Swept Away (8 page)

Amber opened her mouth, but Brittany hadn’t finished.

“Besides …” Brittany put her napkin down. “The contest isn’t only about the car. It’s a huge honor to win it. It’ll mean a lot on transcripts and everything. Why should I forfeit that?”

Amber didn’t look at Brittany while she formulated her words. “Look, Brittany. I shouldn’t have said it. It had been kind of atough week for me personally. I’d been worried about my family—my dad had some interviews that didn’t go anywhere—and thinking about my future. It was selfish, and I wasn’t thinking about anything but the car.”

“You know … it’s not my fault your dad got fired.”

Amber’s head reeled as if slapped.

Brittany’s eyes immediately flashed with regret, but it was too late to take the words back.

“I can’t believe you said that. My dad didn’t get
fired
. He got laid off. And no one ever suggested you were at fault. That’s ridiculous. Like I said, I was only thinking about the car—which you
don’t
need, by the way—I wasn’t thinking about the other benefits of winning.” She took a few breaths to calm her fuming nerves. “Wait a second. You mentioned transcripts.” Amber narrowed her eyes. “We found out weeks ago that we both got awarded full scholarships. So, how does this contest help with that? What do our transcripts have to do with it anymore?”

“I meant that at the time you brought it up, it might have mattered.”

“No, it really wouldn’t have. This is a made-up, local contest that wouldn’t have been over by the time colleges made their decisions. We would still have the perfect attendance and the grades, even without the contest. So, I’m not buying that argument. It all comes down to the car.”

“Are you saying our friendship comes down to the car?” Brittany’s eyes welled up with angry tears.

“No! I didn’t say that. You did. I said the
contest
comes down to the car.” Amber closed her eyes and took a few ragged breaths, hoping to collect her thoughts enough to find a way to fix things. “You know what? If you’ll remember correctly, that day in the principal’s office, I said this contest would lead to no good between us. Remember?”

“I guess that’s because you know yourself well enough to know you couldn’t handle the competition.” Brittany’s eyes grew cold.

“That stung, Britt. I hope you don’t mean it. I hope this whole conversation is because of the pressure you’re feeling.”

“According to you,
I’ve
got it easy.
You’re
the only one with pressure, Amber.”

Amber stared at her best friend for a moment. What had gotten into her? “I’ve never seen you like this. I don’t know what to say. This really hurts my feelings.”

“Now you know how it feels.”

“Look, I said I was sorry. I said I made a mistake—had a judgment lapse. If you can’t forgive me or understand it, I can’t help you. But I’m not going to sit here and take this. You’re acting so cold. I don’t know where this is coming from.” Amber bit her lip. “Maybe you should drive me home.”

“Probably a good idea.” Brittany stood up and dropped a few dollars on the table for a tip and headed for the door.

Amber added two dollars and followed her out.

The ride took about fifteen minutes, but in the silent car, it went on for ages.

“We’ve never argued before. I don’t know how to do this with you.” Amber gazed out the window.

“I’m sure we’ll get over it. I just need some time. I have to focus on my studies right now. It’s hard because I know in the back of my mind you don’t want me to win. It’s hard to know your best friend would prefer that you fail.”

“What? I don’t want you to fail—I just happen to want to win. Same as you.”

“No, that’s where you’re wrong. Not the same as me.” Brittany pulled into the driveway.

“Not at all.” She stared straight ahead. “If you won, I would be just as happy to see you sit in that car as I would be if I won it myself. Not so with you. I don’t know how to deal with that. I’m sure I’ll figure it out, though.”

Amber wondered if she could be right, but shook her head in denial. “I’m sorry, but you’re dead wrong. But whatever. I can’t convince you. I’ll leave you to your books. Call me when you figure things out.” She jumped out of the car and shut the door with more force than necessary, then hurried into the house without even a backward glance—she didn’t want Brittany to see her tears.

Stomping up the stairs, muttering to herself the whole way, Amber couldn’t get to her room fast enough. She flung herself on her bed and let the tears flow. How had everything gotten so messed up? How could Brittany have accused her like that? What if she were right? But how could she be so cold and mean about it? Besides, Brittany sure hadn’t taken a break from studying since the contest started, either.
She wants to win just as much as I do
.

Amber sat straight up on her bed and grabbed her phone. Before she could change her mind, she dialed Kyle’s phone number.

It rang three times before he answered. “Yo.”

“Kyle? It’s Amber.”

“Hey, Cousin A. What’s up?”

“Well, I’m calling because I want … well … could you …”

“Spit it out. I don’t have all day,” Kyle said in his typical teasing manner. “What do you want?”

Amber took a deep breath and said the three magic words that could change her life.

“Hook me up.”

“You’re sure, now?” Kyle held up three papers he’d printed from the office computers. He reached up and waved them back and forth above Amber’s head. One answer key for each of her three major final exams—the scary ones anyway. Calculus. History. English Literature.

She crossed her arms on her chest, refusing to reach for them. “Would you please stop being so immature?” She looked around the schoolyard teeming with students to make sure no one could hear them. “Besides, how do I know we won’t get caught?”

“I can’t explain all the technical computer stuff I did to fix the access dates on the file and erase the printing record—you’d never understand it all anyway. Funny
you’re
the one getting a scholarship.”

