paired them up a few weeks ago in our very first test batch. Lance had asked Sam about a match and Sam had sent him to me. Helen is in my AP Physics class. She’s quiet, with curly black hair and tortoiseshell glasses. Lance is painfully shy, to the point he refuses to talk in class. But for some reason, he’s totally different when he opens his mouth to sing. I’ve heard him sing at assemblies before and his voice is deep and velvety.
“How’d they look?” Jane asks.
“Good? Here, they were back this way near the big tree.” We follow Sam around the displays, back toward the front where we saw Izzy and George and Hannah when we first got here. And on the way there, we spot a few more matches that we point out to each other. They’re all here together. Some are holding hands, some aren’t, but they still seem to be enjoying one another’s company. When we finally do spot Lance and Helen, they’re standing under mistletoe, kissing, which seems like a very good sign to me.
“What do you think we should be looking for exactly?” I ask Jane, interested in her opinion, as we stop and watch Helen and Lance move out from under the mistletoe, hold on to one another’s arms and move on to another display. “How are we quantifying any of this, really?”
She frowns, like maybe she’s not sure. Then Sam says, “If our matches are here, spending time together and appear to be having fun, then we can call that a success, yes? We’re just telling people who they’re compatible with, mathematically. Everything else is up to them.”
“Yes,” Jane agrees.
But is it really just that simple? George and Hannah have caught my eye again. They’re sitting on a bench together now, sharing a cup of hot chocolate. George blows on it, before handing it over to Hannah for a sip. She takes it, and whispers something in his ear, and then he smiles. Until he notices me watching them, and he hands the cup back to Hannah, says something to her and walks over to us, alone. Is that happiness? Or not?
“I thought we were taking the night off coding club, but I guess I was mistaken,” George says with an easy smile, so I don’t think he’s annoyed, more curious what we’re doing and why he doesn’t know about it.
“We need data on our matches,” Jane says with a shrug. “This seemed like an easy way to get it.”
“I knew you had plans,” I add. “And I didn’t want to interrupt them.”
“We can help you,” George says quickly.
“No need. You’re here on a date,” I say. “So technically, you’re already doing your part to help, aren’t you?” My voice is supersweet, saccharine, and the words sound all wrong as they come out, even to me.
George turns and looks at me, opens his mouth to say something, then shakes his head a little. “Hannah and I will start on the other side. You three can continue on this side. We’ll cover more ground this way.”
“Good idea,” Jane interjects. “Let’s all take notes on the matches we see here, and then email them to me later. I’ll start a data file for our results.”
I watch George for another minute as he walks back toward Hannah, holds out his hand and she takes it to stand up from the bench.
“Emma,” Jane says, tugging on my sleeve. “Come on, there’s Garrett and Alyssa over there.” I nod and start to follow her, and when I glance back over my shoulder one more time, George and Hannah have already disappeared into the crowd.
Chapter 23
Dad invites the Knightleys over for Christmas dinner, to reciprocate for their hospitality at Thanksgiving. But Mr. and Mrs. Knightley have already made plans to go to Cancun for the week, just the four of them. Izzy is bummed that she wasn’t invited, that she and John won’t be together at Christmas.
“But you get to be with us,” Dad says, like that’s going to console her. “And Christmas is a time for family,” Dad adds.
She forces a smile. “You know I love you guys. But...it’s not the same.” Once the Knightleys leave for Cancun, she gets a little pouty and stays in the same pajama pants for three days in a row.
“Aren’t you going to take a shower?” I ask her on Christmas morning, after we open our presents, mostly gift cards that Dad wrapped up in big boxes to be