Chapter 4: Chapter 4 – An inked proof of undying love

"Then why do you do it?" Judith had asked that Friday, paper in hand, once they were seated at a secluded table in the municipal library.

"Obviously, to teach them a lesson so they can see that it's not okay to play with a person's feelings, the way they teach in those damn movies!"

“I had understood that the origin of the idea was in certain juvenile novels…”

“Whatever it is, it's irrelevant. Here the problem is how they teach to romanticize certain behaviors and then, as if that were not enough, how certain people and companies dedicate to using that to sell. Using these products for thirteen or fourteen year old girls, who have no better reference for a healthy relationship and therefore will end up believing such nonsense.”

Judith smiled at that. Perhaps she found it amusing that a person, who was said to be on drugs and going about town getting into street fights and spraying graffiti on public buildings, could make such a reasonable speech.

"I didn't think you were moralistic," she confessed.

"I don't think so either, to be honest," Leyre replied, having only brought the four pages that she had passed to her accomplice as soon as arriving, she limited herself to leaning back in her seat, with nothing urgent to do and continuing in a slow tone. “It's just that there are things that are too visible to be missed. And if it is something toxic that they are repeating to you over and over again as if it were something good, one can only end up exploding.”

"What I don't understand is, if that's your opinion, why not express it directly to your friends? One assumes that you´ll have the confidence to talk about these things without having to organize or dismiss a bet.”

“Yes, but the dramatic effect is lost. If I had mentioned this to Sara as soon as she suggested placing the bet, she would have been bitter at the time but forgotten hours later. On the other hand, if I completely play along and things don't go her way, she'll remember this lesson for years and never come up with anything like that again.”

“Is that also the reason why when you approached me the other day you didn't start by saying that you would pay me in exchange for going out with you? For creating a show?”

“What can I say? Artists are like that, we like to improvise” Leyre confessed, in a way that didn't know if she was joking or serious. “If I had offered you the fifty euros as soon as you arrived, the conversation would have been reduced to half of what it was, at least. And that could not be allowed.”

Judith nodded, not sounding too convinced, and then silence fell again as she continued to read the documents before her.

Leyre had taken pains to draw up this kind of contract. More than six hours had been invested in it between brainstorming, writing the initial sketch, rearranging paragraphs, getting everything clean and decorating it with lettering and colored markers to highlight titles.

No, it was not an official document, far from it. If she presented it to a judge, lawyer or any competent authority, it would be very likely that they would laugh at her and send her to hell with a pat on the back. But she had researched how to write a contract and therefore, despite not having any legal validity, it did work for an informal agreement like this one.

"Exactly how much time do you plan to spend with me to make this paripe believable?"

“Only what is strictly necessary so as not to raise suspicions, in the duration section it says…”

"I'd rather you tell me about it while I'm reading, if you don't mind," Judith interrupted, not taking her eyes off the paper. “I think it will become clearer if we talk about it.”

The atmosphere was becoming tense. Somehow, Leyre felt as if she were being held accountable in the deputy director's office. Which was completely absurd, since not only were she and Judith the same age, but she considered that neither of them was above the other in terms of the imaginary social scale by which they were governed.

But well, with or without involuntary intimidation involved, she had no objection to making the effort to remember point by point what she had written on those sheets.

“I had thought that we would meet at least three times a week. Two of them at recess, to make it clear we are not getting along and in the process get used to each other's presence. The third, someday after class, when it suits you. It is not necessary to go to any secluded place or spend the afternoon there, it is enough to hold on until my nosy friends give up their efforts to persecute us with their usual lack of subtlety.”

"And all that without counting the times you greet me in the corridors as I pass and also the fact that you are forced to walk me home every day," Judith reviewed, although she mentioned it as if this were a list of tasks already approved, she did not seem much happier than his interlocutor.

The truth is that Leyre had barely managed to get Sara and the others to give up their efforts to follow the nerd home.

The only reason she had succeeded was because she had promised them that, starting tomorrow, she would see Judith to her house herself. This was, in part, a lie. But a convenient one.

No, it was not her intention to accompany her all the way to her neighborhood, thus corroborating Judith´s probable initial thought that she was crazy. But she realized that if she refused to accompany her, aside from shattering her credibility for the bet, it would only give the others more reason to continue their harassment.

So, the day after being robbed by two hungry girls in a pizzeria, she took her second best option: She offered Judith to accompany her for only a small part of the journey. From the high school exit to four or five streets further, when having made sure that no one was following them, each one separated and went in a different direction.

The road was tedious and uncomfortable for them because, although the objective was supposed to show how they were beginning a beautiful friendship, they were still strangers who had not even found a common topic on which to have a relaxed conversation.

