The Summer I Became a Nerd - By Leah Rae Miller Page 0,63
hated you, she wouldn’t have missed most of the concert looking for you, and she wouldn’t have called Mom when she couldn’t find you. She’s right. You need to stop thinking about your problems and find out what’s going on with her.”
When did he become Yoda?
“Fine, but number three you are completely wrong about. I can’t just forget about Logan. I’ve tried. It doesn’t work.”
“Are you sure? I know you’re all grown up, but you’re still only seventeen. There are a lot of fish in the sea,” he says as we pull into the driveway.
“I know, but I really like this fish.”
“I’m still confused though. Why are you hiding this part of yourself? Who cares what other people think?”
I debate on whether or not to get into this with him. I doubt he wants to be reminded of the hell on Earth he lived through back in high school. But in the end, I remember he is one of the only people in the world I can tell anything to.
“I just don’t want to be treated differently. I mean, you know how crappy it can be.”
We turn onto our street, and he throws me a strange look. “What do you mean?”
“Weeeellll.” I stretch the word out so maybe he’ll figure it out before I have to explain it, but he doesn’t. He just continues to keep that one eyebrow raised in a “WTH” manner. “You went through so much stuff in high school because you practically put up a billboard saying, ‘I’m a huge geek.’”
He gasps like he takes huge offense at what I just said. “And what is wrong with being a geek?”
I roll my eyes. “You know what I mean. I don’t want to have to go through that. It’s just easier if people don’t know about that side of me.”
“Oh, yeah, looks like things have been super easy for you this far. Look, high school is hell for most people. It’s one of the many facts of life. But I had friends. I was happy with who I was, and I’m happy with who I am now. It’s seems to me you’re in so much trouble not because you’re a raging nerd or because you like this guy. You’re in this mess because you’re not being honest.”
He turns the truck off and lets a few moments of silence go by before saying, “You ready?”
“As I’ll ever be, I guess.”
When we get inside, Mom and Dad are waiting at the dining table. The house is deathly quiet. No TV, no music. The clothes dryer isn’t even on.
This is a bad sign.
Mom motions to the chair across from her. I sit, mentally preparing myself.
She and Dad stare at me. I know this technique. They’re waiting for me to spill my guts. If they don’t ask any specific questions, I won’t know when to stop confessing.
I analyze the wood grain of the table. Might as well get this over with. “Terra and I got into a fight. I left to go to the NerdCon to find Logan. He had no idea that’s what I was doing, he never asked me to come find him. In fact, he’s not speaking to me right now. Eric showed up at the wrong time and apparently hadn’t checked his voice mail. He thought we were still together. Logan got upset, and then Eric punched Logan. Plus, all those times when I said I was going to Terra’s, I’ve really been with Logan. And I’m sorry and I hope we can put all this behind us.”
My heart is going a mile a minute, but Mom and Dad glance at each other. Mom still looks angry, but Dad just looks confused. “Why did you lie about spending time with this kid? He seemed all right to me.”
I sigh, knowing what I’m about to say won’t make things any clearer for him. “Because I didn’t want you guys to make a big deal about me hanging out with the guy who works at the comic shop. I thought if everyone at school knew I like comics and stuff, they wouldn’t, you know, like me.”
“Is that why you hide your notebook?” Mom asks. “Because I’ve never understood why. It’s not like I don’t remember you and Roland comparing notes. He’d have his out and so did you, and you two would talk for hours about that stuff.”
“You’ve been going through my stuff?”
“Hey, missy, don’t try to turn this around on me. It’s not exactly hidden well. I’m the