Jen worked in her office at home while her daughter Katie sat at the kitchen table eating cereal. Kendall knocked on the open door. "Hey, Mom. Could you do me a favor?"
"What is it, honey?"
Kendall hesitated. "Before I tell you, you need to know that I'm not asking for the reason you might think I'm asking."
Jennifer Knight looked a little confused. "What do you want to ask me, Kendall?"
"Okay . . . um . . . I met one of your new interns yesterday. I actually saw them both, but only spoke to one of them."
"Who were you talking to?" Jen asked curiously.
"Jo."
His mother smiled. "Oh yes, she is very nice. They are both very nice girls."
Kendall nodded, readying himself for his question, knowing Katie was listening to every word.
"Can you give me her number?"
A sudden clang made mother and son jump and turn around. Katie's bowl was on the floor, milk and cereal spilling out.
"Sorry," Katie said, bending down to clean up the mess.
"Don't touch the shards, sweetie," Jen said warningly. Katie just nodded, didn't like the fact that her mom still treated her like a little child. Jen turned back to her son. "I'm glad to hear you seem to like Jo, but I can't give you her number. I'd be breaking a work rule."
"But Mom, believe me, it's not about liking her or disliking her, but I still need her number."
"Kendall, honey, you're a person who doesn't mind connecting with other people, why don't you ask Jo yourself?"
Before Kendall could reply, Katie said from behind, "She's right, Kendall. Since when do you have trouble getting a girl's number? Or did she turn you down?"
Kendall rolled his eyes. "I can't ask her because she'd think I was interested in her, but-"
"Are you interested in her?" Katie interrupted him. Kendall ignored her question. ". . . but that's not the reason why I need her number."
Jen shook her head regretfully and stood up. "I'm sorry, sweetie, but that's my last word. Now be a good son and help your sister, okay?"
Bad-tempered by the setback, Kendall bent down to collect the shards from the floor. If his mom wouldn't help him, he'd have to get the number some other way.
The opportunity was favourable. Jennifer Knight was on her way to the grocery store and Kendall took his chance. He knew sneaking into his mother's study was wrong, but he also reminded himself that it was for a good cause. After searching for several minutes, he finally found a piece of paper on which his mom had written the numbers of the two new interns. He took out his cell phone and saved the number when suddenly . . .
"Well, well, well."
He should have known. He quickly turned around to his sister who was standing in the doorway with her arms crossed.
"Seriously, Kendall, if you like this girl so much just ask her. What's the problem?"
"Katie, I really, really love you, but this is about things you don't understand. Plus it's for a good cause, alright?"
"Mom will freak out when she finds out what you did."
Kendall sighed. "Fine. What do you want?"
She thought for a moment. "Forty bucks."
Kendall stared at her. "Are you insane? That's all I have right now. I wanted to buy this new hockey stick, and-"
Katie shrugged. "You said you were doing it for a good cause. So, is that reason worth more to you than a new hockey stick?"
Kendall mumbled something unintelligible, then pulled out his wallet and handed his sister forty dollars. "Here," he said grumpily. "But you don't say a single word to Mom. No ironic, sarcastic remarks or any hints, understood?"
Unimpressed, Katie nodded and walked away with the money. Kendall shook his head. Even if his sister often drive him mad, he loved her very much and was actually quite happy that she was the way she was. He couldn't have asked for a better sister, and he was proud of her . . . even though she could be a pain in the ass at times.
Jo was having dinner with her parents when her phone beeped. Her father looked at her sternly. "Jo, you know the rules. No cell phones at dinner."
"Sorry, Dad," Jo said quickly while looking for the phone. "I thought I left it upstairs. Can I quickly check who texted me?"
Mr. Taylor nodded. Jo looked at the phone and frowned.
"Who is it, sweetheart?" her mother asked. Jo shook her head. "I don't know this number."
"Then I suggest you should ignore this message. You haven't given your number to some stranger, have you?"
"Of course not, Dad. Let me just read what this is about." Without waiting for her father's reply, Jo opened the message:
Hey, this is Kendall, Jen's son. You remember? The guy who crashed into you? Anyway, if you have time, could you give me a call? I have something important to discuss with you.
"Well?" her father asked impatiently. Jo looked up. "It's all right, Dad. I know this boy. He's the son of a hospital worker. I'll answer him quickly than we can go back to have dinner."
