nerd.

trois

.

.

.

.

 Arielle Evans

I ride the bus home in silence, whilst everyone else around me tries to get me to speak by insulting me. I ignore them successfully and manage to dodge all the feet sticking outwards to trip me on my way out of the bus. My mom is waiting for me at the bus stop, and she gives me another happy birthday hug. I smile into the hug and walk by her side home. My Yorkie Bichon, Coco, barks and licks me incessantly until I scoop her up in my arms. She licks all over my face and I laugh. Mom and I order pizza for my birthday, since Dad is in Tokyo.

Yes, my father is in Tokyo on my birthday. He lives there. Don't get me wrong, my parents are still together. He just lives there because he doesn't want to move us there, and he has to be there for his work. The pizza arrives fifteen minutes later, and Mom and I eat in front of the television while watching The Notebook. She falls asleep on the couch, and I chuckle at the drool falling out of her mouth. After draping a blanket over Mom, I leave her be. I put away the plates and clean up the kitchen before heading upstairs.

Once in the bathroom with the door locked, I stare at the bottle of face wash in front of me, then back up at my skin. The face wash hasn't helped at all, so I bail on using it tonight and just change into my comfortable silk pajamas. I walk to my room half-asleep and immediately drift off into a deep slumber.

*************************************

I wake up to sunlight streaming through my window, and I smile until I realize that I have to go to school again. I bury my head in the pillow and groan.

 "Ari, wake up!" Mom calls.

 "I'm up, I'm up!" I shout. I scramble out of bed after realizing that it is already 6:45. I throw on jeans, a t-shirt, and a sweatshirt and tie my hair in a bun before running downstairs. Mom quickly hands me a waffle in a napkin before shooing me out the door. I gobble up the waffle while I am running to the bus stand, and shove the napkin in my backpack. I arrive at the bus stop just as it screeches to a halt by the stop sign. Our bus driver Anne smiles at me as I climb on and sit in the seat behind her. And then the usual teases occur.

 "Arielle, you're ugly."

 "Arielle, you're way too nerdy for your own good."

 "Can those even be called jeans?"

 "I doubt that's a real American Eagle sweatshirt."

 I turn to the window with tears in my eyes as I try to block out the constant insults. I want to plug in my headphones, but I know very well that if I even took them out they would be taken from me. I sigh and re-tie my hair in a neater bun as a few people give up on insulting me. The bus halts and a flood of relief surges through me when I see Marcel, one of my only friends. He only comes to school sometimes, seeing as he is bullied as well and he takes online courses.

 "Hi, Marcel!" I greet him when he plops down next to me.

 "Hey, Ari." He replies, smiling at me.

 "Aww, look at that, two nerds sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Someone in the back chants.

 "Shut up!" A deep voice roars from the front of the bus. Everyone falls silent when we see the one and only Mason Richards standing at the head of the bus. "If I hear one more word about Arielle or her friend, the person who said it will be reported to Principal Ruth." Mason barks, red in the face. Everyone remains quiet after that, but I hear several gasps when Mason tells Marcel to scoot and he sits next to us. Everyone resumes their usual chatter, with the exception of the insults.

 "Hi, I'm Mason. And you are?" Mason asks Marcel, holding out his hand.

 "I'm...I'm M...Marcel." Marcel stutters, shaking Mason's hand.

 "Nice to meet you, Marcel. Are you Arielle's friend?"

 "Y...Yes." Marcel stutters once again and I groan internally.

 "That's cool." Mason says simply.

 "Why are you here?" Marcel suddenly asks.

 "Marcel!" I hiss, whacking his arm.

 "Why?" He asks again, ignoring my comment.

 "What do you mean?" Mason asks, his eyebrows furrowed together.

 "You're a popular. We aren't. You're basically risking your social status for me and Arielle." Marcel says.

 "Just because you aren't popular doesn't mean you shouldn't be treated right." Mason reasons. "Social status means nothing to me. I just want everyone to be equal. It's not fair for some people to be treated like this because they aren't as popular."

 You're the nicest popular I've ever met." Marcel admits honestly. Mason laughs, and his dimples appear on his cheeks. I smile, because I love those dimples more than life itself. Wait. What? I've just realized something.

 I think I'm falling for Mason Richards.