Milo

Feigning a migraine, I cut out of my last period early. Instead of going to the nurse’s office, however, I headed down to the drama room to take a look at the scene I want to do with Matteo for our audition after school. I hope he wasn’t exaggerating about his photographic memory. If we’re going to nail this audition, it will go a long way for us both to be off book. I have most of Cyrano’s scenes memorized already, but it helps to go over the section I have in mind a few more times, just to brush up. And now that I have a scene partner, I can imagine some basic blocking to help bring the play to life.

I go through the scene a few times until I feel comfortable with each line and then I sit on the floor, leaning up against the wall with my backpack at my side. Now that I have some time to myself to think, I reach into my bag and pull out the gift box with the Dungeons and Dragons book inside. I still have no idea who would give something like this to me, especially anonymously. If anything, I would assume the people I would most likely suspect to give me a random gift would want to take credit for it. Of course, if I’m being honest, the three most likely suspects aren’t really suspects at all.

Talia would rather learn how to play a Killers song on her electric cello for me rather than buy me a D&D book, which she has warned could cut into my popularity and hotness factor at school. Plus, she seemed like she didn’t know anything about it when she saw the book at lunch. She may be super smart and super hot herself, but she’s not much of an actress.

The next person who comes to mind is Anthony, who does like to give little gifts from time to time, but he’s more likely to talk to me about panda TikToks than to buy me a D&D guidebook. I don’t even know if Anthony knows what Dungeons and Dragons is.

Then there’s Gabe. Though Gabe can often be seen in a library or bookstore, he’s more likely to buy me a book about the origins of chess than anything having to do with D&D. Although the two games do require a good deal of strategy and knowledge, Gabe would never entertain the idea that D&D was anywhere near the same level as chess.

Other than those three people—the people I hang with the most—I don’t have a clue who else would give me such a thoughtful gift. I’m completely stumped, which I hate, especially since I’d like to thank whoever it is who bought the book for me…as well as ask them how they knew I’d love it.

“So, what role do you play?”

I look up from the book to find Matteo standing over me. With a shrug, I stuff the book back in my bag.

“I have a rule about not mentioning Dungeons and Dragons in school,” I mutter as I zip my backpack shut. “I don’t want anyone to find out that it’s a hobby of mine. According to Talia, it eats into my coolness factor.”

I’m not sure why exactly I shared all of that with Matteo, but I instantly regret it. Even a dork like him is likely to think I’m a weirdo for having anything to do with Dungeons and Dragons. But, much to my surprise, Matteo just laughs and tosses his backpack down on the ground next to mine. He then plops down beside me, extending his legs out in front of him and crossing them at his ankle.

“Does being cool really matter all that much?” he asks.

I stare at him for a moment, contemplating his question. Does being cool matter? It mattered when I was the new kid at Santa Cruz and I had to work my ass off to get the status I now enjoy. But since making it to the center of the social circle, I guess I don’t really think about it much anymore.

“You know, I’m not sure,” I tell Matteo. “I guess I’ve been considered ‘cool’ for long enough that I don’t put much thought into it anymore, except that I know playing D&D, no matter how much I enjoy it, is decidedly uncool. Other than that, it’s not something I think about.”

“See!” Matteo exclaims, sitting up straight and turning his body toward mine. “Right there! How can you be a Cyrano with that attitude?”

Remembering the play and the reason I asked Matteo to meet me, I suddenly reach forward and snatch the glasses from his face. Before he can say anything, I already have them on.

“Oh, come on.” Matteo sighs, once again blind. “I really do need those glasses to see. If you expect me to audition without them, I’m going to walk into walls.”

“Then you can just stand in place,” I suggest. “I want to try some serious method acting here. And if I really am blinded by wearing your glasses, then it’ll do wonders for my performance! What do you think?”

Matteo takes a deep breath in, moving his hand to push his glasses back up his nose, and cringing when he realizes they’re not on his face.

“I don’t even really want to be here,” he says. “But I’m guessing that I might be the only person who knows the entire play by heart. I’m willing to help you out on your audition, since I have a feeling that it might be the only way to get my glasses back from you.”

I can’t help but grin, looking at Matteo over the tops of his glasses.

“In fact, you would be correct, sir!” I laugh.

We fall into silence for a moment until Matteo casually squints over at me—rather, in my direction—and tells me that he was a wizard.

“A wizard?” I frown. “For D&D?”

He nods. “Yeah. A wizard sounds like a really cool character, right?”

“Maybe if I didn’t know anything about D&D,” I scoff. “But as a Dungeon Master, I would never be a wizard. They’re always weaker by default. And their powers and spells never are strong enough to lead a successful campaign.”

“Right,” Matteo says with a sigh. “I know that…now. Unfortunately I didn’t know it when I started playing, which is why I always lost. In fact, I gave up playing because I’ve never been good at it and, frankly, I hate to do anything I’m not good at. If I could give up physics, I would.”

“I can relate to that feeling,” I reply, looking down at my hands.

“Seriously?” Matteo laughs. “What exactly is Mr. Perfect not good at?”

I think for a moment, knowing that he’s making fun of me, but right when it counts, I can’t think of anything.

“That’s a hard one to answer,” I admit. “To be honest, I’m usually really good at everything I try.”

“Of course you are,” Matteo quips. “And you’re oh so modest too.”

“Okay, fine,” I huff. “If you really must know, I’m bad at my love life, which is especially embarrassing for a matchmaker.”

“You’re bad at your love life?” Matteo repeats in disbelief.

“Yes. Talia was just telling me as much at lunch today when I was trying to figure out who gave me this book.”

I pat my backpack, referring to the book inside.

“Wait a second,” Matteo says with a smile. “Are you trying to tell me that you have a secret admirer?”

I press my lips together, not wanting to say anything more about the subject, but I kind of feel like I owe Matteo.

“Yes,” I eventually confess. “But I am only confirming this because I am currently in possession of your glasses.”

“Well, in that case, I think this is perfect,” Matteo says, sounding excited. “Since I’m doing you a favor by being in this play, I think you owe me one.”

“What are you talking about?” I ask. “How does me owing you have anything to do with me having a secret admirer?”

“I happen to be a private investigator,” Matteo reveals proudly. He grins for a moment before his shoulder slightly slump forward. “Well, I want to be one, anyway. You know, like the blond girl in that teen TV show? She was a PI and she solved tons of mysteries. I want to be like her.”

“I’m not sure I saw that one,” I tell him, confused about where this is going.

“Well, anyway, I want to be a PI so I can earn money for college,” Matteo continues. “So you can be my first client and then spread the word about how I was able to help you.”

“And what, exactly, do you plan on doing for me?” I ask skeptically.

“I’m going to figure out who your secret admirer is.”