Fun With Nerdy Girls

I sat alone in the school cafeteria, a dark yet amused smirk on my face. 

The eighteenth birthday was supposed to be an important point in a young man's life. Unfortunately, I received a rather unwelcome surprise in mine. I had learned that we were about to move to a new city due to my father's promotion. 

Of course, I wasn't exactly a person to awaken other's sympathies, my life wasn't exactly a drama. Not when I was a six-foot-three quarterback who was very close to breaking the state record, with a chiseled body and a handsome face. Combine with my overall popularity, and above-average intelligence that allowed me to keep my grades up despite endless practice an active social life, I doubted many people would waste their pity on me. 

Luckily, it was just an unfortunate setback rather than something that ruined my life, because I already had offers from three universities thanks to my impressive play, so I didn't need to join a brand new team for the last semester of my high school life. It would have been impossible to get the starter position as a quarterback, and even if I could take it, performing in a new team would have been impossible. 

Still, as I looked at the new cafeteria, I couldn't help but sigh in disappointment. One disadvantage of changing the school was that I was no longer the coolest kid in the school. I was handsome enough to join the clique, but popular people groups were always annoyingly hierarchic, which meant that I had to accept a weaker role in the group to pay my dues at first, wasting a considerable amount of time and money to woo the popular girls. 

It was definitely not worth it. 

It was why I decided to experiment with an alternative personality in my new school. Instead of wearing the tight, stylish shirts and expensive jeans, I wore an old plaid shirt that I used when I was doing chores, and a faded jean that was ripped because it was old, not fashionable. To make things even more fun, I had a backpack filled with books, more than a few belonged to AP track. 

Since I was going to play the nerd, I wanted to learn something about the college, so that when I was in college, I could train more rather than study. 

However, those plans were suddenly interrupted when I felt one of the chairs move. "Is this seat free?" a soft voice asked, unable to mask her shyness as she did so. 

"Yeah, it's free," I said without even raising my head, expecting her to leave with the chair. Only when she murmured her thanks and sat on the chair, I deigned to raise my head, only to quirk my eyebrow in amusement. 

It had been a while since a nerd dared to sit next to me. I never bullied them, but that didn't mean that the others in the popular group —let's call them friends, though it's not very accurate— didn't share my live and let live attitude, mostly because they weren't as confident as their popularity. Bullying others was a way for them to clinch their spot. 

And my uninvited guest was definitely a nerd, with her loose clothes, glasses, and hair that was simply tied behind. For a moment, I stayed silent, just gazing at her. I was planning to stay silent until she said something, but under my gaze, her already shaky self-confidence started to flicker. First, she avoided my gaze as the blush spread over her neck, then she shuffled in her seat, like she was preparing to stand up. 

I pitied her enough to take the initiative. "Hey, I'm Chad, the new guy," I said with my trademark smile as I gave her a little wave. 

"C-Carrie," she stammered as she reached her blonde ponytail and fixed it. Not that it was needed, but it displayed her nervousness. "W-welcome to Sunny High?" she added, no less choppily than her own name. 

"A pleasure," I answered, not bothering to hide my soft chuckle. It made her blush even harder, but she stayed on her seat, which positively surprised me. Still, I planned to say nothing else as we started eating. Then, I heard a suppressed giggle and paid a glance in that direction, only to see four other girls on a distant table, looking at us with blushing faces, giggling among themselves. 

From their clothes and accessories —or a lack of them— I guessed that they were friends of Carrie, either impressed by her courage of talking the new guy, or dared her to do so in the first place. And I had a feeling that it was the second part. 

"Are you in the AP Math as well?" Carrie suddenly asked five minutes into our silence, pointing at the book on the top of the pile. 

"Unfortunately, no," I answered kindly. She was clearly shy enough to struggle to keep a conversation alive, so I decided to take pity on her. "I was a bit busy at my old school with the extracurriculars, so I never joined AP classes. But since I have time, I want to learn a bit more, to handle the college easier." 

"Smart," she answered, then she took a deep breath, trying to gather her courage. "You can ask me if you have any questions. I'm in the AP classes for several subjects." 

"Smart, and beautiful," I said with a charming smile, and her blush turned into an out-of-control forest fire, stammering helplessly. I complimented her because I wouldn't say no to having a willing tutor. She wasn't ugly by any means, she definitely had a pleasant, symmetrical face, though she wasn't strikingly beautiful either. Certainly not with those ugly glasses. And her body was a total mystery under those loose clothes, but I didn't expect much.

