Amber's Star

by Edwin M. Torres

  “Look at these lovebirds,” she said in a nasty tone. Ernest was barking loud and violent, Noah must have had a good grip on him otherwise Skylar’s leg would have already been bitten. Ernest was out of control, I had never seen him this angry. One of Skylar’s friends whispered into Skylar’s ear and the four of them laughed.

  “Angelina is wondering if you and your wig take a shower together?” she asked me and then continued laughing. Again Skylar had found the perfect words to hurt me. I wanted to say something as mean as she had, but I had nothing to say.

  “At least she takes showers,” said Noah, causing me to laugh. Even one of Skylar’s friends laughed, and Skylar looked outraged.

  “No one was talking to you, Noah,” said the girl standing next to Skylar.

  “You two keep playing boyfriend and girlfriend,” said Angelina. Skylar turned around and so did her army. As Ernest slowly calmed down, I saw Skylar turn around.

  “I almost forgot, next time I go get a haircut I’ll make sure I collect the hair so I can give it to you and you can glue to your head. My aunt says wigs can be expensive,”

  I tried to hold my tears, knowing that if I cried they would make more fun of me. I didn’t know if Noah let go or if Ernest or if we freed himself, but seconds later he was running after all four of them and nearly bit Skylar’s calf. The girls ran out of sight and Ernest came back still barking at them so they wouldn’t come back. Skylar had ruined the great time we were having and although Ernest jumped and barked at us to continue playing, but neither of us were in the mood anymore. Noah and I sat on a bench close to the playground and saw Ernest dig into the snow and sand. Noah was silent. He placed his hands on his head and I heard him complain.

  “I’m sorry they have to be that mean to you,” he said, looking down.

  “It’s okay, they don’t make me feel bad,” I lied. We finished the walk with exactly that, a walk. We walked to James P. Timilty Middle School, where Noah would attend after the fifth grade was over. He convinced me to go there, but I knew it wasn’t up to me. We talked mostly about Noah, and I learned so much from him. He told me about his brother Nick and his girlfriend Judy, he also told me about a mysterious man named Curtis who he had met on the bus when he went to visit me at the hospital. He walked me home and Ernest kissed him goodbye. We started walking Ernest once or twice a week from that point on, Noah would find different parks for us to go to, Ernest was the one that enjoyed it the most. I took my camera from time to time and would photograph Ernest playing and running in the snow. Noah wasn’t a big fan of the camera. His passion was jumping from the playground’s highest point onto the floor. Without him noticing I would photograph him jumping off the edge of the slides and monkey bars. Ernest liked Noah. Everyone in my family seemed to like Noah. He was great. The more time I spent with Noah, the more Emily distanced away. Mom liked Noah so much she would often invite him for dinner from time to time. One day I was taking a shower late on a Saturday evening and when I walked into my living room I saw Noah, sitting between mom and Grace watching a movie and eating popcorn. Noah was that kind of boy that would get along with anyone no matter their age; he could keep a conversation with almost anyone he met. I wished I was the same, but when Noah invited me to his house for the first time, I couldn’t keep any conversation with any of them. They were all like Noah. They talked too much for me to keep up. They were a happy family, no doubt, but my family and his were two worlds apart. Judy was the one that I instantly related to. She was dating Nick and felt exactly like me when she was first invited. Nick and Judy often came with us to the park; they had a good relationship, according to mom. Noah and I were becoming best friends as time passed by. I helped him with the subjects he struggled in school, and sometimes he helped me. He also helped me get through life, he made me laugh most of the time and would never make our time boring. I had never told him I didn’t like him, but as time went by, I knew he would be smart enough to understand. Life was great for me, I had some friends, actually just one friend, but I was happy. I figured out that those with lots of friends weren’t that happy at all, like Skylar. Close to the end to the fifth grade most of the boys had a crush on her and all the girls in our school wanted to be friends with her, she was mean to almost everyone but still was popular. I talked to mom and Grace a lot about what happened in school and they told it was always like that. The meanest or the cruelest people on this world were always the most popular ones. Grace said the same thing happened at her school and mom said the same thing happened to her at her previous job.

  Noah had asked his brother Nick to drive us downtown, where I was planning to photograph the entire city and form an album that he and I would give Ms. Flowers at the end of the school year. I had begged Noah to be at least in one photo, and he finally agreed. I took the best photograph of him and with the angle I got, it really seemed as if Noah was leaning on the John Hancock Tower. It was a great day and Judy and Nick asked me to photograph them as well. They were planning to fill a complete photo album with only them on it. Nick and Judy seemed so in love. Noah helped me, signaling them on which way to look so I could get the best angle. At the end of the school year, Ms. Flowers got very emotional with all of us. She had been the best teacher I could have asked. I had been treated exactly like any other student, just like she had promised. Noah and I waited for everyone after the bell rang on the last day of school and we pulled out the little gift we had done for her. Photographs from all over the city glued to a big cardboard box that said ‘Boston’s Best Teacher’ on top of it. Ms. Flowers loved it. She insisted for me to join the art club once I reached middle school.

