Nerd Girl (13 page)

“So, are you having a good time?” She sneers at me. I just turn my head to glance at her and then scan the crowd again, looking for one of my friends. I don’t want to be alone with Mitzi. She doesn’t scare me, she just annoys me.

“Sure Mitzi, I’m having a fabulous time.” My reply is full of sarcasm. “Can’t tell you the last time I had so much fun.” She just laughs and raises her full champagne flute to her lips taking a delicate sip.

“Derrick is working the room this evening and making connections that will help us further his career along.” Out of the corner of my eye, I see her give me the once over from my toes to my hair. “This is everything we’ve been working for, for so long.”

“Us? We? I realize you’re his agent, Mitzi, and you’ve been around since the beginning, but isn’t that your job. Aren’t you paid to make sure he succeeds?”

“Oh, it’s much more than that, sweetie,” she squints her glacial blue eyes at me and throws her hair back over her shoulder, “anything that has to do with Derrick is personal for me, very personal, if you catch my meaning.” She gives me a hard look, so I decide it’s now or never. He’s my boyfriend; he chose, me not her, and she needs to get over it.

“It may be personal for you, Mitzi, but I’m not so sure Derrick returns that sentiment. Would he have asked me to come tonight if he didn’t want me on his arm?” She faces off with me and continues trying to make me feel inferior to herself.

“You silly, little bitch. Once this ridiculous fascination with you is over, I’ll be waiting for him. He always comes back to me and he’ll be back in my bed where he belongs.” On that last insult, she takes her full flute of champagne and spills it down the front of my dress. I can feel the icy liquid teeming down the front of my skin. Soaking my under garments and pouring out the bottom of my dress, puddling on the floor, making it look like I just wet my pants. “See, I told you, champagne isn’t your color.” I’m speechless and mortified. The shock of the cold liquid and the fact that she did something so nasty has me so shaken, I can’t speak.

“Amy, I’d like you meet Brett…” Derrick cuts himself off when he sees me standing there in my puddle. The guy, “Brett” just looks at me like I’m something icky he might have stepped in. “Amy, what happened?” Derrick at least looks concerned, and his eyes bounce back and forth between me and Mitzi.

“Oh, this clumsy girl has obviously had too much to drink and tripped in her shoes, spilling her drink down the front of her dress.” Mitzi laughs at my expense. “Amy isn’t used to wearing heels; she is quite accident prone you know.” With the worst timing in the world, Riven shows up with the drink he had gone to fetch for me.

“Jenks, what happened?” Riven asks, placing my drink down and clapping his hands on my shoulders. His warmth thaws my cold skin and his concern comforts me. “Let me go get Layla, she’ll help you get cleaned up.”

“No need, Riven. I’ll take Amy to the locker room and take care of her. I think the party is over for Amy, Derrick.” Cara butts in, wrapping an arm around my shoulders, steering me towards the locker rooms. Peeking over Cara’s shoulder, I see Derrick speaking to Brett, and Mitzi laughing at something that was said. Derrick looks concerned about me but is halted from following by Mitzi’s hand on his arm. Riven just looks like he wants to punch some sense into Derrick and pluck out every one of Mitzi’s eyebrow hairs one by one. I just want to cry. This night was supposed to be fun and like a dream come true. Instead, it turned out to be a nightmare.

“Amy, tell me what happened,” Cara says encouraging me to confide in her. “Sweetie, I know you can be clumsy sometimes, but this is ridiculous. Did Mitzi have something to do with this?” We push through the locker room doors and I finally burst into tears. My humiliation knows no bounds. Cara simply hugs me tight and lets me cry. In between sobs, I manage to tell her what happened and what Mitzi said to me. “That cunt.” She shrieks. With a loud slam of the locker room door, Layla comes crashing in.

“My sentiments exactly, Cara,” Layla agrees and joins us in a group hug, “Jenks, this is the final straw. I’m going to beat the snot out of that stuck up bitch.” She flexes her fists and cracks her knuckles, getting ready to pound Mitzi into a pulp.

