Popular Nerd

Chapter Ten// Who Is He?

At lunch time I sit with Lacy.

We are at our usual table by the side of the cafeteria and we are conversing about the terrible day we are both having.

"Six pieces of homework!" She exclaims, frustrated. "Six fucking pieces, and it's not even the end of the day. We have only had three periods. How can that be possible?"

"I feel you," I sigh. "Mr Atom gave us double. If he doesn't help me in class, how am I supposed to know it at home?"

"Exactly!" We share a laugh then continue eating our food. "You want to come for a movie night later at my house?" She asks in her excited high pitch squeal. "My dad bought me Pitch Perfect Two, we've got pop corn in and everything. It'll be great."

"I'm sure it would be, but..."

"But... what?"

"But I was going to go round to Josh's house later. He wasn't very happy with me Friday and he hasn't replied to any of my messages or voice mails. I really want to check if he is alright." I explain with the most expression I could put into my words, hoping she would sympathies towards my situation.

But unfortunately, she doesn't.

"If he's not even wanting to text you, a doubt he wants to see you," her eyes roll. She has never understood my relationship with Josh, most of the time she describes him as a waste of air. But if I said that to her concerning Jace, my nose would be at the end of her fist.

"But there's no harm in trying," I say to her, rising my eye brows. She knows I am right. I usually am.

"Fine. But you owe me," I smile in appreciation with her agreement. It isn't often Lacy will compromise if pop corn is involved.

"That's ok, means more for me."

I stand to my feet to go and empty my tray by the bin. I walk all the way across the cafeteria, scrape my unfinished casserole into the trash then, just as I turn around to leave, I knock into a strong chest.

"Oh, hi Paige," Nathan shines his perfect smile at me and I am almost blinded.

"Oh hi Nathan." From behind him I see the cheerleaders sat around the football team's table, one girl is sat in the seat I normally do when with Josh. My eyes search for him however I find the seat empty.

"My parent's really liked you coming over yesterday," he tells me with his tray also in his hands. Nathan lean over and slots it inside the rack above mine. When his arm passes, the scent of his cologne catches my attention, the warm odour delighting my senses.

"Really? Great. I had a good time." He stands straight again with his distance a minimal of a metre. "They were really nice." We exchange another smile but it doesn't last long. Laura Simon, the flyer in the cheerleading squad (the small sexy one, as the boys like to describe her) comes over and wraps her hand around Nathan's wrist.

"Come on Nate," she giggles, flirting as she hugs his arm with a protective stare. He isn't about to run off, why is she squeezing him like he will vanish if she lets go? "Come sit back down, please? There's a space next to me." She escorts him back to the table, his eyes far from me now. He happily lets her almost sit on his lap and he doesn't brush her hand away as she strokes through his hair.

A fragment of my heart crumbles. Watching another girls go crazy over him has been natural the past week. Who can blame a girl for trying, like Sabrina Carpenter would say. However the torture of seeing him interact and flirt with a girl apart than myself, in this case Laura, really is a blow to the heart. She giggles and he smiles in return. His hand locks with hers and I could watch no longer.

Am I jealous?

I have a boyfriend!

But I can't help but feel disheartened at the scene of him with another girl. Weird, I know.

08:00pm soon arrives, the time I have agreed with myself to visit Josh at his house. Texting him about my visit would have been pointless. If he has been ignoring me all day and weekend, I doubt he will reply this time.

I step up to his door and knock, waiting on his porch with my hands shaking inside my pockets. I check the time once more on my phone. Eventually the door opens ajar, Josh's mom standing behind it with a welcoming smile.

"Hello dear," she greets me. "What a lovely surprise seeing you." I have a special relationship with Mrs Crawford. Ever since Josh first introduced me to her we created a strong bond. We are similar in many ways, our love for her son the seed to our friendship.

"Hello Jenny," she even allowes me to address her by her first name. "Is Josh home by any chance? I really need to talk to him and he's not been replying to my messages."

"Oh I'm sorry Paige, he isn't at the moment," she informs me with a weaker smile than before. "I'm not sure where he has gone or when he will return. I'm sorry." She looks down the street as if expecting him to pop up out of no where.

"Oh, ok." Has Josh just disappeared from the face of the Earth because it feels like it at the moment.

"It doesn't sound like him to not reply to you." Jenny presses her lips to the side of her mouth, gazing thoughtfully up into the sky. "I'll ask him to text you later, when he gets home."

"Thank you," I wave goodbye and make my way back to the pavement. The door closes and I start my journey back home to my house.

Across the road I see a couple, around my age, holding hands as they stroll down the street. Because it is now dark, I am unsuccessful in detecting who they are. As a street lamp flickers on, I see that the guy has dark blonde hair.

Looks a bit like Josh, I laugh to myself. It obviously isn't him though, the guy that has just walked past had his fingers interlocked with another girl's. Who is he then? That definitely wasn't Josh... Was it?