In fact, Denny was so taken by his companion, on staying focused on not making a bad impression, entertaining him, being good at playing but not too good -except in foosball-, that he hadn't even noticed the two shadows that followed them wherever they went, and they were keeping an eye on them.

And it was really hard not to notice, as one was dressed normal and had little interest in hiding, while the other was wearing sunglasses, a raincoat and a hat inside and was so bad at trying to hide that she was more visible than her partner, and she had attracted the attention of the few customers and the staff, who kept an eye on her, ready at any moment to call the police in case she turned out to be a pervert or a criminal.

Needless to say, they were the ones who ordered the menu and entered the two boys in the tournament. And I think it is also useless to specify that the two figures were Amabelle and Petra. Despite the not-very reassuring disguise, Amabelle had made friends in a very short time with the girl from the staff, and had managed to recruit her part-time in the Operation Matchmakers.

The only support Petra was giving was winning a few games in mini-basketball to make it look like they were there to play, and snort.

That was enough for Amabelle as moral support. She had also won her a teddy bear.

At the moment they were hiding behind a plant and watching them eat.

“Now we just have to cheat to make them win the tournament so they'll surely go to the fair together and then we'll work out other situations there” Amabelle was illustrating, grinning, and affectionately squeezing the teddy bear.

“I think it's illegal. And then there are only three couples, including them. I think they can easily do it by themselves” Petra tried to dissuade her.

“As a wise old man once said: ‘When there are no cops around, everything is legal’” Amabelle waved her hand not interested in the voice of reason. Her plans were more important, and also Mathi seemed really perfect for Denny, she was more and more convinced of it.

“Did you just quote Stan Pines and called him a wise man?” Petra arched an eyebrow, not at all convinced.

“Yes, and I can blackmail you for knowing the quote. So, where is Jenny with the list of candidates?” Amabelle started looking around for the staff girl, who joined them shortly after, looking conspiratorial and holding a list with candidates in her hand. A couple had joined.

“So, I have good news and bad news” she began, in a low voice, bringing the two girls and the teddy bear closer.

“The good news is that I checked the two couples who had already signed up and they are not as good as your friends” continued Jenny, pointing to four unfamiliar names at the top of the list.

“The bad news?” Petra encouraged her, starting to get tired of the situation.

“Well, the two new people who signed up should be good. Diego comes almost every weekend and came very close to breaking Donkey Kong's record. But I don't know his partner, I've never seen her around” she explained.

There were several things that troubled Amabelle.

First of all the possibility of a real challenge against the couple of the day. Then the boy's name, Diego. If he was Diego Flores it would have been a big problem. Finally, the mention of the partner, the real reason why the name Diego could be a problem.

“Diego Flores-Fierro?!” asked Amabelle, taking off her sunglasses to show her angry eyes.

“I don't know, they only gave the first names. Diego and Juanita. Both Latin Americans. She looks younger than him though, maybe first year of university or last year of high school. They just arrived. Now they are playing table hockey together” she pointed to them, a little worried.

Amabelle and Petra leaned towards the two, and confirmed what the girl had said. Amabelle clenched her fists realizing that Diego was really ‘her’ Diego.

“Hold my Ozzy, I don't want him to watch” Amabelle handed the teddy bear to Petra and rolled up her sleeves ready to face Diego about his date and bribe him to let Mathi and Denny win.

She had less than half an hour to get results.

“I got your Ozzy, you do what you have to do” Petra patiently took the bear and sat waiting for the girl to finish, without having the slightest intention of intervening except to drag Amabelle out before the possible arrival of the police.

“So, have you been together for a long time?” Jenny asked, watching Amabelle approach Diego and Juanita with a little concern —but mainly with admiration—.

Petra jumped, and looked at her like she was crazy, blushing slightly in spite of herself.

“Me and Amabelle? No! We are not together! We're just friends!” she admitted, in a slightly sharp tone.

“Of cooourse. Too bad” Jenny gave Petra the same look she had already given to Mathi and Denny, then she went back behind the counter to clean up the remains of the romantic menu left by the latter.

Petra rolled her eyes and looked back at Amabelle.

The redhead had made a decisive move towards Diego, had completely changed her attitude midway, and had then turned to him in a sugary, friendly tone.

“Diego! Good to see you! I didn't expect to find you here during exams session, with a girl” she greeted him cheerfully, throwing a quick fiery glance at Juanita, who smiled shyly and a little worried.