“Layla, no! Not right now.” I sniffle and wipe my runny nose with a tissue Cara hands me. “I don’t want to embarrass Derrick any more than he has been tonight.” I plead with her.

“Embarrass Derrick? Jenks, that gutless wonder has disregarded you all night and his demon agent/ former fuck buddy has abused and humiliated you.” Layla looks ready for war; her blue eyes are on fire and her nostrils are flaring. “If you’re not going to crack her in her arrogant face, I’m going to do it.” Layla turns to leave but is stopped by Cara.

“Layla, I agree, Mitzi needs to pay for what she did to Amy, but not tonight. Let’s not make matters worse by starting a brawl at the party.” Layla reluctantly agrees to save her anger and Cara grabs a clean set of workout clothes from her personal locker. “Amy, honey, go take a shower and change into these. When you’re done, Layla can take you home. I’ll have a word with Derrick and he can call you later.” Layla unzips my ruined dress and I close myself in a shower cubicle, washing off my beautiful make-up, destroying my elegant hairdo, and crying my eyes out. Just when things start going right for me and I have a chance at happiness, something always has to happen to crush my hopes. I shut the water off and dry myself with the towel Layla has left for me. Quickly throwing on the shorts and t-shirt Cara gave me, I’m almost ready to leave.

“Feeling a little better, Jenks?” Layla asks, concern written all over her face.

“No, not really, just less sticky.” Quickly, I finger comb my hair into a ponytail. “Layla do you have my purse?” I ask.

“Yeah, right here,” she replies, presenting it to me.

“Thanks.” These contact lenses need to come out and I need to feel more like me. Pinching each one out of my eyes, I toss them in the trash and put on my trusty, tortoise shell glasses. Hey, if I’m going to look like a clumsy nerd, I may as well complete the ensemble with geeky glasses. Shorts, T-shirt, high heels, and glasses. Yep, I’m ready to take on the world. Not! There’s a tapping on the locker room door and Layla answers it to find Riven waiting on the other side. He pokes his head in and sees my bedraggled self.

“Hey, Miss Kitty, let’s get you out of here.” His smile is encouraging, so I return it with a small grin.

“Hey, Riv, can you call us a cab?” Layla asks.

“No need, Cara said we can borrow her car. Head out the back exit and I’ll be waiting for you there.” Oh, thank god I don’t have to parade myself in front of all those people dressed like this. “Jenks, Derrick said he’d call you later and wanted me to remind you of your beads. He means every single one.” Ducking back out the door, he leaves. The freaking beads. Caring, patience, passion, loyalty. Could have fooled me. Derrick should never have abandoned me tonight. I may as well have come here alone, or not at all. I’m grateful for my friends and their help. Tonight is a night I just want to forget. Sure, Derrick, just try and call me later. I’ll decide whether I have the time or desire to even talk to you. Layla gathers my ruined dress and we head out the back exit. Sure enough, there sits Riven waiting for us. We climb in the car and he pulls away from the building and off toward the comfort and security of my home.

***Derrick***

I stand here like a fool while Cara escorts Amy to the locker rooms to get cleaned up. My instinct is to go make sure she’s alright, but I’m halted from following by Mitzi’s hand on my arm. She shoots me a look and shakes her head.

“Did your friend have too much to drink, Derrick? Pretty girl, it’s a shame about her dress,” Brett says, causing Mitzi to laugh. I know Amy is clumsy and ridiculous things seem to happen when she’s around. I’m embarrassed for her and embarrassed by her right now. Just as I was going to introduce her to Brett, I find her standing in a puddle with her dress drenched. Couldn’t she try and be a little more careful this evening? She’s my date and her behavior reflected badly on me. This is a night to impress some important people and my date is a complete catastrophe.

“I’m sure it was an accident; Amy is a tad bit clumsy at times,” I answer his question.

