Seasons of Love (Witches of Warren County) Read online

  Only every time, she walked forward with naïve assurance only to find herself in a hallway that clearly had no elevators. Little wings of panic pulsed at her stomach. Her first day at a new school and she was already a laughing stock.

  Knowing she was already late, Amber retraced her steps back to the main office. She pasted a big, fake smile on her face and entered. “Hey, Mrs. Wilder,” she said when she caught the secretary’s attention. “I’m having a problem finding my class. Is there a map of the school or anything?”

  The boy coming out of the principal’s office snorted. She looked up and her jaw dropped as she realized it was the same boy from the woods. “This school is too small for a map,” he said. His gaze roamed over her body with insolent boldness and Amber’s eyes narrowed with annoyance.

  “Oh, honestly, Miss Colletti, couldn’t you get directions from one of the students?”

  Amber felt her shoulders straighten and one eyebrow lift into a perfect arch. She would never admit in front of leather jacket or Mrs. Wilder she’d been the butt of an apparently school-wide joke.

  “No,” she returned evenly. “Surely there must be someone who can help me get to class.”

  “I can help her,” said a girl sitting in one corner. “I have a free period and volunteer in the office,” she explained.

  Amber instantly warmed to the other girl’s bright blue eyes and wide friendly smile. “Thank you.” She turned to Mrs. Wilder but the secretary had already dismissed the students around her as unimportant.

  “I’m Tabitha Evans, but everyone calls me Tabby,” the girl with the bright blue eyes said. “What’s your name?”

  “Hi, I’m Amber Colletti.” She handed her schedule to Tabby. “I’m late for Mr. Polinksi’s history class,” she said.

  Tabby took in the schedule and glanced at the clock. “Okay. You’ve missed most of Mr. Pole. Let’s get over there and say hey before I get you to…” she traced her finger down the schedule. “Oh, you have sewing class with Miss Chen. She’s a sweetheart, do you like to sew?

  “Oh, we have the same lunch. How did you get into senior lunch? It says here you’re only a sophomore. Anyway, if you don’t have anyone to sit with, look me up. I have a small group of friends I can introduce you to.”

  Amber smiled at Tabby’s enthusiasm and followed her out of the office. Maybe the other pranksters at the school were just an anomaly. They took a turn and Amber noted their path on a piece of paper.

  “Knock, knock,” Tabby said as she knocked on the door.

  “Tabitha Evans,” Mr. Polinski said, looking away from the homework he was writing on the board. “How can I help you?”

  “This is Amber Colletti. She’ll be joining your class but got a little mixed up in the hallways.”

  Amber blushed hotly as thirty pairs of eyes turned to stare at her. She smiled and waved nervously.

  Amber received her book and homework assignment before Tabby bustled her out of the class. “Now, do you remember how you got here? First hallway to the left of the office.”

  Amber nodded and put a mark on her schedule so she could remember for tomorrow. “If you come back out of that hallway, take a right and the home ec classes are the next left turn hallway.” Amber put another mark on the schedule. “My best friend January is in Miss H’s advanced cake decorating class this period. I don’t want to get on the bad side of Miss H, but as soon as class gets out, look for her and she’ll get you to the cafeteria.”

  Amber opened her mouth to remind Tabby she didn’t know what January looked like but Tabby took her past the class. “The girl with the messy brown braids? That’s January. She’s totally cool and new this year, too. She’ll get you to lunch and then we can check out the rest of your day. Okay?”

  “Okay,” Amber said with a shy smile. Tabitha Evans was overwhelming, to say the least. She couldn’t even imagine denying her anything.

  “Hey, Miss Chen,” Tabby said as they entered the empty class. “I’m showing Amber around and she’s got you next period.”

  Miss Chen smiled. “How do you do, Amber. Colletti, right?”

  Amber nodded.

  “Okay, I’ll leave you here. Good luck, Amber. See you at lunch!”

  “Do you know how to sew?” Miss Chen asked in the wake of Tabby’s bubbly personality.

  “Yes, actually, I do. I love sewing.” She flushed as she admitted her dream goal to this new teacher. “I want to learn to make wedding gowns.”