After dinner, Jo, as always, helped her mother with the dishes, then went to her room and closed the door. She knew her father didn't like that, but her mother had explained to him that girls Jo's age need their privacy. Jo sat down on her bed, looked for Kendall's number and called him. It wasn't long before he answered. "Hi."
Jo couldn't tell why hearing his voice made her smile. "Do I want to know how you got my number?"
"No, I don't think so. But my mom had nothing to do with it, if that's what you think."
"Fine," Jo said, still smiling. "So why did you want to get in touch with me so urgently?"
He was silent for a moment. "Well, I'm going to ask you something, but you mustn't think that I . . . um . . . would you like to meet me?"
Jo raised an eyebrow, but before she could reply, Kendall said quickly, "Just to clarify, this isn't meant to be a date request or anything. You'll understand when we meet."
Despite having several questions on her mind, Jo decided not to ask them and simply said, "Okay, when?"
"How about tomorrow?"
Jo thought. "Tomorrow my friend and I will work separately. I have the early shift and she has the late shift. So . . . two o'clock?"
"Perfect."
They agreed on a meeting place and then said goodbye. When Jo hung up, she wondered what she was getting herself into.
When Jo left the hospital around noon the next day, everything seemed to be going well. In good spirits, she made her way to the beach cafe where she intended to meet Kendall. However, for his sake, she hadn't told Camille or Jen about it because Kendall wanted it to be a secret.
She spotted him at a table in the back. Her father would have immediately classified this circumstance as suspicious. But Jo wasn't as innocent as one might think at first glance. Her father used to say to her, "You're a pretty girl, Jo. And of course the boys will notice that. But you have to know that there aren't only good boys in this world, so you have to learn to defend yourself."
So Jo had started learning judo, which she now mastered perfectly. Should this meeting take a different turn, she was prepared. Kendall noticed her and gave her a wave. Smiling, she walked over to him and sat across from him at the table.
"Thanks for coming. I know this all seems really weird, but I'll explain everything to you in a moment. Do you want something to drink?"
"Lemonade would be great."
Kendall nodded and turned to a waiter who was walking past their table at that moment. "Could we have two lemonades, please?"
The waiter nodded and went to the counter. Until he returned with their beverages, the two teenagers were silent. Then Kendall said, "Okay, ask me."
Jo smiled. "All right. So why did you want us to meet?"
Kendall took a sip from his glass, then suddenly asked, "Your friend - Camille, right? - Does she have a boyfriend?"
Jo, who had also taken a sip at that moment, choked and had to cough. She hadn't expected this question. When she could speak again, all she could say was, "What?"
Kendall made a face. "Okay, I probably should have started this differently. It's not what it sounds like. It's just . . . I'm not asking for myself, I'm asking for a friend."
"I can't follow anymore."
Kendall sighed. "It's about Logan. He-"
"Wait," Jo said, surprised. "Logan is interested in Camille?"
Kendall tilted his head indecisively. "Let's say . . . I'm working on it." When he saw Jo's completely confused face, he had to smile. "Okay, I'll explain."
Jo sat silently in her chair, staring out the window. After a while she looked back at Kendall who was watching her expectantly.
"Let me see if I got that right . . . You want to help Logan find a girlfriend even though he really doesn't want that? And you think Camille would be a good choice?"
Kendall nodded. "That was the basic idea. And that being said, I'm sure Logan is looking for someone, but he's too rational to admit it. He doesn't want to be a burden to anyone. But he's lonely and, as his best friend, it hurts me to see him like that. He deserves to be happy, but I'm afraid he has to be forced into that happiness."
"But why Camille?"
"Well, when I visited him on his birthday, she was standing in his room when I walked in. And . . . I can't exactly describe it, but there was some vibe in the room. And they looked at me as if I had interrupted them at something important. Did she ever talk about him?"
Jo suddenly remembered Logan's birthday as well. Camille was very strange that morning, like the day when they met Logan for the first time. And because the two were best friends, Jo knew what kind of guy Camille preferred. And Logan fitted perfectly into her prey scheme. "Well, I'm pretty sure she's interested in him, but we haven't talked about it yet."
"Do you think it would be possible to find out more about this?"
Jo smiled. "Yes, I could do that for you . . . but I hardly know you."
Kendall had to grin. "We can change that. If you want to know something about me, you just have to ask . . . but only if I can ask a few questions myself. And as soon as we get to know each other better, we could work on a plan to do our two best friends a great favor."
Jo laughed. "All right. Let's do this."
