“Josh said you asked about me.”
It takes me a second to place the voice. I wasn’t expecting Amber to call.
“I was wondering … how you were.” It comes out forced. I’m uptight. I can’t help it. She must think I’m crazy.
She brushes over the “how you were” part with a pat “okay.” Then she moves to what’s on her mind. “Are you mentoring someone else now?”
“David Craig.” Enough said.
“Eeuuw,” Amber says. “He wears more eye makeup than I do.” We both laugh.
“Maybe you could help him with his colors,” I say.
She snickers.
“He spends more time studying me than the grammar,” I say.
“Last year when I sat in front of him, he used to shoot the back of my neck,” Amber says in a weary tone.
The strange thing is that Amber is a world away, and we’re on the phone talking like we’re in the dining hall and she’s my best friend.
“So what’s happening with you?” I’m watching myself in the mirror as we talk. “Are you coming back to school?” I start snapping pictures of me on the phone with Amber, watching how my face changes as I talk.
“I’m not sure.” Her voice goes back to the Amber with problems. “My dad’s still working things out here. We can’t leave yet.”
“But if you miss too much school, won’t you get held back?” It pours out in a rush. Even if she thought of it, there’s nothing she can do, so why didn’t I just shut up and not bring that up?
“Who knows.”
“Isn’t there somebody here you could stay with in the meantime?”
“My older sister, but I don’t know.”
I assumed she was an only child. “If you need something from school—homework or anything—I can send it to you.”
“Maybe, thanks. I got to go.”
I hang up and stare at the phone.