Deconstructing the Nerd Ch. 04

"Not your pants," Cassie shook her head in disbelief. "Why are you wearing that -- thing?" She pointed to Reema's striped sweater.

Reema followed her gaze. "Oh, I dunno? It was cold today..."

"Just because the weather is dreary, doesn't mean you have to be! You look like a morbid zebra."

Cassie couldn't help chuckling as she issued such a harsh verdict, but it didn't make Reema feel any better. "But I like it. I thought it looked good," the erstwhile brown girl protested. Reema looked around. She felt more self-conscious by the second, and wondered if anyone else had noticed.

Cassie shook her head. "Trust me."

The conversation didn't go any further. Just then, the professor addressed himself into the microphone, asking everyone to be seated so they could begin. Reema had been so busy talking to Cassie that she didn't have her books out! Flustered in more ways than one, she scrambled to prepare herself. After thumping all her materials onto the table, she tried to hear the professor's words mid-sentence as she furiously took notes.

Cassie didn't bring up the sweater again, but Reema sensed she was still being judged. She felt she failed her attempt at putting an outfit together. She would have thought Cassie would be more understanding. This 'dressing up' thing was hard.

Reema's failure didn't change the dynamic between them, though. Cassie remained her fun, humorous self -- cracking jokes in the middle of lecture or at break. Reema had to tell her to be careful, because her sides and chest literally ached every time she laughed! Finally, the marathon of classes ended. Reema didn't think about her sweater again.

On the way back to residence, the girls passed a poster advertising a night of Dirty Bingo later that evening. Reema took a quick look, noting the curious title. "That sounds so stupid...why does bingo have to be dirty?" she laughed.

Cassie shrugged and told her that these things were pretty big on university campuses. "I wouldn't mind getting away from the books for a night." Reema frowned, looking at the poster again. It had phallic shaped designs and promises of fun 'adult' prizes. "It could be totally crazy," Cassie said. "Crazy, dirty fuuuuun," she beamed, pressing the Indian girl with her winning smile.

Reema shook her head, trying to weasel out of the event. "I dunno, Cass. I have a lot to do..."

"C'mon, I mean you don't have to go. But I wanna, and I wouldn't mind some company," Cassie pressed on, while Reema did her best to shy away. "Come on, it's just a fun, silly night. All kinds of people will show up."

"Umm..." Reema hesitated before giving in. "Alright, OK. But I wanna at least accomplish some work before we go," she warned.

Cassie nodded. "Deal. So we can go back to our rooms, you can do some homework or whatever, and then we will change," Cassie gave Reema an eye. She smirked, "and then we meet back here in an hour and head out. Cool?"

"Cool," Reema concurred.

Heading back to her room, Reema first called her parents. They were planning to visit campus on the weekend and check up on her. She told them that she was seeing Miguel, so it wasn't the best time. When her mother asked what time was better, she explained that they could work out a day soon enough, but that she really had to go study. That would buy her some time, but it was only delaying the inevitable. After escaping her parents, Reema sat down with a heavy book, an orange highlighter, and a spiral-bound notepad.

Reema was still not stoked on attending the explicitly-themed bingo event. It did give her a chance to redeem herself in Cassie's eyes, though. She resolved to be much more careful when selecting her wardrobe. She didn't want to suffer another faux pas or more of Cassie's teasing. The blonde fashion pro could be very merciless.

Determined to do a better job -- yet not knowing where to start -- Reema browsed through her closet. These decisions were difficult under pressure!

Remembering Cassie's words, she guessed she would have to start with less noticeable underwear. The image of the woman displaying visible, unflattering 'panty lines' in the food court was fresh in her mind. Going to her drawer, Reema tentatively selected a thong she tried on the day before. Still apprehensive about the idea, she briefly examined the garment before grudgingly wiggling it up her body.

Reema then found a pair of jeans. Reema was going to go with them because they looked really good, but then changed her mind because they looked like the ones she currently wore, and thought Cassie might tell her to change up her style a bit more. So she grabbed a denim skirt. That would work... she hoped. Reema slid it over her curvy legs, added a crimson belt, and synched everything around her waist.

