Geek to On Fleek

Chapter Two: Alex

"I don't know what you're talking about," Alex said simply. Adrian extended her arm and placed her hand flat against the wall, right next to his head, trapping him from the side.

He looked up at her, and for the first time, I clearly saw his face.

He wasn't particularly handsome at first sight (not that he even is now, as "Alejandro," but more on that later), but he looked tired. That was the first thing I noticed. More than from just staring at a computer screen for hours on end. There was no life to his expression, and it seemed like Adrian's rude behavior wasn't a surprise to him. He might have been attractive if he would have smiled, or looked up more often, or if he would have trimmed his dark brown hair a bit. It kind of covered his eyes, and made him look glum.

"Don't play dumb. I asked, no, told, you to take my midterm for me, but I have a zero," she snarled. Midterm? Wasn't that illegal? I nearly gasped, letting everyone know I was shocked by Adrian's demand, and not by my blank computer screen. I quickly pulled up my half written blog post to compose myself.

"You know I could get kicked out. I told you I wouldn't do it, it's different now. Besides, how was I supposed to pass for a girl?" What did he mean? Different now?

She chuckled sarcastically and pulled a small card out of her purse. Alex, and I, peered at it suspiciously.

"With this, dumb ass. I was lucky enough to be given a gender neutral name." She smiled to herself and flipped her perfect hair for emphasis. "And I gave it to you, but I found it magically slipped into my notebook yesterday, before my test."

"Leave me alone, Adrian," Alex muttered before stepping away from her. She was quicker though, and grabbed his arm.

"You know you can't afford to do that. One call to my dad, and your family's done. You, are done." Even from all the way over here, I could feel the venom in her voice. My whole body froze at her audacity to harass someone like that. Alex's head turned slightly towards her, though he didn't look straight at her. I thought, if I were in his position, standing before this tall, loud woman (because she did not act like a girl, or a lady for that matter), I would have shriveled up in a ball and cried.

He shut his eyes so hard they crinkled, took the card out of her hand and muttered something so low I couldn't hear it. He didn't turn towards her.

"I emailed my professor, be there at 11:30, Thursday," she said in a sickly sweet voice. Bitch.

He gave her a curt nod and she released her grip on him slightly. He barely took a step away from her before she pulled him again.

"Wait, make that 11:15, get there a little early so it looks like I'm... punctual, responsible, or whatever," she suggested before giving him another fake smile, and sashayed away.

I couldn't take my eyes off him. I couldn't believe what I just saw. I wanted to cry for him even if I didn't understand. Adrian had something on Alex, but I didn't know what. There was more to Alex than just the detached computer geek everyone thought he was; a dark side even I to this day haven't fully uncovered.

I watched as he picked up his backpack from the ground, swung it over his shoulder, and walked towards the coffee cart to pick up a now cold cup. They had called his name several times. Then he swiveled around to walk north of campus. He stopped as soon as he saw me, staring at him.

His eyes locked on mine, although the slight glare on his glasses wouldn't really let me see them. I immediately felt redness burn through my face because it was so obvious that I was staring at him. He raised his eyebrows a bit, and I noticed he turned a little red too, but I got so nervous and turned back towards my computer. I put my head down in my arms, which probably made me look more stupid. I slowly lifted my head up a bit to see if he was still there, but he was already walking away.