Billy continued looking at Amy's face, the whirlwind of unexplainable emotions flooding his mind all over again. And fear at one and the same time - what if he said the darned thing yet again? His heart was pounding by every second.
Austin, standing a little distance away, came to realize the situation. His phone suddenly jolted with an alert. He checked it and found Billy's smartwatch issued a warning about an irregular heartbeat. He looked at Billy, staring intently at Amy, groaned in frustration. "What now? Is just looking at her face enough for this?" he mutters under his breath.
Billy continued to stare at her, completely entranced, with Amy staring at him, utterly perplexed. Finally, breaking the silence, she said, "Mr. Scott, what is it? Speak up." Her voice snapped him out of his trance.
Billy tried to babble his way around the explanation, "Uh…I…I just came to…"But before he could finish his, he swatted at his own forehead in frustration, causing Amy to flinch back in surprise.
"What's wrong? What happened?" Amy asked, alarmed.
Finally able to gather himself, Billy took a deep breath. "Miss Anderson, I came to apologize. I did something incredibly stupid yesterday, and I'm really sorry about it. Thank you for not filing a complaint against me," he said in sincerity in his voice.
"Oh, it's okay. You're forgiven," Amy replied calmly, surprising him.
"That's it?" Billy asked in wide-eyed incredulity.
What do you mean, 'that's it'?'" Amy asked, bewildered.
"That's. exactly," Billy explained, scratching his head awkwardly with an embarrassed grin. "I mean. I thought it'd take a lot more to gain your forgiveness. Me, I was even preparing to beg if that's what it would take.".
"Oh, that," said Amy, turning back to her laptop. "I thought you were just like every other idiot. But then I found out you're one of the top students at the university and even topped the entrance test. So, I decided to let it go this time."
"Thank you, ma'am," said Billy, his voice filled with excitement.
"But don't pull another stunt like yesterday. Especially not that repulsive prank about marriage," Amy said, shaking her head.
"But it wasn't a prank, ma'am," Billy said calmly. Amy froze, staring at him in complete disbelief. "I have never proposed to anyone in my life before," he said, a warm smile on his face, like he was explaining something ridiculously obvious. "And yesterday, my proposal was 100% sincere," he added. Completely stunned, Amy couldn't do much but stare at him.
Before she even had the chance to say anything, Austin interjected, taking Billy by the shoulder, and bending low to Amy. "I'm so sorry, Miss Anderson. My brother was completely drunk yesterday and didn't know what he was saying," he said, his voice abject.
"But we didn't drink yesterday. We haven't had alcohol in three days— "Billy began, but Austin was already stopping him with a gentle punch on the head.
"Shut up and move!" Austin said, grabbing Billy by the back of his collar and dragging him away. Billy winced and rubbed his head in pain as he was pulled out of the room.
Amy stood there, frozen in place, staring at the scene before her. In just one minute she had witnessed Billy again make chaos and confusion all over again, and shook her whole self with utter shock.
Austin dragged Billy out of the staff room by his collar. "Hey, take it easy! You're not hauling a sack of bricks," Billy protested, trying to shake him off.
"Hey, isn't that the guy who caused a scene yesterday?" murmured some students passing by in the hallway. "What's he up to now? Looks like he's being dragged away again."
"I didn't do anything!" Billy muttered defensively, lowering his voice.
Austin shot him a glare. "Your nothing is louder than most people's everything! Even after all the chaos you caused yesterday, you still managed to pull another stunt today."
Billy covered his ears as Austin's frustration turned into yelling. "Come on, all I did was apologize!"
"Apologize? Apologize my foot! You followed it up with another proposal!" Austin snapped.
"I didn't! I just… clarified things, that's all," Billy said in an attempt to justify himself.
"Clarified? If she decides to file a complaint this time, what are you planning to do?" Austin retorted back to him.
"She won't," Billy said confidently, almost cutting Austin off mid-sentence.
"And how can you be so sure?" Austin asked, taken back with complete confusion.
"Because she's won't and I know that," Billy replied with a shocking sense of pride.
Austin paused, staring at Billy as though trying to process his words. After a long moment of contemplation, he sighed deeply.
"Billy, just answer me one thing," Austin said, his tone turning serious.
"What?" Billy asked, bracing himself.
"The feelings you have for Miss Anderson—are you serious about them?" Austin asked, looking him straight in the eye.
"I don't feel for just any girl. I only feel for her. I won't let her go," Billy declared resolutely, his tone unflinching.
He looked at him another time before letting out a big sigh. "Okay," he said finally, nodding slowly. "If you're so set, I won't stop you. I'll not even tell the folks back home about this foolishness. But there's one condition," Austin went on, pointing a finger at Billy.
"What condition?" Billy asked, curious yet hopeful.
"If she doesn't like you back, you'll back off without causing trouble. You'll respect her privacy, her boundaries and you won't make her uncomfortable," Austin explained, his voice sharp and serious.
"I would never do anything to hurt or disrespect her," Billy said, equally earnest.
Austin let out a relieved sigh, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Good. Just remember—if this gets back to Mom and Dad, we're both busted. If they find out, expect nothing less than a hell," he said, shaking his head as they walked.
"Don't worry. I'll finish this game before they even find out," Billy said with a mischievous grin, trailing after Austin confidently.
Amy sat in the staff room, still obviously typing away on her laptop. As she scrolled through whatever she was doing, Billy's confession from the day before suddenly flashed in her mind. She could be found absent-mindedly clicking her pen, with a small smile playing on her lips.
"Idiot," she murmured to herself softly.