Chapter Text
Devi was determined to watch the Princess Bride.
Eleanor had seen it with her drama friends a few weeks back and wouldn’t stop quoting it.
Watching the Princess Bride was the entire purpose of their sleepover and despite what Fabiola said, they would not have just as much fun watching her new DVD of “The Martian”.
“Why didn’t we think to buy the movie?” Devi asked, feeling dejected.
They had all crammed into Fabiola’s twin bed around Fab’s laptop. Devi was lodged in the middle with Eleanor's elbow digging into her side.
Eleanor shrugged, swiping the last taki from the bag, “Felicity from drama has Netflix. We just watched it there.”
“What twelve-year-old has Netflix?” Devi asked.
“A lot of them,” Eleanor answered. “It’s just our parents that continue to live in the dark ages.”
Devi had been begging her mom to get them Netflix since Ben Gross announced to the class, that not only did he have access to Netflix, but he had his very own account.
Devi was dead jealous, not that she’d ever admit that to Ben.
“I can’t believe Ben Gross’s parents gave him unlimited access to Netflix.” she groaned not for the first time. “Even the R18 stuff! I’d love to watch Orange is the New Black, but even if my mom got Netflix she would put me on a child lock or something. It’s so lame.”
“I don’t see the appeal of my own Netflix account. You can have multiple profiles, his parents are just throwing away money.” Fabiola commented.
“It seems kind of lonely,” said Eleanor, staring into the distance thoughtfully.
Devi had an idea. “You’re right Eleanor. Poor Ben Gross, we should really be nicer to him.”
Their heads spun to stare at her in unison, with matching looks of horror. They would have been less surprised if she had sprouted a second head. The only reason they didn’t immediately hold her down and interrogate her for the possession of their friend, was the dangerous smile marking her face.
“Bet I can guess his password? You know, for his sake.” She suggested, pulling the laptop into her lap and getting to work.
The girls relaxed.
“About 44% probability,” Fabiola answered. “Almost entirely dependent on whether his password is interest-based or a less hackable numerical password”.
Devi typed in Ben’s email. She stared at the space where the password belonged and began to think.
She quickly googled how many letters a Netflix password can be and the maximum number of guesses she had.
She had 56 chances to get this right. She planned on getting it in ten. Ben Gross was nothing if not predictable.
“Please even if it’s a number it’s probably just the first 60 digits of pi or something,” Devi commented with a snort. “He still doesn't shut up about that time in fifth grade where he managed to list more of them than me.”
“Yes, we remember you two screaming the digits at each other for twenty minutes. You somehow managed to get sent to the principal's office for being too passionate about math.”
Fabiola reminded her, looking tired just at the memory.
Devi probably should have googled the digits of pi to be sure, but she’d be damned if Ben knew something she didn’t. She typed them off memory.
Incorrect password.
She pursed her lips. She could get this.
“You say that like getting in trouble is a rare thing for them,” Eleanor replied to Fabiola.
“How can you even be sure what email he’s using?” Fabiola asked. “His parents pay for it. They probably set it up too.”
“No, he asked them for their password and they told him to just use their credit card and make his own.” She replied. Ben never shut up about his stupid Netflix account.
“That actually is kinda sad.” Fabiola agreed.
Devi tried his favorite song ‘I don’t want to miss a thing’ by Aerosmith. Apparently, it was his dad’s favorite too.
Devi not so silently thought Ben didn’t have a personality of his own. He just copied his father like Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter.
Incorrect password.
“He could be using a different email.” Eleanor pointed out. “You know we could still find a link online. We just need to look harder.”
They had already spent the better part of an hour trying to pirate the movie to no avail.
“No, he always uses AreolaGrande as his email and username,” Devi told them with a heavy tone of judgment.
They wrinkle their noses in agreement.
Devi leaned back against the cushions. “Ben has been in love with Arianna Grande since he watched Victorious in fourth grade. He thinks it's a genius play on words because he’s uncreative and gross.”
“Maybe his password is about Arianna,” Eleanor suggested. “I mean yours is Paxton1 and you’ve been in love with him since you were a kid too.”
“Yeah, and Ben gives me shit for that,” Devi grumbled.
“Ben knows your password?” Fab asked, raising her eyebrows. “And you haven’t changed it?”
“Fab’s right, you're just asking to be pranked.” Eleanor agreed. She shuffled back to lie her head back on the pillows.
Devi shrugged. “It’s all the more reason I need to know his.”
Devi started naming Clippers players. She knew they were his favorite team.
Incorrect password.
Incorrect password.
Incorrect password.
Incorrect password.
Incorrect password.
Incorrect password.
“God dammit.:” She cursed. “Do I not know that asshole at all?”
“No, you definitely know him worryingly well,” Eleanor replied. “Like it’s kinda concerning.”
“I do not!” She yelled, offended.
“What’s his favorite color?” Fabiola challenged.
“Green,” Devi answered immediately. “Like the shitty lime green, not any actual good greens like forest green.”
“Favourite TV show?” Fabiola asked.
“He says it’s Brooklyn 99, but it’s Rick and Morty.” Devi answered, “He just says B99 so he can brag about knowing Andy Samberg.”
“What grade did he get in English last year?” Eleanor asked.
“97.” Devi answered automatically. She was still thinking about his damn password, but couldn't resist the opportunity to brag,“I got 99.”
“Do you remember our English grades from last year?” Eleanor challenged.
Devi paused. She didn’t. “That’s just because I’m not at war with you the way I am with Ben. I remember a bunch of stuff about you guys.”
“Mhmm.” they hummed in disbelief.
They didn’t seem offended by this, just amused. “Whatever, you gotta know your enemy.” Devi dismissed.
She was tired of this interrogation. She’d planned on getting it in less than 10 guesses, but she was already 8 down.
She had an idea.
She did know Ben Gross, and Ben knew her. He would have known this was inevitable from the day he announced he had an account. He knew there was one thing she would hate to type more than anything else in the world.
BenGrossIsSmarterThanDeviVishwakumar
She gave in and pressed enter.
Netflix immediately loaded.
The girls began to cheer.
“YOU DID IT!” Eleanor yelled. “What was it?”
Devi shuddered. “Deluded nonsense about being smarter than me. Now, give me a second to change the password.”
“Devi, you can't lock him out of his own account!.” Fab argued. “That’s too far.”
“I’m not locking him out. He’ll know what the password is.” She defended.
She went into the setting and got to work.
New Password: DeviVishwakumarIsSmarterThanBenGross