But anyway, Leyre tried to convince herself that none of that mattered. In the end, the journey home was one more function of the show they were creating. They didn't need to talk to each other. It was enough that they were seen walking together for a while, every day. She would take care of extracting a few more words from the nerd when they began to get to know each other better...

Anyway, that was the idea. Leyre considered herself pretty good at getting introverted people out of their bubble for a while, but she wasn't entirely convinced she was going to achieve it with this particular person.

So far, all she had gotten out of her were a couple of sharp remarks and a few questions she had a hard time answering.

"Look, although for the sake of both of us we should try to behave in a friendly manner towards third parties, this doesn't have to turn into romantic dates or anything like that," Leyre explained quickly. “I don't want you to go out of your way by being overly affectionate with someone you just met. I´m aware that for some people this is complicated and that´s why I will not demand it of you.”

“That's lucky, that will save me from denying myself in that aspect.”

What was that Sara used to say, that these kind of girls used to be pretty naive? Leyre got the impression that the human in front of her would have no qualms about clipping her wings if she didn't agree with the smallest thing the contract said.

"We don't even have to be alone, either at the high school or outside of it," she continued. “That friend of yours, for example, Gisela, can spend breaks with us. You don't need to change your routine with her in that regard. You can even join us when classes are over.”

“That´s kind, and by any chance will having to deal with your acquaintances be included in the pack?”

"That would be nice, although it's not strictly necessary. What is true is that neither Gisela nor anyone can accompany us the day we go out together in the afternoon. That day we are supposed to have a date, it would be very strange if we had a rifle.”

“About dating, what says here about weekends…”

“Ah, that will be part of the collective imagination. Do not worry too much.”

“Meaning?”

“I'm not going to ask you to meet on weekends, but the truth is that it would be productive if everyone thought so. That's why it occurred to me that we could plan a joint story, something like: “This Saturday we went for a run by the river and then we visited such an ice cream shop before returning to the center of the city and spending the rest of the afternoon in the arcades ”.

“I'm not much into those kinds of activities, but I think I understand where you're going.”

“Precisely, the point is to have an alibi in case my friends stop you at school that your story coincides with mine. It doesn't have to be real, it just has to be close enough. In any case, no one would think that someone would be so bastard as to collude to win fifty measly euros from a bet as ridiculous as this... Although I mean, it's what we're doing” Maybe seeing that she was going around the bush in a bad way she proceeded to comment. “Going back to the imaginary thing, the pantomime or whatever you want to call it, I think it would be highly beneficial if we knew more about each other, to show that all the hours we spend together have been fruitful.”

"Know more things, you say?"

“You can take it as a new topic for an exam. Although of course, it would not be a matter of learning everything from now on. It would be suspicious if overnight we ended up knowing everything about each other. But maybe one or two random data each day… Oh, take a look at the last page. I´ve added a small quiz.”

And Judith did, skipping several pages that she was still analyzing, she went directly to the one Leyre called her attention to and began to read:

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"Favorite color, food you wouldn't try even if you were threatened with being shot, TV show from your childhood…" Looking up from the paper for a second, she inquired. “Why would anyone want to know all this shit?”

"To get to know each other better, I've already told you." Leyre smiled, with her pacifying tone she was sure that no one could guess that she didn't give a damn about the answers to all those questions she wrote.

"Wouldn't it be better then if you asked about things like my religious beliefs, political affiliation, or future goals?"

“Maybe yes, but my friends are more curious about the romantic aspect than the intellectual aspect of a relationship. And, as you will understand, knowing if you want to go to Harvard or have a date with Putin are things that do not interest them in the least.”

Judith seemed to understand, though that didn't stop her from asking, as if she hadn't started yet but was already tired of living:

"Do I have to answer everything?"

“If possible. I have a copy of that same section and I will also be writing my irrelevant answers so that you memorize them as if they were the new Magna Carta.”

"This is going to be so fun…" Judith murmured with a lack of fervor that more than betrayed what she was really thinking. “I was going to ask you, considering that I'm going to have to put up with this theater for a month, couldn't I earn more than fifty euros?”

“No, no, the money thing is not negotiable. Anything but that. We're halfway through and there's no more to talk about.”

“Here's the thing, how do I know that the total amount you're going to charge is really one hundred euros and not two hundred, for example, and you want to swindle me so that I keep less? Please note that I only have your word that this is the amount you wagered and there is no way I can verify this without blowing the whistle.”

"Do you really think I would be able to…?"

“You're scamming your friends, for starters. Why would it be crazy to think that you're trying to scam me too?”

