The 10 Steps To A Boy's Heart

Chapter 7

We're currently gathered in the 'mastermind' cave a.k.a my dorm room and the brainstorming has only just begun. It was confirmed this morning on an online forum that Zander Wyatt is officially on the market.

He'd ended things with Yoona over the weekend and was now a free radical, ready for the taking. And since free radicals can be highly unstable compounds that never stay free for long, I need to act fast.

"This isn't going to work." Stacy murmurs as she paces the length of my room while chewing on her fingernails.

Daphne, who is still in her pyjamas despite it being early in the afternoon, admonishes her for the bad habit but Stacy is too deep in thought to bother.

"Zander has never had to pursue a girl. Not someone who isn't interested. He's not going to waste time chasing you when there are a hundred other girls who'd date him in a heart beat." She stops walking and shrugs her shoulders helplessly.

Her curly blonde hair is slick with sweat today because she'd hurried over after her morning practice.

I rest my palms on the bed, letting the soft mattress carry my weight. I just don't see the sense of it all. Here we have this guy, a serial offender who changes girlfriends every three months. Everyone knows about it, I mean it's all over the damn forum threads.

So why on Earth are there still people interested in him?

"We just have to take the chance," I reply, because there really isn't much else we can do. Zander has shown interest. He seemed pretty interested last Friday night and he'd added me on instagram over the weekend.

He's been liking all my pictures and commented on the story I posted about the orange flavoured latte I had at The Orange Idiot this morning.

It's pretty obvious the guy is trying his luck. I just have to pray that these steps work out and he doesn't lose interest. It's a gamble with him but one I'm willing to take. 

"Is your team cheering for the game this Thursday?" I ask Stacy, who has begun the unruly task of trying to untangle her mass of curls.

"Of course." She answers distractedly, wincing when her fingers try to smoothen out a large knot. "Why?"

"I'm going to need your help." I say warily, gauging her reaction. She stares at me with those piercing green eyes of hers and I hesitate a beat before continuing. "I need to be on the field. To really get his attention and you know how he likes cheerleaders."

In the movie the Ten Steps to A Man's Heart, the lead actress dresses up as Audrey Hepburn -her bosses biggest celebrity crush-  for their Hollywood themed dinner. In the movie, he stares at her the entire night.

"He'll definitely notice you if you're on the field. He's dated practically the entire squad," Daphne snorts.

Stacy stares at me through the dull mirror on my desk, a sly smile slowing forming on her face. "I should be able to make that happen."

***

There's a familiar tenseness in the air. The smell of fresh cut grass and chatter of a thousand voices fill the stadium with a buzz that I will never ever get used to.

Football is a big, big part of Daltech culture. I would say it's the biggest thing the university is known for and today we'll be going against our old rivals Richmond University from across state.

It's an important game and the stadium is already full even though we have a solid hour before the game starts.

Thankfully, it's an evening game today or we would have had to wake up in the early morning to watch. I never used to be a football fan but joining Daltech has made me follow every single game since freshman year.