The Nerd and the Jock

Her

My life has been miserable the last week.

It's been a week without a mention of Tom Brady.

A week without a corney quote from some book.

A week without her smile.

Her laugh.

Her red cheeks, blushing.

A week without Her.

Nina.

I remember after the fight, I went home, and grabbed my phone, waiting for her to text me and say that she is sorry. Then I remembered that her phone was broken by my idiotic ex- still, I expected her to try to contact me somehow. I expected her to tell me that she didn't mean to be moody. Maybe it was her time of the month. I imagined myself forgiving her, pulling her into a hug.

But she didn't approach me that night. Or the next. Or the day after that.

Sure, I saw her at school. But she refused to glance at me, or pay any attention to the fact that I was in a lot of her classes. I hadn't seen her be bullied yet, but I couldn't be watching her 24/7 like a stalking creep.

I thought she might turn up to tutor me, but that was a no, too. She was stubborn. I only knew one person who was more stubborn.

Me.

As she refused to talk to  me, I refused to try to contact or pay any attention to her. I wanted her to make the first move. Even if it meant dying in the process.

Now here I am, day 6 of the fight. I never thought I would say this, but I missed hearing about Fang. Really, I missed a fictional male book character that has wings. How sad was that?

Yeah. She has messed with my head.

Today, after laying around in my room watching basketball, I decided to go on a jog, to try to clear my head. I plugged my earbuds in my ears, and headed outside, ignoring the cold weather. I jogged through town, and before I knew it I was standing in front of Barnes and Noble.

Heading inside, I went into the teen section, like any kid my age. It might not be manly to read girly books, but I had a specific book that I wanted in mind. Browsing through the books, I see a couple books that I have heard people talking about during school.

The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green. The Giver, by Lois Lowry. Divergent, by Veronica Roth. If I Stay, by Gayle Forman.

All of them are or are going to be or are movies, I think. Lot's of kids are fans of all of them, but I never read them. I keep looking.

Finally, I come to the book that I was looking for. Maximum Ride, the Angel Experiment, by James Patterson. Perfect. I pulled the book out slowly, and flipped through the pages. It was pretty long, for me, anyway. But then again, the last time I read a book was for a school project back in 9th grade. I really am not a big reader.

I grabbed the book, and headed towards the back of the store. One thing I loved about Barnes and Noble is Starbucks. All of the ones I have been to have had a Starbucks in them.

I don't think, just do, and head into Starbucks, not worrying about paying for the book. You can  pay afterwards, and right now I just want to read and eat and forget my relationship problems. Not that Nina and I had a relationship.

Heading up to the counter, I check the menu, deciding on getting a strawberry milkshake, a brownie, and a bagel. I knew that it's a lot of food, but this is my comfort. I eat a lot when I am super depressed. Don't judge. Nina wouldn't.

Sigh. Nina. Just her voice stabs at me, guilt and worry building up in the pit of my stomach. I miss her soft hair and cute grin.

"Excuse me?" I hear a girly voice drawing me out of my day dream. I look at the voice, which belongs to a girl working here behind the counter who looks my age. She was pretty hot, I guess, but that doesn't attract me like it once did, like it should. Her blond hair fell to her shoulders, cut to look perfect. Too perfect. She had cheeks that are red with blush, not the natural kind of coloring that Nina supports. I noticed how this girl is wearing heavy makeup all over, and her clothes were tight and stylish. She looked like a barbie. That should have attracted me, I mean, it should attract anyone. But for some weird, messed up reason, I couldn't get Nina out of my head.

"I'm Victoria." She said, smiling at me, trying to look flirty.

She waited for me to say something, perhaps my name back, but I don't. Instead, I just stared at her, expressionless.

"So, what would you like to order?" She asked, glancing me over again. I felt bad for the girl, who was probably not used to being refused, or turned down.

"Strawberry Milkshake, heavy on the Whipped Cream. Also, I'd like a plain bagel with strawberry cream cheese, and, a brownie." I finished up. She, Victoria, looked at me, shocked.

"Wow. You like food a lot, don't you now?" She said to me, her mouth hanging open.

Was that a fat joke?

Recovering, she entered the order into the computer. I handed her 10 dollars, and she gave me the change. I stuffed it in my pocket, and the girl handed me the food. Quickly, I brought it to my table, and just then I noticed what was written on the recite.

Victoria 890-***-****
  (A/N I made this number up so imagine digits) Call me, handsome. I like a man who can eat ;)

Shaking my head, I crumbled it up and threw it in the trash can, leaning back to enjoy my food and read my first book in a while.

I finished about 70 pages in a couple hours. I know, I read slow, but I feel like I actually was enjoying it. Max is funny, and she makes the lines and plots entertaining and fun.

It was dark by now, and I jogged back home, listening to Wings, by Birdy. It was crazy, the affect this nerd had made on me. I had been in fights before, longer than this, but after just a couple seconds without her the world feels darker. Why did I feel this way now?

I had an idea, but I really don't want to admit it, at least to myself, not yet. I think, that maybe, just maybe, I liked Nina.

She was brave, and kind, and a minute without her felt like hours. An hour without her felt like days, weeks even. This whole week, without my Nerd had driven my crazy, and I more than anything I just wanted to pull her into me, kiss her pink, small, soft lips, and never let go.

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Thanks for reading!

So yeah, vote, comment, and follow ;-)

~S.

p.s. I have a question: whats your favorite book out of the ones Kevin mentioned? Maximum Ride, The Giver, If I stay, Divergent, or the Fault in our stars?

Mine is obviously Maximum Ride,  but other than that I like them all. For If I stay, I liked the 2nd book, Where She Went more than the first.  its good. Has anyone read it?