In The Background

The Nerd

Oh my Shakespeare.

After a long day of school and watching a lot of drama unfold, I would never use the glorious Shakespeare's name in vain. I mean, the only reason I'd ever use his name is if something absolutely horrible happened.

So it 'twas used.

All day after Courtney's confession, I stuck to the background routine. I also made a point of avoiding her in the halls, just so I wouldn't have to see that glowing face. That face haunted me.

But then, when school was over, I became witness to another tragedy. It was only a tragedy for me, though.

On my way out of the school, I went through the back door. It led towards the football stadium. I didn't want to go through the main doors and risk passing the girls' locker room.

Going through the back doors was a huge mistake.

As soon as I walked out there, I became witness to a tragedy. A terrible, terrible tragedy. My, before school, Friday patient was lying on the ground— beaten up. We had just had a breakthrough, too.

"What the hell, Matthew? Just... O.M.S. I'm trying to keep myself from finishing the job. I could really murder you right now. It's my day off and you decide to get beaten up," I groaned as I threw my bag on the ground.

Matthew Peterson was leaned against the wall. His clothes had been dirtied. His nose was bleeding, and a purple bruise had decided to bloom on his jawline. Yet he decided to smirk at me. The asshole smirked at me.

"It pains me that you have to see me like this, Doc. I'm the best of the best, yet, I lie on this bed of nails. They do not hold me up. They pierce me. How shameful I feel. A man of my intellect and beauty should be praised. Why must the world forsake me?" He straightened his black framed glasses and feigned defeat. Usually I would have went easy on him because of his attempt at theatrics.

But I was annoyed.

Without a thought about my professionalism, I grabbed him by the collar. "Don't test me, Peterson. Your sarcasm and struggle to read situations already got you here. I would hate to give you hell on earth, too."

"If you wanted to get close to me, you could've just asked."

You know, I just can't remember everything that happened after that. All I remember is broken glasses, groaning, and me having to pull him into my office.

As he sat across from me with a pout and crossed arms, I sighed. "What happened this time?"

"Trivia time. Three adjectives. All of them describing yours truly."

And I knew the three adjectives exactly. In our first session, I made him think about what made him a target of so many bullies. "Flirty, dirty, and a little nerdy."

If you looked at Matthew walking down the street, you wouldn't think that he was the unpopular kid. You would think that he's the school heartthrob. He's gorgeous. His hispanic roots gave him tanned skin, brown eyes, and thick curly hair. That flirtatious smirk could knock any girl off their feet.

But. But. I hate using the word "but" because it always ends up having something negative after it.

Matthew is a good guy— really, he is. But when he opens his mouth and starts talking, you just want to shove your fist far down his throat. You want him to never utter another word in his life. You just want to rip out his tongue and throw it to heaven. You want to sew his mouth shut. You want to-

Okay, I got off topic for a second. Back to Matthew's biggest flaw: he's way too bold. He never takes anything seriously. I've found that it's related to his cockiness. You'd think he'd be cocky about his beauty. He's not. He just thinks he's the smartest kid in the world— which he may be. So he decides that he's always right and says what's on his mind.

That will be the death of him.

"Doc, I realize that I should shut up. I realized that before we started these meetings. But when I did that, you told me not to do that all the time. At first I would do their homework because I deduced that it would make them like me. Of course, that did not work out. The football players didn't find me on their level because I'm not athletic. In the end, I'm just a nerd to them. But I'm confused." His eyebrows furrowed and his face scrunched up in thought. "I decided to stop doing their homework and be myself. Their pea-sized brains cannot keep up with my genius, therefore I certainly do not need them. When I stopped, they started beating me up though. Is there no way out of this? I don't know what to do. I haven't done anything wrong."

I threw an eraser at him. "Idiot. What the hell did I tell you last Friday?"

Matthew set his head on the table and thought. He tapped the tune of Ludovico Einaudi's Nuvole Bianche— his thinking song— and tried to remember. It's very sad to watch him do that. He usually remembers everything but whenever I say something, he somehow forgets.

Thankfully, after 2 minutes, his face lit up. "Oh! You said to stay away from the popular kids and learn to think before saying something."

"The idiots had left you alone. They were over you. So how did you get into that situation today?"

Silence.

"Matthew?"

A head scratch and guilty look.

"I will not ask you again, Peterson."

He pulled out a piece of paper and wrote with his favorite green pen. After he finished writing, he intricately folded the paper into a swan.

I sighed and held my hand out. Then I proceeded to read his cursive handwriting:

Doc, before I say what I've done, I want you to know that I regret my actions. I didn't realize the effect of them. My personality took over for a second and I could not stop it. So... here goes..........

I kissed the head cheerleader.

My nostrils flared and I began to yell. "You stupid mother-"

But Matthew had already slipped out. Another piece of paper sat in front of me:

See you on Friday, princess.

I really should get paid for this.

...

I really liked writing this chapter. I wanted to change the cliche nerd. I wanted Matthew to be in his own category. He's a nerd and is bullied, but it's because of two things: The fact that he is smart, yes, but also that he does stupid things.

Thank you for reading. I really hope you enjoyed.