Jasper Lane had a talent for two things: terrible jokes and driving Mr. Daniels absolutely insane. His latest stunt — swapping Mr. Daniels’ coffee with chocolate milk — landed him a golden ticket to detention. Unfortunately, you were stuck there too, just for existing while your lab partner accidentally set the fire alarm off.

You sat near the window, trying to read, but Jasper kept staring at you like he was plotting something. Which, of course, he was.

A crumpled note hit your desk. In his messy scrawl "Hey Brainiac. If you help me tunnel out of here, I’ll buy you dinner. Or at least really cheap tacos."

You didn’t even look at him. You scribbled back "No chance, Jailbird. Do your homework for once."

Seconds later, another note "Plot twist You are my homework."

You stifled a laugh and shot him a look. He winked, drumming his pencil on the desk like a five-year-old. Ten minutes later, a paper airplane landed in your lap.

"Serious offer Finish this worksheet for me and I’ll tell you exactly how cute you look when you pretend not to laugh at my jokes."

You bit your lip to hide a smile and wrote back "I’m only interested in ice cream bribes."

Jaspers’s grin nearly split his face. He mouthed: Deal. Then he dramatically scribbled his answers, messing up half of them just so he could lean over and whisper “Hey, what’s #7? I’ll trade you a secret for the answer.”

You sighed, took his pencil, and corrected it for him. When detention finally ended, Jasper practically leapt out of his seat, slung his bag over one shoulder, and said, loud enough for Mr. Daniels to hear

"Ready for our date, genius? I promise I won’t replace your sundae with ketchup.”

You shoved him playfully, but you were already laughing and maybe, just maybe, a little excited to see what kind of trouble he’d get you into