Beauty Meets the Nerd

No one liked sitting near the teachers at lunch—no one except me that is. Normally I would sit by my friends, but senior year was especially unlucky for me and none of them were in the same lunch block I was. My choice of seating afforded me an island free of immediate distraction. Here, I fed my mind as well as my body. Book propped open in front of me, my eyes never stopped moving as I worked to absorb the information inside it while numbly picking at the mediocre food on my tray.

Every day was practically a carbon copy of the one before. It would continue like that for some time considering how much of my life was already planned for me. My constant studying would pay dividends later on. My dad had connections that would get me into a nearby prestigious college. A well-paying job awaited me after as I would simply start working in the company he started. We already had an agreement about it. I would start at the ground and work my way up—abilities willing. There wasn’t an elevator ride to the top waiting, but I wasn’t worried. Doors were already open. I only needed to walk through them and eventually I would take over. My brother certainly didn’t want it, content with his own path.

My days may have been entirely predictable and even a bit lonely but none of it mattered. Monotony was a small price to pay for stability and peace. Every day was relatively stress-free and I loved it. Too bad life was never that easy. No matter how straightforward the path stretches out in front of you, there are always twists and turns you never see coming.

The sound of a tray hitting the table in front of me broke my bubble. Around me, the noise of conversation washed away my concentration. Blinking, I looked up from the government textbook I was reading through to find a raven-haired beauty settling in across from me. Not only was the interruption unbalancing me, but I recognized the person who did it. Emma Wright wasn’t the type of girl whose social circles put us in the same places. Normally she sat with her large group of friends at the far side of the cafeteria. It made no sense why she was here alone. Even if there was some sort of argument or drama going on, she had a dozen other acquaintances she could sit with. Moreover, it seemed like she was looking expressly at me like she had sought me out specifically.

“Isaac, right?”

Silence was my response as my mind was slow to remember how to speak. It had nothing to do with any social anxiety, but more from the intense concentration I had been giving my studies. I needed a moment to shift gears.

Her eyebrow quirked at the long silence. I cleared my throat and nodded. “Yeah.”

She flashed me a dazzling smile. I could understand why she was so popular. Depending on who you asked, she was one of the hottest girls in school. Usually top ten. Then again, my dataset was somewhat limited. My handful of friends wasn’t exactly the definitive voice of the school and I didn’t speak much to people outside of that small group.

“Rumor has it you were the only one to get a perfect score on Mr. Adams’ physics test.”

“I did get a perfect score, but I doubt I was the only one.”

“You sit here all by yourself?” The swerve in conversation took me by surprise.

“It’s easier to study.”

“What about friends?”

“They are in the other periods.”

“That sucks.”

I shrugged and said nothing more. It was still an enigma why she was here and not with her friends. I was already on guard in case this was some kind of elaborate prank. There were a few people who liked to throw their weight around and ‘have some fun’ with some less fortunate people. The bullying wasn’t too severe at this school, but it wasn’t something I’d enjoy one bit. I’d managed to get this far without attracting any attention and this whole situation was putting me on the radar. Emma was the type of girl who had eyes following her no matter where she was.

The rumors did too. Even me, with barely any social interaction outside my friends, had heard the whispers about how she was an absolute slut. Rumors varied from something as benign as having an above-average amount of sexual partners to wild, and often unbelievable, stories involving gangbangs, trains, and orgies.

“I’m guessing you’re curious why I’m here.”

“The thought did cross my mind.”

“You are pretty good at studying, right?”

“Is a fish good at swimming?”

“What?” She had a clueless expression on her face. Not in the sense that she didn’t understand what I said, but stupefied that I had said it.

I waved my hand for her to forget what I said. “I suppose.”

“Well, I was hoping to find a study buddy to help me out.”

Frowning, I glanced around. It seemed like she was serious and I couldn’t see anyone overtly watching us. “Are you in danger of failing or something?”

She gave a light laugh that made me uncomfortable. It made me realize how lacking my interaction with the opposite sex was. “Hardly. I’m a solid B student.”

“And why do you need help studying?”

Her head tilted slightly. “Is there anything wrong with wanting to boost my grades up a bit?”

That was certainly something we could both agree on. “Not at all. I’m surprised you are asking me and not one of your friends.”

“Ah,” she said with a nod. “Yeah, I’ve tried. The problem with studying with friends is how easy it is to get distracted. I don’t know anyone who takes studying as seriously as you do, so I’m hoping some of that study power rubs off on me.”

“I don’t think it works that way.”

She laughed again. “I know, but I figure if I want to improve my grades, I should go with the master of academics himself. I hear you are top of the class or something.”

Uncomfortable with the praise, I scratched at my cheek. “So what are you proposing?”

“How often do you study after school?”

“Every day.”

A chuckle as she shook her head. “I should have seen that coming. Okay, so maybe we can meet a few times after school to go over things?”

I took a moment to mentally step back and look over the situation. Emma seemed noble in her purpose. I was still unsure why she was asking me, but it wouldn’t be too disruptive to my routine. Actually, it might be helpful. I heard that the process of teaching someone helped garner a deeper understanding of the material as well.

I nodded. “If you want.”

“Great!” she said with another big smile. It was a little alarming how my body reacted to something as simple as a smile. “Here, I’ll add you on Snap.”

“I don’t have that.” She seemed surprised at that. I could see why people were interested in social media, but I wasn’t one to join in. The closest thing I had was Discord which my friends and I used to share all sorts of memes and information with each other.

She named a few other social media apps and I found myself shaking my head to each one. “Okay, just a phone number then.”

I said nothing as we exchanged numbers. My phone buzzed as a message popped up. Opening it, I read that she was looking forward to studying with me. Saying our goodbyes, she collected her lunch and walked off.

As I tried to get my mindset back into studying, I didn’t think too much of my new relationship with Emma. I figured she’d show up a few times at the library before getting bored and drifting back out of my life. That’s how it usually worked with the popular kids anyways, and I expected Emma to be no different.