  “You’re really good Amber, I mean it,” she said. I thanked her, but she insisted on how good I was.

  “I have a friend that teaches music at James T. Middle School, I’m going to ask her if there’s any art class that you can attend,” she said. At first, I thought Ms. Flowers would tell me later what her friend had told her, but she called her right on the spot and told me all about it. Noah and I had already planned to go to James Timilty and this art program which included photography sealed the deal. I told mom all about it and frankly, I couldn’t wait for the summer to be over. I loved taking photos. The satisfaction of taking a good photo was priceless.

  I spent the entire summer shooting photos of Ernest and nature as most as I could. I had begun an album specifically for Noah and Ernest but was keeping it a secret from them. I wanted it to be a gift for Noah on his birthday. The summer went by fast, and Noah and I were more than ready for middle school.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Noah: I ate as fast as I could and sat right underneath the clock in our living room. Nick wasn’t home yet, so I wouldn’t be able to ask him for tips on my first date. One thing I knew was not to be late. Although Amber’s house was just a couple blocks away, I left some at exactly four to arrive with plenty of time.

  I walked towards Amber’s house, and on my way, I bumped into Nick and Judy.

  “Where are you going,” asked Nick. I couldn’t hold my excitement, and I told the two of them everything.

  “You can’t arrive this early, you’ll freak her out,” said Nick. At first, I didn’t understand what he was saying, but Judy helped me understand it. I stuck around with them for a few minutes; neither of them gave me helpful tips on what to do or what to say.

  “Just be you,” said Judy.

  “Yeah, just act normal, and don’t freak out,” said Nick. I had lots of questions regarding this date but didn’t know how to ask.

  “What if she tries to kiss me, what do I do?” I asked. Judy and Nick exploded, laughing. It took them a few seconds to calm down, and they said there was no way that could happen.

  “You’re too young to be kissing,” said Judy. Part of me was glad she said that, I knew nothing about kissing and I didn’t want to disappoint Amber. But another part of me really wanted Amber to be my first kiss.

  I reached Amber’s house a bit early. I asked an old lady that
walked by what time it was, and I still had to wait twenty minutes before five. I sat down a few houses down and waited patiently as the minutes passed. I asked a second lady walking by and it was just a few minutes till five. I was planning on knocking at Amber’s door or maybe scream her name from outside her lawn, but she was already outside waiting on me.

  “Amber,” I said, trying to get her attention. I walked in and tried to get closer, but her dog attacked me. At first I thought he was a violent dog, but his wiggly tail told me he only wanted to say hi.

  “Ernest!” cried Amber, as her dog jumped directly at my hands. I was looking forward to maybe kissing Amber today, but her dog Ernest beat her to it. He licked and kissed my entire face, until I finally placed him down.

  “He’s never like this,” said Amber. Once on the ground, Ernest tackled me down, and we wrestled for a few seconds. I laughed trying to get him off, but he was strong for a dog his size. He then continued nibbling on my shoes and wouldn’t let go.

  “Stop it Ernest!” shouted Amber. Ernest finally let go of my shoes and ran around Amber.

  We walked out of Amber’s house and Ernest moved closer to me as we walked. He seemed to enjoy my company, and he’d often jump towards me, hoping I’d catch him. As we reached the park only one thing went through my mind, and that was to talk as much as possible with Amber, but Ernest had something else in mind. He barked at me and ran back and forth towards the playground. I didn’t want Amber to think I didn’t like Ernest, so I played with him on the playground. Ernest behaved like a little kid, he had me slide with him on the big red slide over and over, I couldn’t complain I was having so much fun. I asked Amber to push me and Ernest on the swings for a while but Ernest wiggled around trying to get off; the slide was his favorite. He finally jumped off my hands and ran up the slide. He slipped and fell and tried again and again until I helped him up. I went up front and waited for Ernest to get behind me. I looked down to look for Amber, but I heard a giggle behind me. She sat down behind Ernest and the three of us went down the slide. The three of us hit the floor and Ernest kicked and bounced around us. Amber laughed out loud for the first time and I was happy to see her. Ernest ran back up the slide and jumped from the top landing on us. Ernest was a smart dog and he quickly noticed Amber was having a good time, he insisted on her to follow him and me around but Amber was still laughing. Ernest ran up the slide again and I expected he’d want to land on me. I waited for him to get ready and when he jumped, I moved out of the way making him sink on the sand and snow underneath. Ernest knew what I had done and came after me, looking for revenge. I was laughing so hard that Ernest caught me and almost brought me to the ground. The chasing around soon became a game of tag and now I was chasing Ernest all over the playground. As I ran around the monkey bars from the corner of my eye, I saw her. The only person that could ruin this day for us, Skylar. The way she walked was unmistakable, next to her Lily, Angelina and Chloe her best friends that copied all she did and said. They looked like four identical robots that were only programmed to make fun of others. I saw Skylar point her bony finger at us and the four of them laughed. They moved faster towards us and it was obvious they had something in mind.

