“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.”
Chapter 8
FINAL, FINAL, FINAL
“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.
With her head down on her arms, Amber thought of Brittany’s comment the night before. “I really think this will probably be on the test.” She’d stopped at a difficult chapter when they flipped through the book one last time.
Amber wanted to kick herself for replying, “No. Why would it be? We didn’t spend nearly enough time on it in class.” One thing to cheat on a test—that was wrong enough by itself—but to steer your best friend down the wrong path so she wouldn’t do well … how could she? A better question would be how to fix it.
But there would be no going back. Too late to change a thing. What’s done is done.
The bell rang, and several students groaned and slammed their tests shut. Brittany sat frozen, staring at her paper with no expression on her face. Finally, she peeled herself from her seat and made her way among the other zombie-like students to the front where she handed her paper to the teacher. Britt’s face paled and her shoulders slumped forward in defeat as she headed for the door.
“Don’t forget your stuff.” Amber pointed toward Brittany’s desk.
“Oh. I almost forgot.” She hurried to pick up her stack of books and met Amber at the door.
“Don’t ask.” She shook her head in reply to Amber’s questioning eyes, the color returning to her face. “We’ll talk about it later. I need to put this behind me. There’s still one more test.”
“I have History now. You have … what? Oh, yeah, Lit.” Amber hesitated. “Hey, I already took that test—it’s not too hard. Want me to tell you some of the questions?”
“No way!” Brittany came to life and shook her head. “Besides, even if you did, I know what I know, and there’s no room in my head for anything else. I’m on overload.”
They parted ways and headed to their classrooms on opposite ends of the senior wing. She should feel better now that she’d offered to help Brittany, but Amber only felt worse. Now, not only did Britt know Amber would cheat if she had wanted her to, but she also thanked her for it as though Amber were some great friend. If she only knew the truth.
Amber took a cleansing breath. “One more exam. Only one,” she said out loud to herself. A couple of students passing by looked at her like they thought she lost her mind. Maybe she had.
Sitting at her desk in her history class waiting for the teacher to pass out the tests, Amber thought back over the year. All in all, it had been a good one. A lot of pressure, a lot more studying than she had intended to do in her senior year, but still good. She smiled softly at the memory of the day she and Brittany both received their acceptance letters to the University of Wyoming. They knew they’d get in, but the scholarships made it much more exciting. A full ride. What more could she ask for?
A car would sure be nice.
Focus, Amber. Focus. The moment of truth. The final test of the final week of the final year of high school. She opened the test booklet the teacher had laid before her, and read through the questions on the first page.
Thank God for Kyle.
Chapter 9
WE HAVE A WINNER
“Amber Stevens and Brittany Kim. Could you please come to the office?”
This is it. With only four days left until graduation, she and Brittany had been on edge, waiting to find out who won the contest. Grades hadn’t been released yet, so they had no clue. They met up in the hallway, exactly as they had almost seven months ago when they got called into the office to first learn of the contest. Had it really been seven months since then?
The walk down the hallway and any conversations along the way blurred as Amber’s thoughts raced and swirled. Within a few minutes, they sat in Principal Warner’s office, waiting for the final verdict.
He pointed to the phone resting between his shoulder and his ear, and motioned with five fingers that his call would only take a few more minutes.
Could she still back out? What if she put a stop to the whole thing right then? But she couldn’t. She had a fifty-fifty chance of winning a brand-new car for herself—for her family—and would find out, one way or another, in a few minutes. But what if she didn’t win? Amber wanted to be happy for Brittany—she really did. But she feared she wouldn’t be able to find it within herself. Of course, she never thought she had it in her to be a cheater, either!
“Okay. Thanks so much. I’ll be in touch.” Principal Warner hung up the phone and turned to the girls, smiling from ear to ear. “Amber, Brittany.” He nodded at them both. “I first want to say I am so very proud of you both. You have been exemplary students in every possible way. I understand you both got accepted to the college of your choice?”
“Yes, sir.” Brittany wrung her hands together in her lap and took several deep breaths. Was she about to pass out? Poor girl wore her emotions on display.
Poised only on the outside, Amber patted Brittany’s arm. “We’re both going to UW on full scholarships.”
“That’s wonderful, girls. How exciting.” He paused, his eyes glimmering. “UW
is close enough to drive home once a month or so, right?”
“Well, sure. If we had a car, that is.” Amber teased back, trying to look cool and unfazed in front of Principal Warner.
“Okay. This much you already know: One of you will own a brand-new car before you walk out of this office today. But knowing how close you two are, you’ll probably be sharing it at college and to get you both back and forth for visits. So the outcome should be exciting no matter what.” He leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head. “Before I tell you the results, you need to know how very impressed I am. You both deserve to be commended for the way you acted during this race. You both worked hard, but you stayed true to each other. You took the high road and relied on honesty, hard work, and friendship as the most important things.”
Amber never felt smaller.
“But alas, you’re not here for all of that. You’re dying to hear the outcome, aren’t you?”
Both girls nodded.
“Okay, after calculating everything, it came down to the final exams. Either of you could have won at that point. But the exams pulled out a clear winner. The winner, after your scores were finalized and confirmed, is …” He paused for effect, and then shouted, “Amber! “
Amber looked at Brittany, stunned, her mouth hanging open.
Brittany threw her arms around Amber and squeezed. “Oh, Amber. I’m so, so happy for you. You worked so hard for this. This is how it was meant to turn out—I just knew it.”
“Can I call my mom and dad?” Amber words squeaked out. Her throat was so dry and her heart beat so hard, she wondered if they could hear it.
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