How to date a Nerd

Chapter 2

Why couldn't I have been an only child?

I wake up Monday morning filled with panic and anxiety. I don't want to see Austin or act like everything is okay after what happened on Friday. I don't feel like acting at all, but since I've already skipped so many classes, one more and I'll be kicked out, I sit in front of the mirror and prepare my mask for the day.

I can see Lauren from my window again. She's already dressed and shoving a large book into her bag. She's wearing a blue plaid button-up shirt over her "Use the Force" T-shirt. I can't believe she wears that stuff to school, even if she does look pretty great in it. I'm probably one out of two people who think that. Her dark brown hair falls perfectly over her shoulders. She doesn't acknowledge me at all, which I try to seem fine with. I don't know why I want her attention so badly. She's made it pretty clear that she doesn't see me that way, and I don't blame her after what I did. I may swoon and sway as I look at her from across our windows, but in school, if I even glanced in her direction, I'd get shit for it.

I turn back to the mirror and let out a sigh—a real one this time. The dark circles under my eyes make it look like I've been on drugs for the past few days when really, I've just been up every hour reliving those few scary seconds in Austin's unrelenting grasp. My long, brown hair is matted and knotty from not brushing it after my shower last night. Do I have my work cut out for me this morning or what? I plug in the flat iron and get up to dig through my closet. If I'm going to convince people I'm okay, I need something short and sexy, pushing the boundaries of the dress code. I slip on a tight miniskirt and a low-cut pink top and assess the outfit. Besides the horror that is my face and hair, I look pretty damn hot. Just like the girls in those movies. We're on the right track, baby!

My hair takes me a good twenty minutes to untangle, and I slather globs of makeup to cover my raccoon eyes. Perfect and just in time, too. First period starts in fifteen minutes. I throw my purse over my shoulder—only losers wear backpacks—tuck my Algebra II book under my arm and head out the door.

My car isn't in the driveway, though. Great, this shit of a morning keeps getting better and better. Even though I know it's really childish, I stomp my foot on the cement.

Sofia! I could strangle her until her brain starts working. It had to be her. It isn't the first time she's stolen my car to ditch school. Being underage doesn't stop her from swiping my keys the second my parents leave for work.

And now I'm going to be really late. I kick off my heels and curl the straps around my fingers as I walk barefoot down the sidewalk. Just when I think my day couldn't get much worse, I feel a light splash on my arm. How cliché. I pick up the pace as the rain starts to fall and fold my body around my book to keep it from getting wet. So much for taking the time to do my hair. Oh, I'm going to kill Sofia!

A shiver runs up my spine, and I'm instantly regretting the short and slinky outfit. I'd take wearing my own "Use the Force" shirt over freezing to death. I consider turning back and staying home for the day, but the possibility of getting expelled propels me forward.

Why can't I graduate without actually going to school?

I start running. The balls of my feet smack the pavement, and I pray I don't end up stepping on anything that would cause serious damage. Rainwater splashes up my legs as I run through the puddles. If I slip and fall, that's it for my morning.The glow of headlights flickers behind me. Maybe some fool will take pity on me and give me a ride to school.

"Camila?" Her voice always sends a wave of butterflies through my stomach, and I can't help the dorky grin that forms on my face. "Yeah, it's me!" I call back over the weather. "Get in!"She doesn't need to tell me twice. "Thanks," I say once I'm in. "No problem." Lauren puts the truck in first gear and eases back onto the road. Driving stick adds the sexy to this wonderful geek. "Feeling better, I see." She smirks out of the side of her mouth, and I roll my eyes.