The Secret Life of a Nerd (a Student/Teacher romance)

"Gertrude!! Get down here now!". My mother screamed. I quickly ran downstairs where I found my parents sprawled out on the couch with beer bottles everywhere and a half empty bottle of tequila in my mother's hands.

"Yes mother?"

"Come here" she motioned me. I did as I was told and stood in front of her. She reached for the neck of my shirt and pulled me down to her eyelevel. I could smell the alcohol and cigarette smoke more clearly now. It almost made me want to puke. "Fetch me some more cigarettes. And for god's sake, stop being so ugly."

She pushed me away, making me stumble and I quickly ran to the kitchen and found a new pack of cigarettes in the cabinet. I rushed back over to her and handed them over.

"What're you doing with my cigarettes!?!?! Smoking them? How dare you!"

"But you told me to bring them to you." I replied, nervously.

"Why would I do that when I have the-" she picked up the empty box next to her and looked in it. "Oh. Well I guess I don't. Go up to your room and leave me alone." she commanded.

I quickly ran up the stairs to my room and closed the door tightly behind me. I finally was able to breathe again. I've been holding my breath so I wouldn't have to smell the rancid odor my parents call 'paradise'. My parents are a pair of alcoholic druggies. They do every kind of drug imaginable and drink from morning to night until they're passed out. Theyre not your usual drunks. They don't slur when they speak and they can see perfectly. They've been drinking so long that they've perfected their ability to function. Their memories, however, aren't so good as you just witnessed. They treat me like I'm their servant. They probably think I'm their slave since they don't pay me and I always do what they tell me. I don't think they even remember Im their daughter even though I call them mother and father. You see, I do everything in this family. I work, I pay the bills, I go to school, I constantly clean the house to make it look presentable, I do the laundry, I buy the food, I cook every meal, and I even keep my grades up in school. I rarely get to have any fun. I don't go out to parties, I don't hang out with other people, I'm not in any school clubs, I've never gone on a date, I've never even kissed a guy. The only contact with the outside world I have is school and my job. Oh! And the Internet, which, by the way, I pay for too. I bought my own laptop and the computer downstairs for my parents. I also pay the Internet, cable and phone bills. Not to mention the insurance, the mortgage, the gas, the electricity, and the heating and air conditioning.

I know. It's a lot for a 17 year old to do. Yep, you heard me. Im 17 years old. I have no idea when my birthday is. My parents never celebrate it nor have they told me when I was born. I've never even seen my birth certificate. I only know the year I was born. So every new year, I add a year to my age. The school knows my birthday, but I'm too embarrassed to ask. Who in the world asks when their own birthday is? I mean, I'm already a social outcast as it is. Look at what my name is! Gertrude! That's probably like the nerdiest name in the entire world! My parents say that an ugly name fits an ugly child. Their probably right. I mean, look at me. I am a nerd. I have long dark brown hair I always keep in a bun, I wear big black glasses, my clothes are from goodwill, and I'm as skinny as a stick. No wonder people don't want to be anywhere near me. You know, I don't always look like this. I do have some new clothes I bought with some extra money I save. I also wear make up and make my hair pretty from time to time. These glasses...I hate them. I have contacts, but i don't wear them at school or at work. But when I wear my new clothes, contacts, and my hair down, I look like a completely different person. So why don't I look like that all the time, you ask? It's because I can't afford to buy make up and clothes all the time. And if I wear my contacts too much, they'll be no good anymore and I'd have to buy new ones and let me tell you, contacts aren't cheap. Neither are new clothes. So now you're probably wondering when I look like that. Well, as I said before. The only times I have contact with the outside world is in school, work, and online. Since I can't afford to wear my new clothes very often, I can't look that way at school or at work. I only dress up when I'm online.