When a Nerd Tries to be a Jock

Chapter 2: Basketball (Revised!)

Chapter 2: Basketball

            Before I knew it, September was right around the corner. Ever since the first day of school I had decided to just bring a lunch so I wouldn’t run into the blonde again.

            After some inquiry, I had learned that her name was Emma. She was a very popular girl, and had an attitude on top of it all. The only way I had offended her was by existing.

            That morning Cody went to basketball conditioning before school so that he was ready for tryouts. I supported him, but I also was a little lonely. When I got into homeroom, most of the class was already there.

            Many of the students had taken a liking to Mrs. Anderson. I really liked her as a teacher, but I didn’t hang out with her much. I decided that whenever Cody wasn’t with me in the mornings I would go to hang out.

            “Morning Nat!” Mrs. Anderson said cheerfully as she graded some papers on her desk.

            “Good morning,” I said shyly.

            Though I knew her very well and enjoyed her company, I was still shy. Being a nerd, I had social anxiety because people liked to pick on me.

            “I haven’t seen you in the morning before. What’s up?” she looked up from the stack of papers, slightly smiling.

            “My friend is at basketball conditioning,” I explained.

            Mrs. Anderson nodded and went back to her papers.

            “Hey Natalie!” someone called.

            I turned around. The girl had a blonde bob and she was wearing a pair of mint green skinny jeans. She topped it off with a bright green shirt and matching shoes. She was, in a word, unique.

            “I know about what happened with Emma that day. Just know that she does it to everybody,” she said.

                        “That was a long time ago though,” I said in confusion, “why are you bringing it up now?”

            The girl raised her eyebrows. “Didn’t you see what happened yesterday?”

            I shook my head and replied, “No, I left for a doctors appointment. What happened?”

            “You know Amy Martinez?” she asked.

            I nodded. I had gone to elementary school with her and we had always been acquaintances, but nothing more.

            “Emma and her crew were messing with her yesterday. She was wearing a white skirt and they spilled red punch on it. But they said it was an accident,” the girl said and rolled her eyes.

            I grimaced. “Emma is an accident,” I muttered before I even thought about what I said.

            The girl burst out laughing and said, “Agreed. My name is Charmaine, by the way.”

            I had never heard that name before. It was unique, just like her style.

            “Nice to meet you Charmaine,” I reply and fish my notebook out of my backpack. When the bell rings, I open my notebook and write about the new information about Amy and all about Charmaine.

“Hey, want to come to tryouts for the boys basketball team on Tuesday?” Cody asked.

            It was Saturday afternoon and we were hanging out at his house.  He needed help with his social studies work and after he was done he just wanted to chill.