Method #1: Playful Teasing

Russell stares at the words neatly scrawled on his clipboard, heart pounding. His gaze drifts back to Vinnie and Sunil, sitting in front of the television with horrified looks on their faces. A movie is playing now—something about ghosts, it seems. A pale face (obviously just face paint and special effects) flashes across the screen, and the two of them shriek, clinging to each other in fear. Russell rolls his eyes, grinning nonetheless. What dorks.

Back to the plan. Will it work? He can't expect it to work on the first try, but it has to have some sort of effect. At the very least, they'll begin to consider the idea . . . Right? With Vinnie's cluelessness and Sunil being accustomed to this kind of behavior, he can't say for sure . . .

But he can't overthink it. The time for action is now. With only four minutes until snack time, he sets aside his clipboard and marches forward.

He approaches them from behind, and can't help but smile at the sight of them holding each other close. Not exactly what he meant by, "watching that movie in each other's arms," but it's still satisfying. "Hey!" he cries, and there's a little bit of vengeful pleasure that comes with hearing them scream. Sweet, sweet revenge. Maybe next time they'll think before deciding to prank him.

They turn to look at him, chests still pressed together, eyes wide in fear. Russell tries his best to ignore the twitching at the corner of his lips—the beginnings of a smile. He gives himself a moment to take it all in, being sure to choose his next words carefully.

"Alright, lovebirds. Snack time's in three minutes." He waves his hand towards them, gesturing to their cuddly position. "Break it up."

There's a brief moment of silence, making Russell hold his breath. And then Vinnie and Sunil look at where their arms are positioned, before sharing a look and hastily pulling away. Nervous chuckles bubble up and drift through the day camp, letting Russell know he's done well. He turns on his heel, grinning as he walks away.

He hears Vinnie shout, "Hey, Rusty! Wait up!" and hardly swallows a, "Quit calling me that!" He's always been fond of that nickname, but it had taken well over a year of denial before he accepted it. Telling Vinnie to stop has just become some sort of reflex.

Vinnie and Sunil follow him to the door, just as Mrs. Twombly enters with a fresh, full bowl of snacks. Russell hardly looks at her as he's handed his snack—instead, he looks back at his targets once more. Vinnie is being handed his snack, practically drooling as he stares the treat down. As Russell takes a small bite out of his own snack, he notices Sunil is staring at the ground, the walls, the ceiling; anywhere but Vinnie. And then—there it is!—there's a quick, nervous glance in Vinnie's direction. Progress? He hopes so.

Russell feels a chill down his spine, and then a concentrated, ghostlike pressure on his back. Someone is staring at him. He turns, locking gazes with surprisingly icy turquoise eyes. He decides stares at his snack before shoving the remains into his mouth. Try as he may, he can't ignore the odd looks he gets during the rest of snack time.

As soon as snack time is over, Russell heads back to the pillow he had been sitting on. He sits down, reaching for his clipboard. His hand meets the floor, and his attention is immediately on the empty spot where his clipboard once rested. He had put it here, hadn't he? He had set it down before getting Vinnie and Sunil. He had been sitting on this very pillow; he remembers, it's his favorite pillow, the blue one. And then he had put it down right there, except it's not there. Maybe someone took it? Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. That clipboard has his plan written all over it! If someone got ahold of it . . . that would mean…

"Looking for this?"

Russell turns around, having already identified the culprit by voice alone. Minka's tail is wrapped firmly around a wooden bar, which is attached to the ceiling with strings. She hangs upside down, smiling at Russell as she holds his clipboard over his head. She giggles. "I've always wanted to say that. But I already say a lot, so I thought—you know—it could wait."

She doesn't seem to notice just how petrified Russell is. Finally reminding himself to breathe, he tries to keep his voice low. "What did you read?"

Minka's smile grows wider. "Well, I dunno . . ." She drags the words out for too long, in a very un-Minka-like fashion.

Russell's voice rises an octave. "Minka . . ."

"All of it."

Russell groans, covering his faces as he feels his cheeks burn. He can't even bring himself to look at her. He's too embarrassed. "Just . . . Just give it back, will you?" he requests, holding his hand out.

He can hear the mischievous grin in Minka's voice. "No."

Russell glares at her, taken aback by her forwardness. "'No?!' Minka, I need that!"

Minka hugs the clipboard close, holding it against her chest. "I know that. Obviously you need it—I mean, look at this!" She holds it out again, staring at it with an intense curiosity that Russell has come to expect from her. "Notes on their personalities, diagrams, charts, a ten-step plan . . ."

Russell holds his hand out again. "Yes, yes, I know, I wrote it. Now can I have it back?"

The shadiness returns to her smile as she holds the clipboard away from him. "Nope!"

Russell growls, hardly resisting the urge to shout at her, to demand she return his clipboard. But Russell's not stupid. Minka wants something, and whatever it is, she's about to get it. "What do you want, Minka?"

"I want in on it."

It takes Russell by surprise, so all he can manage to say is, "Excuse me?"

Minka's smile is bigger than ever. "You heard me! Your plan is good, but you're giving them too much credit! Vinnie's not that smart, and Sunil won't act on his feelings unless you overwhelm him!"

Suddenly Russell is interested. "Now, when you say 'overwhelm him' . . . ?"

"You need to think bigger, Russell! These little things aren't gonna be nearly enough to get 'em together!"

Russell steps a little closer, a smile finding its way onto his face. "What do you have in mind?"

Minka is beaming now. Her tail loosens its grip, and within seconds she's guided Russell to a nearby dog bed, but not before handing him his clipboard.