A Job With Him

I'll Be Counting On You

"Hey, are you alright?"

Joshua asked as I stared at him. I quickly came back to reality and looked back down.

"Yeah, sorry."

"Haha, it's fine. Here take my hand. I'll help you up."

I glanced up at him again. His eyes were staring right into mine. I took his hand and he pulled me up. I wasn't able to balance myself and almost fell but Joshua managed to catch me with his arms. My heart palpitated rapidly as only the sound of the wind surrounded us. Our faces were really near to each other. He then broke the silence and helped me balance. I held onto his shoulder as he held onto my waist. I was surprised how he instinctively wrapped his hand around me but didn't mind since I was injured and needed him to do that. He then helped me walk back into the school building.

"So, I saw what happened back there. I was going to get involved but Wayne dragged you out of the canteen so fast that I only found you after he left the field. I'm sorry, I should've come faster to help you," he apologized sincerely.

So that guy was Wayne huh. "It's fine Joshua. I'm glad you were here. If not, I think I would've been locked up in school sitting in that field forever HAHA," I laughed.

Joshua chuckled too and smiled at me. My heart skipped a beat. His smile looked so charming.

"How did you know my name? I thought you never paid attention to anyone in class and didn't care. You seemed like someone who didn't want to be disturbed."

"Oh, I'm actually quite observant hehe. I remember everyone's name in my class. I didn't know that I seemed that unapproachable. It's just that I prefer to be alone. But I don't mind people coming to talk to me lol."

"Ahh I see. Sorry to have misunderstood you Amber."

I grinned at him, "It's fine. Wait, how did you know my name? I don't think I've ever mentioned it."

His eyes widened and he rubbed his neck with his free hand nervously. "Uhh well, I'm not a stalker or anything. But I needed to know your name to partner you up with someone for the Geography project since I was the subject representative. So I asked the teacher for the class list and remembered your name. By the way, I'm sorry I partnered you up with Melissa. I didn't know that she would do this and get you into this mess."

I felt touched for some reason. Someone actually wanted to know my name and remembered it. I smiled with glee and told him it's fine and to stop apologizing.

I thought he would bring me back to class but instead, he was bringing me to the opposite direction.

"Wait, where are we going? We have class now."

"You're still thinking of going up to class with that ankle? No way! I'm bringing you to the general office so that the staff there can check it and the wound on your right arm."

"But it's fine, really! I need to go back to class for lesson. You need to too. I also need to finish my homework before school ends because... I mean, I don't want to disrupt your studies. So how about we go back up? My ankle is fine. I can handle it," I didn't want to say too much about myself. Plus, I was really worried about him too. He would miss the lesson because of me.

"Hey stop worrying about me. I can catch up with the lesson and you're really smart so you definitely can too. It's on Chapter 5 of Math anyway and it's not a hard topic. We can just read the textbook to understand it. Plus, if you're really worried about me missing lesson, then how about you tutor me, okay? So stop trying to go back to class. Your health is more important."

I sighed and gave in. How could I possibly respond and go against that? He was right. Wait, did he just call me smart? And asked me to tutor him? My heart fluttered. This guy is making my heart do weird things.

Upon reaching the general office, Joshua helped me to the bed in the medical room and the staff came to check my sprained ankle and wound. They disinfected the wound and wrapped a bandage there. They massaged my ankle and tried to twist it back to normal as well. I winced due to the pain a little but didn't make a sound. This surprised both the staff and Joshua who was standing there looking after me. "Uhh I kind of have a high pain tolerance hehe," I told them and they smiled. Apparently I would not be able to walk properly for a few days cause my ankle needed to heal and would still hurt but it wasn't so serious that I needed crutches or to be hospitalized.

"So just make sure that you have a friend with you whenever you're in school to look out for you just in case something happens, like you falling and hurting your ankle again. It might get more serious so make sure you have someone with you. I'll leave you alone now. You can stay for a while and go back to class once you're alright," the woman massaging my ankle said and I nodded while saying thanks. I started playing with my fingers after that. I didn't have any friends. I didn't think I would end up in this kind of situation. Ugh, I should've been more prepared. Joshua saw my worried expression and knew what I was thinking. After the staff left, he sat beside me and comforted me, "Don't worry. I'll take care of you."

I was slightly taken aback. He wanted to help me? "A-Are you sure? I don't want to be a burden to you. I'll be fine on my own honestly," I said looking down.

"Yes Amber, I'm very sure. We take the exact same classes too so it'll be easier for me to look out for you. Plus, wouldn't it be harder to find someone else in class to help you? After all, I'm the closest person to you in school now don't you agree?"

I looked at him then looked away. He said that he was the closest person to me in school and that was the truth. After thinking for a few seconds, I turned back to him with a small smile.
"Alright then, thanks Joshua. I'll be counting on you now."