“Oh, Derrick, only a tad? Brett, the poor girl, trips going up stairs and probably walks into walls.” Mitzi titters to Brett and exaggerates Amy’s bungling habits. “Even with her coke bottle glasses, I’m surprised she can drive.” Brett gets a good laugh from Mitzi’s descriptions. Me, I feel like complete shit! Scanning the room to see if Amy’s has come back yet, I notice Riven standing a few feet away. I excuse myself from Brett and Mitzi to go have a chat with my friend. He looks pissed off, and if we weren’t at a party right now, I think he might slug me one. What the hell did I do? I’ve been working the room all night.

“Hey, Riv, what the hell is going on? I thought I asked you to keep an eye on Amy for me.” Ok, so maybe that wasn’t the right thing to say. He looks twice as pissed.

“Yeah, dude, I’ve been watching her. I’ve been watching her all night. A half hour, Derrick, you told her you’d be a half hour.” I think I’m in for that ass whooping in the verbal sense. “That was over two hours ago. Why did you ask her to come if you were going to ignore her all night?

“Riv, I didn’t mean to ignore her, the time just got away from me. Was she mad?”

“Derrick, she’s a great girl and was treated like she didn’t matter. I’d say devastated is a better word.” He crosses his arms over his chest and lets me have it. “She wasn’t drunk and I doubt that the accident was her fault. She’s been understanding and supportive of you all night. She didn’t complain once about you abandoning her.”

“But you know how clumsy she is, man, do you think this was her way of getting back at me?” I’d be pissed off if my date ignored me all night.

“No way. That girl cares about you and would never do something like that. You’re a dick for even thinking that.” I see Cara come back out of the locker rooms and both Riven, and I meet her halfway.

“Cara, is she alright? Can I see her?”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea right now Derrick, she’s getting cleaned up and Layla is taking her home. She can’t come back out because her dress is ruined.” Cara looks at me with eyes full of aggravation. I can read the disappointment all over her face. “I told Amy I’d tell you to call her later. You can explain your actions to her then if she talks to you, that is.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong, though. Okay, so maybe alienating her all night was an asshole move, but other than that, I’ve been doing my job.” She looked so sexy and elegant tonight, I should have made more of an effort to show her off. I don’t know who to believe about what happened, she is accident prone, so is Mitzi right saying Amy tripped and spilled the drink or did Mitzi have more to do with what happened?

“Leave her alone, Derrick, I think instead of thinking the worst of Amy, you should look for answers elsewhere,” Cara says with a head nod in Mitzi’s direction. I’m so fucking confused right now, I don’t know which way is up. “Go. Do what you have to do and finish the party. It is your shining moment after all. We’ll take care of Amy. Riven? I’m going to go get my car keys. Please make sure Amy gets home.” Cara heads off to her office to retrieve her keys. She looks extremely irritated. But at who?

“Riv, tell her I’ll call her as soon as I can. Oh, and her beads…tell her I mean every single one.”

“You got it, dude, but I’m not so sure that’ll be enough. I’ll do my best.” Riven pats me on the back and heads off to the locker rooms. I know he’ll make sure Amy gets home alright. If I can’t be there for her, Riven is the next best thing. I quickly take out my phone and send her a text message.

Derrick:
Baby, I’m not sure what happened tonight, but I’m sorry!! I’ll call you later to explain.

I’m not surprised when I get no response back from her. She’s upset. I guess I have an awful lot of groveling to do. Pocketing my silent phone, I return to the party. This is my night and this is what I’ve been working towards for years. I’ve paid my dues; now it’s time to celebrate my hard work. Without Amy here, I feel like I’m missing a limb, hopefully later we can work things out. Hopefully!

Chapter #13

Nerd Girl Problem #113

The perfect ending to a totally craptastic evening, Pops corns and chick flicks.

“J
enks, are you sure you’ll be ok? I can stay with you, I want to stay with you.” Layla’s concerned blue eyes scan my face, looking for the slightest crack in my fake, composed expression.

“Thanks, doll, but I’ll be ok, I promise. I’m just going to cuddle up with Clyde and go to sleep. I’m sure all this will look better in the morning.” I try to reassure her with a small grin and kiss her cheek goodbye. “Riven, make sure Layla gets home.” I remind him.

