The Nerd Duchess

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Victoria went in the girls' locker room to change to her P.E. uniform. She hurried to the large room filled with metal and steel compartments. She looked for hers. It was the first time they really need to use the locker room since it was also the first time they are going to use the track. That means, it is also the first time they had to change their uniforms to the P.E. uniforms. A pair of pink jogging pants, a pair of white sneakers and a white t-shirt for the girls. A pair of blue jogging pants, a pair of white sneakers and a white t-shirt for the boys.

She hastily looked for her name. It took her another few minutes before she found hers, bumping to other girls in the way. But unlike last year, they are-well, for the lack of better term-friendly. Some of them at least.

"Sorry," Victoria apologized for the fifth time since she got in the room.

"It's okay, Victoria," the raven-haired girl who had blue highlights replied. She smiled at her. "Alyssa Black, by the way."

"And I guess, you already know my name," Victoria shrugged.

"That I do," Alyssa said. She grabbed a blonde girl with green highlights and introduced her as Lacey Faraday.

"Nice to meet you."

"Your locker over by the fifth aisle, Victoria," Lacey said.

"Oh-okay," Victoria nodded. "Thanks."

She founded her locker and changed her uniform. In the next five minutes, Victoria was out in the track where she spotted two of the persons she doesn't want to deal with.

Alexa Park and Nathan Anderson.

Right! She had to be in the same class with school drama queen and her bastard ex-boyfriend.

Every time Victoria looked at Nathan. Her boyfriend for six months before he decided he wasn't good enough and left her for Alexa, who happily accepted him in her good graces. Victoria could still feel the stabbing pain in her heart. Not because of heart break, she already got over him, but because of betrayal. His betrayal and the way he humiliated her on that party a couple of days before term ended the year before.

The way he talked about her to his new friends made her sound like she was a cold manipulating gold digger, one who wants nothing more than to get her claws in to his fortune. The way he said he was happy to finally get rid of the gold digger who clings in to him just to get what she wants was the lowest blow Victoria ever experience.

She hated him. The way he played with her feelings. The way he made her a fool. Flattering her. Befriending her. Making her trust him. Asking her to be his girlfriend. Only to end up being stabbed in the back in the most humiliating manner Victoria could think off. Her first relationship gone south.

She stood beside Massie and Lacey as they called her to their side. Coach Jensen. A tanned man who always wears his purple track suit. His ginger colored hair in disarray.

He looked like a hippie. That was what Victoria first thought of him on her first year. But he is the strictest teacher in the whole school.

He stood in front of them. He blew his whistles gathering the attention of everyone.

"Okay, everyone," he bellowed. "We are doing track today."

Groans were heard from the girls and chuckles from the boys.

He ignored them and started with the warm-ups. He gave them ten minutes for that on their own warm-ups before he blew his whistle calling everyone to the starting line.

"Okay, everyone," he said. "At the blow of my whistle, you will run 4 rounds around the field for today's exercise."

His whistles blew and the students started running.

***

P.E. was tiresome. Victoria was pretty sure that her legs were sore from all the running. She had a quick shower in the locker room to rinse out all the sweat she perspired during the class.

"Tory," she heard Hayley and Elizabeth said as she walked out of the P.E. room that was connected to P.E. locker room.

The two were leaning against the student locker that are intended for the students' disposal for the books and other school material except for the P.E. uniform that are to be put in the locker room since that is the sole purpose for the room. The lockers that lined the hallways were three times bigger than those in the locker room. It was painted in white completely different from the girls' locker room that was painted in different shades of pink to lavender while the boys' were painted in different shade of blue and violet.

The two girls had been wearing very bright smiles as they surveyed Victoria walked to them wincing slightly.

"What happened in P.E, Tory?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yeah, it looked like you are limping frog that got its leg run by a truck." Hayley said in amusement.

"Try running four rounds around the field with barely any warm ups because you have to feed off Nathan." Victoria growled silently.

The amusement in Hayley and Elizabeth's face quickly vanished to be replaced by worry and never-ending concern.

"What? What did he do?" Elizabeth said moving to Victoria side as she adjusted her back pack on her back.

"Nothing," she quickly assured them. "Let's just go to lunch. I'm starving."

"Okay then," Elizabeth agreed.

They headed to the dining hall where mostly everyone was going since it basically time for lunch.

"Okay enough with that long face you have Victoria," Hayley said as she looped her arm through hers and Elizabeth's. "Besides, I have good news. The duke has arrived and is very handsome. The pictures in the internet do not do him justice. Besides, he is an expert marksman meaning, I think, he is going to join the Archery Team. But then, he is very handsome. The most eligible bachelor there is. "

"How do you know this, Hayley?" Victoria asked clearly surprised and amused at the same time.

"You," Hayley said, "would be a fool not to know the most eligible bachelor in all the seven continents, Tory. He is pretty much made. Money, looks, power and reputation."

"Okay," Elizabeth said. "Now, I really need to know this duke. Who is he?"

Hayley was bouncing at the balls of her feet ready to burst from excitement. She opened her mouth to say it.

But Victoria beat her to it.

"Charles..."