Nerd Loves Boy (Boy Meets Nerd #3)

Chapter 3

"Nervous?" Trish asks standing next to me.

"Me? No, not at all," I reply, not telling her that I'm fully aware of every single blade of glass I'm standing on and how fast my heart is pounding and I don't even remember what I had for breakfast an hour ago.

"You seriously have to learn how to lie better," she replies. "Are you even a normal teenager?"

"I read and review books on a blog and can name more authors than celebrities," I reply, my words coming out a little harsher than I mean them to. "Normal is not in my vocabulary."

"Alright, yeesh," she says putting her hands up. "Someone needs a chill pill. Just relax, Audry. Everything is going to be fine. There's nothing to worry about."

"It's my first day of college, Trish. College. I don't know a single person in there except for you and I have no idea what I'll do to embarrass myself on the first day in my first class."

"Audry, breathe." She takes me by the shoulders and takes in a deep breath and I do the same. I let it out slowly but I still feel my heart beating a hundred miles an hour. I used to be excited by the idea of me being a college student but now I feel as if I'm about to have a heart attack and my hands won't stop shaking. "You're going to be fine. Just walk in there, open a book and take some notes."

"You make it sound so simple," I reply envious of Trish's confidence.

"It's because it is," she says. "Don't overthink it. Yeah, it's new and big and maybe a little scary but at the end of the day, you're going to realize the only thing you need to worry about is studying and going to bed early enough to not wake a zombie the next morning."

"Really?" I ask. I feel myself relax a little more but I still can't shake the bit of nervousness that remains.

"Really," she nods. "Trust me, I was in the same position you were in just last year. I got so nervous that I thought I was going to throw up in my backpack."

"What did you do to feel better?" I ask.

"I sucked it up and sat down," she says simply. I give her a look that says she's not helping and she laughs. "Just come on. We're going to be late." I look back at the big building in front of me, all glorious in the early morning light with students making their way inside to go to class and I think back to Cameron's first day at college last year. When I called her after her first day of classes was over, she couldn't have been more excited about all that happened. She talked my ear off for a good three hours and I let her, wanting to know every single detail in hopes of it maybe making me more excited about my first day of college. Now, though, I can't even begin to channel Cameron's excitement or confidence as I stand here, knowing I'll have to go inside right now if I don't want to be late. Whether I like it or not, I'm not going to get over the nervous feeling coursing through me so I decide to take Trish's advice since it's the only thing that will get me inside. I take a deep breath and let it out without hesitation. I push my shoulders back and grip my books in hand a little tighter.

"Okay, let's do this," I say to no one in particular. Trish nods her approval at me and together we walk up the steps, ready to take on my first day of class with as much determination as possible. We make our way through the first few classes without a hitch. Or mostly without a hitch. My first class was a literature course I knew I wanted to take from the get go of my college searching. I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do for a living but English and creative writing was something I had always been interested in ever since I was a kid. Not only that but every time I opened up a new book I always found it magical to be transported into a completely different world that you wish were real with nothing more than words to describe everything from the sights to the smells to the people. Every little detail came to life with just a sentence or a paragraph and I wanted to study the books I was reading more than just read them for fun.