  “That’s a wonderful goal, Amber!” Miss Chen’s dark eyes lit with enthusiasm. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a student who loves to sew.” She dug out a pattern catalog. “Why don’t you look through at some prom gown styles and we’ll get you started working with tulle, satin, and chiffon.”

  Amber’s fingers itched to get started. She sat at the pattern table and began pouring over the books, squirming with excitement. The bell rang and the class filled up. Amber’s brown eyes widened as she took in Leather Jacket.

  “Well, look who it is? Hey, Nemo, you finally found class,” Leather Jacket said as soon as he noticed her.

  Amber looked up, confused. “Nemo?”

  “Because you’re a lost little fish,” he clarified.

  “Take your seat, please, Nate,” Miss Chen said. “Class, I’d like you to meet Amber Colletti. She’ll be joining us this year.” Miss Chen turned to Amber. “Did you find a pattern you liked?”

  “I thought something like this. What do you think?” Amber pointed out a tea-length dress with a portrait collar. “It’s kind of vintage, which I like.”

  “Oh, that will look lovely,” Miss Chen said. “Can you get the supplies by Monday?” Amber nodded, copying down the pattern number and planning a trip to the nearest town with a fabric store. “In the meantime, there are some quilt pieces in the back that we’ve been working on as a group.”

  Amber closed the book and went to look at the quilting scraps. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Nathan as he cut his fabric. Except, he didn’t seem to be actually cutting the fabric. If anything, the fabric appeared to simply part for him. As though he willed the fabric to do his bidding. But that was impossible, right?

  “You got a date to the prom, Nemo?” Nate teased as he approached her.

  Amber’s eyes narrowed and she stared him down. “Maybe I’ll start my own business making prom dresses for all the girls who don’t want to be bothered by you.”

  Okay. That was absolutely the stupidest thing in the history of stupid things to say, Amber decided. She was sure that in an hour she’d come up with the perfect retort but by then the moment would be long past. But oh, he got under her skin!

  Nate’s grin faltered momentarily before one corner kicked up a notch. “Nemo has some sass,” he teased. “I like it.”

  Amber felt her cheeks heat with embarrassment. To distract herself, she grabbed a handful of triangles of varying patterns and tried to work them into a square for the quilt.

  Nate watched her for a moment before saying, “You need a square.”

  “Yeah, I get that,” Amber said. “But mine doesn’t look right.”

  “Here, you’re doing it wrong.” He took the triangles out of her hands and frowned. “Grab a handful of those squares,” he said, pointing to a small pile of precut pieces. “This is what’s called a sampler quilt. That means all the squares can be different. When it’s done, we’ll auction it off for a scholarship.”

  “Oh,” Amber said. “That’s so cool. And kids work it between projects?”

  Nate nodded. “One of the easiest quilt patterns is called the Ohio Star,” he said. “What colors do you want to use?”

  Amber thought about it and grabbed some orange calico. Nate nodded and placed them out. “Orange works, but see how if you add this yellow, it brightens the pattern?”

  Amber’s brown eyes darted to where the other squares were collected. “Can we do the background in navy blue? That will make it look like a night sky, right?”

  “You’re
a quick study,” Nate said. Amber looked up, surprised to see his eyes were a molten mercury grey.

  “Nathan, don’t you have your own project to work on?” Miss Chen said as she looked up from helping another student.

  The softness she’d seen around Nate melted to reveal a hard core. “Helping the new kid, Miss C,” he said. He met Miss Chen’s gaze until she nodded.

  “Five more minutes and then back to your own work.”

  “How do you know so much about sewing?” Amber asked as she began to pin the quilt pieces into their pattern.

  Nate tilted his head to one side and stared at her. “My mom sells quilts every summer at the farmer’s market. She’s always got one going.”

  “Oh.” Nervous energy flowed through Amber and she worried the fabric a little.

  “Be careful,” Nate warned. “Keeping your edges perfect is important in quilting. Once you have the pieces pinned, you can start sewing them together.” He nodded to one corner were two irons sat, ready for use. “Then you iron back your seam allowances.”

  “Nathan,” Miss Chen warned.

