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SCI-FI, PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR, PASTICHE
A Manual and Exhausting Calculation — Chapter 6: The Romance Protocol
Some playful banter and “Bob’s your uncle” - but no “how’s your father” - Ali is way too young
In Year 10, the rules of the secondary school game underwent a fundamental algorithm shift. The raw tribal bullying of the lower years faded, replaced by sexual selection, status curation, and performative coupling. A completely detached, single male student was now flagged by the peer group as a biological failure. To maintain my invisibility, I realised I needed a partner.
I selected Jenny entirely for practical reasons. I had learned earlier that she was perceptive, and intelligent. But more importantly her network topology was stable and her temporal predictability was immaculate — she arrived at her locker at exactly 08:42 every morning. Her presence, I decided, would provide the ultimate human camouflage.
At 08:42, I intercepted her at her locker. I had arrived at 08:41. I had modelled a multitude of possible scenarios and identified the optimal path to success, I knew exactly how this would play out.
