The Summer I Became a Nerd - By Leah Rae Miller Page 0,59
talked to you first, none of that would have happened.”
“You mean the whole thing with that guy? Who is he anyway? Doesn’t he go to school with us?”
“His name is Logan, and yes, he goes to school with us. Wait, if you were going to break up with me, why did you hit him?”
“Well, it looked like he was bugging you, and then he pushed me, and technically, you were still my girlfriend, or at least I thought so. I had to defend your honor… Or something.”
“That was not cool, Eric. You can’t just go around punching people.”
He holds his hands up. “I know. I’ll fix it.”
I lean against my car door and look up at the sky. “I have something to tell you.”
“You mean, something other than you like this other guy?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay.”
“I like comic books.”
He’s quiet for a while. I wait for his cringe of disgust.
“And?” he asks.
“And dressing up like an elf and playing video games and watching sci-fi and all that stuff.”
He purses his lips and squints his eyes a little. I know this is his thinking face. “Okay.”
“Okay? That’s okay?”
“Sure. I like that stuff, too, although I’ve never dressed like an elf, but ya know, to each his own.”
I’m baffled. Who is this creature before me? Where’s the taunting? The promises of wedgies and stuffing me in my locker next school year?
Maybe I’m in shock. I need one of those blankets the paramedics give people who’ve been through a trauma. Maybe I need to lie down and elevate my feet. A long silence stretches out between us as I try to wrap my head around the idea of a tolerant Eric.
Finally, he says, “Well, okay then. So that’s that, right?”
“I guess so.”
He opens his arms for a hug. “Still friends?”
“Yeah, still friends.”
The hug is uncomfortable, to say the least. He walks back to Mes Amis, and I stare after him, still utterly confused.
I get in my car and pull into traffic. It only takes a few seconds for everything to hit me.
I am the worst person ever.
#21
“Call me when you get there and when y’all are on your way home, okay?” Mom asks as we pull up to Terra’s house.
This is going to be so uncomfortable.
Terra is waiting by her car, tapping her foot. As I approach, she throws my homemade Allison T-shirt at me, then gets in the driver’s seat for the quick drive over to Rayann’s house. She doesn’t say anything, not one word.
This doesn’t bode well.
After a minute or two, I try to break the tension. “How excited are you? I’m so excited.”
“Excited. Yeah.” She keeps her eyes on the road as she turns down Rayann’s street. “So…did you have fun bowling the other day?”
No use in denying anything now. “It was great.”
She looks at me. “Really? That’s all you’ve got to say about it? You don’t return my calls or my texts, and now you’re glossing over this like it isn’t a big deal? Who was the guy, Mad? Is he why you haven’t been talking to me?”
Great. Here we go. “No. I mean, he’s just this guy I’ve been seeing.”
“You’ve been seeing someone else? What about Eric?”
I’m quick to answer. This part I’ve rehearsed, at least. “I broke up with him a while ago. But he was too busy in Florida to listen to his voice mails so—”
Terra shrieks. “You broke up with him over voice mail?”
I hold my hands out, pleading. “Yes. I know how crappy that sounds. Believe me, I know. But he wouldn’t answer his phone.”
“Who is he—the new guy?”
I close my eyes. Here it is. There won’t be any going back from this, but I owe Terra the truth. “Logan Scott.”
“Isn’t he in our English class? Isn’t he the one who got expelled last year because of—”
“It wasn’t porn. It was just a cartoon or something,” I snap.
“Why didn’t you tell me about all this?” Terra’s trying to keep her hand talking under control but is losing the battle. I actually consider asking her to pull over, but we’re already at Rayann’s. She pulls into the driveway and jams the car into park. “Or have you forgotten that’s what best friends do?”
Before I can answer her, she gets out and slams her door.
I jump out, too, and chase after her, but Rayann is waiting outside, her drama-pirate eyes trained on me. I decide to wait until Terra and I are alone to continue the conversation.
Rayann and Terra sit in the front, leaving me to sit in silence