Toast

Chapter Twenty Nine // Chicken

- Amber's POV -

The assembly held by the police was finally coming to a close, everybody around me woke up and began to grab their coats to leave. I had stopped crying from the most beautiful voice message I had ever received but my heart was still thumping from the disbelief that Jade liked me.

"Would anybody like to come forward and confess?" The police woman said on the stage, the hall was in complete silence and I held my breath because I knew Ashley would shout out Jade's name. The place stayed in silence, the police thanked everybody for coming and said they would continue to unravel the mystery behind the fire. Ashley didn't blame Jade.

Everybody got up all of a sudden and the hall erupted in noise as the police exited, all of the girls began to leave and cheer as it was now a free day off school. I looked across the hall at Jade who was getting up and leaving by herself, should I talk to her about the voice message Elijah sent me?

I pushed passed the girls who were taking their time in front of me as I tried my best to get to Jade, it was now or never. I needed to know how she felt about me, in person this time. I finally got out of the hall but I couldn't see Jade anywhere, there were too many girls hurrying out of the building.

I searched through the crowd with a frown on my face before seeing her in the distance, she was walking alone. I made my way down the corridor and called her name so she knew I wanted to speak to her, she stopped walking and turned to face me with a smile on her face.

"Hey Amber" She said while grinning, I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. I had somehow froze as soon as I saw Jade smiling at me, I forgot about everything I wanted to say to her. She stared at me weirdly because I was standing before her with my mouth wide open while saying nothing, she clicked her fingers in front of my face and I rubbed my eyes.

"Jade.. I got a voice message and-"

"Look! It's the chicken!" Ashley shouted from down the corridor, me and Jade sighed at the same time. Ashley, Priya, Carrie-Anne and Effie approached us.

"You're a chicken for not showing up at the assembly" Ashley said with an evil grin, she leaned her arm on Carrie-Anne's shoulder.

"I was there you twat, I sat at the back" Jade snapped back at her, I smirked slightly and glanced at Jade. Priya and Effie were standing behind us chatting, they were laughing and blocking out everybody else around them.

"Well it's over. I wasn't going to blame you anyway, Carrie-Anne and Priya stopped me" Ashley confessed while rolling her eyes, Carrie-Anne grinned at Jade.

"Aw, how sweet! Have you got a soft spot for me Ashley?" Jade joked, everybody began to laugh and Ashley stormed off. Carrie-Anne and Priya linked arms and walked the opposite direction leaving me, Jade and Effie awkwardly standing in silence together.

"I'm glad that's over" I muttered, Jade nodded. There was tension in the air, Effie was staring at me as if she was uncomfortable. I looked over at her and she smiled.

"Are we going back to our room then?" Effie asked me, I nodded and sighed. I guess I couldn't ask Jade about what she said after all, I was the chicken here.

Jade pulled out a cigarette and stuck it in her mouth, she turned the opposite way and walked off without saying goodbye. Me and Effie began walking to our bedroom in the boarding house, I put my hands in my pockets and lowered my head.

"Whats up with you? Aren't you glad Jade is off the hook?" Effie asked me, she stared at me weirdly as we crossed the playground and entered the boarding house.

"Of course I'm glad, she would've gone to fucking jail" I said rudely to Effie, she laughed slightly at my angry tone. I knew I was going to lose my patients with her because I had so much to get off my chest.

"So, did you enjoy the assembly sitting with your new clique? I'm sure it was really great" I asked her sarcastically, Effie gasped slightly. She opened our bedroom door and headed over to her bed.

"I can tell you're angry Amber, why though?" Effie asked me, she pulled off her shoes and threw them on the ground. I rolled my eyes and opened up my journal.

"I'm just tired of being abandoned by you, I have no other friends here! Elijah doesn't count" I told her truthfully, she sighed and turned to face me.

"I'm just worried about Priya, I feel like if I'm around her all the time she will be okay and nothing bad will happen" Effie said quietly with her head lowered, I stared at her in confusion. She looked up at me and saw my angry expression, she groaned loudly.

"Priya started the fire alright?! But it wasn't her fault! She-"

"Hold on a second" I interrupted her while covering my mouth with my hand in shock, is she kidding right now?!

"You like a girl that lead you on, is a bully and starts fires for fun?! Are you out of your mind Effie?!" I shouted angrily across the room, Effie stood up from her bed like she was about to explain the whole thing but she didn't. She began pacing up and down the room while sighing.

"I'm going to tell the police, this is ridiculous" I said while storming towards the door, Effie jumped in front of me and refused to let me leave. How can she be friends with somebody like this? How can she KISS somebody like this?!

"Priya is grieving! It's messing her up, she can't help it!" Effie yelled in my face, I moved away from the door and sat down on my bed again.

"I understand that she is grieving, she is in pain.. But you shouldn't be hanging around with people like that, especially Ashley. She bullies us, she bullies me!" I said with a frown on my face, I could feel the tears appearing in my eyes so I looked in the opposite direction from where Effie was standing.

"I-I'm sorry.. I just need to look after her" Effie said quietly, she removed herself from the door and I made a run for it. I opened the bedroom door and hurried out, down the corridor without looking back.

"AMBER! PLEASE DON'T!" Effie screamed loudly, there were some girls sitting in the corridor and they stared at me in confusion. I had finally began to cry.

I wasn't going to the police, I knew if I did that then I would lose Effie completely. I decided to head to the lane where Elijah took me once, it seemed like the best option because I was so upset.

I looked back when I got to the end of the corridor in which me and Effie's bedroom was on, Effie had went back into the room. The girls were still staring at me, they began to laugh and whisper to each other while looking me up and down. I wiped my tears and continued walking.