  “Do you like to sew?”

  “Nah,” Nate said returning to his station. “My mom is making me take this class.”

  <<<>>>

  January and Amber followed the fragrance of meatloaf and mashed potatoes to the cafeteria. Amber was grateful that Tabby invited her to join her table. Everywhere she looked, kids congregated in small groups.

  “How was sewing class?” January asked as they sat down.

  “It was good. I’m planning on making a prom dress.” Amber rolled her eyes. “Like anyone would ask a sophomore, anyway.”

  “Ooh,” January said, her eyes lit with pleasure. “Would you be interested in making me a prom dress, too?”

  “Oh, I would love to!” She looked down at the table and blushed. “I want to be a dress designer when I grow up. Will you let me take pictures for my portfolio? Can we go shopping this weekend so we can pick out a pattern and stuff? That way, if it’s crap, I have time to get new material.”

  “I have to teach a riding class for some Dandelion Girls,” January said. She pulled out her phone and looked up her calendar. “How about three o’clock?”

  “What’s happening at three?”

  Amber looked up as Tabby and two other people joined the table. “Amber, this is my boyfriend Kel.” Kel nodded to her and set his food tray in front of January.

  “Hi, Amber. This is my friend Mickey,” Kel said with a cheerful wave.

  Amber smiled and waved back at the boys.

  “Eat,” Kel said, grabbing a fry from the tray.

  January smiled up at him, wrinkled her nose playfully, and took half the sandwich. Their adoration for each other was tangible and Amber felt distinctly uncomfortable. Almost as though she was seeing their love story played out in public.

  “We’re going to buy material for a prom dress,” January said.

  “We are?” Tabby asked, her blue eyes lit with pleasure.

  “Well. We aren’t,” January said, pointing between them. “We are,” she indicated Amber. “Unless you’re free Saturday at three? Then we can make it a fun shopping trip.” January’s eyes opened wide. “Is that okay, Amber? I kinda’ just took over there, didn’t I?”

  Amber smiled. “You’re fine. That sounds fantastic. It’s just me and my brothers. I don’t have many friends.”

  “Oh, Amber is a sophomore. You should introduce her to Brandi,” January said.

  Tabby shook her head. “I don’t know. Brandi is going through a thing right now.” She turned to Amber. “Brandi is one of my cousins. The adults in my family apparently didn’t know the meaning of watching TV in the evenings and decided to have a million kids.”

  “Ten,” Kel corrected. “You have ten first cousins.” Tabby rolled her eyes at him and Kel lifted one shoulder in a casual shrug.

  “Anyway,” Tabby said. She pointed to a girl sitting amidst several other girls. “That’s Brandi, but like I said, she’s going through a few things.”

  “What kind of things,” Kel asked.

  “Just finding her way, I guess,” Tabby said with a shrug.

  Amber’s eyes followed the unspoken communication going on and felt the subtle shun. “Where is the closest fabric store?”

  “Oh, we’ll have to drive into Pennsylvania,” Tabby said. “The Mill doesn’t have a lot of store choices.”

  The afternoon slipped by with a rapid introduction of more teachers and more unfamiliar faces with a myriad of names to memorize. Finally, as the last period rolled around she was in a class with Tabby’s cousin, Brandi.

  “Hey,” Amber said shyly as she slid into an empty seat. “I’m Amber Colletti. I met your cousin Tabby earlier today.”

  One of Brandi’s friends whispered something in her ear and Brandi giggled. “Hi, Amber. I’m Brandi.” She nodded to her friend. “This is Tracy,” she said.

  Amber sat through the obligatory introductions to the class, receiving her textbook, and took her notes. She was acutely aware of Brandi and Tracy’s hissed whispers and covert giggles.

  Finally, the bell rang and Amber packed up and darted for the door. Her first day at Harper’s Mill was a mixed bag of snubs, mockery, and potential (possible?) new friends.

  “Hey, Nemo, wait up.”

  Amber looked up and saw Nate working his way through the crowd. “I have to get to the bus,” she said.

  “I want to make sure you find the right bus,” he teased.

  “Even Nemo made his way home,” she said.

