Scene: First Period — The Bet
First period hasn't even started and the room already smells like pencil shavings and cheap cafeteria air. I swing my bag down onto the desk, trying to ignore the way Theo and Jalen are watching me like I'm a vending machine that spits out miracles.
"Bro," Theo whispers, leaning in like he's letting me in on state secrets. "You see the girl in the back? Hoodie. Black. Always alone."
I glance over. She's slouched down, hood up, earbuds in, tapping her finger against her knee in a rhythm only she knows. Looks more like she's waiting for the world to annoy her.
"Yeah?" I mumble.
Jalen nudges me. "We got a challenge for you, Kiran."
Ah. There it is.
"If you—" Theo starts, "—can make her your friend—"
"Or friends with benefits," Jalen adds with the subtlety of a brick, "for like… half a month. Just until Halloween."
Theo finishes it with a grin too wide to trust: "We'll give you four thousand dollars."
My brain halts. Four thousand. As in… money.
I feel the greed kick like a reflex. It crawls up my spine and tries to paint itself across my face, but I clamp it down. They can't know they've already won.
Slow breath.
Neutral expression.
Professional mode.
I turn slowly toward them, tapping my finger lightly against my desk like I'm weighing the moral implications of their degeneracy. I'm not. I'm calculating how many unnecessary gadgets I could buy.
Then I shrug like this whole thing is barely worth my time.
"Bid four-two," I say calmly. "Four thousand, two hundred. And a twenty to start with."
Theo blinks. "A… a twenty? Why?"
"So I know you're serious," I reply.
Silence. Then Jalen absolutely loses it.
"Bro wants a down payment!"
I lean back in my chair, folding my arms. Hoodie Girl still hasn't noticed a thing. She's drifting in her own world, and now—apparently—she's my assignment.
"Deal?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.
Theo reluctantly pulls out a crumpled twenty from his wallet and slides it across the desk like he's making a criminal drop-off.
I take it without breaking eye contact.
"Alright," I say, tucking the bill away. "You've got yourself a contract."
The bell rings.
And just like that, the mission begins.