The Code for Love and Heartbreak - Jillian Cantor Page 0,22

right. We need more research, more input from people who are more social than I am. And more data for the database from someone who knows how to skim socials, like Jane. And George. I need George to stop being mad at me and turn my idea into something animated and appealing, an app that people in the school could actually download and use to match themselves. So then the matching won’t all be on me.

I walk into the meeting with all this on my mind. I’m the last one here, since I’d stayed after class for a few minutes in physics to ask Mr. Halpbern a question about the weekend homework, and had also gotten stopped in the hall by Jenny. And when I walk in now, everyone’s eyes turn to me, so I get the uncomfortable feeling they’ve all already been talking about me.

“I updated everyone on your progress,” Sam says. He smiles, and I relax, but only a little. At least someone in the room has my back. “Hannah and I both did,” he adds. I look at Hannah and she nods and smiles, too. Okay, two people in the room have my back.

“I proposed that we take a vote,” Ms. Taylor says, shooting me a small smile. She’s wearing a red flowered dress and heels today, looking nothing like she had last weekend at the mall in the picture Sam sent. “But it’s clear Sam and Hannah are on Team 1-Factor with you, Emma, and Jane and George are on Team Karma Can.”

I glance at George and raise my eyebrows. Karma Can? He shrugs, but doesn’t look away or give me his angry glare, and maybe he’s not still mad at me? I haven’t driven him to or from school in almost two weeks and, looking at him now, I realize how much I’ve missed his company.

“So—” Ms. Taylor is still talking “—that leaves Robert in the middle.”

All of us turn to look at him. He was doodling in his notebook again, but his pencil stops moving, and he looks up, looks around, as if suddenly noticing what we’ve all been talking about around him. “Me?” he says, his voice cracking.

“I know it’s not quite fair to put this all on you,” Ms. Taylor responds. “You’re new to the club and don’t have much coding experience. So I would like to hear your opinion, yes, but then I’m going to make the final decision as the club’s adviser.”

Jane shoots George a smirk, like she thinks that means they’ve definitely won. But I bite my lip, not sure, thinking again about how Ms. Taylor looked in Sam’s photo last weekend, holding hands with Mr. Weston. Falling in love beats recycling. At least, I would guess, since I’ve never been in love but I’ve recycled my whole life and it’s pretty boring.

“Well...” Robert puts his pencil down, looks around at all of us. “Well, I still don’t really get the karma points thing, and I don’t know...I kind of might want a match, too.” Jane’s face falls. “But they’re both good ideas,” Robert stammers, and his cheeks turn pink. “Ms. Taylor, you should just decide.”

Jane turns her gaze to Ms. Taylor; we all do. She doesn’t say anything for another minute before she turns back and nods at me. “I do think 1-Factor might be something special. Something unique that would stand out for the judges, and it would be easier to get more of the school involved in our project...”

Jane puts her head down on the desk, and I almost feel bad for her, except I think at least half the reason she hates my idea is simply because it’s mine. No matter what she or Izzy or George thinks, I really do believe my school-wide matching app is a great idea. And I feel pretty validated that Ms. Taylor seems to think so, too.

“But we’re a club,” Ms. Taylor is saying now. “We have to all work together or we’re not going to have a shot at winning anything, agreed?” Her gaze turns to Jane, then George.

No one says anything right away, and I hold my breath, thinking this is about to all fall apart. That Jane and George will quit and dissolve the club before going forward with my idea. But then George looks at Ms. Taylor and nods. “Agreed,” he says.

* * *

“George!” I follow him out after the meeting, calling after him. He had been walking toward the parking lot with Jane. They