Free Charisma by Jeanne Ryan Page A

inhibition hierarchy than parties, you know.”
    â€œSuch as?”
    She glances around my room, her gaze resting on my phone. “How about you text Jack? You guys have chatted online before.”
    â€œAbout stuff for
The Drizzle
. And he always initiates it.”
    â€œExactly.” She gets up to grab my phone. “Just this once, you should start things off. Get back on the horse before you feel too comfortable on the ground.” She dangles the phone.
    Little does she know I’ve saddled up a new animal altogether, even if I’m not sure how to ride it yet. “I don’t know. What would I say?”
    â€œHow about ‘hi’?”
    My pulse quickens. “That’s it? Hi? Like ‘Hey, Jack, this is Aislyn stalking you’?”
    She plops back onto my bed and tsks. “Don’t be so negative. He’ll be psyched to get your message.”
    â€œYou don’t know that.”
    She sighs dramatically. “He ran straight to you at the party, and then he left when he found out you had.”
    â€œSo?”
    â€œThis doesn’t take honors program smarts. Get a clue.” She yanks my hand and slaps the phone into it.
    She has a point, but it still doesn’t make the thought of reaching out to him easier. Yet, it also doesn’t seem utterly impossible. Just a text, right? One tiny text.
    I gulp and type HEY. My finger hovers over the SEND button.
    Evie leans in closer. “Ready, set, go!”
    I take a huge breath and hit the button. Evie’s eyes bug in shock. A wave of anxiety immediately rises in my chest. Oh crap, what have I just done? Jack will think I’m desperate. He’ll think I’m weird. He’ll think I—
    HEY BACK!
    I almost drop the phone. “Oh my God, he answered in ten seconds.”
    She bounces on the bed. “More like five. So what are you going to text back?”
    â€œText back?”
    She speaks very slowly and clearly. “Yes, now is when you ask him something complicated, like what he’s up to. C’mon, you’re doing great.”
    Okay, this is officially pitiful, having to get small-talk texting advice. Before I can think things through long enough to change my mind, I text him.
    Seconds later: WAITING FOR ZEKE TO GO TO SKATEBOARD PARK. WHAT DID YOU DO OVER THE WEEKEND?
    DUG FOR GEODUCKS YESTERDAY. Hmm, there’s not sounding come-on-y and there’s actively sabotaging any chance of a love life. Geoducks? Seriously?
    YUM. JEALOUS. WHAT ABOUT NOW?
    HANGING WITH EVIE. WISHING I HAD A BOWL OF ICE CREAM. Okay, weak, and random, but better than my last text.
    HOW ABOUT TOMORROW?
    Ack. My chest tightens and my brain screams, “Run!” But what I type is: I COULD EAT ICE CREAM ANY DAY.
    WITH ME?
    With him, on him, whatever he wants. OKAY.
    GREAT!
    I can’t believe it. We’re actually going to hang out. Evie cannot keep the smugness off her face, not that she even tries. But I forgive her. Just like I’m sure she’ll forgive me for accepting the Charisma. When I tell her. Someday.
    After arranging to meet Jack after work, I put down my phone and squeal.
    Evie jumps from the bed. “How incredible is this?” She rubs her palms together. “Okay, time to choose the perfect outfit.” She opens my closet.
    I sit on the bed, stunned by what’s happened. By what might occur tomorrow evening. But what if whatever made me brave enough to text him isn’t powerful enough for a face-to-face encounter?
    Evie holds up a pair of black cropped pants. “Purge time. Can I put these in the ‘donate’ pile?”
    â€œSure.” Okay, breathe. Figure out what a normal girl would obsess on for a date. Makeup, yeah, that’s it. I tiptoe over to the mirror to play around with some rarely used eye shadow while Evie hacks through my closet.
    When she has a few outfit options stacked on my bed, and a larger pile of things to donate, she slides next to