The Nerd [BXB]

24 𖠇 Everyone Knows Theodore Walker

   All-day, I am stuck by Harvey's side, roaming the hallways with his hand. By now, the entire school, even the staff, has received the news that the nerd is dating the athlete thanks to some God-sent miracle. Although those comments should make me furious, my current ability to sense any sort of emotion is opaqued by everything that is going on in my life.

The few times I pass Oscar pains me immensely knowing that it's not him holding me. But it does not hurt as much as the urge of restraining myself from running up to him and cover his entire body with kisses. Heartbreakingly enough, all he does is glance at me as I walk by, making eye contact until he is nowhere to be seen.

   "I'll leave you with your friends, okay?" I tell him as we head over to lunch.

   He pulls me to the side. "You don't want to come eat with us?"

   "It's not like I attend the cafeteria often," I say, watching the crowds of people heading to the dining hall. "I usually eat at the library with Mrs. Mills."

   "Come sit with me today," he says, holding my chin. "Just this once."

   I chew the inside of my cheek. "Fine."

   He nods his head and smiles, grabbing my hand once again as we enter the cafeteria. Instantly, I catch Genesis, Blaire, and Aurora sitting at their table with their salads in front of them. They slightly nod their heads at me, unaware that their plan has drowned at the very bottom of the ocean.

   "They still think you don't know," I whisper to him as we near his table with his group of friends.

   He tenses as he looks around, hoping no one can hear me. "There will be a point where they'll want you to break things with me," he whispers back, waving at one of his friends. "At that moment, we'll see their faces drop when they realize I already knew all along."

   I scoff. "This plan sucks."

   "As long as it does what it's meant to, it works for me," he says. "Now let's not speak of this again until we are alone."

   The table has athletes with the same letterman jacket as his and two girls that are from the cheerleading team. Their ponytails tied with blue ribbons gives it away. Amongst the crowd is the guy that threw a piece of paper at the back of my head once when he needed the answers for his calculus test. If I recall correctly, his name is Michael.

"Hey!" Harvey greets, grabbing everyone's attention. They all grin at him, bumping fists and doing things that would usually make me cringe if I wasn't too uncomfortable right now.

I stand behind his tall body, begging that nobody minds my presence. However, dating Harvey Cohen gives me certain privileges, and one of them is undeniable attention.

"What's up, Theo?" one of them calls me out. "How are you doing?"

"Uhm. . . alright, I guess," I respond, diving my hands into the pockets on my sweatshirt.

The guy nods and starts talking to one of the girls next to him. They start laughing loudly and I wonder if they find someone of me hilarious, making me feel self-conscious. As they continue to laugh, I become aware that there are eyes all around this room looking at me. With these thoughts comes a usual warm feeling over my cheeks.

Harvey sits down and makes sure there is space next to him for me. As soon as I sit down, he starts having a conversation with his friends about how good the soccer season has been this year. Meanwhile, the cheerleader by my side taps my shoulder.

"Theo, right?" she asks.

I nod.

"So what is it like?" she proceeds, trying to start a conversation. "Dating Harvey."

I glance at him as he punches one of the guy's shoulders. "Great!" is all I can come up with at the moment. "Dating Harvey is great."

She puckers her lips, not sure of my response. "What grade are you in?"

I hold back the urge to roll my eyes because, just like Harvey when I first met him, she is unaware that we are in the same grade. "I am a junior," I answer.

"That makes two of us," she says, playing with a strand of cherry hair that is almost as red as her lipstick. "Are you new or when did you come to Sunset City?"

By now, I want to stand up and simply walk away with no explanation whatsoever. Instead of doing that, I continue to proceed with the interrogation. "I came here my freshman year," I reply.

"Nice!" she says. "My name is Autumn, by the way."

"Because your hair is dead just like the autumn leaves?" I mess around with her.

She does not get the joke, knitting her eyebrows. "Because my mother liked it."

"Sorry," I apologize, feeling awkward now that she thinks I meant to offend her. "It was a joke."

I turn around and nudge Harvey's shoulder. "I will head over to the library," I tell him after grabbing his attention. "Catch you later?"

"Yeah," he says. "Of course."

"Theo!" the Michael guy that tried copying me once says. "Are you coming to the party this weekend?"

I look at Harvey and then at him.

"What?" he asks. "Harvey doesn't let you?"

He and the others start cackling.

"I'll be there," I say, receiving cheers from them as I walk away.

Weirdly enough, as I step out of the cafeteria, I pass by a group of friends sitting on the floor as one of them says, "Hello, Theo." I look back and smile at the girl with braids. This goes on until the door closes behind me after I enter the library.

"I am never going back out there," I instantly blurt out, leaning on the door.

Mrs. Mills sits at the table all by herself with a box of Ritz. "Join the club," she says, focused on her book.

"They used to ignore my existence and now they can't keep my name off their mouths," I tell her as I head her way, taking the seat next to her.

"Are you talking about you dating the Harvey boy?" she asks, placing the bookmark on her page before closing the book.

I raise my head. "How do you know?"

She shrugs. "I heard the lady at the front office talking about it with the custodian."

My eyes widen. "You are not messing around with me, are you?"

"Not today," she replies.

I take my glasses off and run a hand over my eyes. "A few months ago I was locked in here with you and a book as my only companions," I tell her, "and, somehow, I am now dating a soccer player, getting invited to parties, and being mentioned by students and school staff."

"Gossip and nerds don't mix together," she says, plopping a cracker into her mouth. "Appreciate the rare attention you are receiving before it's over."

"That's the thing." I come to comprehend just now. "I want it to be over so things can go back to how they were."

Mrs. Mills chuckles, patting my back. "Good luck with that."

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