As Told By Nerdy

Chapter 6 - Check Mate!

∞ ᴪ ∞

Chapter 6 — Check Mate!

I stood up after finishing a quick bowl of unsweetened cereal when I caught glimpse of the black car parked at the other side of the street. There was a strange familiarity about it but I couldn’t be so sure.

“Mom, I didn’t know the Robson’s were back. I thought they moved abroad,” I called out.

Her strawberry blond head protruded from the laundry room. “They weren’t. Apparently, a new family bought the house.”

I nodded before she could narrate her encounters with the Robson’s, grabbed my backpack and walked to school hurriedly, pausing a couple of seconds hoping to see any signs of life in the newly sold residence to no avail.

Class went on smoothly. It was quite tedious really, and I was so glad to hear the bell signaling lunch break, I almost jumped out of my seat before the Biology teacher dismissed the class. Becky and I strode side by side in silence. Perhaps this was one of the reasons we got along quickly. We don’t bother with the chatter and probably, like me she preferred to steer clear of small pleasantries and the awkwardness of such. There were only a few times when she got really inquisitive and when she does, she really knows how to get on your nerves.

We sat at our usual table at the back of the cafeteria, both staring ruefully at the repugnant stuff that was again, supposed to be lunch. Ricky Burns, chess club president and one of his buddies, Al Mackintosh sat with us. Birds of same the feather.

I sighed and gazed pensively at the other tables. Same went with the all the strata of students. Popular and good-looking kids stay together with their own kind. Athletes did too as well as the cheerleaders, the punks, the nerds; and there were those who did not belong to the said castes. They tend to stick together.

The world is unfair. I have accepted that a long, long time ago. Sometimes I wondered if I hadn’t worn glasses and wasn’t branded as a nerd. I imagined myself shopping or spending hours to curl my hair or put make dark makeup on my face and I chuckled at the thought. Sad to say, I would never have passed for any other category other than a nerd. I don’t even wear glasses all the time anymore and people call me Nerdy.

Becky and I parted for electives. I took Studio Art while she did Wellness. Those were the only classes we had not been together. I practically ran away when I read the course description: Cooking for Life beyond High School. No thanks.

The next period was English Literature. I wore my glasses this time, tied my hair up into an untidy bun, sticking a pencil in between the loops to hold it in place. This being my favorite subject, I wanted to focus.

Accidentally, I caught Leon glance over me for a quick while then withdrew his gaze upon noticing that I was aware. There was a hint of vagueness in his eyes. I kept on scribbling on my notes, suddenly becoming aware of my surroundings.

I could hear it as he shifted uneasily on his seat. I could see at the corner of my eye, when he pretended to rest his temples on his hands so he could look at me freely without being caught.

Perhaps there was dirt on my face. Do I look funny to him? That was a rhetorical question.

I was fighting hard to take a glance at him for several minutes but I still did it out of impulse and sheer stupidity. To my surprise, he met my eyes with his; clear as crystal, a smirk forming at the corner of his lips. With that, I scowled at him rather incredulously.

What’s the matter with this guy? First, he talked about his past, yada yada yada, then sulked and ignored me for a few weeks and just now, was he trying to annoy me to death yet again?