Chapter Fifteen
Sophie
Operation Find Me Real Romance has officially begun.
My friends and I enter the dining hall the next morning and make a beeline for the buffet tables.
I think each of us has worked up an appetite after our long discussion in my room last night.
Of course they wanted to know every little detail regarding the deal I made with Damian.
To say Addie and Carly are super excited would be an understatement.
Raven is curious, and somewhat excited, too, but she’s wary as well.
Me? Well, to be honest, the idea of experiencing the kind of romance I read about in books sounds awesome, and yeah, how amazing would it be to truly live it?
But I’m practical and know not to get my hopes up.
Plus, I like the idea of rubbing it in Damian’s face when I win the challenge.
“A room full of potential boys,” Carly says with a happy sigh as she places some waffles on her plate.
“Except, they all suck,” I remind her. “If they were potential boyfriends, all of us would have had boyfriends by now. Well, before you guys fell in love with your awesome guys.”
“True,” Raven muses. “I can’t count how many times I thought a guy was decent, but then he turned out to be…well, sucky, for the lack of a better word.”
“Well, lucky for you that I was up way too late last night whipping up a list for you.” Addie places her full plate of food on the table and then yanks her phone out of her bag. “Ten possible potential boyfriends.”
“So that’s why your light was on basically all night,” Carly says.
“Yep. Check it out, Soph.” She passes her phone to me.
I also put my plate down and study the list. I know all the names on here because I make it a habit to know the name of every fellow student, but she chose some guys who I never would in a million years ever consider a potential boyfriend.
I lift my eyebrow. “I know you’re still a new kid here, Addie, but Carter McMillian? He’s extremely wealthy and super pompous.”
“You sure about that? I dropped my pen the other day and it rolled under his desk. He swept it off the floor and handed it to me with a smile, saying he wouldn’t want me to fall behind in class. Even though I literally just got another pen from my pencil case.”
“That’s sweet!” Carly says in an encouraging and hopeful tone.
“Wait. Isn’t that the same guy who made fun of me in ninth grade because I froze up when I had to present my essay to the class?” Raven asks.
“Oh, yeah. Hmm…” Carly muses.
“Well, guys are so immature in ninth grade,” Addie says. “They’re still boys then. By the time they reach junior year, they’re morphing into men. So maybe it’s not fair to hold someone accountable for something they did when they were younger.”
“I guess that’s true,” Raven says.
“And plus, he returned my pen,” Addie reminds us. “He didn’t have to do that. But he wanted to make sure I could continue writing notes.”
“So now we’re determining worth based on the return of school supplies?” I ask.
“Just philosophizing, Sophie,” Carly says.
Handing Addie back her phone, I continue to add more food to my plate. “I think I need a little more than a guy who returns pens.”
Addie places her hands on her hips. “Are you purposely trying to sabotage this challenge? You promised Damian you would really try to have a real relationship with a guy. It would be cheating to not put the proper effort and then declare that you failed.”
I give her a look. “Do you know me at all, Addie? I would never cheat. I believe in winning fair and square. Which I will, by the way. There’s no way in heck any guy at this school could ever compete with William King. Heck, no guy or man in the entire world could measure up to him.”
Carly’s brows furrow. “William King?”
“The love interest in the mystery book I’ve been gushing about the last few days? Were you living under a rock?”
“Nope, I remember. I was just messing with you.” She playfully jabs her elbow into my ribs.
“I believe you’ll put enough effort into this challenge,” Raven tells me as we walk away from the buffet tables with our overflowing plates of food. “And I also think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by what you experience.”
I stop for a second as I glance at her. “What does that mean?”
“Raven thinks you’ll meet someone!” Addie nearly bounces on the heels of her feet.
“Not necessarily,” Raven explains. “I hope that she will find what she’s looking for, but if she doesn’t, I think she can learn a lot from this experience. About herself, about guys, about romance. It’ll prepare you for when you experience the real thing.”
I’m about to say something, but then I notice Harold Fitzpatrick sitting alone at a table. I normally wouldn’t pay him any attention, but he’s on Addie’s list.
“Doesn’t Harold always sit with his friends?” I ask.
They stop walking and turn to face his table.
“I’m sure they’ll join him soon,” Raven says. “He never eats alone.”
