Page 38 of Cocky Nerd
“I’d need a lot more than a dozen,” I say, because it seems clever and witty. Apparently I was right, because she laughs so hard she drops thebouquet.
I walk over and pick up the roses, hand them to her. “Here. You shouldn’t be soungrateful.”
She suddenly goes from laughing to glaring at me as she swipes the flowers from me. “I wasn’t being ungrateful—I dropped them onaccident!”
“Byaccident. How you get such good grades in school is beyondme.”
“Everything about me is beyond you,Nerdballs.”
She may beright.
“You were good,” I say. Monty is busy talking to a thirteen year-old girl with braces and boobs, so it seems safe to talk to Olivianow.
She seems surprised that I’ve offered her a compliment. Have I never done that before? No, I suppose Ihaven’t.
She shrugs. “Thanks. This was just an informal recital, you know, the big annual event is on stage at the community college next month. You shouldcome.”
“Okay. If Monty wants meto.”
She steps closer to me and lowers her voice, confiding in me. I am careful not to lean in too close, so her brother doesn’t kick me in the head. “It’ll get more interesting when I turn fourteen and I can start the teen/adult level classes. I’m just biding my time at thisschool.”
“Doesn’t Cleveland have a ballet company? Why don’t you study with them? They’d have betterfacilities.”
“They do, but they train for their own corps, and I’m not going to stay in Cleveland when I goprofessional.”
Ilaugh.
She scowls atme.
“You seriously want to be a dancer for aliving?”
“Yeah I’ve only been talking about it since I wassix.”
“Yeah, but that’s just a little girldream.”
“Well, it’s going to be a reality forme.”
“But it’s not a realjob.”
“Are you fucking kiddingme?”
“Olivia!” Mr. Montgomery scolds her from twenty feetaway.
“Don’t bother coming to the next recital,Nerd.”
Monty comes over, smiling. “Now what’d yousay?”
“Nothing.” I shake my head. “Can we go home and study World History now?” Nineteenth Century political reform in Western Europe is so much easier to comprehend than twelve-year-oldgirls.
