Michael and Mel

Chapter Two: Michael

This was going to be way too easy. I mean come on, give me some level of difficulty. But you know what? Maybe easy is good. Easy will give me a good chance at crushing my friend Tony at this. And that's exactly what I told him Friday night. Tony, Aiden, and me were celebrating yet another awesome end to the school week at our favorite fast-food place. The place was extra packed tonight, which made it hard to talk. The three of us had to practically yell in order to hear each other. And right now, I was in the middle of yelling over to Tony about how I was already in first place for this whole wager thing. "That is so unfair!" He shouted back, glaring at the triumphant look on my face.

"You can't track down her favorite go-to spots and corner her like a stalker!" I grinned and shrugged my shoulders. "You're just sore because you weren't smart enough to think of it." Tony rolled his eyes and looked at Aiden. "Can you believe him?" Aiden raised his hands in surrender. "Hey, don't start coming to me for help just because Michael is winning." "He is not." Tony scoffed. "I got this in the bag. Just wait." I guess I should catch you up here. That whole "school project" at the pottery shop today? That was all nonsense. Why? Allow me to explain. Aiden, Tony, and me all met two years ago at UCLA. We've been best friends since our first day and in all that time, we've gotten to know each other pretty well. Aiden is like the mediator of our group. He's smart, clever, a little bit of an ass, and is always the overseer of any stupid thing Tony and I do.

Much like this wager. But I'm getting ahead of myself here. Now Tony, he is the ultimate slack off when it comes to, well, basically anything. The only reason he hasn't flunked out of college yet is because he gets by on his charm and tricks. I wouldn't call him a pathological liar, but I would say he comes fairly close to one. There was an essay he never turned in? Oh, that's because he was on a fishing trip with his dad and uncle in Iceland. Why was he late for class every single day for a week? His grandma fell down the stairs and he goes over to her house every morning to help her get out of bed, make breakfast, and settle in for the day.

And with his dazzling smile and puppy dog eyes, teachers and students alike fall for his bull every single time. And me? What's my role in our little group? Honestly, I'm just hanging out with these two goofs because they're great friends. They may not always be the most reliable people, but when it comes down to it, I know they always have my back. Just as I always have theirs. So, we stick together. We have a lot of fun and have gotten ourselves into quite a few jams over the past two years. But nothing has ever come close to the craziness we started just one week ago. It all came about when Tony, the ever-confident playboy, said that there wasn't a single girl he couldn't get if he wanted to. Aiden and I started laughing. "What?" Tony said. "It's the truth." Aiden shook his head. "No offense dude, but I think any girl with an ounce of self-respect would turn you down. You're a great friend. But boyfriend? Yikes!"

Tony shot him a death glare. "Just being honest." Aiden added. I nodded in agreement. "Yeah, look at what happened with Jaynie. You made a big deal about asking her out and she said yes. Then two weeks later you dumped her for her friend. And even that only lasted a week." Tony rolled his eyes. "So what? I could be a perfect gentleman if I wanted to. Let me prove it. Pick any girl and I promise she'll be all over me by the time the semester ends. She won't just be into me, she'll be hooked." I let out a laugh. "You're saying you can get any girl to not only date you, but fall in love with you? Please, even I have more of a chance of doing that than you." Now Tony laughed, a very loud and overdramatic laugh. "Well, this is getting interesting." Aiden said, looking amused. "Seems to me like a little challenge is in order?"

Tony and I looked at each other, completely serious. And then we nodded in unison. Aiden smiled and immediately started listing off rules for this crazy wager. "All right, let's settle this. Any girl, but it has to be fair, and we all have to agree. Each of you must get her to fall for you, not just date you. No talk about the bet, no kissing, no interfering with each other or sabotaging, and you guys got until the end of the semester. That gives you both three months." "Yeah, yeah." Tony said, waving a hand through the air. "Whatever with the rules. Who's the lucky girl?" The three of us looked at each other, thinking hard. "Nicole Farmer?" I suggested. Aiden shook his head. "Unfair advantage since you went out with her a few months ago." "What about Indianna Carter?" Aiden said. I scoffed. "You mean the girl Tony kissed and then ghosted last year?" Aiden lowered his head. "Oh yeah, forgot about that." It wasn't until a few minutes later when Tony made the suggestion that brought me to that stupid pottery shop earlier tonight.

"Hey, what about your sister, Howard?" His eyes were bright and his face completely smug, like he had just come up with the greatest idea in the world. Aiden wrinkled his nose and shook his head. "Oh gross! Don't even go there, man." Tony shrugged. "Why not? She's the perfect girl for this. She doesn't know us, we don't know her. She's totally fair!" While Aiden continued to shut down Tony's idea, I was actually thinking it over. In all the time that I've known Aiden, he'd only ever said a handful of things about his sister. Her name was Mel, she's a year younger than us, and she's weird. That's pretty much it. And although I thought Tony was an idiot most of the time, I had to admit...this wasn't the worse idea he's ever had. So, I told Aiden this.

He looked at me like I had grown two heads. "You can't be serious." He said, rolling his eyes. "Tony's got a point." I told him. "She's totally fair." "Oh. My. God." Aiden sighed and stared up at the ceiling. Then, after a few minutes, he looked at the two of us and nodded. "You know what? Fine. I think you guys are stupid for choosing my sister out of literally any girl...but go ahead!" Tony and I high fived each other. We had our wager. And it was on. Although, Aiden did tell us something that sounded like it would make this a little more interesting. "But just so you know." He said. "My sister doesn't date. She's never had a boyfriend, never gone on a date, and never been kissed. Not because nobody's tried, but because...well, I don't know why she never accepted any offers. But whatever the reason, getting her to agree to go out with either of you isn't going to be easy." This only seemed to excite Tony more. And honestly, I did love a challenge.

So that was it. Aiden showed us a picture of his sister, so we would at least know what she looked like, and to prove to Tony that I was way smoother than he was, I accepted the terms of the wager and so did he. And of course, I got to work straight away. It wasn't easy figuring out where the Infamous Mel Howard spent her time, but eventually I found Nadine's Perfect Pottery, a place she goes quite often apparently. She was easy to spot and once I found her, I was officially the first out of Tony and me to talk to her. Which is why he was currently so annoyed. But hey, it's like the old saying goes: All's fair in love and war.

"Just you wait, Kassidy." Tony warned me. "The game has only just begun."