Amber rolled her eyes. “A little homework goes a long way.”

“Eh. No time for homework. Anyway, you’re going to have to trust me.” Kyle smiled. “I’ll be honest with you. They could have the hard drive examined by a professional, and
could
“—he wiggled his fingers in the air—”find the information. But they’d have to know what they were looking for, they still wouldn’t know for sure I did it, and it would cost them a couple of thousand dollars per hard drive—ain’t gonna happen.”

Amber exhaled the air she’d been holding and reached for the papers. Hesitating one more time, she considered her options. Once she held those papers in her hands, there would be no turning back. But she still had time to go the other way. She’d studied hard, after all—might not even need to do this and still win the car. Even if she didn’t, the car wasn’t the most important thing in life. Right?

The car
. She had to win that car. Besides, Brittany had pretty much accused her of ruthlessly going after it. Might as well go all-out since Brittany assumed the worst of her anyway. Cheating sure wouldn’t help Amber find the way back to God, though.
Nope, don’t go there—not now
. Before she could change her mind, she shut off the good voice and grabbed the papers. “Thanks, Kyle. I’ve got to go.” Amber turned and jogged off.

“Brittany’s here for you,” Mom called up the stairs toward Amber’s bedroom. “I’m sending her up.”

What could Brittany want? Amber jumped off her bed and scurried to hide the answer keys she’d been studying. She lifted her mattress and slipped the papers under it, trapping them between the mattress and box springs with only seconds to spare before the knock sounded at the door.

“Come in.” Amber sat at the desk with an open schoolbook in front of her. She tried to calm her racing heart and trembling hands. She didn’t look up.

“Amber, can we talk?” Brittany’s soft voice didn’t hold even a hint of the rancor of last weekend.

“Okay.” Amber sighed and shut her book. She turned to look at Brittany, raised her eyebrows, but didn’t smile.

“I’m so sorry.” Brittany’s eyes welled up with tears. “You were right. You apologized for your comment. You explained it was your mistake. I should have forgiven you and forgotten about it completely.”

No, you should have dropped out of the contest
. Amber shook her head. “It’s okay. I totally get how it would have been frustrating to think I expected that of you. It’s fine. Can we forget it now?”

“Absolutely.” Brittany grinned and reached out to hug Amber who stood up to grab her tightly. They clung to each other. Flaws or not, trials or not, they loved each other—that much Amber knew for sure. After a bit, they lay back on the bed and watched the ceiling fan rotate into a blur.

“So, what now? What do we do? We have finals this week.” Amber thought of the answer keys she’d hidden directly under the spot where Brittany lay.

“What do we do?” Brittany sat up, crossed her legs, and bounced once, grinning. “We take our tests, we cheer each other on, and we see what happens.”

Amber nodded.

“I’ll tell you what. I’m even going to pray for you at the start of each class period during finals. Will you do the same for me?”

“I don’t know.” Amber laughed. “That’s not such a good deal for you, Britt. I’m sure God’s more likely to answer your prayers than mine.”

“I’ll take my chances, silly.”

“It’s a deal, then.” Amber held out her hand and they shook on it. “For now, want to study?” She held up the mammoth Literature book. She could at least help Brittany study. Maybe she should offer to share the tests with her, or not use them anymore herself.

No
. She’d keep her eyes on the goal.

“I thought you’d never ask.” Brittany grinned. “Only best friends could help each other study with so much on the line.”

“Yeah, best friends. That’s us.”

“Take out your number-two pencils, put all of your books and personal items beneath your chairs, and get ready. We’ll start the test as soon as the bell rings.”

Amber looked across the room at Brittany who pretended to bite her nails and tremble in nervousness. They both laughed, and Brittany put her hands together in a sign of prayer. Amber nodded and closed her eyes for a brief moment. Being quite sure God didn’t want to hear from her after what she’d done, she didn’t pray. Brittany would probably be better off without her prayers anyway.

The calculus teacher watched the clock on the wall as it ticked the final seconds off until the bell rang to signal the official start of the class period. “Okay, students. You may begin your exam.”

Silent except for the rustling of papers, everyone opened their test booklets and readied their scratch paper and calculators. Amber flipped through her test and realized for the second time that day if she hadn’t studied off the sheets Kyle had gotten for her, she’d never have been able to get the grades she needed. Some of the formulas on the test had barely even been discussed in class.

Amber glanced at Brittany—her eyebrows furrowed as she looked down at her papers and chewed on her eraser. Since they had studied together almost daily over the past months—except for the one week they weren’t speaking—Amber knew all of Brittany’s strengths and weaknesses, and knew she’d have a tough time with the test they had in front of them.

Regret and relief mixing like oil and water, Amber took a deep breath and began to solve her first problem. One by one she answered the questions and then double-checked her work.

With fifteen minutes to spare, she closed her exam booklet and cracked her knuckles. Several students shuddered in disgust at the sound of her popping joints.

“Sorry,” she whispered.

Engrossed in her own work, Brittany never glanced her way. She didn’t look happy.

Lord, help her
. The impulsive prayer filled Amber’s mind and made it all the way to her heart. She watched Brittany finish her test and thought back over the study session they’d had the night before. She had known full well what would be on the test, but she steered Brittany in other directions. The lump in her chest grew larger with the memory.