  “Look at these lovebirds,” said Skylar as I walked closer to Amber. Ernest began barking and threatening all four of them on biting their calves. I had a grip on his collar otherwise Skylar would have been missing a part of her leg, Ernest was barking loud at them and it was causing those around to stare at us. Angelina leaned over and whispered something into Skylar’s ear, whatever it was caused all four of them to point at Amber and laugh. I was getting ready to let Ernest go.

  “Angelina is wondering if you and your wig take a shower together?” she asked, trying to sound funny.

  “At least she takes showers,” I said. Amber tried to hold her laughter, but it was inevitable. Skylar stared at her and was getting ready to say something meaner.

  “No one was talking to you, Noah,” said Lily.

  “You two keep playing boyfriend and girlfriend,” said Angelina. Skylar turned around and so did her army. A few steps out, Skylar turned back around and her face had a nasty smile that promised nothing nice.

  “I almost forgot, next time I go get a haircut I’ll make sure I collect the hair so I can give it to you and you can glue it to your head. My aunt says wigs can be expensive,” said Skylar, looking at Amber. “That’s it,” I said to myself. I let Ernest go with the hope he would bite all four of them. Ernest barked loudly at them and chased them off the park, nearly biting Skylar’s calf. Ernest returned with his tail high in the air.

  “I’m sorry they have to be that mean to you,” I said.

  “It’s okay, they don’t make me feel bad,” said Amber.

  I lead the way back home, and took a left instead of a right so we could go down and see the James T. Middle School. I tried to convince Amber of going there with me, but she didn’t want to. She said it was up to her mom and dad where she went, and that it was more than likely she would attend the same one her sister Grace was attending. On our way back, Amber asked me lots of questions. I told her all about me in the fifteen-minute walk we had from James T. to her house. I even told her about Curtis and how he had helped me reached the hospital. Amber was a good listener, she stared at me as I spoke and very often a smile would slip away and she would try to hide it. After all, it had been a very good first date.

  The date we’ve had went on to become something we did regularly. We walked Ernest about twice a week, and I asked Nick for help on finding different parks each time so Ernest wouldn’t get bored. It was great. Ernest played in the kid’s playground while Amber and I photographed him and also talked about each other. Amber listened most of the time; it was me who couldn’t shut up. I talked and talked, and Amber enjoyed listening to all I had to say. Without me knowing, she was slowly pushing me away into what Nick called the “Friend-zone.”

  I got invited into Amber’s house where I got to meet all of her family members. I liked them all. Ernest was the most fun to play with. Mr. and Mrs. Sanders liked me. It was obvious they did. From time to time, they’d call my house and invite me over without Amber knowing. I didn’t know what it was about me that made them laugh all the time; I was just being me. When I finally invited Amber to my house, she wasn’t doing well. She couldn’t stop chewing on her fingernails.

  “What do I say?” she asked me as we walked in. Her question caused me trouble, I didn’t know what she meant, and I wasn’t ready to get her more nervous than she already was. I chose not to answer and kept walking instead. We reached my house just in time for lunch. Mom had made her special spaghetti, which was one of the few dishes she cooked well. Amber ate it all, but she refused a second round. The rest of us went and ate two or three more plates, even Judy.

  Judy felt more comfortable being around us each day, and was beginning to be loud just like us. Judy and Amber got along well, I didn’t have to be a genius to know Judy was helping Amber to get along with my family as well as she did.

  At school I couldn’t get enough of Amber, we sat together in lunch and would team up every time Ms. Flowers would let us. One month before the end of the fifth grade, I had to lie that I was struggling with math so Amber could tutor me after class. The truth was, I was much better at math than she was, and I was slowly beginning to love school and all its subjects. Ms. Flowers was a great teacher, and she had thought me a lot this year. I wanted to give her a gift at the end of the school year and had figured out exactly what I wanted it to be.

  “What would you say if I asked you to photograph the entire city for me?” I asked Amber.

  “I’d love to, but what for?” she asked.

  “I want to give Ms. Flowers a present at the end of the year,” I explained.

  “I want to photograph lots of places around Boston and glue the photos to a cardboard and write at the very top for the best teacher in Boston,” I added. Amber agreed and thought it was a great idea. I asked Nick t
o drive us downtown, and he said he would, but Amber would have to photograph him and Judy as well for an album they were creating.

  We couldn’t have chosen a better day to go downtown; the light was perfect according to Amber, and there weren’t many people around. Amber made me her official assistant and had me positioning Nick and Judy all over downtown, Amber showed me the good ones, and the way she photographed them in between some buildings made them look great. At the end of the day, Amber had more than one-hundred photos to choose from to get Ms. Flowers’s surprise ready and over thirty photos from Nick and Judy. She even had a couple of mines since she insisted on photographing me too.