Observation

Jill lurked behind the door, peering from behind her fringe as Adam walked down the hall. Laughing and joking with his friends, he looked so handsome in his football uniform. The bell had gone for end of school ten minutes ago. Jill always waited until he passed before she left the building. It was her ritual. She had a lot of those.

Her next ritual involved her hiding under the bleachers. She peered through the gaps in the stand to watch Adams football training. Sometimes she took pictures. It was nearly time for them to meet. Not quite yet, but nearly. She knew everything about him now. She knew his schedule, his pastimes, his friends, his favorite foods. She knew all the combinations of outfits he wore on a weekly basis. She knew he had broken up with Sally. Most importantly, she knew how to make him love her.

The first time she had seen Adam, was on her very first day at Perry Barr High. Hiding behind her fringe and glasses, she had kept her head down, trying to find her way around the mess of corridors and classrooms. Adam had come running down the corridor, late for class, and bumped right into her. Her books had fallen to the ground and as she bent down to pick them up, she had looked up into his big brown eyes as he apologized. That was it. She was in love.

So she had began to observe him. Not stalk or anything. She didn't like that word. She observed his habits and behaviors, his football practices and his relationships. Now, Jill knew the type of girl he liked. Slim, blonde, perfect.

A trip to the orthodontist removed her braces. The hairdresser transformed her mousey brown curls into luscious blonde locks. Contact lenses were essential of course. She had even managed to find ones to change her dull brown eyes to sparkling blue ones. She dropped fourteen pounds and her transformation was complete. She had decided it was time. Time to move on to the next part of her plan.

She left the bleachers and made her way over to her car in the car park. She had come to school early this morning so she could strategically park near the exit. Adam would have to pass her when he left. She took her brothers Swiss army knife from the glove box. Then she sliced her tyre.

By the time Adam emerged from football practice, she was ready. She had changed into her tight red sweater and hiked up her skirt. Her boots were changed for ballet pumps and her spare wheel and jack were strategically scattered beside her car. As Adams black Honda approached the exit she held her breath. She knew he would stop to help. That was the kind of guy Adam was. She knew everything about him.

Sure enough, he pulled alongside her car and rolled down his window.

"Hey, would you like some help?"

She smiled and shrugged her shoulders helplessly. She had practiced.

"If you wouldn't mind. I'm hopeless at this kind of thing."

Adam hoped out of his car and began fixing her wheel.

"I'm Adam by the way," He turned his head to smile at her.

"Hi, I'm Jill, nice to meet you Adam."

It hadn't taken him long to change her wheel. Long enough for Jill to give him glimpses of the fact that she was the perfect girl for him. She talked to him knowledgeably about football, his favorite band and hobbies. She knew he was impressed. All her hard work was paying off. The observation, the constant checking of his Facebook and Twitter accounts, the long hours spent pouring over sports pages in newspapers to learn about football. It was paying off. He had asked her to the movies. Stage one was complete.

Now it was time for Stage Two.