Falling For The Nerd

A week without the geek.

   The whole of next week, Melissa did not come to school. That meant I would be free to practice with the team again, but I found myself missing Melissa. In one week, I had spent more time with her than I had ever spent studying this entire semester. And I had enjoyed it.

   Monday I hoped that Melissa would turn up to school in her usually unusual clothes and we would sit together for a couple of hours. That did not happen. She had taken leave, just like she said she would. Tuesday, I knew that she wouldn't show up but I kept glancing at her locker. I guess I was hoping she would jump out of it. Obviously, I was disappointed. Wednesday, I got her class schedule and walked around trying to get her homework, but her teachers told me that they had mailed it to her mother. Today is Thursday, and school continued without a sign of Melissa.

   At practice, I got called off the field thrice. I kept aiming at the wrong goal and I couldn't get my head into the game. Leo came upto me after practice got over. "Hey D, are you alright? You've been acting crazy the whole day." He handed me a bottle of water and I sat down on the bleachers. "Nah. He's fine. He's just thinking about the geek." Jake said. They began to argue about the cause of my confusion. I shook my head and went to change.

   When I came out of the locker room, Leo and Jake were still arguing, so I decided to walk home alone. Despite all the money we had, dad made me use public transport so that I could learn the value of a dollar. As I walked out, I felt someone grab my arm. My thoughts immediately jumped to Melissa, but I faced the annoyingly perfect face of Anneliese Walters.

   A quick word about Anneliese. She is tall, thin and blonde. Also known as a Queen Bee. She reminds you of that girl from Mean Girls. She can date any and every guy she wants because she is too attractive for any guy to say no to. She has already dated and dumped Jake, who still likes her. She tried to date Leo,but that guy is impossible to date. So I figure it's my turn now.

   "Hey Derek." Anneliese twirled her blonde hair around her finger. Why hadn't I ever noticed that her voice was extremely annoying? It sounded like a trumpet that had a cold compared to Melissa's soft voice. And her hair was rough and stringy, where Melissa's was thick and smooth. "What do you want?" I asked her, my annoyance clear in my voice. "Just wanted to warn you about something." she said, "I have heard that you have been hanging out with that girl, Merida." "Melissa." I automatically corrected. "Yeah, whatever. I just wanted to say that you could do so much better. You know that if you just said the words, I'd be down on my knees for you?" she said with a suggestive wink. The wink might have been a turn-on for Jake, but it made me feel like I stepped on a slug. "Yeah. I got it. I gotta go now." I pulled my arm out of her grasp and walked as fast as I could.

    It was a bit surprising. If Anneliese had come to me two weeks ago, I would have taken her without a second thought. But I had begun to compare everything to Melissa. If something did not stand against Melissa, it was out of the competition. I knew what was happening to me. I have been dragged to a lot of romantic movies with random girls to know when I was falling for them. But what surprised me was, that I was falling for the geek.