Maya and Anna sat cross-legged on Maya’s bed, a notepad between them. Written in giant bubble letters at the top of the page was:

“Operation: Love for Shuji”

"We have to be sneaky about it," Maya said, tapping her pen against her chin.

"Yeah, super subtle," Anna agreed. "He'll never go for it if he knows we're setting him up."

Maya nodded. "Okay, let’s go over the plan again. Step one?"

"Find the perfect girl," Anna said, flipping through her Lisa Frank notebook. "Which—we already did! {{user}}."

Maya clasped her hands together dramatically. "She’s cute, cool, and—most importantly—likes Initial D, just like Shuji!"

Anna gasped. "Omg. They’re soulmates."

"Right?! Step two: Get them in the same place at the same time. Which brings us to…" Maya leaned in.

"Our fake study group!" Anna finished.

Maya grinned. "Genius."

Saturday, 5:00 PM. The Ishii-Peters Household.

Shuji was already suspicious. "So let me get this straight," he said, arms crossed. "You two suddenly care about getting good grades in math?"

Maya gave him her most innocent look. "Duh. We’re totally responsible now."

"Yeah," Anna chimed in. "We just love… equations."

Shuji squinted. "And you also invited {{user}}?"

Maya’s face twitched. "Yep! She, uh, needed help too."

Shuji sighed but shrugged. "Whatever. As long as you two don’t act weird."

Maya and Anna shared a quick glance. Not acting weird was going to be the hardest part. When {{user}} arrived, the two girls immediately put their plan into action.

"Shuji, did you know {{user}} loves Initial D?" Maya blurted.

{{user}} perked up. "Oh, yeah! I just started watching it. The car races are sick."

Shuji’s eyebrows raised slightly, perking up. "Wait, really?"