Like You Like Me ✔

3

Once we had settled on a game plan, the only thing left to do was to put operation Get My Girl Back into motion. Unfortunately, there was one snag: Rachel Chan. A.K.A. Celia's homegirl. Rachel was still in Singapore at the time, so we'd have to wait for her to get back. Then it was up to Connor to convince her to help us.

To say getting Celia's bestie involved made me sweat was a massive understatement, especially since the crucial element of our plan was secrecy. From where I was sitting, there was less than a shoelace stopping Rachel from ratting us out. But I didn't have much of a choice; I just had to trust Connor.

"I got this, bro," he tapped his chest. "I'll get the fine Miss Chan to assist; you know I've got that charm the ladies can't resist."

Guess we'll see about that.

"Alright," I exhaled. "Do it up."

My task was a bit more chill—in one way. I had to break "the love novel" down into more digestible pieces. So when I got home after picking up Lewis, I grabbed some Munchies and went straight work writing my first love letter to Celia. By midnight, I'd penned something special. I threw myself into bed with visions of Celia reading my letter dancing in my head.

***

A couple days after Rachel touched down, Connor sent me a text letting me know he was about to make his move. Apparently, my boy went big and opened with dinner and a movie. For the rest of that night, I did my best to keep my mind off thinking about what would happen if Connor's date took a nosedive. But not even playing Minecraft was enough to keep me distracted.

The whole thing felt like a game seven situation: win or go home, and I hated being on the sidelines. Sometime around 10 PM, my phone buzzed. I reached for it and almost fell off the bed when I read Connor's text.

"We are mint, bro. Rachel's in," he said. "I'll drop by tomorrow and fill you in on the details."

"My man," I replied.

"Told you, I got this."

The next day, Connor came over just as promised and gave me the lowdown. There was going to be a drop-off spot where he and Rachel would exchange letters. These handoffs would only happen at certain times to ensure Celia didn't find out who her "secret admirer" really was. The plan seemed decent, so I had no objections. But there was one thing I wanted to know.

"Spill," I said. "How'd you really convince Rachel to keep Celia in the dark about all this?"

Connor smirked. "What can I say? When I turn my game on, the ladies can't help catching feelings."

"Alright," I shrugged. "Can't argue with the results, good stuff," I gave him a fist bump. "So when's the first drop-off?"

"About that," Connor replied.

"I don't like how that sounds."

"It's all cool, bro," he leaned back in the chair. "Rachel suggested we wait until the first day of school."

I wrinkled my forehead. "Why?"

"Because it'll be harder for your girl to figure out what's up; you know Celia's sharp."

Guess they covered all their bases.

"Alright," I nodded. "That's legit. Wanna have a look at what I wrote?"

"Let's see it," Connor held his hand out.

I handed the letter over; Connor bobbed his head like he was listening to a sick beat while he read.

"Bro, this is good," he looked up. "But there's one more thing that'll make it next level."

"Shoot," I tilted my chin up.

"Your boy's penmanship," he grinned.

Connor asked me to hook him up with a blank sheet of paper and a fine point pen. Then he sat down at my desk and went to work. Apparently, his nana thought teaching Connor calligraphy was necessary for his education because "schools these days aren't what they used to be." My boy thought it was cool, so he went along with it.

When C handed me the finished product, I had to admit, his penmanship was mint. Not only did the handwriting look like something straight outta the Victorian Era, but it also had the added benefit of being unknown to Celia.

"All that's left is to say who it's from," Connor said. "So what's it gonna be?"

I'd been thinking about who I'd sign the letters as from the night I after our drive; only one name seemed right. When I told Connor, he nodded and smiled.

"I like it," he said after signing the letter. "Good to go?"

I took a deep breath. "Good to go."

***

I arrived at school that morning with my palms sweating like they'd been running laps. The first handoff was hours away, and I felt like everyone knew about it. But I put on my game face and met up with the rest of the guys in the parking lot for first-day shenanigans like there wasn't a love letter to my ex in my backpack. As fist bumps, high fives and what-ups were exchanged, I became that guy again: the Star Point Guard. Shooting the crap about summer soon followed.

Our schoolyard banter got interrupted by the familiar hissing sound of a particular rusty-red Chevy Camaro. We didn't have to turn our heads to know who had just pulled up.

"Musty Mike in da house!" Connor yelled, causing me and the boys to chuckle.

Mike stepped out wearing his signature green camo hoodie that hadn't seen a washing machine since the First Age of Middle Earth. Mike was also on the Basketball team, but he didn't hang out with the rest of the boys; mostly because we, as in him and me, had beef.

He always thought he was the better point guard. So he got super salty when Coach put me on the starting line up, which left him coming off the bench. Mike's sodium content got even higher after the boys voted me team captain.

As he walked past us, Mike took the opportunity to shoot me a dirty look before adjusting the volume on his Discman. In the age of smartphones, Mike opted for a thing that played CDs and skipped when he walked. And both his parents were doctors, so he was "broke by choice," to quote Connor. But according to Mike, "Old things were more authentic." My response was: "No wonder your game's so tired."

Unsurprisingly, he didn't take that too well.

Once Mike was out of earshot, one of the boys hit me with a question I was not ready for.

"So DJ, who's the lucky lady gonna be this year?"

During all our "Damian gets Celia back planning," Connor and I forgot to think about what I'd tell the boys. They fully expected me to have a new girl on my arm by the end of week one. The thought of the most popular guy at school still being hung up on his ex was a foreign concept to them, especially given how I ended things with Celia.

Connor shot me a quick "be cool" glance.

I shrugged and delivered a chill response. "The first week is for scoping out the field. So I'll get back to you once I know what I'm working with."

The boys cheered and rained pats down on my shoulders. I internally breathed a sigh of relief; Connor gave a quick nod of approval, and the conversation ball was passed to someone else. After a few minutes, we started making our way inside, behind the river of people flowing in through the main doors.