6

The music is blaring from the loudspeakers, the people are dancing and the night is young. At first, we don't move, but after a while, we find ourselves on the dance floor. I normally dance exclusively in my room or in the shower, so I thought this would be a little embarrassing for me. Turns out that I have nothing to worry about. Yes, you're dancing, but there are dozens of other people dancing. It would be weird if you weren't dancing.

I'm dancing for a while, maybe half an hour, when I suddenly feel suffocated.

Too many people. I can't. I can't!

My heart is pounding in my chest and I start to hyperventilate. I push myself through the crowd and run out of the front doors, gasping for air. I sit down on the steps and place a hand on my stomach, trying to calm down.

I knew I couldn't do it. The crowd freaked me out. The same thing happened when I went to Comic-Con. I was there with my family, but after a few hours, I couldn't cope with all those people around. I had to beg my mom to leave.

Now, the same thing happened.

I hear steps coming closer and then a hand on my shoulder.

"What's wrong?" Karen asks.

"I needed air." I say.

"Your anxiety?" she asks. I nod. She sits down next to me and sighs. We stay there in comfortable silence, looking at the road. After what was probably fifteen minutes, Karen asks me if I want to go back in.

I take a deep breath. "Yeah. Let's go."

We walk in again. Karen takes my hand and guides me onto the dance floor. Soon, I'm moving to the sound of the music, feeling the rhythm. I close my eyes to calm down, and literally, five seconds later the pop music turns into a slow song. I'm walking off the dance floor since I don't have anyone to dance with when a muscular arm wraps around my waist and turns me around. I'm not surprised to see Tom.

He mouths something, but I can't hear due to the music. I gesture him that. He nods and leans closer to whisper in my ear. "You look gorgeous tonight."

I'm probably blushing like hell, but fortunately, the room isn't well lit.

I whisper in his ear. "Thank you. You're not too bad yourself." In fact, he cleaned up quite nicely. He's wearing some black trousers and a black t-shirt. It's not really special, but it looks great on him.

"I was thinking," he says. "Can I have your phone number?"

I look down. "I'm sorry, no."

He tilts his head a little bit. It's almost imperceptible, but I find it cute. "Why not?"

"Because we barely know each other. And I'm sure you're a nice guy, but I'm not interested." I say.

"Not interested in having a friend?" he asks.

"Well, if friendship is what you want, then sure. But nothing else."

"How do you know this isn't going to work?" he asks, and I assume he's talking about a romantic relationship.

Before I know what I'm saying, I blurt out. "Because I'm into nerds."

My eyes widen when I realize what I said. I've always thought about it, but I've never said that out loud before. Oh god, what is wrong with me?

"Oh." Tom says.

You wanted him gone? My brain asks me. Well, here he goes! In three… two… one…

"Okay," Tom says.

Wait, what?

We keep dancing together, but I'm a little surprised. I really thought he would leave. I mean, why wouldn't he? I'm the weird smarty-pants while he's the badass player. We have nothing in common. Maybe he's still here out of kindness?

These thoughts are roaming in my mind, and I don't even realize that the song has ended.

"I think our time together has come to an end." Tom says. Again, he takes my hand and kisses it. "See you around." He turns around and leaves me alone, exactly like a few hours earlier.

The Thursday after the homecoming party, I arrive at the bus stop with a book in my hands. This novel is the 75th book of the year, and it's absolutely amazing. I fell in love with it from the first few pages. Since I love it so much, I bring it with me everywhere: at school, at home, on the toilet… you get the idea.

Anyway, I'm standing there, waiting for the bus, when someone pokes me in the shoulder. I finish the paragraph and then look up.

"Oh, hey Karen." I say.

"Hey? I've been trying to get your attention you for five minutes." she says.

"What? Really?" I ask, stunned.

"Yeah."

"Oh. Sorry." I say. It happens to me sometimes. I get too caught up in the book and don't hear anything except for the dialogs of the novel. I think that's probably the best feeling in the world when you don't even realize your reading. You're so captured by the book that images of the scenes you're reading start playing in your head, so vividly that when you think back, you remember that book as a movie. I find it amazing.

A hand passes before my eyes. "Hello?"

"Yeah, sorry." I say to Karen.

"What's with you today?" she asks. "Why all the reading?"

Oh, boy. Here we go.

"I actually love reading. It's my favorite hobby and I can't live without it." I say.

Karen looks at me and then shrugs. "Okay, fine. But could you stop reading when I talk to you?"

"Yes, of course. But you probably have to shake me to get my attention." I say. I'm pleasantly surprised that Karen responded that way. I was expecting a more dramatic reaction, but I guess it's all in my head.

"I noticed." she jokes.

The bus arrives, so we climb in and take a seat. "So, what's it about?" she asks.

"Well, it's about Greek mythology." I say. "It's more like a mix between Greek mythology and the modern age."

"Oh. Cool." she says. She doesn't add anything else, so I open my book again and keep reading.

Before we arrive at school, I hide my book in my backpack because, if I stare at the pages, I'll most likely crash into something. Okay, maybe that's not the whole reason, but I think you have a pretty good idea. (Hint: I don't want to look like a weirdo. Even more than I am already.)

Sarah and I walk to our Pre-Calculus class. As we walk into the classroom, I immediately sense that our professor is in a bad mood. She's standing with her arms crossed staring at the entrance, looking mad.

"Good morning." I say.

She grunts.

We sit down and wait for our other classmates. When they finally all arrive, the professor speaks. "Hello, everyone. Our last lesson I asked to study scalar multiplication, did I not? Well, today I thought we could start the lesson with a quick summary… made by you." she says. "Somebody please come forward and explain to the class."

Silence.

"Okay, then." she says. "Let's call… Emma!"

My eyes widen and I gulp, but I do as I am told. I stand up and walk to the front of the class.