At that moment, Leyre felt her blood boil, that all the patience she had had with this person until then evaporated. How dare she suggest such a thing, after all the accommodations she'd made so she wouldn't feel uncomfortable accepting?

And what angered her the most was that, despite being completely innocent of what she was accused of, she had no way of proving it.

"I was kidding," Judith clarified, to her relief, "you'd have to be a bastard to go around scamming every person who spoke to you, be friends or just strangers."

“Yeah, right. When the bet is over and the whole charade is unraveled, you can ask Sara yourself how much was the total bet. If she's not mad enough to lie to you, she might agree with what I've told you.”

“Then we would stay like this: Interactions as necessary and always in public places, nothing to invade the privacy of others, or physical contact beyond things like holding hands. The duration of the farce will be one month and not one more day, payment is made at the end of that period, and both of us will be obliged to memorize a series of data that cover us in case someone becomes more curious than should.”

“Broadly speaking, that would be the summary of everything. If there is any inconvenience along the way, we can discuss it and decide from there. As intrusive as the deal sounds, from the start, I don't want us to start with the premise that rules can't vary depending on how things play out. If you don't want to do something, or if you regret it at the last moment, you have the chance to go back.”

And these were not insincere words, spoken with the sole purpose of convincing. Leyre really wanted to do it this way: She didn't think cheating her friends out of a bet would do much to prove her point if she had to force another person to behave in a certain way.

"Very well, where do I sign?"

“What?”

After observing everything in silence, with that cynical attitude that seemed to be characteristic of Judith, it was even unheard of that she wanted to accept just like that.

"I'll cooperate with you," the nerd reassured her. “You don't trust me and I don't have any reason why I should accept either, but I'm bored and I think I'm in a better position than you to make demands. So I'll take advantage of it, thank you.”

"I don't have infinite money, you know that, right?"

But despite confirming this, Leyre told her where to put her signature. The truth is that being able to carry out their plan or fail miserably depended entirely on the other.

"It's okay, please, can you sign first?" As soon as she asked this question, Judith handed a pen; she seemed to prefer that she sign it first to make sure she didn't in an irrational outburst change any terms of the contract before putting her own name on it. “Oh wait, do you mind if I record you?”

"Record me?" The tip of the pen Leyre was holding was already millimeters from touching the paper when it stopped in its tracks.

“It's just insurance, in case the house of cards comes crashing down on us, let them know that the idea of setting it up wasn't mine.”

"And to blackmail me, by the way."

"I think these documents would suffice for that. I don't think I could have had so much information about a supposed bet if someone, that is to say you, hadn't provided it to me”  Perhaps seeing that Leyre was nowhere near putting her skills as a bad girl to the test and stabbing her with the pen as if from a whatever improvised dagger it was, he hastened to reassure her in an affable tone. “But don't think too much about it, I have no interest in spreading the video. If I do, your reputation will suffer, but I won't gain anything personally. Nor am I going to use it to extract money or favors from you, when the month is over I will erase it in front of you.”

"And I suppose all I have is your word, to trust what you say."

“Who'd say? It seems we're not that different when it comes to making deals. None can offer guarantees, only a precious relationship based on trust.”

And so Leyre reluctantly signed on, unable to shake the feeling that her good will had been exploited. She only wanted an accomplice who would do her part and who could offer her all the possibilities so that she would not feel cheated, how was she going to know that at the end of that encounter she was the one who was going to be put on the ropes?

Judith recorded her video before signing and, after making some photocopies so that everyone could keep their part of the papers, Leyre no longer felt like continuing to share oxygen with this girl.

"Monday we'll start," she snapped, getting to his feet.

She had agreed with Judith that they would spend the afternoon together, but after three quarters of an hour reviewing the terms, she was ready to leave.

“Sounds right to me, I'll stay here a while longer.”

“Studying?”

The way she asked sounded a little dismissive, but Judith didn't seem to care. In fact, she even seemed surprised by the question.

"Maybe," she said at last, without making any further specifications.

Leyre asked because, after all, that was the stereotype she and everyone she knew had of people like Judith: Nerds who lived, breathed, and bathed in textbooks. And since she was the one who had chosen a library to meet, what other reason could there be but to get back into her studies other than to indulge in the plan?

It was true that Leyre had not seen her take out any textbooks in all the time they were there, that the backpack she was carrying was more like a small bag in which such volumes would not fit, but what difference did it make? In the end they were all the same.

When Leyre finally left, she seriously began to consider whether she should get other insurance for the bet, to prevent everything from falling apart because of an accomplice who seemed more interested in her own benefit than in helping her noble cause.

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