Page 28 of It's in the Contract
“Yes,” Zeke says.
“So are we going to play that?” I ask.
Zeke shakes his head. “Nope.”
“Umm. Okay.” He said that so fast.
Zeke’s face softens. “It’s not you, I promise. It’s just that . . . D&D is something I do with my brothers and my closest friends. It’s hard letting someone join a campaign if they’re going to flake out halfway through.”
“No worries. I get it.”
Zeke takes the notebook back and adds, “Rule number 8: Callie will show Zeke around Seattle.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Why this?”
“I’ve lived so many places and never really gotten to know any of them,” Zeke says. “You’ve lived here your whole life, right?”
I nod.
“So you must know the city really well. And it’s a cool place. I don’t have much time here, and I want to see it all.”
“Okay, okay. We’ll make that part of the deal. It can be part of our social media campaign.”
“Campaign?” Zeke asks.
“Campaign.” I nod, for that’s what this is. A social media battle between Brielle and me. My 50K vs. her 200K, with hopefully a little weight added to my side from Zeke’s subscribers who also go to our school.
I take a deep breath. This is getting real, and it feels terrifying.
If this works, I could get everything I want—my mom beaming in pride, Suzy’s joy when we see Brielle taken down,a crown on my head as I look out into the crowd and see Noah’s distraught face or—better yet—one last dance with him at Homecoming and a chance to convince him that we belong together.
But if this goes wrong, I have so much to lose. As of now, even though Brielle’s social media might is a lot stronger than mine, our in-person social footing is about equal. I am well liked at school. I have a lot of friends. I am accepted. I am “go with the flow, never make waves” Callie Carter.
If this fails, I’m going down. I’ll lose friends. I’ll be a social outcast. The gossip mills will fly out of control, and my choices always reflect on my family. I can already hear the lecture my mom would give me about the importance of maintaining our outward appearance to the world. Her disappointment would be the hardest thing to bear.
I take the notebook back and pause for a moment before writing, “Rule number 9: No one else can know about this contract.” I look at Zeke. “I think it goes without saying that we can’t tell anyone. Not our parents, not my friends, not anybody. If this were to leak, the gossip at school would fly out of control.”
Zeke nods. “I completely understand. We tell no one. Not much use having a fake friend if everyone knows it’s fake, right?”
“Right,” I say. “The last thing we need to decide is a timeline. Homecoming is mid-October, so about six weeks away, but we should probably at least pretend to be friends for a bit longer than that or it will look suspicious.”
Zeke purses his lips. “Well, I’m moving at the end of the semester. Is that too long for you?”
“I can totally handle a few months.” I smile, glowing. This could actually work.
“One more rule.” Zeke takes the notebook and reads aloud while he’s writing. “Rule 10: Zeke and Callie must not become friends for real.”
“Not friends for real,” I say. “This is just a business transaction.”
Zeke outstretches his hand, and I clasp it in mine. He gives me a firm shake. For some reason, my hand tingles where our fingers touch. “Then it’s a deal.”
Ten
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Suzy clicksher pen and pulls out a notebook from her backpack. “All right. Who’s got ideas for how Callie’s going to kick Brielle’s butt?” Suzy looks from me to Dana.