I shift from one foot to the other as my hands tighten on my tray. “Should I join him before his friends do? Maybe he and I could…talk.”
Addie’s eyes nearly pop out of their sockets. “Yes! Yes, you totally should. He’s number three on my list.”
“I noticed,” I mutter. “Why exactly is he on the list?”
“He’s on the quiet side and has never done anything to any one of us,” Addie informs me. “I think he deserves a chance.”
“The threshold is really high,” I say sarcastically.
Addie lifts her shoulders. “I had to work with what I have.” She nods to another guy sitting with a girl at another table. “There’s Richie Farmer. He’s a scholarship student like us. Prime material.”
“Except, he wants to fit in with the rich kids and looks down on us,” I point out.
“Maybe you can show him he’s chasing the wrong people?” she asks innocently.
I frown. This will not be easy.
With a sigh and my shoulders dropping a little, I grumble, “I’m going to try my luck with Harold before his friends come. Wish me luck.”
Addie throws one arm around me, nearly dropping her tray. “Good luck, good luck, good luck! I’m so excited to see how this turns out.”
“Hopefully without my pouring my drink over his head.”
“Have fun,” Carly says. “But not too much fun.” She winks.
I give her a look.
“You have a good head on your shoulders and good instincts,” Raven tells me. “Be careful, okay? I know Damian has good intentions, but there’s always a chance you can get hurt. Matters of the heart are never easy.”
“Talking from experience?” Carly asks her.
She’s referring to the guy Raven once loved—well, we think she might still be in love with him.
It was at summer camp before tenth grade, and she apparently had this whole epic thing with him.
Although, it’s kind of hard to know the details because she doesn’t like talking about it.
Deciding to ignore that comment, Raven says, “Just be careful, okay?”
“Thanks. I guess I’ll go now.”
“Good luck again!” Addie wishes.
Giving her a grateful nod, I take a deep breath, let it seep out of my nose, and spin around to face the table where Harold sits. He’s browsing on his phone while eating his gourmet egg dish.
Before I can talk myself out of it, I lift my head as confidently as I can and march over to him.
The good thing about being basically invisible at this school is that no one pays attention to me as I pass them.
But the problem with being invisible is that Harold doesn’t realize when I stand before him, balancing my tray and hoping he’ll lift his head to me.
I’m not sure how much time passes, but he’s too engrossed in his phone.
I look back at my friends and realize they are still in the same position I left them—standing near the buffet tables and not at all close to our usual table, where Caleb and Ryder are already seated and waiting.
They seem confused why the three of them aren’t joining them and why I’m standing next to the rich guy.
Addie offers me another encouraging smile and motions for me to go ahead and do it. I don’t know why I’m so nervous. Maybe because I don’t really know how to talk to guys? I can’t say what a rejection from this guy could do to my self-esteem, even if he turns out to be a jerk.
I clear my throat, but he doesn’t lift his head or even acknowledge me. Is he so lost in the video he’s watching that he’s vanished from his surroundings? I mean, I know what that’s like because it happens every time I’m reading a riveting story.
“Hey, Harold,” I croak.
His head finally springs up. When he takes me in, a look of confusion crawls onto his face. “Uh…hey.”
“Do you mind if I sit here?”
He looks even more confused as his eyes flit to the door, as though wondering when his friends will arrive. “Er, sure.”
“Cool. Thanks.”
I lower my tray on the table and then slide into the chair next to him. He glances at his phone for a second like he wants to continue playing his video but isn’t sure if he’s supposed to because I’m sitting right next to him.
Glancing back at my friends, I learn that they have joined the guys at our table and are watching me and Harold as though we’re a reality show.
I tear my gaze away from them. “Are those eggs any good?” I ask him.
He shrugs as he plays around with it. “My family’s chef prepares better food than the inept people at this place. My parents have complained so many times, but they don’t seem to give a crap.”
“You think the food sucks?” I ask incredulously. “My friends and I think it’s the best food we’ve ever had. Well, except for the Chinese they ordered from a local restaurant. Now that was delicious.”
He shrugs as he takes a bite of his eggs and makes a face.
We sit in silence.
“Do you like to read?”
He makes a face before scoffing. “Do I like to read? That’s like asking me if I like traffic. No, I don’t like to read. Who does? I only do it when I have to.”