  Nate snorted with laughter. “Yeah, eventually. But everyone had to go looking for him.”

  “Whatever,” Amber said, but she found she didn’t mind the nickname so much anymore. She answered Nate’s smile with one of her own and suddenly felt alive with possibilities over this town her brothers moved her to.

  “You did good, Nemo,” Nate said. He checked the time on his watch. “I gotta’ go. My older brother is picking me up and he doesn’t like to wait.” For a moment, they stood in a silent bubble of promise amidst the scrambling after-school noise.

  “Yo, Nate! Let’s go!”

  The older boy’s voice broke the small spell and Nate turned to leave. “I’ll see ya’ Monday, Nemo,” he said before jogging away from her.

  <<<>>>

  “Everything looks good,” Miss Chen said Monday afternoon when Amber spread her fabric and notions out on a work table. She frowned as she picked up the pattern. “This doesn’t look like the same dress.”

  Amber blushed. “January Zielinski asked me to make her a prom dress. Since I’m only a sophomore and won’t go to the prom this year, I thought I’d practice on her dress first.”

  “Your first commission?”

  “Something like that. Except I couldn’t find the right ribbon at the store in Stroudsburg.” She fingered the emerald green fabric. It had made January’s skin glow with health and vibrancy. Now, if only she could do the fabric justice.

  “My mom might have something,” Nate said after Miss Chen walked away. “Her stash is legendary. She calls herself a PFC with a STABLE.”

  Amber smiled and looked at him expectantly. “What does that mean?”

  “She’s a Professional Fabric Collector with a Stash Accumulation Beyond Life Expectancy.”

  Amber giggled. When she noticed the other kids were looking at her, she blushed and tried to stifle her laugh.

  “Seriously, if you’re free after school, I can arrange it.”

  “Let me text my brother, Jared,” she said. “I’ll let you know when I hear back from him.” She tapped out a quick text to her brother.

  “You don’t live with your folks?”

  “No,” Amber said. She looked out the window for a moment. “My parents died in a car accident when I was a kid.”

  “Oh. Wow. Jeeze. I’m sorry.” His molten grey eyes seemed to warm with emotion.

  “It’s okay,” Amber said with a shrug. “It was a long time ag
o. I’m just glad the courts allowed me to leave foster care and live with my brothers. We have each other again.”

  “It’s good you get along with your brothers. I love mine but sometimes, they can be too much. Too much of a burden growing up in a town where everyone knows you. Or assumes they know you because of how your brothers behaved.”

  “I don’t know how your brothers behaved.”

  “I’ll count that as a reason you’re still talking to me.”

  She wrinkled her nose at him. “For now.”

  “Lights live simply,” Nate said. “We hunt and fish. Make quilts. We pretty much took over an entire street about three miles out of the center of town. You’ll see when you come to visit.” Nate took out the pattern and looked at it. “You should bring this with you so Mom can see everything. She’s gifted when it comes to sewing.”

  Amber waved a hand at Nate’s nearly-assembled project. “You seem to be good at it yourself.”

  Nate shrugged. “She taught me a lot. I’m apparently the closest thing to a daughter,” he said with a wink.

  Miss Chen cleared her throat and they separated to go back to their own projects.

  After class, she waited for January and they walked to the cafeteria together. “Why is Kel always feeding you?”

  January smiled. “He fusses over me. It’s nice. I like it.”

  “I can tell.”

  They made their way to their usual table amidst the joyful noise of friendships and laughter. “I still don’t fully feel at home here, yet,” Amber confided. “You guys don’t mind having me sit with you?”

  “No, why?” January asked.

  “You guys are all seniors.” Amber pulled a sandwich an apple out of her backpack.

  “That doesn’t matter.”

  “Well, I appreciate it.”

  “Are you two having a moment,” Tabby asked as she joined them. Kel and Mickey took their seats.

  “Hey, Tabs, you’re in the spring musical this year, right?”

  She nodded. “We’re doing Oklahoma!,” she explained to Amber. “I play Ado Annie. You should come to rehearsal next time. I’m sure Mr. Dante can use another chorus member. He’s really cool. If someone wants a part, he makes sure they get one.”