Ronaldo Santiago was NOT the type of man to run away from his problems… but this one? Yeah, this one was bad.

You ever seen those cheesy low grade horror movies where the main character is being chased by some serial killer? And then they get to the end of whatever hallway they were in, and they can only look on in sheer terror as they're about to have the life removed from them by an pickaxe or chainsaw? That's how he felt right about now.

It wasn't a normal hallway, however. It was his school corridor. And instead of a serial killer, it was a certain white haired girl skip walking towards him as he looked on in *lustful* terror.

"Hey, Ronaldo!"

Oh, God, this wasn't happening… she was actually right there, right in front of him! He had to play it cool; he smiled feebly.

"H-hey, Linka…"

If she had noticed the stutter in his voice, she didn't show it. She continued on as if she was unaware of his true wishes.

"Ok, so the CRAZIEST thing happened yesterday! I was at my house, and someone called and yadda yadda yadda…"

Oh, dear Neptune, she knew, she TOTALLY knew and was about to publicly reject him in the middle of the hall between lunch and fourth period, oh, dear Neptune…

"Isn't that weird? And I think it came from Bebe's house, too! Isn't she your sister?"

What to say, what to say… his mind was wrecking itself trying to answer! Uhh, think, Ronaldo, think! Say something, ANYTHING, the first thing that you think of!

"...Why do I care?"

EXCEPT that!

It was faint, but from what he saw, a brief flicker of hurt crossed her eyes.

"What?"

Ok, no big deal. Just correct yourself and move on…

"Why do I care? I don't even know you, Linka. Get lost, Lame-O."

No, no, NO! What are you doing, Ron?! This is your chance, your MOMENT, and you're calling her LAME?!

"Oh. O-ok, then…"

She turned around and began to leave. Ronaldo could only stare pathetically as the girl he dreamt of walked away from him…

"Wait! Linka!"

She turned. Now's your chance, Ron!

"Uhh… have a good day!"

Really?!

This time, she did walk away. Right down the hall and turned the corner. And there was nothing Ronaldo could have said or done to change his actions.

Congratulations, Ronaldo Andrew, he thought to himself. You might as well go join the Morticians Club, you idiot! Your dreams are dead and buried!

He sighed, and turned to his locker. It was never gonna happen… he was destined to fail from the beginning. Might as well move on while he still had a sense of decency. There were some decent looking girls in his grade, he guessed…

Meanwhile…

Linka Loud wasn't hurt. No, she wasn't hurt in the slightest. If there was ANYTHING she'd learned in the house with ten boys, it's that you needed one thing and one thing only: DECEPTION. She had gotten so good at the whole "Oh, woe is me" shtick, she had even fooled Clyde with it. And Clyde, well, was Clyde! He could see through everything!

Not literally. Though that WOULD be pretty wicked. Like, Ace Savvy level wickedness. Pretty darn wick-

No, she was getting ahead of herself. Her plan was working perfectly. She had expected that type of response from such a tough guy like Ronaldo. He was practically an emotional wreck at this point!

It didn't take a genius to tell her it was definitely Ron that had confessed his feelings to her… even though she DID have one at her disposal. There was no other option. It had to have been Ron, and truth be told?

She didn't mind that.

Ever since she'd been dead certain it was him, she'd been constantly changing her focus to him. Truth be told, she barely even knew him; they only shared two classes every day. But she'd be constantly having to change her thoughts from his face… was that normal?

As much as she'd hate to admit it… she, kinda LIKED him. And (as her brothers learned long ago) if Linka Loud wanted something, SHE GOT IT. No questions asked.

Now? He was putty in her hands! He would practically jump off a CLIFF to get her to like him back! Perfect!

And now, the next part of the plan? Even better than the first! All she needed was someone that would listen to her… a trusted ally that could influence people… and she had JUST the person to do it.

She rubbed her hands together with an evil grin. Being a bad girl actually wasn't all that terrible...

Student Council Meeting…

Clyde sat back in his chair, glaring at the president of the class discuss the future of the school. Really, Cassandra, you don't have to give a speech about how much money the cafeteria uses every 5 years. We'll be out of school by then, anyways…

Did that make him sound mean? Probably, yeah. He'd have to pay attention the rest of the meeting. The downsides of being moral...

Truth be told, he honestly had no clue why he even volunteered for student council. What was it that convinced him in the first place? Probably his mom's; they were always trying to get him to "expand his horizons" and everything, but honestly, it was BORING. Like watching a soap opera while wedged between his sobbing parents.

Ok, that was more uncomfortable than boring. You get the idea.

But this meeting, Clyde had a purpose. He had gotten a text from Linka… Linka… er, earlier in the day. It was vauge, but it got the point across. Apparently, a lot of the girls in class wanted to have a spring dance. A "Sadie Hawkins Dance," whatever that was. Normally, he would have laughed off an idea like that, but from Linka? Heck no! For HER, he'd be willing to climb the Eiffel Tower without a safety harness!

At last, Cassandra opened the floor for discussion. Time to get this show on the road!

"Alright, Clyde! You're up!"

He walked to the front of the class, confidence in his eyes. He was actually a half decent public speaker; ironic, considering he hated crowds.

"Alright, so here's the deal; apparently, a lot of girls in our grade want to have a spring dance."

A groan arose from the crowd. This was not a completely new discussion.

"This again? How much dough did they give you, Clyde?"

"Wait, I'm not finished!" He said, trying to keep the crowd engaged. "They want it to be a "Sadie Hawkins Dance," whatever that is."

A different type of noise came this time. Almost like… interest.

"A Sadie Hawkins Dance? What's that?"

"Well…" he started, but stopped. "I… geez, I don't know. Anyone have a phone?"

A few seconds later, someone already had the Wikipedia article up.

"Alright, heres what it says. In the United States and Canada, the Sadie Hawkins Dance is a usually informal dance sponsored by a high school, middle school or college, in which female students invite male students. This is contrary to the custom of male students typically inviting female…"

Clyde didn't hear the last part. He was too focused on the part before that.

Girls invite boys? Instead of, you know, the usual way?

Absurdity! Why would any of the girls want THAT instead of a traditional dance? Girls asking guys was about as traditional as men having ponytails! It just didn't happen!

WHY would Linka even think of that?!

Unless...

Slowly, an eager smile spread across his face. Oh, you thought you were smart, Linka, did you? I know what you're trying to do here… you want to ask a guy to a dance! But not just ANY guy! Maybe, a certain curly haired boy who wore glasses and has known you since you were six?

Linka and her plans… they never got old. Clyde usually saw right through them, and this one was no exception. She was trying to woo him off his feet! Because, well, she obviously liked him! And when a girl liked someone, she-

"Clyde! Are you gonna vote or what?"

He snapped out of his trance. Apparently, they'd already begun polling the council.

"Oh! Uhh, yeah, I vote yes. I like the idea!"

The dust settled out fairly quickly after that. The council voted in favor of the dance, twelve votes to one (Dumb old Alex always voted nay to 'spice things up' on the council.) The date was set for April 28th. Plenty of time, Clyde figured, to have Linka ask him.

Clyde walked home alone that day, since student council ran after class. He got home, ate his dinner, and went to sleep a victorious man. He'd liked Linka forever now, and this? This PROVED she liked him back!

If Heaven was real, then God had blessed Clyde McBride that day. Things were looking good… so, so, VERY good...