Page 6 of The Cuffing Game
It was a leading question, since Mia had heard Celine grumble to herself about this mysterious “he” several times in the past month, ever since she’d broken up with the guy she’d met at the Alpha Tau party.
Celine slowly blinked up at her. “Um, yeah?”
She sounded wary, and Mia didn’t blame her. Just to be polite, Mia usually pretended she couldn’t hear Celinewhenever she talked to herself in their room. The actual conversations they had together rarely went beyond small talk. If Mia weren’t so desperate, she wouldn’t be talking to Celine about this in the first place.
“Great,” Mia continued. “How would you like to be on my dating show? We’re looking for more people to be on it, since it’s in danger of being canceled.”
“Wait, what?”
Celine dropped her phone into her lap and burst out laughing.
When Mia stared at her, completely serious, her giggles faltered.
“Oh, you’re not kidding. Look, I’d love to, but I doubt my crush would ever appear on the show with me. He has over a million followers, so I’m sure a lot of girls are interested in him. Plus, he almost never replies to my messages.”
An uneasy feeling spread throughout Mia, settling like a rock in her stomach.
Even though she already knew the answer, she forced out the words: “Who’s your crush?”
“Noah Jang? He’s a senior from South Korea.”
Of course, it’s Noah.
Mia scowled. “Ew.”
Celine let out a pseudo-indignant gasp. “Wait,what?What’s wrong with Noah?”
“Nothing. I just... know him, that’s all.”
Celine gasped for real this time. “And you’re only telling me this now?”
“He’s in one of my production classes. It’s a lower-division course, but apparently, he procrastinated on taking it, so he’s in it now as a senior. Noah’s a classic example of whatnotto do in college.”
But instead of looking horrified at Noah’s failings, Celine only asked, “Is he as hot in real life as he is in his videos? Have you ever talked to him?”
Mia sat up. “Plenty of times. He’s super annoying. He always debates things with me, like he can’t stay quiet and let my opinion be heard. And he constantly tries to one-up me in class.”
“Wait, this is perfect!” Celine enthused. “Well, not the one-upping part. But the situation in general. Mia, don’t you see? Ihaveto go on your show. And we have to convince Noah to be on it as well.”
Mia nearly fell out of her bed. “What?Why?”
“Think about it,” Celine replied. “Noah’s a senior, and one of the most famous people on campus. I have a decent following as well. If we both appear on the show, with him as my crush, it’s bound to get a lot of attention. Maybe it’ll be enough for the campus TV station to un-cancel your show! AndI’llfinally get a chance to meet him and talk to him in person. A win-win!”
Making a show about other people’s crushes was supposed to distract her from her own,notbring her into even closer proximity to him. And having to watch Celine potentially date Noah? It didn’t sound like a win for Mia, at all.
She had no idea what her face was doing, but apparently her expression was concerning enough for Celine to say, “Um, you okay, Mia? Maybe you better lie down. Sorry, was my idea too unhinged?”
“No, you’re fine. Sorry, let me think for a second.”
Mia took a few deep breaths that would have made Jeannette proud.
Her thoughts whirled. But the more she wrapped her head around Celine’s idea, the more she knew her roommate was right. If Noah and Celine couldn’t bring more attention to her show, then no one could.
This was her and her friends’ one and only chance to make this TV show. She had to take one for the team and try her best not to let her weird, complicated feelings about Noah get in the way.
Mia gritted her teeth, steeling herself against what she had to do next.
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll ask him.”
