Can't Win Me Back

"You-" Amber glared at him in embarrassment. Her eyes were dewy and sparkling.

Axel tilted his head with a roguish smile. He tapped his lips to remind her.

Suddenly, he frowned and spun around. A group of smiling kids had gathered by the backdoor of the classroom to watch the drama unfold. Their cute heads peeked out of the door, one on top of another, which was rather hilarious to see.

They would have made a fuss if they could speak.

"You rascal!" Amber's face reddened. She shoved him away before fleeing and herding the kids back into the classroom.

Her scolding sounded flirtatious to Axel. His smile deepened when he relished her remark.

Amber returned to the podium after soothing the children. When she looked up, she found Axel shamelessly sitting in a chair by an unoccupied table in the last row. He folded his arms and rested them on the table, blinking obediently like he, too, was a student.

She flustered under his watch. It wasn't until she took a few deep breaths that she collected herself and completed the lecture.

After class, the kids happily filed out of the classroom, each holding a gift from Amber. Axel was the only one remaining in his seat. Resting his cheek in his palm, he beamed at her.

Amber went up to him, holding her breath and pressing her lips.

Before she could go off at him, he extended an arm and unfurled his palms. Then, he said pleadingly, "Ms. Altman, where's my gift?"

"I don't have one for you," she replied, her lashes fluttering.

"Oh? Ms. Altman, that's unfair." He looked so disappointed.

Once again, her heart raced. Biting her lower lip, she finally retrieved a bunny keychain from her shirt pocket. "Count yourself lucky. This is the last one."

His eyes shifted between the bunny keychain and Amber-she resembled the bunny.

Amber bashfully withdrew her hand when he did not accept the keychain immediately. She mumbled, "Right. I'm sure you have enjoyed your fair share of good stuff. You wouldn't want something like a bunny keychain..."Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

All of a sudden, he grabbed her hand and held it tightly. She sweated from her fingertips, and her ears turned red. She watched as he slowly pried the bunny keychain out of her grasp.

He remarked, "Don't be silly. Of course I love it because you left one for me." He held the bunny keychain to his chest and stroked it like a treasure. "Thank you, Ms. Altman!"

"I have work to do later. I have no time to fool around with you. Go home." With that, she lowered her gaze and attempted to leave.

Smiling, he called out to her, "Ms. Altman, you're good at sign language. Mind teaching me? Teach me just one sentence."

After calming her breath, she turned around to meet his starry eyes. Her expression grew serious.

Axel watched as she pointed at her chest. Next, she raised her left thumb, curled her right fingers, and stroked the back of her left thumb. Finally, she pointed a finger at him.

The simple gesture nonetheless fascinated him. To him, it was the loveliest language in the world despite the lack of sound.

She placed her arms by her side. "I'm done teaching you."

"Really? That was short."

"Well, it's not like you could remember advanced words. Take it one step at a time."

Surprised, he inquired, "And what did that mean?"

"I'm not telling you." Then, she hurried toward the teacher's office.

"Hey, was that a curse word?" When his voice trailed off, she was nowhere to be seen.

He stood there alone for a moment before carefully caressing the bunny keychain with a look of delight.