“You got it, Miss Kitty,” he says beaming me a friendly smile, “get some rest. I’ll talk to Derrick and make sure he calls you later.” I don’t even dare to tell Riven I got a text message from him already. I kiss his cheek as well, grab my ruined dress, and climb out of the back of Cara’s car. After I wave them off, I drag my heavy feet toward the door.

As always, the porch light has been left on for me, putting my key in the lock, I open the door and shuffle inside. Clyde greets me with a happy expression and an over enthusiastic wagging tail. Dropping the dress I fall to my knees and wrap my arms around his beloved neck, rubbing my face in his velvety fur. He smells faintly of corn chips and freshly cut grass. I sniffle into his coat and cry a little bit more. He shakes me off his neck and dives in to lick the tears clean off my face.

“I’m sorry, Clyde, I’ve had a shitty night.” His answer to my statement is a quick ‘woof’ and a bump on my chin. “I understand boy, chin up right?” Another ‘woof.’ Clyde has a way of saying so much without saying anything at all.

“Amy? Is that you?” I hear Pops call from the living room. Popping back up onto my feet I follow the sound of the TV and find Pops sitting with his feet up in his recliner chair, watching late night television. I don’t want to worry him, so I drape my dress on the back of a dining room chair. I find myself a spot on the couch and hug one of the throw pillows to my chest as Clyde makes himself comfortable on the floor between me and Pops.

“Hey, Pops, what are you watching?” Upon closer inspection, I notice the movie on the screen is
Steel Magnolia’s.
“A chick flick, Pops?” I ask, looking from the TV to his face. His cheeks turn a sweet shade of pink and he clears his throat twice before he answers my question.

“Um, yeah, I guess so. GG had turned it on before she went to bed and I guess I just got caught up in the drama.” Another throat clear. “I’ll see what else is on.” He lifts the remote to change the channel, but I stop him before he can.

“S’ok Pops, I like this movie. Leave it on, please.” I’ll just blame any more tears I shed on the sappy, sad movie. The snuffing of my nose gets his attention and he mute’s the sound on the TV.

“Alright, honey, I’ve got two questions for you.” Shifting in the chair so he can look me in the eyes he asks the first. “Why are you home so early and what happened to your dress?” He asks this last question with a chin nod in the direction of my ruined dress draped over the dining room chair.

“You don’t miss a thing, do you, Pops?”

“Amy, honey, I’ve known you your whole life. I’m an old man, but I’m not stupid.” The determined look in his eyes tells me he’s not going to let this one go. “You leave this house looking like a million bucks and come home looking like fifty cents. What happened?” He picks up the box of Kleenex and offers me a tissue. I need it as, my tears have started to fall yet again.

“Alright, Pops, I need to talk to someone anyway.” Pops listens as I recount the details of this horrible night. He gets irritated when I tell him about Derrick leaving me in the crowd when we arrived for the party, but he’s appeased when I tell him Layla stuck up for me. Like always.

“That girl has had a tough life, but she’s a loyal friend. I’m glad she has your back. You both are the most unlikely pair, but it works for you and it’s genuine.” Pops has always had a soft spot for Layla, I think her pedestal just got a bit higher in his opinion. The story continues and Pops listens. He has a blank expression on his face during my tale and as I finish with Mitzi spilling her drink down my dress and Layla taking me home, that’s when he chirps in.

“Mitzi feels threatened by you, honey. This was a perfect opportunity for her to make you appear insignificant.” Pops gets up and joins me on the couch, enclosing me in his strong arms, making me I feel safe and loved. He smells of coffee and fabric softener.

“Oh, Pops, I’ve never been so embarrassed in my life.”

“Amy, this one was bad, but we both know you are a super klutz and past instances have been worse.” That comment makes me giggle for the first time since coming home. He’s right. This isn’t the worst that’s ever happened. Pops rocks me in his arms until I stop sniffling.

“Amy, I know you feel Derrick abandoned you tonight and he did, to a point. You weren’t alone for the most part and had good friends to keep you company.”

“I know, Pops, it just hurts. I thought things would go so differently tonight.”

