CHAPTER 46: PHASE TWO

Walking back to class next to Nina, my mind was a mess. The cafeteria noise faded into a dull roar in my head, replaced by a single, looping thought: this was a problem.

Ruby wasn’t looking for a relationship. She said it herself—she just studies alone, it’s easier that way. That wasn’t the tone of a girl waiting for someone to ask her out. That was the tone of someone who was perfectly fine on her own. And I had to somehow get Jake, a guy who sweats when she looks in his direction, to break through that.

My mission just got ten times harder.

"You’re doing it again."

I blinked, pulled out of my thoughts. Nina was looking at me, her head tilted with that familiar, curious expression. "Doing what?"

"That thing where you look like you’re trying to solve a complicated problem in your head," she said, a small smile on her face. "Your eyebrows get all scrunched up. It’s very serious."

My hand instinctively went to my forehead. "They do not."

"They totally do," she said with a laugh. "So, what is it this time? Are you secretly plotting world domination?"

I wished it was that simple. "Just thinking," I mumbled.

She didn’t press, just bumped her shoulder against mine lightly. "Well, try not to sprain your brain. We still have 4 more classes to survive."

She let it go, but I could feel her watching me for a second longer before turning her attention forward. She was getting too good at reading me.

---

The last few classes of the day felt like they were moving in slow motion. I couldn’t focus on anything the teachers were saying. My brain was stuck on a loop, replaying the lunch conversation.

This mission was a train wreck before it even left the station.

When the final bell finally screamed, I packed my bag, my movements slow and heavy. I had to meet Nina to check out the Literature Club. But before that...

"Hey."

A voice whispered right next to my ear. I jumped, nearly dropping my textbook. It was Jake, materializing out of nowhere like a ghost. He looked like he’d been hiding behind my desk waiting to ambush me.

"Dude, don’t do that," I said, my heart starting to calm down from the sudden shock.

"Sorry," he said, not looking sorry at all. His eyes were wide and practically vibrating with nervous energy.

"So? Did you...? You know." He made a vague gesture with his hands, like he was trying to mime ’gathering intelligence’ but just looked like he was waving away a fly.

I glanced around the classroom. Most of the other kids were already gone. Nina was at her desk, putting her stuff away slowly, pretending not to watch us. She was totally watching us.

I turned back to Jake. "You saw her sitting with us, didn’t you? You were doing your creepy observation thing."

His face flushed a bright, blotchy red. "You told me to! You said ’study the battlefield’!" he hissed back, his voice a frantic whisper. "I was just following orders! So did you find out anything?"

I couldn’t help but crack a small smile. He was so ridiculous. "Yeah, I did."

He leaned in closer, his expression desperate. "What? Does she have a boyfriend? Is she busy this weekend?"

"Relax," I said, slinging my backpack over my shoulder and starting to walk toward the door. He scrambled to keep up with me, practically tripping over his own feet. "No boyfriend that I know of. And she’s not busy. She’s just studying."

His hopeful expression crumpled. "Oh. So she’s not looking to go out."

"I didn’t say that," I said, stopping in the hallway and turning to face him. "She’s struggling with history and chemistry. And she likes documentaries about lost cities."

He just blinked at me, a confused look on his face. "Lost cities?"

"Yeah. And she thinks Percy Fawcett found something in the Amazon."

He looked completely lost. "What am I supposed to do with that?"

I let out a long, tired sigh and rubbed the back of my neck. This was going to be exhausting. "This is Phase Two, man. The Approach." I was making this up as I went along, but it sounded official.

"She needs help studying. I already offered to help her with chemistry."

His eyes widened in a panic. "You did?" He looked a little hurt.

"As a friend," I added quickly. "And the plan is to suggest a group study session. Me, her... and you. You can ’casually’ join us."

He stared at me, his mind clearly working to catch up. "A group study session," he repeated, the words sounding foreign in his mouth. "And I just... show up?"

"No, you idiot," I said, lowering my voice. "I’ll invite you. You’ll act surprised. You’ll talk to her about the Nazca Lines."

"The what?"

This was hopeless. "I’ll text you a link. Do your homework. For now, just lay low. Don’t be weird."

He nodded, a new, determined light in his eyes. "Okay. Homework. I can do that. Thanks, Kofi."

"Yeah, yeah," I said, waving him off. "Just don’t mess it up."

He gave me a shaky thumbs-up and then hurried down the hall in the opposite direction. I watched him go, feeling a weird sense of responsibility. I was actually trying to help this guy.

What was happening to my life?

"Super-secret boy business all wrapped up?"

I turned to see Nina leaning against the lockers, a small, knowing smile on her face. She had obviously been waiting for me. My face felt a little warm.

"Something like that," I said. "You ready to go see if the Literature Club is as boring as it sounds?"

She pushed herself off the lockers, her smile widening. "Lead the way, senpai. I can’t wait to be initiated into your secret world of quiet reading and intense contemplation."

"You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?"

"Nope," she said, popping the ’p’.

I just shook my head and started walking, but I was smiling. Even with the ridiculous wingman mission hanging over my head, walking with her like this... it felt right. It felt easy.

My quiet life was definitely over. And maybe, that wasn’t such a bad thing.