Young Writers Society

They ate dinner casually, and though Mia chatted away merrily, Mrs. Bale looking at Finnley weirdly. He quirked his eyebrows upwards. At this, his mother cleared her throat and faced Mia.

"Do you mind if I have a moment with my son?" she asked politely. As if she needed to ask Mia what was okay in her own home. Finnley had to smile wryly at the thought. Mia certainly was a commanding presence.

"Of course," Mia replied graciously. Mrs. Bale stood and walked into the adjacent room, beckoning Finnley to join her. He glanced back at Mia one last time before leaving the table, and was surprised to find her glaring at him.

Finnley's mother rounded on him as soon as he entered the room. "I've been talking to Mia this afternoon," she said in hushed tones, looking as though she were about to scold him, "and she is a very lovely young lady." 'Lovely' wouldn't have been the first word Finnley would have chosen, knowing her endless scheming and rule bending, not to mention her sass. "You'd be a fool not to ask her to that Homecoming dance. Can't you see she likes you?"

Finnley blinked. "What? I- why would-" He shook his head. That didn't make sense. There was no way he was asking her to Homecoming; they were truly just friends. He was about to say as much to his mother, but then he thought of Mia's glare when he left the room. Maybe it hadn't been a glare at all, rather it was a reassuring stare, telling him to go along with it, that it was all a part of her elaborate plot. Maybe.

Either way, it was a chance worth taking. Finnley did not want to see Mia's frustration at seeing her plans accidentally foiled, and even if it wasn't her plan, she could just say as much to him and they could call it off. Besides, this would make his mother unduly happy. She needed to be happy these days.

"Alright," Finnley said, swallowing his fears. His mother grinned, though he didn't feel so sure about it. They walked back into the dining room, where Mia was mildly stroking Rory.

"Oh, you're back," she said with a sharp smile. "I was just about to kidnap your rabbit here- he's just too adorable!" She almost squealed at the end, and Finnley's heart lifted.

"Hey Mia?" he asked. Mrs. Bale wisely vacated the room.

"Yes?" she responded in a similar tone. She leaned forward and grinned at him. Like she knew what was coming. Some lunatic plan this was.

"I was wondering... would you like to go to Homecoming with me?" Finnley managed to get out. He fought the urge to wipe his sweating palms on his pants.

"Oh, I would love to!" Mia exclaimed. Finnley let out a sigh of relief. Still petting the bunny with one hand, she patted Finnley's shoulder with the other in what he was sure she thought was a reassuring way.

"Congrats!" Mrs. Bale said gleefully, coming up from behind them. "I'm so happy for you two."

Luckily, the evening didn't drag on too long; Finnley was uncomfortable enough as it was. "May I walk you home?" he asked Mia. His mom, watching like a hawk from the kitchen, might have thought it was chivalrous, but he had ulterior motives. How else could she tell him about this supposed plan without anyone else hearing about it?

"Bye Mrs. Bale!" Mia waved cheerfully at Finnley's mom as he shut the wooden door stepped out into the night.

He immediately turned on her. "Was this part of your plan?"

Mia tilted her head slightly, as if considering. Then she grinned evilly. "Yes," she admitted.

"Thank goodness," Finnley breathed, dragging a hand across his face. "I nearly died back there!"

Mia shrugged. "Just wanted to make you work a little." She started walking and Finnley fell into pace beside her.

"'Make me work a little?' My gosh, Mia, this plan had better be spectacular." He folded his arms across his chest, indignant.

"Oh trust me, it is," she proclaimed loftily. She tugged one of his arms free and looped it through her own. "C'mon Finnley, we're supposed to be a couple."

"We are not!" Finnley glowered, pulling his arm back. Mia swatted the back of his head.

"Oh, fine!" she laughed. "I just like pushing your buttons. You know we're just friends, silly."

"The plan?" Finnley reminded her, but the corner of his mouth twitched upwards in some semblance of a smile.

"Ah, yes. My greatest scheme yet," Mia said smugly. "Thank you ever so much for asking me to Homecoming. Do you know how long the dance is?"

"No." And he failed to see how that was relevant.

"Well, I do. It's three hours long. Add in an hour or more to eat dinner beforehand, along with some driving time, because even if the high school is close, driving is classier... How long does that give us?" Mia watched Finnley intently despite the darkness, as if waiting for him to catch her drift.

"That would be a bit over four hours," Finnley said. "But why-" A look of realization crawled slowly over his face and he stopped dead in his tracks. "You can't be serious," he said, looking back at Mia.

"I can be and I am." She placed a hand on her hip and tapped her foot against the pavement. Clearly impatient, she flipped her long black ponytail over one shoulder.

"We're going to visit your uncle and come back in the time that it would take us to go to Homecoming?" Finnley whispered.

Mia bared her teeth in a grin. "Precisely," she said happily. "We dress nicely, don't spend money on tickets, and drive off. We come back after spending an hour with dear Uncle Fred, leaving no one the wiser. Are you in?"

Finnley shook his head, and Mia pulled back into herself, looking as if she wanted to knock some sense into him. "I've never heard anything crazier," he admitted. "I'm in."