Reverse Psychology in the Library

Feeling inspired by the new day, you grab a muffin, gulp down some orange juice from the cafeteria, and head over to the library. You wander through the bookstacks, where most the tables are already filled up with students pouring over textbooks and working on their laptops, drinking coffees like there’s no tomorrow. It’s 8 am. Sometimes, this place scares you a little.

You’re find a spot by an empty couch, and just settle in, flicking through your phone.You look up after a minute, and find yourself looking into a small study room across the hall. Though you can’t quite see the whole room, the glimpse that you get is enough to send you packing again. It’s Sarah, and after all the reading for psychology that you and Vishal have done, why not take the chance to try and win her over?

You swagger up to the room, pull open the door, and frown slightly when you see the others in the room.

There’s Sarah, dressed to the nines as per usual, wearing a long black dress that hugs her body tightly. The little white sequins scattered about the dress sparkle faintly under the lights. She looks dazzling as she tosses her brunette hair to the side, turning to face you with a confused look.

There are two other guys in the room, both part of the posse that regularly follows Sarah about. Your competition.

The guy on the left is a tall, athletic blond guy who has a blue polo and salmon shorts on, and he wears his hair slicked back, the glisten of whatever product he uses visible as he looks over his shoulder to face you with a sneer. This is Michael, or Mike, as the professor is fond of calling him.

Sitting opposite him, and facing you already, is a fit east Asian guy—Xiaoming. He’s wearing a grey muscle tee that highlights his sculpted figure, though the square-framed glasses perched on his nose gives him a scholarly look. Calculated, no doubt.

“You’re the kid who sits at the back of our psych class?” Michael asks. “What are you doing here? We’re studying, or couldn’t you see?”

“He’s here for her,” Xiaoming replies. “Just look at the way he looked at her when he walked in. Fallen head over heels already, what a pity.”

Sarah only gives you a small smile, keeping her intentions close to her chest. You decide to make the best of the hostility. It’s time for a little reverse psychology.

“I didn’t even notice the lot of you in here,” you say. “It was the books that caught my eye. I was thinking to myself… that looks like this weeks reading, but I couldn’t really believe that anyone would still be working on this week’s, and not next’s…” A bluff, of course. You’re barely caught up with the reading this week as it is.

“You’re on next week’s reading already! Maybe you want to study with us? Come, sit next to me,” Xiaoming asks. The change in his tone is sudden, almost suspiciously so… but Michael shoots him a dirty look, telling you that this was a genuine change in heart. Now, to only win over Sarah somehow.

“I could, but why would I want to put myself behind, when I could get further ahead?” you reply, looking back at the door.

“You’re… interesting,” Sarah says, narrowing her eyes slightly as she cocks her head to the side. “But I’ll entertain you, because I feel like it. We’ve got the highest participation points in the class. I’ve seen you speak maybe… once? Twice? It sounds to me like you could use some pointers.”

“So it’s an exchange you’re proposing,” you say. “My knowledge, for your skills. Let’s do it.”

Sarah unexpectedly motions for you to take the seat next to her, but you ignore her, crossing to the other side of the table and taking a seat by Xiaoming. He beams at you, while Sarah picks up a book, hiding a frown behind the covers.

“What do you know about this book? Feminine Psychology?” she asks.

“A thing or two,” you reply, “I’ve only gone through the whole thing myself.”

“Amazing,” Sarah says, and the lot of you spend the next hour or so talking about the various readings.

Though you do your best to semi-flirt with Sarah, pushing her away with ‘reverse psychology’ when she seems to come on to you, the chances don't come by often, and it’s mostly business as usual. Is the strategy even working? You’re left deeply unsure. In fact, by the time the lot of them are gearing up to leave, you haven’t even gotten your side of the bargain—there’s hardly been a word said about class participation. Though you feel frustrated, at least it’s a chance to collect at a future date.

The three of them leave the room, and after sending a little time working on your own, you see a red-head knocking at the glass. Who is it?

Sarah +5
Michael +1
Xiaoming +10