The Game

superior game, wandered off.
    When the bar closed, Elonova and I moved outside. Every AFC we walked past gave me the thumbs up and said, “She’s hot” or “You lucky bastard.” What idiots. They were fucking up my game—that is, if I could figure out a way to tell Elonova I was straight. Hopefully, she’d figured it out on her own by now.
    I remembered Sin telling me to kino, so I put my arm around her. This time, however, she backed away. That was definitely not an IOI. As I took a step toward her to try again, one of the guys she’d been with in the bar arrived. She flirted with him as I stood there stupidly. When she turned back to me a few minutes later, I told her we should hang out sometime. She agreed, and we exchanged numbers.
    Mystery, Sin, and the boys were all in the limo, watching the whole exchange go down. I climbed inside, thinking I was hot shit for numberclosing in front of them all. But Mystery wasn’t impressed.
    “You got that number-close,” he said, “because you forced yourself on her. You let her play with you.”
    “What do you mean?” I asked.
    “Have I ever told you about cat string theory?”
    “No.”
    “Listen. Have you ever seen a cat play with a string? Well, when the string is dangling above its head, just out of reach, the cat goes crazy trying to get it. It leaps in the air, dances around, and chases it all over the room. But as soon as you let go of the string and it drops right between the cat’s paws, it just looks at the string for a second and then walks away. It’s bored. It doesn’t want it anymore.”
    “So…”
    “So that girl moved away from you when you put your arm around her. And you ran right back to her like a puppy dog. You should have punished her—turned away and talked to someone else. Let her work to get your attention back. After that, she made you wait while she talked to that dork.”
    “What should I have done?”
    “You should have said, ‘I’ll let you two be alone,’ and started to walk away, as if you were giving her to him—even though you knew she liked you more. You have to act like you are the prize.”
    I smiled. I think I really understood.
    “Yeah,” he said. “Be the dancing string.”
    I grew silent and thought about it, kicking my legs up against the bar counter of the limousine and slouching into the seat. Mystery turned to Sin, and they talked amongst themselves for several minutes. It felt like they were discussing me.
    I tried not to make eye contact with them. I wondered if they were going to tell me that I’d held the workshop up, that I wasn’t yet ready for it, that I should study for another six months and then take it again.
    Suddenly, Mystery and Sin ended their huddle. Mystery broke into a wide smile and looked straight at me.
    “You’re one of us,” he said. “You’re going to be a superstar.”

MSN GROUP: Mystery’s Lounge
    SUBJECT: Sex Magic
    AUTHOR: Mystery

    My Mystery Method workshop in Los Angeles kicked ass. I’ve decided to teach several impressive ways to demonstrate mind power through magic at my next workshop. After all, some of you need something with which to convey your charming personalities. If you are going in without an edge—like if you say, “Hi, I’m an accountant”—you will not capture your target’s attention and curiosity.
    So, since the workshop, I’ve retired the FMAC model and broken down the approach to thirteen detailed steps. Here is the basic format to all approaches:

    1. Smile when you walk into a room. See the group with the target and follow the three-second rule. Do not hesitate—approach instantly.

    2. Recite a memorized opener, if not two or three in a row.

    3. The opener should open the group, not just the target. When talking, ignore the target for the most part. If there are men in the group, focus your attention on the men.

    4. Neg the target with one of the slew of negs we’ve come up with. Tell her, “It’s so cute. Your nose wiggles when you laugh.” Then get her friends to notice and laugh about it.

    5. Convey personality to the entire group. Do this by using stories, magic, anecdotes, and humor. Pay particular attention to the men and the less attractive women. During this time, the target will notice that you are the center of attention. You may perform various memorized pieces like the photo routine, 2 but only for the obstacles.

    6. Neg the target again if appropriate. If she wants to look at the pictures, for example,