Don't get stuck with a loser

Your status is determined by who you hang with. Back at his old school, Aaron Burr in Los Angeles, he'd seen ordinary girls being transformed into prom queens because they dated the team quarterback and nerdy guys suddenly being sought after because they were friends with the cool people. Getting stuck with a loser could relegate him to being an outcast in his new school.

It cut against his instincts but he had to give this girl a pass, let her know he was better than her.

"Let me guess, you're trying to get ahead in your classes this summer."

She shook her head. "Uh, I stunk at Algebra so my mom said I had to take it again."

He'd actually gotten algebra and for a second he thought about offering to help her. She did have great legs, after all. But he drew up his resolve. He was going to be a cool kid and that meant severing any ties to losers.

"That's harsh."

"Yeah, I guess. What about you?"

"Trig and Biology II," he admitted.

She tried once more to get a conversation going but he cut her off short all the while wondering if he was making a mistake, if he was turning into the kind of jerk he'd always hated... more to the point, if he was ruining his best chance at getting laid.