Your walk to the school is uneventful.

You’re relieved to find that your walk to the college campus is peaceful; you managed to get moving early enough that none of the jerks who occasionally bother you are out. You arrive at school well before your first class. You have some time to kill, so you head to the library.

When you arrive, much to your surprise you find that someone’s already there. You’re usually the only one in the library this early, so you’re caught off-guard. The girl is deep in thought, studying a history textbook. She has shoulder-length, reddish-brown hair, and wears a simple white blouse and knee-length blue skirt combo. She’s very cute, in a “sexy librarian” sort of way.

There are a few girls who give you a hard time, but in general you trust them way more than you trust guys, so you enter the library, sit down at a table, and pull out your computer science textbook. You’re busy reading about the intricacies of red-black binary trees when you feel a tapping on your shoulder. You nearly jump out of your seat, spinning around to see who it is, and the “sexy librarian” girl steps back in alarm at your reaction.

“Geez, I’m sorry,” she gasps, “I didn’t mean to startle you!”

You take a deep breath and calm your pounding heart. “S’okay,” you croak. “I was just... distracted.”

The girl nods. "I get that way sometimes too," she says. "So, why don't we start off with some introductions? I'm Amanda". She sits across from you at the table.

"My name is Sam," you say. You stare at her awkwardly for a few seconds until you realize you’re supposed to keep talking here. “Uh... nice to meet you,” you manage to say. Nice to meet you? Smooth, you sarcastically think to yourself.

Amanda notices your discomfort, and speaks. “Anyways, I should get back to my studies. History was never my strong suit, but it’s a requirement for sociology majors!”

You’re about to say goodbye and return to your book, when an idea hits you: a simple, innocent way to definitely confirm that the Manipulator is the real deal. You look into Amanda’s eyes, willing her to do the thing you’re thinking of.

Amanda stands up from her chair, and walks past you, heading back to her own table. As she passes you, she says, “It was nice talking to you!” Then she quickly bends down and gives you a peck on the cheek.

Your breath catches in your throat.

It worked.

It actually fucking worked.

Amanda straightens up, and as though suddenly realizing what she just did, starts blushing furiously. She practically power-walks back to her table, sits down, and buries her face in her book.

You’re still sitting there, straight up, eyes forward but essentially looking at nothing... in complete shock. There’s absolutely no way Amanda would’ve just given you, a guy she literally just met two minutes ago, a little kiss on the cheek out of the blue. And even if you could’ve somehow rationalized it by saying she’s European or something, the definite embarrassment she displayed right afterward confirmed it; she had literally no idea why she did that.

But you do, of course... because that’s exactly what you wanted her to do.