The rest of the lunch passed in relative silence. I asked a few inconsequential questions, she stuttered her answers. I made sure to smile at her after her every answer, but it seemed that it made things even worse. 

What could I do? My handsomeness was my curse! 

Just as she was about to leave, I grabbed her hand and wrote my number. "Don't forget to text, and see you around," I said as I stood up. As I left the cafeteria, she was blushing like she was about to explode. 

I felt amused at the impact. As a popular guy, I dated exclusively with the hottest girls, and if there was one disadvantage of doing so, that they were far too used to being hit on. Dealing with them was always a challenge no matter how popular I was. The sudden change of pace was interesting. 

Still, I went through the rest of the classes, and I wasn't expecting much from my new acquaintance. She wasn't interesting enough for me to chase, and I didn't need a tutor. And even if I wanted to contact her, she didn't send a message back, which made it impossible for me to connect with her unless I walked around the school, looking for her. 

I certainly wasn't going to do that. 

When classes ended, I didn't have any plan other than to go back home and do my daily exercise routine. Just because I got college offers, didn't mean that I was going to get it. My physique needed to be up to par to make sure I was accepted. 

However, as I was passing near the library, my phone vibrated. I flipped to open. It was Carrie, telling me that she would be in the library, asking me to drop by if I had the time. 

'Sure, I'll be there in five minutes,' I wrote back even as I immediately stepped into the library, but stayed behind a large shelf as I looked inside. After interacting with Carrie during lunch, I had a feeling that she wouldn't be brave enough to send that message. 

And it turned out to be correct, as I saw Carrie sitting on a corner desk, with four other friends next to her —the same ones from the lunch event— giggling while Carrie blushed. She murmured something to her friends that made them laugh even more. Pity that I was too far away to listen to them. 

I watched as Carrie's four friends teased her relentlessly for a while before they departed, leaving their friend alone, panicking enough that I was afraid she would explode. 

"Hey," I said as I walked toward her slowly after I appeared behind the shelves, giving her the time to calm her emotions, which didn't work as well as I had planned. When I arrived, she was still fluttering in panic, so much that I pitied her. "Perfect that you texted me, one of the problems on differentials was driving me crazy." Which couldn't be farther from the truth, but I tried to make her relax by bringing the discussion into her comfort zone. 

"Let me look," she said immediately, ripping the book off my hands with surprising strength, missing my amused expression as she read the question. "Hmm, that's a tricky one," she murmured as she scribbled a few lines on the paper, her hands trembling. The question wasn't that hard, but she still worked it excessively detailed, giving herself a chance to calm down. 

I sat down next to her, listening to her explanation, which helped me to understand quite a bit about the subject. "Thanks, you're a good teacher," I told her after she finished explaining, along with a bright smile. 

"T-thanks," she stuttered, her blush back full force. "Do you have any other questions, I wouldn't mind helping more," she added. "I have the time." 

"Excellent," I said as I asked her another question, enjoying the sudden change of dynamic. The experience was very familiar, one person desperately trying to make an excuse to spend time with their crush. I was frequently on the other side of it, especially when I was just a junior, trying to hit on the upperclassman. 

I had to admit, switching the roles was rather entertaining. Despite her shyness, Carrie was doing her best to keep the conversation going, though mostly relying on the thick math book in front of us as a clutch. Still, I was impressed with her effort enough that I started to contribute whenever the discussion stalled, keeping the conversation alive with less serious topics. 

It turned out we didn't have much in common. She lacked any interest in sports, and my knowledge about the kind of books she enjoyed was shallow. Still, I was surprised that despite our differences, our chat turned out to be rather entertaining. She had an interesting sense of humor, which was shadowed by her shyness, and I was not half-bad at the empty talk —even if whenever she laughed at one of my jokes, it turned out a bit too enthusiastic, fueled by her crush. 

To make things even more fun, I noticed that her friends were passing by the library door, unable to contain their giggles. 

"… and if we link equation one to two, we get the answer," Carrie said, finishing the explanation for yet another question. Then, her phone buzzed, and she immediately grabbed it —but not before I could read the message on the screen, telling her to touch my arm more. Apparently, her friends were helping her to 'seduce' me as she explained her questions. 

"Smart," I said, struggling not to laugh as she dragged her finger over my bicep. It was such a mechanical, rigid move that I started to suspect she was one of the cyborgs that were in one of the movies she had explained to me enthusiastically. Still, I smiled back at her rather than saying that explicitly, because I wasn't a total asshole. She was clearly new to flirting —so were her friends, if their 60s Cosmopolitan advice were anything to go by— and I didn't want to squash her hopes. Since I hung out with the popular crowds, I had seen some popular girls squashing the boys that dared to confess, and the shattered dreams that resulted were hardly pretty. 

