Read Geek Charming for Free Online

Martin), I began my slow ascent up The Ramp.
    You know those dreams where you look down and realize you’re buck naked? Yeah, well, that’s how I felt. Once everyone on The Ramp realized that someone Uncool had entered a Cool Zone, all conversations ground to a halt. And it didn’t help things when I tripped on my untied sneaker lace and my arm landed in Debra Resnicoff’s burger and fries.
    “Hey, isn’t that that geek guy from the fountain?” I heard Lola say.
    “Where?” Dylan asked.
    “Right there. Wiping ketchup off his arm.”
    “Omigod. It is,” Dylan replied.
    As I turned to look at them, I saw Dylan quickly bury her head in a magazine.
    I walked over and stood in front of her. “Hi, Dylan,” I said.
    She looked up from the magazine. “Oh, hey , James,” she said, trying to sound surprised but doing a horrible job. “How are you?!” It was a good thing this was a documentary and not a regular movie because the girl couldn’t act her way out of a paper bag.
    “It’s Josh,” I corrected. “And I’m okay,” I replied, wiping the last bit of ketchup off my elbow with my finger. Not seeing a napkin anywhere, I stuck it in my mouth.
    “Eww,” Dylan said. “that’s disgusting .”
    From the looks on the other girls’ faces, it seemed they felt the same way. My face was so hot I felt like half of it had melted down my neck, which I’m sure was due to the high altitude of The Ramp rather than nerves or anything like that. “So, uh, it seems that when you wrote your number down the other day, you messed up on a few numbers or something.” I had decided that the best way to approach this was by not accusing her of being a jerk.
    “I did? Huh. How weird,” she said as Lola and Hannah started giggling.
    “Yeah,” I replied. I could feel myself starting to sweat. Definitely the altitude. “Honest mistake, I’m sure. Anyway, even though I then tried every configuration of the numbers that I could come up with, I couldn’t get you.”
    “Okay, listen,” Dylan said. “I talked it over with my friends and my boyfriend this weekend—you do know I’ve been going out with Asher Ellis since sophomore year, right?”
    I nodded.
    “And I don’t think the documentary thing is a good idea, so I’m not going to do it.”
    “What?! Why not?” I tried not to panic, but my voice came out sounding like I was on helium.
    “Well, frankly, I don’t have a problem with it because, you know, everyone’s always saying I’m super photogenic and even if the camera puts fifteen pounds on me I’ll still look okay, but other people”—she looked at Lola—“are worried that because you’re not in the same crowd as us—”
    “Try no crowd,” interjected Lola.
    “—you may be using this as an opportunity to get back at those of us who are cool,” Dylan continued. “Know what I mean?”
    “Yeah, kind of like that stupid movie from the eighties that’s always on cable—” Lola said.
    “ Revenge of the Nerds ,” Hannah finished.
    I couldn’t believe this—I knew Dylan was stuck-up, but I hadn’t realized anyone could be so cruel. Did she not know what it felt like to have a dream? And did she not realize that at this very moment she was in the midst of squashing mine underneath her shoe?
    “Excuse me for one second, please,” I said as I marched to the corner of The Ramp and took out my inhaler. “Stay calm,” I said to myself as I breathed in. All great films hit road bumps on their way to getting made. There was no reason to get worried.
    I marched back. “It’s not my intention to make you look bad,” I assured her. “Like all the best documentaries, it’s going to be really fair and balanced—I swear,” I promised. Great. Now I would have to work extra hard to make sure it was fair and balanced.
    “Yeah, well, I still don’t think it’s a good idea. But thanks for asking,” she said as she picked up the magazine again and started flipping through it.
    Okay, so maybe there