All characters in this entirely fictional story are over 18 years old. Any resemblance to any persons (living, dead, or fictional) is completely unintentional.
This is one of those ‘ridiculous but plausible’ stories. Enjoy!
—
It was an otherwise normal Thursday afternoon in mid January when Leila sought out Daniel in the library. She was a smart, pretty girl, one of the ‘mean girls’ at school, who never had to work hard at anything, and always got whatever she wanted. But she suddenly found herself in need of assistance. So she went hunting for a Nerd.
“Hi. Uh, Daniel?”
“Leila?” He was surprised she was here, talking to him. Girls like Leila were never in the library, and never spoke to nerds like him, unless it was some kind of joke or cruel game they were playing.
“Yeah, hey, I need some uh, tech support.”
“Tech support?”
She looked around, then whispered “Hacker stuff.”
He looks her up and down, scans the nearby area for her friends who would undoubtedly be recording this for some vile prank. Strange. He didn’t see anyone else around. Ah, of course. “Lemme guess – grades?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t do that stuff.”
“But I-“
“I do not hack grades.”
“Fine” she huffs, glares at him for a few seconds, and leaves.
Daniel thinks about what just happened. He sees an opportunity here, and immediately texts his buddies.
+if anyone asks about hacking grades, send them to me+
—
Back in mid-December, Leila was struggling not to hurl on her Civics final. She felt like absolute shit, last night’s party had been wild, and she’d had way too much to drink. After the seemingly endless nightmare of trying to put some coherent words on the paper, she ran out of steam, ran out of ideas, and ran out of time. She grabbed her purse, dropped the exam on the teacher’s desk and rushed to the bathroom. Once she’d puked her guts out and washed her face, she walked home in a dazed cloud of anxiety. She’d fucked this one up royally.
The Christmas Break was supposed to be a time for family and meals and gifts and friends and parties, but Leila didn’t enjoy any of it. She worried constantly about her Civics mark. Fuck! Why had she been to stupid?! How was she gonna fix this?
Once back at school in January she started looking into how she could excise this class from her record. Every avenue she pursued led back to one thing: she was fucked. First term transcripts were coming out really soon, and those were going to be used for scholarship and university applications. Her perfect record was fucked. There was no way she’d get the scholarship she was after at the school she wanted with this stupid grade on her transcript.
Her parents were relatively affluent, so she could attend any university she wanted in Ontario, but going out of province, especially to the US, was out of the question without a scholarship. And she had her sights set on a very expensive school in the States. Without a full academic scholarship, it was not going to happen. And it wouldn’t happen, now. All because she slacked off in one stupid class. Fuck!
Time was running out, and there was only one way she could think of that would possibly work. She needed a hacker to fix her marks.
—
Friday morning Leila’s back, this time when Daniel is walking between classes.
“I need your help.”
“I’ll be in the library this afternoon.”
“But I -“
“Not here. The library.”
“Fine. Fuck.”
—
Later that day he’s back in his usual study carrel and she sits down next to him.
“Let’s take one of the work rooms.” he says. Those were quite soundproof and they could talk without being overheard.
Once they were inside she says “You said you didn’t do hacking.”
“I don’t, so what?”
“Everyone I asked said talk to you.”
“So talk.”
“What the fuck?”
“Look, hacking grades is highly illegal, I’m just covering my ass. I gotta deny it every chance I get.”
“So you can do it?”
“I could, maybe, if the price is right.”
“How much?”
“I don’t want money.” Not that he didn’t need money, he did, but he was tired of being so alone and lonely. There was something else he wanted.
Not money? Oh, no fucking way, she thinks. This geek wants a blowjob or something? Not happening. But she’s desperate, so she has to ask. “OK, then what do you want?”
“A girlfriend.”
“The fuck? Look, I can pay, how much will it take? You want sex, I can pay you enough to hire a hooker for a weekend.”
“I told you, it’s not about money.”
“Seriously? I gotta fuck you for grades? Gross!”
“Nope, I don’t want sex, I want a girlfriend.”
“You want me to be your girlfriend? How the fuck is that supposed to work? I could just dump you once I get what I want.”
“It doesn’t have to be you, and it doesn’t have to be long term. I want a girlfriend for the next 3 weeks, including the Valentine’s Dance. And you’ll pay for all our dates and stuff.”
“You don’t want much, do you? Well, fuck off, it ain’t happening.”
“Then your grades are not gonna bonus veren siteler get fixed.”
“Even if I could, that’s too much, and-“
“You know it’s not just the computer stuff I gotta hack, right? There’s paper records that gotta be fixed too. You don’t know what you’re asking for, do you?”
