Milo

After a moment of staring at the new kid, waiting for him to tell me his name, my eyes drop down to my own hand, still extended for a shake. I have to resist the urge to once again look around me to see if anyone is watching this bizarre interaction—anyone besides Talia, of course, who is likely barely holding it together behind me as she tries not to burst out laughing. Feeling ridiculous, I finally lower my hand to my side, raising my eyebrows at the nerd in his wannabe Dan Levy glasses and lumberjack shirt.

“Well, okay then,” I mutter. “I guess I’ll just… leave you to it.”

Shaking my head with a slight eye roll, I’m about to turn away and go back to my table when suddenly the boy leaps up from his seat, looking pained.

“I’m so sorry!” he says, somehow whispering and talking too loud at the same time. “I’m, um, not good with people. Thus, the fact I’m sitting alone at this very empty lunch table.”

As he gestures to the table behind him, I look around his broad shoulders to confirm that he is sitting all by himself. Of course, not having anyone to sit with at lunch might have something to do with his not very approachable attitude. Maybe if he didn’t question why someone would be talking to him, more people would come over to say hi.

“You’re new here, aren’t you?” I ask bluntly, not bothering to beat around the bush.

The boy’s cheeks blush slightly as he nods his head a few times.

“Yeah, I am,” he says. “Oh, and my name is Matteo, by the way.”

I give him a long look, trying to see beyond the glasses and the rude attitude. Cautiously, I pull out the chair next to the one Matteo was sitting in and slowly take a seat. Matteo nervously follows suit, sitting down next to me and then pushing his chair a few inches away from me. I’m not sure what that is about exactly, but I decide to assume he just values his space and that it’s nothing personal. I don’t know how much longer I can give him the benefit of the doubt, though.

“I was just sort of surprised that you came over here,” Matteo continues to explain.

“Well, just call me the Santa Cruz High welcoming wagon,” I tell him dryly. “I’ve never seen you around, so I thought I’d say hi. I’ve been the new kid before and I know that it’s never fun. In fact, I was the new kid at this very school three years ago when I was a freshman. It took me a long time to make friends.”

I look up in surprise as someone pulls out the chair next to me and Talia plops down by my side. She holds a twenty-dollar bill between her first and middle fingers, offering it to me like a Hollywood starlet holding a cigarette.

“Okay, fine,” she says. “You proved me wrong. I didn’t actually expect you to talk to the new kid.”

“Um, what?” Matteo asks, clearly confused.

“Hi, new kid,” Talia says to him. “I’m Talia, Milo’s bestie. And no, before you even ask, I’m not just the sassy BFF with all the quippy lines. I’m also the star of the electronic orchestra here.”

Matteo’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise as he looks at me and then back at Talia.

“There’s an electronic orchestra here?” he asks, and I can’t help but find it cute that of the things Talia rattled off, that’s what he decided to question.

“There sure is,” Talia replies, “and we have a concert tonight. You should come—with Milo.”

It takes a considerable amount of effort to keep my gaze on Matteo instead of shooting daggers at Talia. I don’t know what she thinks she’s doing, but she shouldn’t attempt to play matchmaker—ever. She is completely clueless and at the same time completely obvious.

“You are more than welcome to join me at the concert tonight if you’re interested,” I say to Matteo, “but don’t let my friend strong-arm you into it. You don’t have to come just because Little Miss Bossy Pants forces you.”

Matteo still seems a little bewildered, but he just shrugs his shoulders and rolls with it.

“Well, I don’t know anyone here and it’s only the third week of school, so if you don’t mind, I think I’d kind of like to come,” he says.

“Wonderful!” Talia interjects before I can say anything. “Then it’s a date.”

“As friends, she means,” I quickly add, clocking the look of alarm on Matteo’s face.

Matteo just nods, looking a little lost about what is happening right now.

“Or,” Talia says firmly as she rolls her eyes, “as a date date. You know, this thing that people our age do for many years until they decide if monogamy is something they care about and, if so, they eventually get married—even though it tends to be an outdated convention forced on us by the patriarchy and perpetuated by Hallmark movies.”

Matteo’s mouth drops open as he openly stares at Talia, trying to figure out whatever it is she’s talking about. I can’t say I have much of a clue myself, though I get the gist of it.

“Well, I appreciate the invitation,” he says finally. “You’re actually the first people to seem welcoming here.”

Despite my better instincts, I feel a surge of sympathy for the new kid. I’ve been there—the one outside the cliques, unfamiliar with the lay of the land. I know how long it takes to claw your way up to the top of the social ladder. And despite our rocky start, this kid might not be so bad. He’s kind of cute, though definitely not the type of guy who would ever be daring enough to leave me such a thoughtful present.

“So, Matteo…” I say abruptly, feeling my calling. “Do you date?”

Matteo looks taken aback by my question, the tips of his ears burning bright red as he averts his eyes from mine.

“Me? Do I date?” he stammers as his glasses slip down the arch of nose and he pushes them back up again. “Like, what do you mean? I, um, I had a girlfriend in middle school. I don’t know if I would consider that dating. We didn’t really, you know, go out to places. I, uh…”

He takes a breath and closes his eyes for a moment, shaking his head as if trying to get himself to stop rambling. When he opens his eyes, he looks right at me, if not completely composed then as close to it as he can get.

“I haven’t really had much of a dating life since then,” he admits.

“Well, it’s your lucky day,” I reply with a grin. “I just so happen to be Santa Cruz High’s matchmaker extraordinaire—at your service.”

I do a little bow, which I regret once it’s done, but I don’t think Matteo even notices. He looks mostly in shock at the idea of me being a matchmaker.

“Oh, well, thanks, but I don’t really have money for that kind of thing,” he says.

“Wow.” Talia laughs under her breath. She raises an eyebrow at me while chewing on her straw. “You are unbelievable.”

“What are you talking about?” I hiss at her, wishing she would learn to be a little more inconspicuous.

“You are all about avoiding your own love life,” she says, looking straight at me. Then she sighs loudly and leans in over me to get closer to Matteo.

“Look, the thing is, Milo has the secret touch when it comes to finding people a love connection,” Talia tells Matteo.

“Talia is being a little dramatic,” I say, “but she’s right that I’m good at what I do. I have a one hundred percent success rate at finding people the exact match they’re looking for, and for those who came to me seeking an actual relationship and not just a hookup, everyone I’ve matched is happily together still.”

“Wow, that’s…impressive,” Matteo notes.

“I know,” I can’t help but boast. “I don’t know exactly how it works, except that I happen to notice and take note of people who could be a good match. It’s sort of a gut feeling that kicks in. It’s not all instinctual thought. I take what I observe and run some data through my own specialized algorithm, which I created on an app.”

“And what does the algorithm tell you?” Matteo asks, sounding legitimately interested.

“It backs up my initial instinct—always.”

“Every time?”

I nod. “Yup. Of course, I don’t ever just try it out on random people. I wait until I get my feeling first and then I double-check it with the app.”

“That’s pretty cool,” Matteo says.

“So?” Talia asks. “What do you say? Are you ready to find your match?”

Matteo shrugs a shoulder as if it doesn’t really matter to him.

“Okay, yes, at some point, I guess, sure, yeah,” he finally agrees. “You can try out your matchmaking skills on me.”