“Honey, this party was for Derrick’s job. He has to mingle with these people and kiss a fair amount of stuck up ass to solidify his career.” Pops isn’t telling me anything I don’t already know. “His industry is a tough one; popular one minute, inconsequential the next.”

“Derrick had a lot of asses to kiss tonight. He said he’d only be a half hour and was gone for over two. I should have just stayed home, Pops.” I say.

“Nah, like I said before, you looked like a million bucks when you walked out of here earlier. I’m sure some of those people were wondering who the beauty on Derrick’s arm was.” He kisses my forehead and limps back to his chair.

“Feet bothering you again?” I ask, indicating his slipper covered feet.

“Oh, you know, my corns are killing me as usual.” He toes off his slippers, sighing in relief. “Much better.” He exclaims. “So, I think aside from an evil agent, Derrick is a pretty fantastic guy who cares greatly for you. He was completing duties in his job description, and you were overlooked.”

“Sounds about right.” I agree with his assessment.

“I’m not saying you don’t deserve an apology from him. You also need to understand this probably won’t be the last time something like this happens. He’s a celebrity of a sort and the public always want a piece of them.” My Pops is a very wise man. He’s made me understand the responsibilities Derrick had this evening, so it lessens the hurt in that area, but Mitzi, that’s just plain nasty and unforgivable. I have to let all this marinate for a while. I’ve got a thousand and one thoughts running through my head at the moment. I know he’s probably texted me a few times already and he said he’ll call me later when he’s free, but I’m not ready to talk to him yet. This is something that needs to be done face to face. I’ll get a good night sleep tonight and go to his place tomorrow to talk things out.

“Thanks for listening to me, Pops.” I shoot him a sad smile and he returns it with a wink.

“I love you, honey. You deserve nothing but the best.” He kicks up the foot rest of his recliner and turns the volume up on the movie. That’s when it hits me and makes me laugh just a little. I spent my Friday night being ignored at a party, getting drenched in champagne, and ending with Pops’ corns and chick flicks.

*****

When I woke up this morning, I noticed I had about three voice messages and eight text messages, all from Derrick. They ranged from about midnight last night until four o’clock this morning. The messages started out sounding desperate to talk to me, to a little aggravated, and then more and more slurred and incoherent as the night wore on.

11:56 PM

Derrick:
Amy, I’m finishing up here and I’ll call you in ten, ok?

12:03 AM

Derrick:
Why didn’t you pick up? Talk to me, please.

12:40 AM

Derrick:
I fucked up, I know!! I’m home now, can you come over so we can talk?

1:15 AM

Derrick:
Amy, Riv and I are doing shots, want to shoin ush? Oh, Jim Beem and Jahnny Wakler are here too. LLO Wakler? I wunder if hes family.

1:42 AM

Derrick:
I see 3 of everfing, I like to see 3 of you, we cood have a forsum. LLO.

2:19 AM

Derrick:
Riv lefft me, he never cood hold his licker. FLMOA! ☺

3:00 AM

Derrick:
Hey babby, I’m shiftfaced. Cum see me, be my notty libarian.

3:47 AM

Derrick:
Gesh it not u at tha door. Babby caks, cum on, I misshue.

Wow! He’s miserable when he’s drunk. Who could be at his door at almost four o’clock in the morning? Was it just him hearing things or did he have a late night visitor? I hope he didn’t drink too much last night. He'd be nursing one hell of a hangover this morning if he did. I decide to stop at the bagel store and get him breakfast on my way over to his house. Some bread will be good to soak up some of the booze. A dozen bagels, a gallon of orange juice and a bottle of aspirin later and I’m on my way. I pull up to Derrick and Riven’s town house to see the Challenger parked crooked in the driveway. Please don’t let him have driven while under the influence. I park my car behind his and gather my things to bring inside. The front door is locked when I try to open it, so I ring the doorbell and knock. One of them is bound to hear me. I hear shuffling on the other side of the door and the jiggling of locks as they’re undone. I expect either a hung over Derrick or a sleepy Riven to open the door. My stomach drops out when I’m met with a blonde head and irritated blue eyes.