Leila is looking worried now. “I thought it would just be like, fiddle with the numbers online and…”
“Nuh uh. You gotta back up the numbers with hard facts, papers, exams, all that stuff. The teacher who failed you will suddenly see you with a pass, and say ‘No Way!’ and they will check. They will KNOW they were hacked, and then you’re not only failing but cheating, and that’s gonna terminate your academic life, totally.”
“Fuck dammit! OK, so you want a girlfriend and a date for Valentines, and for me to pay for all of it?”
“Yup. Like I said, it doesn’t have to be you, she doesn’t even have to be pretty. I just want a girlfriend.”
“Fuck shit. Every person who gets involved makes this harder, and makes me more likely to get caught.”
“True.”
“I need this, it’s gonna fuck up my life if I don’t fix this grade.”
“How much are you willing to spend on this, in time, effort, and money?”
“Anything, everything. Fuck. Enough, I gotta think, I’ll let you know.”
“Sooner is better.”
“I know, I know, fuck!” She leaves, deep in thought, deep in worry.
—
Leila thinks about her friends, but none of them would ever do this for her, they’re total bitches. And even if one of them did, she would OWE her, and god knew what kind of fucking shit would be demanded in payback. Who else? He said she doesn’t have to be pretty… Okay, so basically anyone. Shit, none of the girls in their class would go for this, and none of them are dumb enough to be manipulated into it, not even the ugly ones. It’s gotta be someone who will go along with it even if she doesn’t want to. And who’d want to date that pathetic loser anyways?
Fuck!
So, she thinks, how much is this really worth to me?
Everything.
Everything? Even my boyfriend? Is it worth losing him?
Damn fuckin’ right it is.
Shit. I can’t do this! How the fuck did I get into this mess?
I fucked up, that’s how.
Slacker. Total fuckin’ slacker. No way out, no where to turn, no where to run. Fuck.
—
Monday morning she’s at his locker. “Hey” she says.
“Hey. Any decision on your problem?”
“I’m in, I’ll do it.”
“OK, meet me here after school, we’ll go somewhere to talk.”
—
Daniel starts making plans, figuring out all the stuff he’s gonna need, all the stuff he’s gonna require access to, figuring out how to make it work and how make it stick. He isn’t going to screw up his part of the bargain.
He knows he can do everything he needs to for this. He’s good at sneaking around, stealing stuff, picking locks, hacking stuff. Being a lowly nerd and an A+ student has allowed him to get away with so much shit. No one ever suspects the geek in the back corner of the room. Stories of hacking grades are mostly BS, because you can’t just ‘hack in’ to the system like in the movies. You need physical access to the network, and that means picking locks to get into places.
—
Monday at lunch, Leila has a huge breakup fight with her boyfriend in the crowded cafeteria. She dumps him, loudly, with style and deadly finality. The whole school is awash with the story. Daniel is impressed by the speed and power with which she’s moved on this. Maybe she’s really gonna do it.
—
After school, she finds him at his locker, he’s waiting for her.
“I hear you already set things in motion.”
“You could say that.”
“Let’s go to my house. We can talk there.”
15 minutes walk brings them to a small duplex. She’s never been in this crappy neighbourhood, never been in such a small, crummy place. Wow, do people actually LIVE like this? They sit down at the kitchen table.
“My Mom won’t be home till like 6, so we got time to talk. I take it you couldn’t find a proxy to pick up your end of the deal.”
“No. It was too complicated, and this is too important.”
“So it seems, if you’re putting yourself on the line like this. Dating a nerd like me.”
“It is, and it’s gotta work. Tell me this will fuckin’ work, cause if it doesn’t you’re dead.”
“Don’t threaten me, I am as much at risk as you in all this. If one of us gets caught we both get caught.”
“Fine, sorry.”
“Just sayin.”
“OK, so how will this work?” she asks.
“Lets start with the grades. What class is it?”
“Civics.”
“Civics?! You failed CIVICS?” he laughs at her.
Leila swats him on the arm. “Don’t fuckin laugh at me, asshole.”
“Sorry, its just, Civics is a joke. You gotta be a world class slacker to fail that.”
“Fuck. I know, it’s just… fuck!”
“Tell me about it, I need to know everything.”
“Fine, fuck, where do I start?”
“Start with what you did to fail Civics.”
“More like what I didn’t do. I screwed it, I totally screwed it.”
“Details bedava bahis please, the more I know, the better this will work.”
“Right, so Civics is like a guaranteed pass, so I just slacked off on it. I figured I’d breeze through and just ace it. I wrote the tests but I was high on one, and unprepared for the others. The term paper was sorta OK, I got a C minus on that. Basically wrote it an hour before the deadline. The final was a total fuckup. I was hung over, got everything wrong. I ended up with like a 40.”