“Amabelle… what a surprise! You didn't strike me as the arcade type. Are you here for the tournament too?” the boy asked, not noticing the malevolent intentions of his friend or hiding his knowledge very well.

“Not really. But we’ll talk about it later. First, why don't you introduce me to your young, too young for you without a shadow of a doubt, friend?” she asked coquettishly, greeting Juanita, who reciprocated embarrassed, looking at Diego as if to ask him for help.

“Oh, right. Juni, this is Amabelle, a friend from college. Amabelle, Juanita, my sister” he heavily marked the last word, and Amabelle's attitude reversed drastically.

She smiled wider and hurried to shake Juanita's hand, who returned the grip more and more uneasily.

“What a pleasure! I am happy to meet you. Are you both participating in the tournament?” she asked, sitting down on the hockey table and preventing them from continuing.

“Yeah. It's actually a bit of a coincidence. Juni is in town to see universities and I brought her here to spend some time together. Even if after the tournament she will have to go back to the bus” explained Diego. Juanita nodded.

“Are you sure you'll make it on time? Tournaments are long, and the bus station is… just around the corner… but in any case it would be better for you to retire and maybe do something together without competing, maybe… I don't know… eat something at the bar. Or go somewhere else. Hey, why don't we all go to Corona together? There's a vintage arcade machine there too, and…” Amabelle tried to find a way to stop them from participating, but was interrupted by a laugh from Diego.

“You want someone to win the tournament instead of us, right?” he asked, guessing the girl's evil intentions.

“Well... it's not a personal matter…” Amabelle tried to save herself, wringing her hands.

Diego glanced at someone behind her, and returned to Amabelle, understanding everything.

“Let me guess. Does that have anything to do with your new year’s resolution?” he asked.

Amabelle turned slightly and noticed that Mathi and Denny were passing behind her, the former dragging the latter to train for the tournament. They seemed really close.

She turned back to Diego and nodded vigorously.

“Wait... wait... is she the matchmaker?” Juanita asked in a low voice to her brother, a little uncertain.

“Yep. She is” he nodded.

Amabelle looked between the two in surprise, but before she could investigate what Juanita knew, the latter broke into an excited smile.

“No way! So coool! Can you tell me your matchmaker techniques? I’m writing a story about two girls who match their friends and then fall in love, but I don't know what tricks to come up with. I've already put in the most obvious clichés like the kiss cam, handcuffing them together, locking them in a room, getting them drunk before locking them in a room, handcuffing them together drunk and locked in a room, but I admit that I have few ideas, and research leads me only up to a certain point” Juanita opened up completely, coming out of her shell, and almost verbally attacked Amabelle, making Diego smile in amusement.

“Wow, these are all great ideas, I have to add the kiss cam and handcuff them together. For the rest I recommend the Gorgeous series. It is full of interesting ideas” Amabelle suggested, enraptured by the interest and involuntary advice.

“Right! Gorgeous! It's mama and abuela’s favorite series, and now I'm old enough to watch it too, finally!” Juanita's eyes lit up.

“Oh, no! I beg you! Two ardent fans in the family are enough” Diego objected weakly.

“Let her do it. One more tip. At the moment I am in the middle of a mission. I ordered a couples menu to my friends and entered them in the tournament. When they win they will go together to the "New Malfair Comics and Games", and this will give me other opportunities to get them together” Amabelle explained, in a sacred tone.

“If they win” Diego wanted to correct her.

“Of course they will win! We have to make them win!” Juanita was now completely taken by the matchmaking in progress.

“But it was you who insisted on participating” Diego was extremely confused.

“Yes, but love is more important” Juanita cut short.

“I agree, Juni! Can I call you Juni? Can we be friends? I'll give you my number if you want and we can talk about matchmaker techniques” Amabelle took out the phone, and Juanita did the same.

“With great pleasure. Maybe tell me about Cinema studies, too, I'm undecided between that and Literature” Juanita immediately wrote down the number and name, and Amabelle did the same.

“Yes, but... I intend to win, girls” Diego pointed out, earning two glares from his friend and sister.

“Hermanito, do it for me” Juanita gave him little sister puppy eyes.

“It's for you that I intend to win” but Diego was now immune.

Amabelle's eyes lit up as she realized she could get two birds with one stone.

