Chapter 36: Homework
"A plan?" I said, trying to sound a thousand times more confident than I felt. "Of course, there’s a plan. But a plan needs data. Reconnaissance. We can’t just charge in blind."
’Data? Reconnaissance?’ My brain was scrambling, grabbing words from video game tutorials and spy movies. ’Just keep talking. Sound like you know things.’
So I’d dragged him to the one place I could think of where two guys could talk without it looking weird: the arcade. It was loud, chaotic, and full of flashing lights. The perfect cover for my complete and utter incompetence. We were standing near a row of racing games, the synthesized screech of tires filling the awkward silence.
"So," I started, leaning against a Daytona USA machine and trying to look casual. It probably just made me look like my ribs hurt. "Operation: Don’t Die Alone is now in effect. Phase One: Information Gathering."
Jake just stared at me, his eyes wide with a mixture of hope and terror. "Operation Don’t Die Alone?" he whispered.
"It’s a working title," I said quickly. "Now, spill. How long have you been into her?"
"Uh," he stammered, his eyes darting around. "Since... since the start of the year, I guess? We had that history project together, the one on ancient Egypt."
"Okay. What do you like about her?" I was asking the most basic, generic romance questions imaginable. This was straight out of a ’How to Write a Love Story’ guide.
"She’s... she’s really smart," he said, his voice getting a little dreamy. "And she laughs at all my stupid jokes. And she’s got this little dimple on her left cheek when she really smiles. And she’s really good at claw machines."
"Claw machines?"
"Yeah!" he said, getting excited now. "One time, during the school festival, she won this huge stuffed alpaca on her first try. It was amazing."