How You Get the Girl

I Never Knew I Had a Matchmaker, Should I Thank Her Or Strangle Her?

School went on. We had three more weeks of classes. We spent the last week of computer class presenting our games. Ben and I went on the first day. After that, we just had to sit there and watch everyone else go. At the beginning of class on Friday, before the last groups went, we got our grades for our Computer Game Design project. Well, everyone got their grades except for Ben and me. Ms. Alverez asked us to stay after class. I immediately panicked. Had we failed? Had I managed to do such a bad job that I had actually made both of us fail? Would MIT still take Ben? Would RISD still take me? I thought I was going to faint. Ben, of course, looked totally calm. But he did look concerned when he looked over at me.

"Are you feeling sick Harper? Do you need to go to the nurse's office?" he whispered to me. He was clueless sometimes.

"Did we fail? Is that why she didn't give us a grade? We failed. I know it. I'm so sorry. I must have messed something up," I was babbling.

He looked at me like I was crazy, "What are you talking about?" he asked.

"We didn't get a grade back. It must be because we failed," I told him.

"We didn't fail. I've never gotten a grade lower than an A on anything and this is a computer game. We got an A. She just wants to talk to us about something," he said.

Oh really? I thought. Mr. I Don't Get B's? It must be nice to be so sure of yourself but some of us live in the real world where there are grades that are not As.

The class dragged on forever. I couldn't pay attention even when Kinsey and Miles presented their game. Finally, it was over and we walked up to Ms. Alverez's desk. I don't have butterflies in my stomach I have turkey vultures.

I blurted out, "I sorry if the game was terrible. It was all my fault. Please don't fail Ben too."

Ms. Alverez stared at me. "Harper, your game wasn't terrible. It was great. In fact, it was one of the best ones I've ever had in this class. You both got an A. I just wanted to tell you that and suggest that you might want to think about really developing it. It would take a lot of work but the concept is strong. The two of you make a good team. Your skills really complement each others'.

It was all I could do to mutter and embarrassed, "Thanks."

As we walked out of the room I turned to Ben and said, "Don't say it, you were right. We didn't fail."

He just smirked at me and walked me to my next class.

. . .

It was the beginning of finals week and Kenzie and I were sitting in the Library studying for final exams. Well, she was studying and I was pretending to. I had had my math final in the morning and all I had left was my English final in an hour. I was all set for it and I was so ready to be done with high school.

Suddenly Kenzie looked up from her notebook, "Harper, I have a confession to make."  

Then she stalled.  I waited for her to say more and waited.   Finally, I felt like she needed a little push,  "What exactly do you want to confess, Kenzie?"  I figured she had done something like sign Ben and me up to do something this weekend with her, Miles, Logan and Jonathan that she thought I would hate. God I hoped it wasn't paintball.  Laser tag would be okay but paintball sounded like it would hurt.  

"I used the computer project to set you and Ben up," she said, biting her lip and not meeting my eyes.

I just stared at her for a minute, trying to absorb what she had just revealed. It sure wasn't paintball.  And then I just blurted out the first thing that came into my head, "But Kenzie, he was still dating Clare when we started our project!"

"They were mostly broken up and I really hated Clare. She was terrible for Ben."

I closed my eyes trying to wrap my head around Kenzie's confession, "Mostly broken up isn't totally broken up!"  Then I took a deep breath.  "Let me get this straight. You tried to set me up with your brother while he was still neck-deep in all that drama with Clare on purpose? Why would you do that? And why with me?  We barely knew each other!"

"We'd had classes together so I knew you a little.  You weren't stuck up like most of you're friends and Ben is amazing.  I thought you might actually be smart enough to realize it.   I also knew he had a crush on you, so I took the chance to push you together when I saw you were in our class."

Kenzie was just too much sometimes. "When exactly did you decide to do your insane matchmaking thing?  When I came to you and said I needed a partner?"

Kenzie looked even more uncomfortable.  "No, when you started the class. Ben saw you were having trouble on the first two projects and wanted to help you but I stopped him."

I must have misheard her because there was no way she could have been that manipulative. I had failed those projects, "You stopped him?"

"I told him you had figured it out on your own. He was mad at me when he found out that I lied to him."

I was glad Ben had been mad at her. I was mad at her. I had almost had a nervous breakdown over those projects. I had thought I was going to fail the class. Kenzie went on in a rush. "If he had helped you, you wouldn't have been so desperate for a partner and I wouldn't have been able to convince you to work with him."

Unbelievable! "Why did you want me to work with Ben so badly?"

"Because I wanted you to see how great he is. He's had a crush on you since junior year and he was never going to do anything about it. You're really nice and I thought, maybe, you might actually like him if you spend some time with him," She blurted out in a rush.

"Are you insane? I mean, yes, Ben and I worked out but you couldn't have known we would!" I could not believe her.

"I really did think you would like him if you got to know him. You have to admit he is pretty great. And the whole thing with him and Clare was bad for him. Ben's always been all about his computers. He and Clare saw each a couple of times a month. She was the perfect, low commitment girlfriend. Which was the problem! She wanted more and he wasn't that into her but I think he felt guilty breaking up with her since they were sleeping together."

"You don't get how different Ben is with you. Up until he started spending time with you he was all about his computers. He had friends and he would sometimes do stuff with them but he was really self-contained. He didn't share much about what he was thinking or feeling unless it was with me or my parents. And then you came along and he talked to you. He wanted to spend time with you. I had just hoped you would get him away from Clare but then you two started to spend time together and he changed."

"Haven't you noticed how much my mom loves you? I'm mean you're a great person and she would have liked you no matter what but she sees how different Ben's been since he's been with you. As far as she's concerned you're the best thing that has ever happened to him."

Okay, that's was a lot to take in. No pressure there. Ben and had I just went from a high school couple who had just decided to try the long-distance thing to what? Two people who his family saw as perfect for each other? That was a lot to take in. Still, it was nice to know that Ben's mom and his sister wanted us to work out.

"Kenzie, this confession could have waited until after Ben and I had been together for a few years or something. It's a little too much to take in when he and I have only been together for a few months," I tried to joke.

Kenzie took it a little too seriously, "So you are serious?"

"Yes, we are. We're going to do the long-distance thing in the fall. Don't look at me like that. We're not getting engaged or married or anything like that you freak. I'm only seventeen."

Kenzie gave me a wicked look and then hugged me, "Oh Harper, don't say that. I've always wanted a sister."

"There is something seriously wrong with you," I told her.

"You're the one who brought up getting married. I just said I was glad you were dating. I'm not the one thinking about rings," she answered back.

I was not sure what to say to that.