Copper Kiss

The second the phone rang Clara  threw herself at the phone where the bright red phone was attached.

“Hinson’s residence, this is Clara,” she spoke quickly enough that it barely sounded like separate words and she was met with a familiar laugh at the other end of the phone.

“That was the fastest you’ve ever picked up the phone,” Amber’s voice was laced with amusement.

“You said you would call at six.”

“So you waited by the phone?”

Clara nodded and then remembered to speak up. “Yeah. I didn’t want to miss it.”

“I would have called again.”

“Still, it’s our first phone call since you… since you got there. It’s important,” Clara pouted as she spoke and leaned her back against the wall. “I miss you.”

“It’s only been a day!” Amber laughed. “But I missed you too.”

“I still can’t believe we won’t graduate together.” 

As she spoke Clara wrapped and unwrapped the phone cord around her finger. It was starting to get worn out from the way she would always do this as she was on the phone. Always with Amber, always for hours. ‘You’ve spent all day together at school, what else could you possibly have to talk about?’ her mom used to ask. At least now that Amber had moved across the country she’d have no reason to complain about long phone calls anymore.

“Me neither. I’m trying to convince dad to buy a tape recorder so we can film and show it to you.”

“I’ll get one of those cardboard cutouts of you and take with me to mine. ”

Amber laughed and Clara could hear rustling as she moved around. “Are you in your new room?” she asked.

“Mhm. It’s bigger than my old one but it has this really horrible blue floral wallpaper. I ripped off a piece. I’ll post it to you so you can see.”

“Exciting. I love a horrible wallpaper.”

A small chuckle was all Clara was given and they lapsed into silence. Her vision was blurred but she bit her lip to hold tears back. She’d already cried enough.

“So,” Amber finally started. “How was your first day at school without your best friend?”

“Oh!” Clara exclaimed and straightened up. “I’m supposed to be the one asking you about your new school first! How was it? Was it very big?”

“Nope. I asked you first! I want to know all the gossip I’ve missed.”

“Fine. But you’ll be disappointed, because there isn’t much really. It’s been one day,” Clara sighed. “Everything was basically the same except more boring because I had no one to sit next to.”

“What about Josie and Emelie?” Amber asked and a hint of worry seeped into her voice.

“We had lunch together! Sorry, I made it sound so miserable. They’re really nice. They’re kind of adopting me,” Clara chuckled softly. “Oh! I just remembered- at lunch… You know Kevin, right?”

There was a pause that dragged on just long enough that Clara was about to ask if Amber was still there, then the answer came- short and sharp.

“Did he ask you out?”

Clara gasped, “How did you know? Did you talk to someone before me?”

“No… It was just a guess. I kinda thought he liked you.”

“Oh. You never said that?”

“N-no, I… I, you know,” Amber stumbled over her words in a way that struck Clara as unusual. “I thought you didn’t like him back anyway because you’ve never said anything, so like, what was the point? Uhm. Anyway, did you say yes?”

“No, because you’re right. I don’t like him like that. It was funny though, he said that he’d liked me for a while and thought that he could finally make his move now that you were gone,” Clara giggled. “I asked him what he meant and he said that he just had a feeling you didn’t like him and that you kept glaring angrily at him whenever he tried to talk to me. He said he got a feeling you were trying to keep him away from me. I told him that was ridiculous of course, you just look angry even when you’re not!”

Silence.

Clara waited, the phone cord wrapping and unwrapping around her finger at an increasing speed. The silence seemed to grow heavier and time dragging like molasses. 

“Amber?”

“Well, I’m gone now so… If you want to date him you can.”

Clara laughed. “I told you, I don’t want to! Anyway, it was just a funny story. How was your first day? Did you meet anyone nice? Any prospective replacements for me?”

Finally Amber chuckled again, the tension dissipating. “No one could ever replace you, Clara.”

“Please remember that until Christmas when I come and visit.”

“I will, don’t worry.”

“Well? How was the day?”

“Good. A lot. Big place, lots of people. Everyone was nice, I guess. Had lunch with this group of girls who seem… normal. One of them likes that same book series as you. So I could kinda chat with her about that. The maths teacher was cool, maybe I’ll actually enjoy maths.”

“Life changing.”

“I know right! Other than that, I don’t know. It was weird. I felt… lonely. You’ve always been the chatty one so I guess I kind of… relied on you.”

“So, you miss my social skills, not me?” Clara teased but her smile wavered when she didn’t immediately get pushback from Amber.

“No, I miss you,” Amber sucked in a wavering breath. “I miss you so much and it’s just been a few days. I don’t know how- I just want… You don’t know how much you mean to me, Clara.”

At the sound of Amber’s trembling voice Clara’s breath caught in her throat. “You mean so much to me too. I can’t wait to go to uni together.”

“I’m serious though, I feel… I think I-”

There was an abrupt silence and Clara waited, holding her breath. Through the phone she could hear muffled speaking, shifting against the phone and then Amber was back.

“Sorry, I need to go.”

“Wait, what were you-”

“I’ll call you tomorrow. I promise.”

Then nothing but a dial tone was heard and Clara exhaled and leaned her forehead against the kitchen wall.