The Confidence of a Nerd

Chapter 3(EDITED)

Today is Thursday, and since I missed my match at Adrenaline, my itch for the fight tonight is getting really bad. I missed my only way of expressing my anger for the day and now I'm stuck swirling in anger for everything, I'm mad Aiden framed me. He knows I didn't pull that prank on Mrs. Darcy and he didn't try to defend me. I'm angry that none of my teachers believed that I wouldn't do that. I'm angry I let all of that make me miss one of my days that I work.

Walking to Mrs. Darcy's classroom, I'm anxious. I want to know if she's okay. The poor woman had to deal with re-building her desk. I knock on her classroom door hesitantly. No one's here so I sit on the floor next to the door, and I start to read. Waiting for the teacher to come and unlock the classroom door is probably the best day of my existence. No one bothers me, I can just sit down and read, or I can plan my fights.

Today I'm just going to read though because I just don't want to fight as much as I did before this year. Fighting gives me this thrill, a rush of adrenaline, and a sense of urgency. It makes me feel like I'm standing right next to my dad in the backyard learning to block quicker, punch harder, fight faster.

Fighting gives me a place to forget about the stress and the anger. When I'm fighting I'm not alone, I'm the infamous Rose Tyler and no one can imitate me. At school, I'm always suppressing myself and hiding who I am and what I can do.

Honestly I'm not doing this for them, I'm not selfless but, if people get confidence from attacking me then, so be it. I have enough confidence to share. While I was waiting for Mrs. Darcy to unlock the door, what I didn't notice was that there was someone in the same hallway watching me as I read in silence.

When Mrs. Darcy finally unlocked her room, I basically skipped to my seat. When I sat down I put my book in my lap and continued my book.

"Should I prepare for any more booby traps?" Mrs. Darcy asked as she came around the corner, and I frowned. "I don't know I'm not the one who did it yesterday." I mumble without removing my face from the book.

"Yes you were, there was no one else in this classroom, Ms. Hamilton."

I don't answer, she's already decided that I'm the one who did it. Nothing that I will say will change her mind. I continue to read my book, clenching my hands on the cover. I try to respect my teachers, they educate me and feed me which is more than I can say for the person who raised me.

I stand up and come inside the room as she opens the door. I don't bother looking at the disgusted look on her face. I go to my seat and I just stare out the window.

"Lia, I know you can do this. Just punch me like I showed you." Ugh. I'm not thinking enough about the fight, he still hasn't found out that mom's cheating on him and it's distracting me. It doesn't help that every time he tries to get me to punch him, he blocks. What is the point in trying to punch him when he is only going to block me!?

"Sweetheart, you can't let your emotions control you. Don't let your opponent know that they are making you upset, you have to learn to mask your emotions. It's also better if you don't try and use your anger as fuel for fights, you'll get hurt. Instead of trying to punch me hard, punch me fast; watch me move, watch my block pattern, and try to punch me when I'm not blocking. You need to do this sweetheart."