The Deal

Chapter 2

Jake Samuels was not the most approachable person.

Sammi was beginning to realize that even the Queens thought her end of the deal was impossible. He was cute and... that was it. That was pretty much all the information anybody had about him. People who were in classes with him didn't know if he was passing with flying colors or failing miserably.

Nobody she spoke to had ever talked to him. How was she, in ten days, supposed to get this guy to kiss her?

So she pulled her hair into her standard blonde ponytail, dressed in the bright colors she usually wore, and... went to Leah first.

"That's the deal? You need Jake Samuels to kiss you in ten days? I told you it was impossible with the Queens."

"The word is improbable, Leah. Not impossible."

Leah raised her eyebrow at Sammi. "Sammi, I hate to break it to you, but -"

"Samantha," she interrupted, the name feeling foreign on her tongue. "I'm... going by Samantha now."

Leah sighed. "Sammi, you can't let them push you around and even change your name on the off chance that you manage to get the most mysterious boy in the school to kiss you and then get to sit at their table, where you're still on trial!"

"I can do it, Leah!" Sammi insisted. "And please call me Samantha so I can get used to it." She almost cringed at the name again. She'd been Sammi forever.

"Sam...antha, I still think -"

"Leah, the plan worked. Why aren't you happy?"

Leah gave her a look. "Are you serious, girl? If you become one of the Queens, we're not friends anymore."

Sammi blinked twice. "Wait... what?"

"It's not because I don't want to be your friend. We can't be friends. They won't let you, Sammi-antha."

"...They'll let me, because I'm going to be so perfect that they can't let me go and then I can call the shots on who I get to be friends with or not," Sammi rushed.

"Girl. That's impossible."

"Not more impossible than getting Jake Samuels to kiss me in ten days, it's not - and there he is. I'm going to go talk to him."

Leah sighed as she watched Sammi walk off towards the mysterious boy that nobody walked off towards, deciding to watch her friend and see how it went.

"Um... hi," Sammi said, suddenly not feeling the confidence she always had. Jake was different than normal people. Her normal talking-to-new-people tactics probably wouldn't work very well.

Jake turned around. "Hi." His voice was a little deeper than Sammi had imagined, and he picked up his bag, politely waiting for her to step out of the way.

"Um, what's your name?"

"I have a feeling you already know that."

"It's still polite to ask though."

Jake tilted his head to one side. "Okay. I'm Jake. And you are?"

"Sam...antha."

"It's very nice to meet you, Samantha." Ew, that was so weird to hear somebody calling her that. She'd have to get used to it.

"And... nice to meet you too."

He continued to stand there until Sammi stepped aside, allowing him to walk off to his class. Well. He knew her name now, at least.

But this had to go fast. She had ten days to kiss this guy!

"Well that went well," Leah said with a snort.

"You're joking, right?"

Leah shrugged. "Well, I mean, half. He did talk to you. I'm pretty sure that's the first time the people around you heard his voice at all. Nice job."

"Okay..." Sammi bit her lip as she watched him walk down the hallway, his messy black hair bouncing along the way.

This was impossible. The Queens didn't think she could do it either.

She was going to prove them wrong.