Another half an hour passed as we studied, and Carrie flirted me rather clumsily, exaggerated laughs, caressing my arm continuously, the whole works, but she was so earnest that it was amusing rather than annoying. So much that I decided to reward her for her bravery. 

"That's it for the day," I said as I slammed the book shut, which made her look disappointed. But my next words were more than enough to fix her despair. "Thanks for your tutoring," I added. "How about I buy you dinner as thanks?" 

"That would be lovely," she immediately answered with a smile. 

"Do you have a car?" I asked. "Because my ride is in the shop." Actually, my ride wasn't in the shop, but resting in the garage, gathering spiderwebs. I thought that taking my high-powered bike to the school wouldn't exactly help me keep a low profile. 

"Yeah, I can drive," she murmured, though hesitant. The reason turned out to be rather amusing, as her car was filled with books and loose papers, more reminiscent of a hoarder's nest. 

"Let me help you," I offered as we quickly stuffed everything in the car in the trunk, and I earned a grateful smile in response. Once the car finally looked decent, I took the passenger seat, and we drove away. The dinner turned out to be an extension of the drive, where she tried to flirt with me clumsily, trying something new whenever she read a new message on her phone, no doubt receiving cues from her friends. 

"How about if we watch a movie next?" she offered as we left the diner, and started driving once more. 

"Sorry, I can't skip my exercise routine. Maybe the next time," I offered. As much as I enjoyed her offer, I didn't want to skip my evening exercise, not when my whole life was on the line based on the physical tests I was going to undergo. 

"I understand," she said, but her voice was already trembling. My soft rejection managed to destroy the self-confidence she managed to gather earlier in the day. 

I sighed. "Pull over," I said, and she did so, but she must have misunderstood my objective, because she was looking even more distraught. "Carrie, look at me," I said. 

She did so, but with tears gathering in her green eyes. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I thought that… I… It's silly…" 

I touched her chin, raising her head. "Sweetheart, you don't have anything to be sorry about. You're a beautiful girl, and I'm very flattered by your interest. However, I'm just going to be here for a few months, with a very busy schedule. I'm just not looking for a girlfriend right now. Believe me, if I did, I would be lucky to have you," I said, using the same tone I used to convince many girls they were precious, usually just before pushing them on the backseat of a car for a very memorable night. Pity tonight was going to be a bit drier. 

"Thanks, even if you're just trying to let me go easily," Carrie answered, but her tears started to disappear, which was a win. "I know I'm a terrible flirt." 

"Hey, it's like Math. You just need to practice," I said.

"D-don't be ridiculous, "she answered. "Being popular is all about how beautiful and charismatic one is. How can you practice something like that." 

"Do you have any idea when a popular girl wakes up to make sure her make-up and clothes are up to snuff?" I said. "At least an hour before they leave for the school." 

"You got to be kidding me," she said, shocked. 

"I swear to god," I said with a chuckle. "They even take two hours if they have something really important." 

For a moment, she looked interested in my words, but the gloom invaded her face once more. "Thanks for turning me down kindly," she said, still on the verge of tears. "Still, at least I will have my cats as an ugly old woman." 

"Nonsense," I said, feeling a bit annoyed at the unnecessary way she was putting down herself. "You're not ugly." 

"But not attractive either, right?" she cut in sharply, looking at me angrily, catching on my pity. 

"Well," I said, trying to find a way that wouldn't end up with tears, but every second I spent trying to come up with an answer, she moved closer to a breakdown. "As I said, you just need to work on it. The thing you lack the most is confidence. It affects everything. You just need to fool around a bit to generate confidence, kiss a few different boys, maybe a couple of girls as well to make it even hotter, and then you'll have a string of boys begging for a date," I said, which was my honest opinion. 

"You really think so? You're not just saying that to console me, right?" she said, a smile suddenly blooming on her face. 

"Definitely not," I said seriously, and after she nodded, I decided to lighten the air with a joke. "I wouldn't mind tutoring you on kissing." 

"Really, you would," she answered immediately as she grabbed my hand, her eyes shining shock, but tinged with excitement. 

Her reaction came as a surprise for me, but looking at her enthusiastic expression, I felt that it was impossible to deny her. "Sure, as long as you remember it's just helping you practice, and not a true relationship," I said with a shrug, then gave her a smirk that made her tremble. 

If we were going to play, I was going to play to win.