The duo stepped stealthily down the hall, looking left and right before proceeding. They were on a mission, and they were determined to succeed. The female of the pair nodded and murmured, “Yeah, this is the right room. Now, you remember what to do, right?”

“Yeah, Ophelia, I remember,” Graham groaned. “Smile and be charming. Do you really need to remind me?”

“Yeah, I do, actually,” Ophelia countered. “Otherwise, you’ll stand there with a big awkward grin on your face, looking at your feet. I swear, I don’t know how you managed to get married and divorced, and yet are still so bad about women.”

“I was young and stupid!” Graham responded, rolling his eyes.

“You still are.”

“Touché.”

Ophelia peered through the window of the door. “Looks like the class is about to come to an end,” she remarked.

“Are you sure this isn’t just a waste of time?” Graham asked. “I mean, when you introduced us, she didn’t seem to be too interested.”

“Just because someone doesn’t look interested doesn’t mean they aren’t. Trust me, she’ll fall for you soon enough.”

“Maybe she already has a boyfriend. Didn’t you say she and that Mark guy were really close?”

“They’re not dating. They’re kind of like… damn, how do I explain this?” Ophelia responded. “Mark’s commitment-phobic, and Jade isn’t planning to waste her whole life drooling over him.”

“So, it’s like that, then? Sounds like how Linda and I were.”

“Dude, you have a shot at her. I know it. Just trust me!” Ophelia exclaimed. She peered through the small window again. “People are starting to head to the doors. Time to spring to action.” She opened the door and entered the classroom, followed by Graham. The students leaving the room paid no attention to them.


“Hey, Jade!” Ophelia called out. “We’re here to bring you to lunch, and…” She trailed off, as the woman at the front of the room turned around. Staring wide-eyed at the woman with the glasses, bun, and no-nonsense suit, Ophelia stammered, “S-sorry… we must be in the wrong room.” She hurriedly turned to leave.

“Ophelia, where are you going? It’s me!” the woman called out.

Startled, Ophelia turned back around and gave the woman a closer look. Her mouth fell open in astonishment. “Jade?” she gasped. “Oh my God, I didn’t recognize you in that getup!”


Jade chuckled, let her hair down, and pocketed the glasses. “Forgot to give you a warning about that,” she said, grinning. “When you teach a class full of hormonal freshman guys, it’s a bad idea to give them the idea that you’re even the slightest bit available, if you get my drift.” She shifted her gaze over to Graham. “And… uh, what are you doing here?”

“Ophelia thought it would be nice for the three of us to have lunch together,” Graham explained.

“Surprised, huh?” Ophelia asked.

“Yeah,” Jade said dryly. “Very.”


“Look, we can try again another time,” Ophelia reassured Graham, over coffee. “We probably just caught her at a bad time.”

“Maybe I’m not her type. Maybe she’s into the clean-cut type,” Graham suggested.

“Nah, her tastes run towards the alternative type. You just need to give her time. I mean, you haven’t known her all that long. Sometimes it takes a while for people to get together,” Ophelia said calmly. “Years, even.”

“Years?!” Graham cried out. “Look, I’m not going to wait until I’m middle aged for her to fall for me.”

“And I’m not suggesting that,” Ophelia responded. “I just think that--”

“Ophelia!” a male voice called out.

“Looks like you have a fan,” Graham murmured, pointing. Ophelia turned to see AJ rushing over to her.


“Hi, AJ,” Ophelia greeted him. “Strange seeing you here. Doesn’t seem like your kind of place.”

“Well, Emily and I were looking for a birthday gift for our mom, and we decided to stop here for some snacks and drinks. What are you doing here?” AJ replied. He peered over at Graham. “Is that your… um…”

“Oh, I’m so rude; didn’t think to introduce you guys. Graham, this is AJ, one of my classmates. AJ, this is Graham. He’s a friend of the family,” Ophelia explained. “I’m trying to hook him up with my friend Jade.”

“Oh!” AJ exclaimed, relieved. “So, how’s the play rehearsals been going?”

“Good. We’ll be performing it next month. I’m really excited.”

“I’m really looking forward to seeing it,” AJ said, grinning. He shifted awkwardly for a few seconds. “So… uh… yeah, I’m going to go back over to Emily. I’ll see you later.” He gave Ophelia a quick, clumsy hug, then walked back over to Emily, who waved at the pair. Ophelia smiled and waved back.


Emily smirked at her brother and lightly poked his arm. “Still haven’t given up on you, have you?” she asked. “You’re wasting your time, you know.”

“She doesn’t have a boyfriend,” AJ responded.

“This is true,” Emily said slowly. “But, AJ, you have a girlfriend.”

“I can look, can’t I?”

“Seems like you’re doing more than just looking,” Emily retorted. She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Look, you are obsessing over the impossible. You’re just not her type.”

“Has she ever told you that herself?” AJ asked.

“Not so much in words, but trust me… you’re just not her type.”

“And what is her type?”

“Like I’ve told you before, she likes pretty guys. You’re not pretty.”

“How so? I think I’m a pretty damn gorgeous guy!” AJ responded.

Emily shook her head. “You’re hopeless, you know that?”