“How many tests were there?”
“4 tests, a midterm, a paper, and the final.”
“Did they hand them back?”
“The quizzes and the midterm, yeah, but not the final.”
“What about the term paper?”
“Yeah, I got that back.”
“How bad was the final?”
“Total. Fucking. Disaster.”
“OK, so we’re gonna have to fix those quizzes and the midterm. Gotta fix the final too, that’s the tough one. The online stuff I can do for sure, but without the hard evidence to back it up, it’ll never fly. You think the teacher will forget someone who flunked Civics? No way. He’ll pull out that exam and you’ll be toast.”
“Fuck. Can you do it?”
“Yeah, I can do it.”
“Fuck yes!”
“But can you do it?”
“Do what?”
“Be my girlfriend.”
She looks him up and down, shrugs, it’s only for a few weeks, and says “You can’t be any worse than Brent. But I ain’t fuckin’ you for this, no way.”
“Sex isn’t part of it, I just want a girlfriend, you know, dates, parties, hanging out, someone to go to the Valentine’s Dance with.”
“That I can do.”
“OK then, bring me everything you got for Civics tomorrow. Dinner is at 6:30.”
“Dinner?”
“Yeah, I’ve invited my new girlfriend over to meet my Mom.”
“The fuck you say.”
“What else you got goin’ on?”
“Fuck. Right. How did I get myself into this?”
“Tomorrow night?”
“Yeah fine, tomorrow, 6:30.”
“Be here at 6 OK?”
“Yeah yeah, whatever. Fuck my life.”
—
Tuesday at school, Daniel sees her and says “Hey Leila”.
She looks at him… “uh Hi?”
He looks at her, waiting.
“So? You need something?”
“Well, maybe a hug or a kiss.”
“The fuck you say?”
“Girlfriend, remember? Or are we done here?”
“Fuck, fine.” She hugs him and gives him a kiss. “We good now?” Good doesn’t describe it. She’s warm and soft and smells wonderful, and that kiss was awesome.
“Uh, yah, good, real good. But ahh…”
“But what?”
“When I said girlfriend, I meant it. Not a secret girlfriend who ignores me at school.”
“Yeah, OK, I get it. You know my friends are gonna start talkin shit about you.”
“Tell them to shut it or get lost, then. Cause any time they disparage me they disparage you. We’re an item now.”
“You’re serious about this, aren’t you? I thought you were just fuckin’ me around.”
“Well, yeah, I’m serious.”
“Fine. Oh, here, I got the stuff you wanted.” as she hands him a folder.
He flips through the material, eyebrows raised. Very neatly organized.
“I’m not stupid, I’m just lazy sometimes. I know how to keep track of my work, I know how to study. It was just this one stupid thing, you know?”
“I get it. OK, so see you at 6 then” and they share another hug and a kiss. She’s not impressed by how he kisses, but Daniel is blown away by how great it feels, to kiss this awesome girl, in public, like he IS someone, instead of the faceless Nerd he’s always been.
—
Tuesday night after school, Daniel is making dinner when Leila arrives.
“Wow. So you cook too?”
“It’s just my Mom and me, Dad skipped before I was born. We don’t have much. I told my Mom I had a girlfriend, and you were coming for dinner tonight. She’s excited to meet you.”
“I’ll bet. You’ve never had a girlfriend before, huh?”
“Nope. You’re the first.”
“So your Mom’s excited, you’re finally entering normal social circles and stuff?”
“Pretty much, she was concerned that I was too much of a loner.”
“Well, you are. The way you dress, your haircut, your look, it just reeks of ‘nerd’. Scares girls away, they think you’re some kind of freak.”
“Is it going to bother you that much, being seen with me?”
Leila sighs. “Yeah, sort of. You got this Nerd stigma. I’m gonna get all kinds of crap about dating you.”
“Then buy me some new clothes, get me a better haircut, change my look. I can change that stuff, it’s all superficial.”
“I can do that? You’re not gonna be all like ‘no way I won’t change’?”
“Nuh uh. I dress like this ’cause I can’t afford new clothes, thrift store stuff is all I get. The haircut? That’s my Mom. You see this place, we barely get by here. I work part time to help out.”
“Shit. Sorry. Look, I’ll take you shopping after school tomorrow OK?”
“Nope, I gotta make dinner. How about after, like 7? Stores be open then?”
“Yeah, sure, I’ll pick you up at 7.”
Daniel’s Mom arrives, and he introduces Leila. They sit down to eat and chit chat ensues. His Mom starts making deneme bonus pointed inquiries, starts asking personal questions. All she sees is some upscale fraud slumming with her son. She sees the designer labels, the subtle makeup, real jewelry, expensive hairstyle. Leila starts getting huffy.
