itself. She ignored the ding of a text from her phone. No doubt it was Katie nagging at her to come home quickly.

For the second time that day, Amber grumbled curses to herself as her bag of candy almost flew away by a gust of wind.

"Okay, okay. I gotta get home fast..."

Finally Amber neared her dorm and she sighed in relief.

• • •

"Where did you get that umbrella?" Was the first thing Katie asked when Amber entered the dorm. The other girl smirked in response and just shook her head.

"Places."

Katie looked at her weirdly but nodded. "Did you buy them?"

Amber looked at her blankly for a second. Katie sighed. "The candy."

"Oh, yeah, that. I got it." She showed her the bag before tossing it on the table. "I'm finishing my homework." And with that, Amber disappeared into her room.

As she took off her coat, she checked her pockets. A slip of unexpected paper came out. With an arched eyebrow Amber slowly picked it up as if it was invested with germs.

The paper was slightly wrinkled due to the rain water but the writing was still neat and legible.

She read over the note, hoping this wasn't a prank.

"You have two months to get Noah _____ to break up with his girlfriend. That's when she's planning to break his heart. Two months."

Amber looked at it skeptically before reaching into her pocket and snapping a picture of it. With a flick of her wrist, she squashed the paper into a small paper ball and threw in the trash can.

She put the phone away and turned to her mountain of homework.

• • •

Amber finished up the packet and slammed it on her desk. There were only two more to go, and then she could enjoy some freedom and maybe go to Iris' about that note.

Finally much to Amber's relief, the packet was somewhat short and required almost no work. She eyed her phone, and then looked towards her door.

With a decision, Amber jumped up from her chair and stretched. Then she headed towards the kitchen with a giddy feeling.

Katie was in her room doing god knows what, and Amber took that chance to sneak some candy.

Heading back to her room, Amber took her phone, a warm coat, and the candy.

Leaving the dorm, she called to her dorm mate over her shoulder. "I'm heading to Iris'!"

A faint "Okay!" rang back to her and Amber left to dorm.

Hopefully Iris had some idea on what to do about the note.