All four of them stare at me.
One date?Jordan asks.How is that humanly possible?
Well, when you’re home-schooled, you don’t meet a lot of guys,I explain.
Most home-schoolers develop social networks for that.Or send their kids to high school once they get older,says Des.
But that wasn’t possible for me.We kept a low profile as an American family living in Moscow.Some wives move back to the United States when their kids are in high school, but my mother would never live away from my father.
She’s a freak and this will never work,Angelica complains, not for the first time.
Mia holds up a hand.Wait, let’s just lean into this.Evelyn has gorgeous eyes, so she can communicate that way.Stare at him, but the moment he looks at you, look down.Then look again, and the next time you catch his eye, give him a shy smile, and then look away again.She demonstrates the wide-eyed look and the smile.Of course, Mia is so poised and pretty that whole routine looks amazing when she does it.I’m going to look like a bulgy-eyed bullfrog.
Still, she’s going to have to say something,Jordan says.My favourite catchphrase when a guy says something I don’t get is ‘Really?’She demonstrates with a subtle lift of her shoulder.Really?
I blink at Jordan, wondering if she’s joking.She smiles back at me.It works for everything.
Just riff on whatever he says to you,instructs Des.Because Vik has no difficulty talking to women.Okay, next: PDA.He’s not really into it.He won’t pull away if you hold his hand or snuggle up to him in public, but he’s never going to be the initiator.
This results in a brief argument where Mia insists she never noticed this, Angelica agrees, and then Des insists that she’s the authority because she went out with him most recently.People change.Maybe he’s like this now because he doesn’t want anyone getting ideas about being his serious girlfriend.
For sure, he won’t take you to any big public events like those Athlete Awards.Jordan motions towards the photo still frozen on the laptop screen.Sure, he’ll take you out to a nice restaurant, but never to a social event where he’d have to introduce you as his girlfriend.
What I really want to ask why these beautiful, popular women put up with anything but the best treatment.But it’s clear that all of them still have feelings for Viktor.Whether those feelings are positive or negative is harder to determine.
Hockey is the most important thing to him, and that includes the team.So expect to come second to hockey,states Des.
Jordan nods in agreement.Yeah, one night we went out to a restaurant, and he gets a call from one of his teammates.I don’t even know what the problem was, but suddenly we’re getting our meals packed to go, and he’s dropping off me and my dinner while he goes on some rescue mission.I was so pissed off.Like, these are grown men.Can’t they handle their own shit without calling Vik?
Angelica sniffs.Would he do the same for one of us when we had a crisis?And don’t try to mess up his game day routine, that’s set in stone.He has to have his nap and his special meal.And you can’t ruin his pre-game concentration even if something important comes up.
To me, this sounds admirable.A captain should be there for his teammates.I have my own priorities, and I would never put a boyfriend before my schoolwork.Failing is forever.I had to fight to get to Monarch.
He never buys you gifts,Jordan adds.
To be fair, he pays for dates,Mia counters.
Jordan nods.I know, but some guys get you flowers and jewelry.Lana gets flowers all the time.Lana Hillier is the polished, perfect vice-president of Alpha Z.
Then Angelica turns to me.We went to all this work, and you’re not even taking notes?
I can remember everything.So far Viktor sounds like a normal guy.He’s the team captain, so of course hockey is important to him.Maybe he’s getting scholarship money from hockey and he can’t risk losing that.Nothing they’ve said reflects badly on his character; if anything, he’s more impressive to me now.
Besides, how am I supposed to use this information?I can’t drop remarks likeI’d never distract you from hockeyinto our first conversation.
Des closes her laptop.Come over every night this week, and we’ll practice.Then, by Friday, you’ll be good to go and we can help you get ready for the party.
I swallow, realizing that all this work is for naught.I’m definitely going to fail with Viktor.I hope his groin has recovered by now.
THE WEEK GOES BY WITH A FLURRY OF ACTIVITY UNTILFRIDAY.
My brain has been stuffed with the knowledge all my sorority sisters seem to have had since birth.I need to be more feminine, listen attentively, move confidently, develop flirtatious ways, learn the art of a good compliment, and, most daunting of all, own my sexuality.I’ll have to find it first, though.I suspect it’s located somewhere in the new, tighter jeans I’m wearing.
Now my closet has been cleared, and all my fashion options are Mia-approved.My hair was cut, and I’m using product that makes it wavy rather than unruly.My eyebrows have been painfully reshaped.I’m applying my new make-up daily.
I’ve been practising my flirty dialogue with Annie.Although I was pledged to secrecy, I immediately went home and confessed the whole scheme to my best friend.We decided that I should undertake everything: the makeover, the education on all things Viktor, the campaign to attract him.And when that failed—which we both agreed was a certainty given my inexperience and his prior dislike—I’d still get to be part of Alpha Z.Although Annie still doesn't approve of the sorority, she understands that it's my dream.
Last night I had a brainstorm.Maybe if I look completely different, Viktor won’t even recognize me.I still have no chance of succeeding, but at least I can spend enough time with him so the Revenge Squad will know that I tried my best.My biggest fear is getting rejected at first sight.
