When a Nerd Tries to be a Jock

Chapter 6: Parties and Plans (Revised!)

The first practice was right at promptly 4’o’clock the same day. After changing in the locker rooms, all the girls huddled around in a circle, discussing their new leader. I stood outside, feeling like an outcast, but listening in:

“Who is she?”

“She must be good!”

“I’ve never heard of her!”

Then, I heard Emma blatantly say, “She’s just a nerd. There must be some mix up!”

Fawn gave her a look and said sharply, “She must be better than you. Get over yourself.” I couldn’t imagine the same girl who had given me dirty looks before defending me now.

Or was she defending me? She was tired of Emma’s bull, too, and if supporting me made her feel empowered then I guess she had plenty of reason to use me. Not that I minded- I needed people like Fawn on my side.

Coach came in and we huddled, quickly introduced ourselves, and immediately got into actually playing. May I just say, though I’m not like the girl version of Michael Jordan, Emma was not as good a basketball player as she thought. She got fouled multiple times, each time scowling at me as if it was my fault she was uncoordinated.

By the end of practice, I was hot, sweaty, and irritated. As Coach dismissed us into the locker rooms, Fawn walked past me and said, “Hey Natalie!”

“Uh…Hey?” I replied, questioning why she felt the need to be friendly now.

“You’re, like, a really amazing player,” Fawn complemented.

“Oh thanks,” I responded, actually smiling a little bit.

“Yeah, and I was wondering if you could do me a favor… being the captain and all?”

Of course. There was a catch. There was always a catch. “Um, what do you need?”

“Well, like, you know it’s tradition to choose the co captain on the girl’s team, and I was wondering if you’d consider me,” Fawn said, giving me an expecting look.

“Oh, uh, yeah I forgot about that. But I haven’t really paid attention to qualifications yet, though I’d be glad to consider you. It’s just, I need to think…” I said. So maybe I was Fawn’s gateway to both leadership and revenge on Emma. She needed me more than I needed her. I could have fun with this.

“Oh of course!” Fawn’s preppy voice sounded, “Oh, and by the way, I’m having a huge party the night after our first game. Feel free to drop on by!”

“I will, thanks, Fawn,” I smiled. Oh yeah… I had a one-way ticket to Coolsville (provided I never said that to anyone ever).

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

“And then she invited me to a party,” I finished telling my tale to Charmaine. We were sprawled out across the white carpet of her bedroom floor. It was early October and Charmaine had asked if I wanted to spend the night. I hadn’t hesitated to accept the invitation, and shared all the juicy details of our first practice with her.