Marked by My Brother’s Best Friend

A Strip Show?

Ryder and Daniel skipped their class and headed to the college community hall. They needed to prepare for the evening's fresher's party, since Ryder was president and Daniel was vice president.

"Mr. President, you're here." Jessica greeted them. She tried to kiss Daniel on the cheek, but he avoided it, not wanting to forget the feeling of Amber's kiss.

Ryder then announced, "Everyone, we're going to meet our junior students for an introduction." He asked everyone to get ready, but Daniel declined.

"Dude, I need to go to the office for an important meeting," Daniel explained while checking his email.

"Yeah, just go; we already knew you would," Jessica said plainly. Ryder agreed, saying, "Let him go."

"Ry, be kind to the juniors," Daniel instructed, his mind drifting to Amber, and he wondered, ‘I hope my little sister is doing well.’

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Amber had made it to her class on time, but the professor only conducted a brief introduction before leaving, stating that their senior students would be arriving soon to acquaint them.

"Wow, am I finally going to meet Ryder, my crush?" Isabella, who sat next to Amber, exclaimed. "Amber, you'll definitely fall for him too."

Amber responded with a casual, "Oh." She didn't seem particularly excited. If Isabella hadn't struck up a conversation, Amber might have found herself with no one to talk to, much like in her school days.

"They're here; the seniors have arrived," a classmate announced, prompting everyone to take their respective seats.

Jessica entered the classroom with grace and took the podium. "Nice to meet you, everyone," Jessica said in an excited voice and continued, "Unfortunately, our vice president is not here."

The whole class expressed their disappointment in unison with an "Ohhh." They were eager not only to see Ryder but also to catch a glimpse of Daniel.

Jessica smiled and tried to regain their attention, saying, "Alright, alright. Since he's not here, I'll be taking his position. But you know what? Our hot and handsome president is here."

She announced Ryder's presence and gestured towards the entrance. "Please grace the juniors with your mighty presence, Mr. President."

The entire class got excited, and they stood up, applauding continuously for Ryder. Amber, however, remained seated, lost in her thoughts.

"Hey, girl, stand up. It would be rude not to." Isabella nudged Amber with her elbow.

"Ah, alright." Amber stood up but kept her head low.

Ryder made a swag-filled entrance, and the junior students in the business department cheered for him loudly. Amber didn't enjoy the loud atmosphere; she wanted to escape and find her brother.

"Now, our dear president will take the stage from here," Jessica announced, and she asked Ryder to lead and continue with the introduction ceremony for the freshmen.

Ryder confidently took the stage and walked to the podium with a trademark charming smile that left all the girls in the class smitten. "Nice to meet you all, and welcome to our college,” Ryder welcomed the juniors and adjusted the microphone on the podium. “So, dear juniors, let’s get to know each other.

“Yay.” The whole class cheered in response to Ryder’s welcoming speech as he continued, “As your college president, I have decided to make things a little bit challenging yet interesting.” Ryder announced and called out a few juniors from the front row and asked them to introduce themselves, and then told them either to dance, act, or sing.

But Ryder found all these activities a bit dull and decided to add some spice. Ryder scanned the whole classroom until his gaze fell on a familiar figure: ‘Woah! Look what we have here.’ Ryder thought, took out a tiny flashlight from his pocket, and playfully flashed it on Amber with a sly grin. “What about you?” Ryder stated. His voice was filled with mischief and a sense of evil.

“Hi, senior is talking about you.” Isabella again nudged Amber to come to her senses.

“M–me?” Amber stuttered and looked up.

“Give her a mic,” Jessica instructed her fellow classmate, but Ryder intervened, “Nah! Let her come here on the stage.”

“Oh, that’s fine too.” Jessica didn’t think much and let Ryder take the lead, as he pleased, and asked Amber to join them on the stage.

Amber felt incredibly nervous and scared. She had never been on a stage before, let alone spoken in front of so many people. 'You can do it, Amber. Make your brother proud,' she encouraged herself.

“Come on here and introduce yourself,” Ryder instructed.

Up to this point, Amber had avoided eye contact, feeling shy and nervous, but she knew she had to face this. So she summoned all her courage and made her way onto the stage. Ryder instructed, "Come up here and introduce yourself.”

"Ye-yes,” Amber replied, and finally looked at Ryder for the first time since the ceremony started. Amber found him familiar but couldn’t recall until Rdyer stood up from his seat and walked to her, stopping just at a hand's distance and said, “Dear Junior, please introduce yourself.”

‘It’s him,’ Amber thought, as her mind went blank. She could clearly remember how Ryder had told her that he would kiss her every time he saw her.

“My… My name is Amber,” Amber said, turning her eyes away from Ryder.

“Full name, dear.” Jessica corrected Amber.

“Oh, sorry.” Amber quickly apologized and repeated herself. “I am Amber Greene. I’m from a small town in Kentucky.”

“What?” Ryder laughed out loud when he heard the small town, “Seriously? Our college has lost its taste to the point that now we are even accepting a lowlife from the countryside?” Ryder mocked Amber in front of the whole class, making Amber feel extremely embarrassed; she wanted to get off the stage and run away.

“I–It’s a town.” Amber corrected Ryder, to which Ryder smirked, “So, why didn’t you live there? Why are you here? Or did some rich man sponsor your studies here?"

Amber didn’t get what he was saying or what he meant by ‘sponsor’. All Amber could tell was that she was being mocked and bullied. She bit her bottom lip and tried to control her tears, which threatened to come out at any moment.

“Ok, miss bumpkin, can you sing a song for us?” Jessica joined Ryder. It was seldom that they had someone like Amber in their claws.

Amber stood silent.

“Ok, dance for me then.” Ralph, another senior, suggested, but Amber still stood at her place, biting her lips.

“What the hell, Ry? Who did you choose? Look at her, it feels like we are talking to a wall!” Jessica exclaimed in frustration.

“Come on, everyone, cheer up for Miss Greene,” Ryder smirked, and asked the juniors to join him.

“Yes, how could you disrespect our seniors? Just sing and dance.” A fellow classmate of Amber's suggested that as demand increased, Amber was too frightened to move from her place, with her head hung low.

“Gosh, look at her; how could she disrespect not only her classmates but even her seniors?” Jessica couldn’t take it anymore. She walked to her, took Amber’s chin, made Amber look at the crowd, and said, “Come on, we are not asking for a strip show. We are just asking you to dance.”

“A good suggestion there.” Ryder chimed in, held Amber by her elbow, and turned her towards him, “What say everyone, shall we have a real strip show here?”

The whole class fell silent. No matter what they said and did before, this was a bit too much.

Amber’s whole body shook when she heard such an absurd demand. Even though she wasn’t very aware of the adult world, after all, she would be nineteen soon, and she could understand that much.

“Thud!” Amber’s legs weakened as she fell hard on the floor. She couldn’t fathom why Ryder was treating her like this. They didn’t even know anything about her, and they judged her.

Ryder was shocked when Amber’s hand slipped from his and she fell to the floor. The sound of her fall was so loud on the wooden stage that it echoed throughout the whole classroom.