The Nerd [BXB]

50 𖠇 The Nerd, The Bad Boy, The Jock, and The Trinity

The library door flings open once again, but this time it's not Harvey Cohen coming in. Instead, it is me.

The wooden bookshelves are stacked up with books that have remained untouched. Some begging to have their spine cracked. No hot Cheetos fingerprint on the white pages, or a folded corner when there's no bookmark. And amongst all these shelves rests a circular white table with a single book open.

A book being read by Mrs. Mills.

She lifts her head from the book, peering over her eyeglasses. She shuts the book and knits her hands together as she watches me. "Got tired of having a social life for once?" she asks.

I stand there, in front of the door, with both hands wrapped around the straps of my backpack. "Bet you want to know how it feels to have one."

She grins, taking her glasses off and placing them on the table. "Of course, I want to know," she says. "So tell me."

I grab the chair next to her and sit. "Where do I start?"

"From the beginning," she says. "When that Harvey boy dared to enter our premises."

"We should've locked the door that time," I tell her. "It could've saved me a lot of problems."

"Do you really regret meeting Harvey that much?" she asks.

I think of him and what it meant to know him. And there's a joy I felt for doing so. "No," I respond. "I'm glad I did."

Mrs. Mills lifts an eyebrow. "Cause it led you to Oscar?"

"That was a plus," I remind her. "Although, I was destined to meet Oscar one way or the other. We share a class."

"Then because he made you new friends," she suggests. "Those girls. The triplets. Your new friends."

I tilt my head to the side. "I'm sensing some jealousy."

"You're delusional," she says, shaking her head. "You meeting them meant seeing less of you around here."

"And that's why you're jealous?"

"That's why I'm grateful," she yells, lifting her hands in the air. "I finally got the library and the Ritz crackers all to myself."

I laugh. "Speaking of—"

"They're behind my desk, Theo," she says, rolling her eyes. "Bring them."

And as I rush to grab them, I can catch a glimpse of her smile from the corner of my eye.

𖠇

I come out of the library when the last bell rings, cupping a few Ritz in my hand. I pop some into my mouth as I walk through the hallways and they slowly begin to get crowded with students running out the door. Oscar suddenly appears on my left side, eyeing my hand. "Are those Ritz?"

I lift my hand and he grabs some. "Thanks," he says. When we are both done with the remaining crackers, he says, "Al wants us to go to the pool this weekend. You want to join?"

Before I can reply, Harvey stands on my right with sweat dripping from his hair. "I didn't know Theo could swim."

"Al can teach him how to swim," Oscar replies.

"Or let's get him floaties," Harvey adds. "Those that you wear like sleeves. It'll be cute to watch him splash around with those."