Popular Nerd

Chapter Three// Too Shy

Maybe he is rich, I think to myself with serious thought. He does seem rather mysterious. I just wish I knew more about him...

The day goes by fast. But I get a pleasant surprise as I walk out of my classroom door just before lunch, seeing the wide eyed smile of my boyfriend.

"You want to sit with us at lunch?" Josh gestures to the football team, crowded around him just after we come out of Geography class. Josh is like the unofficial captain of the team, being the staring quarter back he is adored by everyone.

A lot of girls may swoon over him but I am the lucky one on his arm. I don't believe in the stereotype of mean cheerleaders and jocks only dating popular girls. So changing that statistic I hold onto his hand tighter and smile up at him.

"Yeah sure," I reply, his arm snaking around my waist. "But can Lacy come too?" I ask sweetly, looking over at my best friend who was eyeing up Jace Chesterman, Josh's best mate and partner in crime as he likes to describe him.

She has had a massive crush on Jace since me and Josh first got together. Her eyes are instantly drawn to him whenever he passes or is around her. Lacy is determined that he will eventually ask her to home coming, but every year she was always second best to some skinny cheerleader he chose instead.

Unlike me, Jace is one for stereotypes, and thankfully for him, a lot of girls believe in that too. They love the typical hot jock. I seem rather hypocritical, holding the hand of a hot jock myself. However despite all that, he had to earn my love. I wasn't a swooning teenage girl with love at first sight back then.

"Sure," Josh turns around to the team. "That OK with you guys?" They all grunt in unison, a language only boys seem to comprehend. "They said yes," he clarifies for me.

I nod in appreciation, turning round to see Lacy going all googly eyed again up at Jace. "Thanks."

We enter the cafeteria and the boys all rush over to their table. It is as if it is their property. They have always sat at their specific table since the very first grade at high school and it has always stayed that way even up to their senior year. Everyone has their own table they stick to and no one ever argues or battles for a table that isn't theirs, otherwise all hell would break loose!

It is a typical rule at our school that jocks sit with jocks, drama geeks sit with drama geeks, musicians sit with musicians, cheerleaders sit with cheerleaders and so on. The overbearing dominance for stereotype friendships is strong at our school.

Lacy and I like to stick with our two, us satisfied with our own duet of best friends.

But what I can't help but notice is that Nathan always sits alone. Currently he is sat at the back of the room, isolated from everyone else as he sits nibbling on his sandwich while studying a book. Geometry maybe. The cover is hard to define from my distance.

"Paige, sit here," Josh makes his mate Craig move a seat down so I can sit beside him. He interlocks our fingers and smiles down at me, his height almost an additional foot onto mine.

"Cool phone," comments one of the wide receivers, Gregory, as he spots Nathan's phone as I put it on the table to get my packet lunch out of my bag.

"It isn't mine," I admit, trying to sneak it back into my bag quickly so no attention is drawn to it.

Unfortunately, that doesn't happen. Gregory snatches the phone off the table, out of my reach, and unlocks he screen. Automatically his nose scrunched up at the sight of who's phone it really belongs to.

"Why do you have Nathan Johnson's phone?" He scoffs, whilst scrolling through his contacts. A hot blush tickles my cheeks as I peer my head down.

"I found it," I mumble, my stomach twisting at the sight of the football team crowding round Gregory as they invade Nathan's privacy. This is not what I want, at all.

"What a nerd," chuckles Fred, laughing as he shows the football team Nathan's reminders on when to study. An outburst of laughter erupts across the table, the cheerleaders also peering over with enticement of what is going on.

Their table is one over from the football teams' and almost the entire squad is crowded around the vulnerable phone.

"Oooooh look at this! Nathan even has his home screen of his family, the weirdo." Great, so know not only do the most popular people in school think Nathan is a nerd, but know a weirdo as well. Good going Paige.

I tangle a guilty finger around a lock of my brown hair at my waist.

"Hey guys!" All heads shoot towards Josh who stands up. A sigh of relief escapes my lips. Finally, Josh is going to do the right thing and return it back to me so they can't embarrass Nathan any more. "Give it here, I want to see!"

As the phone is tossed across the table into Josh's hands, I begin to tremble as I plead for it back. Somehow I am booted out of my seat by another teammate as they all want to see the phone screen. I look over the table at Lacy for some help, however she is too busy drooling over Jace, their flirting too important to stop and her best friend in desperate need.

"Josh please," I barge my way in through the wall of muscled backs and manage to reclaim my seat. "Josh, I need to give it back to him." His head turns towards me and he sympathises over my weak smile.

"Ok," Josh holds the phone in the air. I reach out to take it but he pulls it back, over his shoulder as if his arm is a sling shot.

"Josh stop!" I scream and he lowers his arm slowly. I take it from his dangerous hands and quickly pocket it away. "I'll give it him back. Don't throw it, you could break it."

"I doubt he even uses is," sniggers a guy from across the table, listening into our conversation as the noise level drops. "He only had like five contacts in there anyway. The nerd." All the boys join in, an eruption of laughter as splutter out rude remarks on what has been on Nathan's phone. I scowl at them all through gritted teeth. That is it!

When Josh doesn't stop, I hit him in the arm- not so playful anymore- and watch his laughter die down as he stares at me confused.

"What is it?"

"Stop making fun of him!" I order, my temper rising as the comments get harsher and harsher.

"Fine," Josh sighs as he raises his hand. "So. How you guys looking forward to the next game?" I am grateful for Josh as he changes the subject off of Nathan and his phone, but I am still in a mood with him for making jokes about someone he hardly knows.

I look back over to Nathan across the lunch hall and give him a pitiful smile. Eventually he glances up and catches my eye but immediately shoots his head back down into his book. I feel so sorry for him. He is always sitting alone. I stand up, my eyes still fixed on his table of one.

"Where you going?" Josh abruptly tugs at my hand that was holding his. He reaches into the air as my hand frees from his. 

"I'll be right back," I hold Nathan's phone tight in my hand as I cross the cafeteria floor to the back. As I approach his table; Nathan doesn't  hesitate and jumps to his feet, speeding for the door. He leaves the room swiftly without looking back. I sigh in failure and throw my head back.

If he's too shy for me to give him his phone back in school, I'm going to have to give it him back after school hours.

But how do I do that?