Daniel puts a hand on his Mom’s arm. “Hey, stop it. Look, Leila, my Mom is just being protective, OK? And Mom, lighten up. She’s just my girlfriend, we’re not picking out rings, we just started dating.”
Both of them realize they’d been claws-out without intending to. They back down and conversation flows more easily, and dinner ends peacefully. After helping Daniel with the dishes, he invites Leila to his room.
“Your Mom is a strong woman. She takes no prisoners and gives no shits, huh?”
“Yah. I think you impressed her too.”
They sit on his bed and he says “We’ll work on your tests and term paper this weekend. Can you come over, or should I go to your place?”
“I dunno if I want you at my house.”
“Why not?”
“Oh, right. ‘Boyfriend’. I suppose I should invite you for dinner on Saturday, too?”
Daniel smiles. “Sure.”
“All right, I’ll see what I can arrange. Let you know.”
He pulls out her folder, explains how he’s going to doctor the test. “I’m going to Photoshop the page, remove the wrong answers, reprint it, then you write in better ones.”
“Cool.”
“You still have the same pen you wrote the tests with? We gotta match it exactly. I have to use the same paper and ink for the replacements too.”
“Yeah, I use the same pen for everything.”
“Stop using it, get a new one for everything else, save the original for Civics. ‘Cause you just know it will go dry exactly when you need it most.”
He puts the papers on his desk.
“So now what?” she asks.
“I dunno. Kiss me?”
“Really?”
“Girlfriend. That’s what we’d do right?”
“Right.” she laughs.
They kiss, but he’s too hard and too sloppy at the same time. She corrects him, explains what he needs to do, and they kiss some more. Leila continues to give him directions and he improves quickly.
“Not bad.” she says.
“Thanks.”
They make out for a while, and she starts feeling aroused. He’s actually not too bad at this. But it’s getting late.
“I should be going.”
“All right. Hey, can I ask you for something?”
“What?”
“Ease up on the swearing and the attitude a bit, at least around me. Please?”
“The fuck?”
“Exactly. It makes me a little uncomfortable. I save swearing for the times it’s really needed. That way, when I do swear, it has more impact.”
She looks pissed for a moment, but sighs and says “Sure, fine, I’ll try. It can’t hurt, right? But if I do swear, don’t fuckin rag on me, OK?”
They go downstairs, Leila says goodbye to his Mom, gives Daniel a kiss at the door and she leaves. His Mom has lots of questions about Leila, some of which he can’t answer, but he does his best to make her sound like a decent person, not one of the Mean Girls clique.
—
Wednesday at school, Leila starts playing the girlfriend part. After all, he is making this work, and now she has a project too. She can try to rebuild him and make a proper boyfriend outta him. After all, she’s stuck with him until Valentine’s day. She hangs out with him, makes physical contact, and the like. He’s pleased and tells her she’s doing great. Hah, of course she is, she’s The Fox.
Her girlfriends are starting to ask questions, wanting to know how and why this gross little freak has taken Brent’s place. She tells them to mind their own fuckin’ business, and if they think Brent is so hot, go for it, he’s available. Her friends do not know what to make of all this, it’s just too weird.
That afternoon Daniel walks her home after school.
“So you’re walking me home? What’s with that?”
“I’m your boyfriend,” he says, “It’s what I do, right?”
“I guess.” She laughs, saying “Its kind of romantically nerdy.”
“Of course. I am a romantic nerd.”
She laughs again, says “Thanks for walking with me, I’ll pick you up at 7.”
****
She pulls up outside Daniel’s house. His Mom’s beat up old civic is in the driveway. Daniel comes out, his Mom waves from the door. Leila waves back.
“OK, so where are we off to first?”
“Haircut. There’s a place that’s open late, it’s a unisex salon, they’ll do a good job.”
“Salon? I dunno…”
“Trust me, I’ve gotta be seen with you, so I want you to look as good as possible.”
“Okay.”
She talks to the stylist, explaining what she wants. The stylist looks at Daniel, who shrugs and says “I am at her mercy. Please be gentle.” The stylist laughs, he understands completely. The cut turns out nice, he looks good.
The Mall is the next stop, she drags him to 3 places in quick succession.
“What’s the rush?” he asks.
“This place closes at 10, and I want to make sure we got everything.”
He ends up with 5 shirts, a pair of jeans, 2 pairs of khakis, board shorts, socks, underwear, plus a jacket, sunglasses and 2 pairs of shoes. He’s shocked at how much everything costs, and how little she seems to care about price. She has a credit card and just swipes it at everything. Must be nice. Leila gets him to change into some of the new stuff in the dressing room of the last place.