“I have a proposal for you, Diego. If you let Mathi and Denny win, I'll buy you dinner” she offered, clapping her hands and smiling, a little too wickedly for her proposal to sound entirely attractive.

“What kind of dinner?” Diego inquired, unconvinced.

“Italian restaurant, two Michelin stars, all paid for by me… probably by Petra. The most famous and exclusive in the city. Everything is booked for months, but there is a free table next Saturday. So…?” she encouraged him, getting closer until she was a few centimeters away from his face.

Juanita approached her brother and whispered something to him in Spanish. Diego jumped and answered her in the same language, moving away from Amabelle.

They argued for a few seconds without Amabelle understanding a thing, then Diego sighed and put his face in his hands.

“All right! I accept the offer and we will lose. Know that I only do it because Juni would have made me lose anyway. So you're the loser, too, for offering a free meal” Diego shook his head and encouraged his sister to join him at the main game machines, since the tournament was about to begin.

“Deal, man!” Amabelle waved him goodbye him with a toothy smile.

Once out of sight, she returned to Petra, who had stopped watching her and was eating a hot dog, drinking a soda, and playing with Ozzy in the meantime.

“Tray! Complete success!” she informed her, sitting next to her and stealing both her drink and the teddy bear, which she affectionately pressed to her chest.

“Mommy was very good,” she said to Ozzy.

“As soon as I see Felix again I'll kill him for telling you about my nickname” Petra muttered to herself, throwing her a crumpled napkin to show her indignation. Amabelle caught it and threw it back at her.

“You can't kill him. He must become your brother-in-law” she reminded her, rejoicing in seeing her shiver.

“What a horror”

“Jenny! Could you bring me a pizza menu with iced tea? Peach” Amabelle then asked the staff member.

“I’ll be right there!” she nodded servilely.

“So... no hitches?” Petra inquired, who didn't trust too much what her friend might have gotten.

“I convinced Diego to lose and go on a date with Clover on Saturday” Amabelle gave her a knowing wink, and stroked Ozzy.

“And Juanita?” Petra was definitely surprised, she had to admit it.

“She’s his sister. And she's also very nice. From what I understand she is a writer, she has given me some great ideas. We just need to find a pair of handcuffs” Amabelle started scribbling something on the placemat. Petra blanched.

“Do I still have time to get out of everything?” she asked, hopeful.

“Nope. Above all because… how to say… to convince Diego to go out on Saturday I told him that I was paying for the dinner, and… well…” she began to ask, fluttering his eyelids coquettishly.

“No!” Petra started shaking her head, determined not to give in.

“Please, Petra. I'm poor. I can't afford dinner at ‘Le Cascate’ for two… four since I’ll sneak in too and Norman comes with me”

“Four dinners at ‘Le Cascate’?! Are you crazy?! At most, if I really have to, I'll pay for a table. I'm not paying two just because you have to stalk. You hide in the bushes and observe them from there!” Petra made the only possible offer, and after looking at her for a few seconds with puppy eyes, also introducing Ozzy to help her, Amabelle gave in, sighed, and agreed.

“I have to cancel the reservation in my name then. I could give it to Bonnie and your father” she commented, earning a murderous glare from Petra.

“Joking, joking. I would never do that. What a bummer though. I've always wanted to go there. One day I'll convince you to take me” Amabelle closed the conversation, and thanked Jenny who had just brought her pizza, chips and iced tea.

“Small update. Your friends are winning, and hands down too. You were incredible Amabelle” she complimented, and then left her a note.

“This is my number... if, well... if you want me to keep an eye on them, or if one day you feel like going out” she said, blushing slightly.

Petra looked away, gritting her teeth but trying to remain unmoved.

“Great! Thank you. I'll write to you right away. I would very much like to have another pair of eyes. I'll add you to my friends immediately” Amabelle picked up the phone and immediately dialed the number, drinking the iced tea with the other hand, and not understanding the evident flirt of the girl, who gave no sign of being offended by the unveiled friendzone, but she smiled and went back to work.

“You really are a conqueror” Petra commented through clenched teeth.

“Well, after all, every friend is a treasure, and I will conquer them all!” Amabelle misunderstood, continuing to eat.

“Better hurry, I absolutely want to see their faces when they win. And take pictures. I'll need so many photos for the scrapbooks I'll make for each couple” she exclaimed excitedly starting to overheat.

Petra didn't even comment, and just rolled her eyes.