How To Win A Guy In 30 Days

How To Vanish

"I'll get going then," Jared said and walked away.

"Hey," Vanessa called. "Keep what I gave you as advance for what you'd put her through in the future."

Jared's eyes widened in surprise, he would have expected a sorry or an apologetic smile. He shook his head, turned around and left.

Marly huffed. "You're giving that poor boy a really hard time."

Vanessa waved her hand in dismissal. "He should know who he's dealing with if he plans to be with," Vanessa was up on her feet in a flash, and looked down at her squinting friend with a wry smile, "you."

"Haul your ass up, lazy." Vanessa extended her arm and pulled Marly to a standing position. They skipped back to the tent, Marly chattering excitedly about a party that was held tomorrow at some girl's house.

"Ours starts in five minutes." Reen greeted Vanessa with their famous handshake: first, pouding the fists vertically, up and down, proceeded by a fist bump and withdrawing the hand with wiggling the fingers. Some found it lame but without it, Vanessa felt as if their connection got weaker and would degrade eventually.

"We gonna kick those Greenwich asses, baby." Reen laughed evilly.

Vanessa's smile withered. "Uh, Reen. I don't want to play."

"What?" Reen shrieked. "What do you mean you don't want to play? You persuaded me to change our list, so you could play against Greenwich today. Remember?"

"Cassie will do fine," she said vaguely, dismissing her annoyed partner.

Marly squeezed Vanessa's firm shoulder lightly. "What happened? You've never denied a game before, even for a week partner or a dumb opponent." After a moment of hesitation, she continued, "Are you-"

"I'm not scared," Vanessa said, raising her voice. She was grilled to the point of pink blotches appearing over her sunkissed face. "I thought Eric would play today. But that coward did not even have the guts to come."

Jude came running inside and stopped abruptly, looking between the three girls. "Did I miss something?"

"No," Vanessa said, glumly.

"Good," Jude said, still panting. Then, she raised her voice, "What the hell are you two doing here? The game has already begun. Coach looks like he could take us for dinner and grill us alive. You better hurry."

Vanessa gritted her teeth. She had long since known that arguments always ended with fruitless results. "Let's go." She grabbed her racket and headed out, Reen following her silently.

She stepped into the court with her right leg placed first. Her mother had told her once, "Right is the fortunate side. So whatever you do, you know what to choose." Even after she had turned to dust, Vanessa couldn't forget her mother's moral, had taken them along with her in the tedious journey of life.

The sun was gone, leaving the skies' enthusiasm to wane away just like Vanessa's had done. The courts were empty, save for their one, the bleachers occupied by a handful of night owls, who were either full on flirt mode or scrolling through their phones.

She noticed Marly sitting on the second row, listening intently to Jared's story. Vanessa mentally laughed, knowing how her friend loathed the idea of incessant talking. But here she was, listening to her crush talk, like a devotee in the sermons of a prophet.

The game ended within the span of ten minutes, St. Agnes had easily won the game, all thanks to Vanessa's vigor.

Their opponents were tough, and brash, but Vanessa was tougher. Even then, she knew well that experience and talent didn't alone help her win. Vanessa had the strongest tool on her mind: the unyielding desire to defeat the Florida boy.

*

"How?" Vanessa quipped, for the fiftieth time that night.

If it was not for dear Linda, Vanessa was one hundred and one percent sure that her brain would have exploded and leaked out through her earlobes. She snapped her fingers and said, "Maybe he takes drugs."

Linda's hand tightened around Vanessa's arms making her yelp. "Maybe he's just equally talented like you, dear."

"That pains," Vanessa said sulkily.

Linda smiled apologetically and caressed Vanessa's hand, the texture, calloused and warm against the pain. She asked, "All good?"

Vanessa shook her head vigorously. "When you said that, it pains here." She pointed at her heart.

Linda rolled her eyes, continuing to massage Vanessa's hands.

Playing with the kind of stealth that Vanessa had played today came with a price. It came in the form of an unbearable hand pain. She had moaned, grumbled and cried loud enough for the whole household to stay awake the whole of the night. Lucky for her, her father was on night duty, or else she wouldn't have started the ruckus anyway.

She hadn't stopped, till Linda coaxed her and had promised to alleviate the pain by any measure.

"Go to sleep," Linda said and patted her head.

"Sing for me," Vanessa mumbled, her voice showing the first signs of a troubled slumber.

"Oh no, your brother would kill me if I disturb."

"Soft and slow."

"Okay," Linda said reluctantly.

"Stars are leaving,
the night is crawling,
soft and slow,
close your eyes.
I'll protect you,
the demons usher away,
I'll be by your side,
I'll be with you.
Sleep o'sleep,
forge the bliss on her eyes,
take her away,
Soft and slow..."

Before Vanessa drifted into a deep slumber, she asked, "Do you really believe that he is as good as me?"

"I don't know. You find out."