“Why are you here?” She sneers. My surprise knows no bounds. I take in her appearance and can’t believe my eyes. Bare legs are leading up to the hem of one of Derricks t-shirts. She’s obviously not wearing a bra since her nipples are poking out of the fabric. Her hair was recently washed and brushed strait down her back, no makeup is also evidence of her recent shower. What the hell happened here last night? I’m speechless, my heart is breaking. Could she have taken advantage of Derrick while he was drunk or did he decide to forget about me by fucking Mitzi?

“I was asked to come over. What are you doing here? That’s the better question.” She plops her hand on her hip and gives me a dirty look.

“I’ve been here all night; Derrick needed me, so I came. I always come when Derrick calls.” Her expression tells me her “coming” has a specific meaning. Just as I’m about to say something back, Derrick comes tripping out of the bathroom. He’s shirtless and barefoot, his tuxedo pants are unbuttoned, and he’s got a toothbrush hanging out of his mouth. Mitzi looks from me to him and back to me again. She shoots me a victorious look and Derrick looks like he just swallowed his toothbrush when he sees me. His face is guilty and Mitzi’s smile says it all.

“Amy?” He slurs my name around the toothbrush and then yanks it out of his mouth. “Hey, sweets, when did you get here?” Oh, so he’s trying to play off this little scene as no big deal. Well, it’s a big freaking deal to me. I hold my hand up, stopping him from saying anything else. I notice the beaded bracelet on my wrist and puff out an unbelievable laugh. Dropping the bag of bagels and orange juice on Mitzi’s foot, I smile as she hops around, yelling and screaming at me. She calls me every nasty name she can think of, but I’m beyond caring at this point. My heart is shattered and I’m just numb. Derrick approaches the scene and I look at him with eyes on fire.

“Don’t you come any closer and I don’t want to hear your explanation.” Unhooking the bracelet, I let the beads slide off, cupping them in my hand. The first one I choose is the red bead “Passion” and hurl it at his face. It ricochets off his forehead and bounces along the hallway floor. “That one was because my passion has now become indifference, I have nothing but contempt for you.” Derrick rubs his forehead and opens his mouth to say something, but I interrupt him again by launching the gray colored bead at him. I nail him in the chest that time. “Loyalty? My dog is loyal. You, you’re a snake and dirty fucking rat!” The next is the yellow bead. “Happy? What a joke. You’ve made me nothing, but sad.” I think I’ve surprised the shit out of him and he has nothing to say. Good!! I can’t listen to his crap today. I launch the silver and pink beads at him together and they hit him in the eye and nose. Derrick rubs his eye with one hand and his nose with other yelling out “Ouch.” “Caring and Patience. You don’t care about me, you have no respect for me, and my patience with you, dealing with this bitch, has run out.” Mitzi quits her hopping around long enough to open her stupid mouth.

“You little geek,” she begins but is cut off by me threatening her.

“Say one more word to me and I swear I’ll strangle you with your stringy, bleached out hair. Congratulations, Mitzi, he’s all yours. You both deserve each other.” With those parting words, I turn around and run to my car. I can hear Derrick call my name and see him run out the door just in time to watch me peal out of the driveway and speed down the street. As I look in my rearview mirror, I can see him standing in the middle of the street with his hands wrapped around his head. Yeah, asshole, enjoy your choice. I hope the ice queen freezes your cheating dick off.

***Derrick***

There is no fucking way that just happened. It has to be a bad dream or a side effect from a night of too much drinking. The stinging on my face from where the beads hit me is the only thing keeping me from believing that crap. I stand in the middle of the street watching my heart drive away. I say my heart because she is or rather was. What a cluster fuck last night was and it just trickled into today. I’ve got some major explaining and groveling to do if she’ll ever speak to me again. She thinks I fucked Mitzi last night. I can’t blame her, that scene this morning did look rather suspicious. The details of last night are rather fuzzy to me, but I’m positive nothing happened between me and Mitzi.