Operation: Get Him a Girlfriend

No clue what kind of karma got me stuck with William Wilde as my roommate.

College was supposed to be chill, finally some freedom. But with him? It felt like SAT season all over again.

I gamed, he hit the books. I went out, he grinded certs.

I tried everything to mess with his groove. Then one day, he looked up and went, "Isaac, do you like me?"

At 7 a.m., the bunk below creaked.

Someone jabbed my blanket.

"Isaac, up. Class at eight."

William, obviously. I stayed buried.

Then Jace's voice, all smug: "Still sulking about last night?"

He and Steve cracked up. I ripped the blanket off.

"I'm not mad," I muttered, climbing down to wash up.

Total lie. I was fuming.

Last night I confessed to an upperclassman in music club. She turned me down—said she liked William instead.

In the mirror, I caught him brushing his teeth behind me and scoffed.

William Wilde. Student council president. The day he stepped on campus, the forum went feral.

Not just grades—his looks too.

Six-two, broad shoulders, sharp brows, sharp eyes. That untouchable, prince-y aura everyone drooled over.

But I didn't like him.

Messing up my love life was bad enough. What really killed me was his grind.

When I gamed, he studied. When I went out, he was taking extra exams. Even the sound of him flipping pages made me feel guilty enough to put down my phone and open a damn book.

I tried everything.

Dragged him into gaming—he carried me.

Took him out like my friend suggested—total flop.

So I ranted on the forum: [How do you get someone to stop studying?]

One reply stood out:

[Easy. Get them to fall in love.]

That lit a bulb. I DMed the user. Once they swore it worked, I was in.

***

Love makes people lose it, right? If William got a girlfriend, no way he'd keep up the grind.

The more I thought about it, the better it sounded. And I already had the perfect girl.

Alicia Pior—campus queen. Pretty, sweet voice, total girl-next-door vibe. She even asked me once if William was single.

I grabbed my phone: [You there?]

Nothing.

Then: [William and I are grabbing lunch at Cactus Grill by the front gate. Wanna "accidentally" run into us?]

She shot back a thumbs-up instantly.

That's when it hit me—girls never looked at me the way they looked at him. Ouch.

I glanced at William. "Let's hit Cactus Grill today."

He nodded, raised a brow. "So you're not mad anymore?"

I huffed and looked away.

He chuckled under his breath. I pretended not to hear.

By noon, we were at Cactus Grill.

I bolted to the counter. "Yeah, this, this, and that," pointing at my usuals.

William trailed, stacking salad.

As soon as we sat down, I scanned the place, searching for Alicia.

William caught on. "Who are you looking for?"

Guilt stabbed me, but this was for him. I was serving him a gorgeous girlfriend on a platter. Lucky guy.

I straightened up, shot him a look—then spotted her.

Alicia. White dress, light makeup, glowing. Unreal.

I cleared my throat. "What a coincidence, Alicia."

She beamed. "What a surprise. It's packed—mind if I join you?"