For a top...well, Reema didn't know about that, either. She wavered between a long-sleeve blouse and something more 'airy'. It was chilly outside, but the buildings on campus were notoriously well heated, sometimes too well heated. She settled for a sleeveless black top. It was kind of plain, but had a tiny heart design in the center, made up of bright, bedazzled studs. The top was understated, but Reema loved that about it. She slid it on and let the fabric snugly settle over her chest.

Unlike the morning, she chose to accent her face with makeup this time, too. Cassie had shown her a few basic techniques with mascara and skin cream, and she thought the impromptu bingo outing was a good chance to practice them.

For footwear, Reema replaced her sneakers with shoes that had a bit of a heel. Taking a final look in the mirror, she sighed, addressing the nervous girl in the looking glass. "Man, I hope this works -- for both of us!"

She met Cassie in the hallway. While Reema held her breath, Cassie looked her up and down. After a moment, she nodded. "Wow, looking good, Reem! J'approve."

Cassie observed that Reema had put on mascara and that her skin looked a lot healthier. The makeup covered most of the zits on her cheeks. The outfit she chose was good, too. Her top fit pretty tightly around her body, while the skirt -- although modest in length -- began to show a bit of her shapely thighs. Reema had done well.

"Thanks!!" Reema said as they started walking. She felt relieved that her redemption had worked. No judgment from Cassie tonight. "I'm still nervous, though, about the whole thing..."

"What -- how to use a mascara brush? It's easy, you just have to..."

"No. I mean...about 'dirty bingo'."

Cassie smiled and shook her head. "Why be nervous? It's just a bit crazy and different. That shouldn't stop you from experiencing something new. God, I hope not," she laughed.

"But that's exactly the reason why people don't do new things -- because they're weird," Reema countered.

Cassie smiled with a sigh. "Reema, I mean this is in the best possible way...the people who say that are boring. You have to be a more exciting person and grow."

The evening's bingo event was held in a school assembly hall. The outside was decorated with balloons of all sizes and colors. Reema was amused because the rainbow colours kind of matched her shirt! The inside was just as brightly decorated. Funky music was also playing. Round tables with blue, green, red and yellow mats, bingo cards, and markers filled the room. A stage at the front of the hall featured a vintage bingo cage and a flamboyant trans-gendered person wearing a sparkly red dress.

Reema's eyes widened at the scene. The hostess (or host?) was enthusiastically clapping and singing along with the music. Other people were singing and dancing, too. It was nothing like she expected.

"Awesome, huh?" Cassie said. "She's supposed to be a famous LGBT activist who gives speeches at schools and stuff." Reema said nothing, but privately admitted to herself that it was impressive. Although she was raised by old school parents, Reema herself was pretty liberal. She preferred to be open minded about people's struggles with gender identity and social issues. Her parents would definitely freak out if they knew she was attending this event, though. "C'mon, let's go find a table," Cassie prompted.

When the music died down, the hostess, Shirley, addressed the room of about thirty people. "Alright everyone, assume your positions..." she began. There were a few giggles and whistles from the crowd. "Positions at the table, you pervs! We're off to a great start, I see!"

Cassie nudged Reema. "She's fun! I like her."

"For those of you who've never been to one of these," Shirley began. "Actually, who are the first-timers tonight?" Reema threw up her hand along with about a third of the room. "Oooh, so many virgins! Well, we're going to pop that dirty bingo cherry tonight."

Shirley stepped down and walked amongst the tables. She made direct eye contact with Reema, smiling brightly. Reema politely reciprocated. "Things might get a bit raunchy, but I remind everyone that this is a totally judgement-free environment. Oh, I like that necklace! Where'd you get it?" she asked a girl sitting at another table. "Note to self: Go shopping."

"Anyway," Shirley continued, circling back to the stage, "We're going to keep things fun, fast-paced and hopefully not too offensive. Sound good?" A cheer went up as the game commenced.

She mixed the bingo balls together, "Not my first time doing this, I have to say... in more ways than one." She picked the first number. "O-64!"

Reema scoured her card. "Oh, I got it!" She gave her card a stamp -- it was a big picture of a pair of ruby red lips.

"I got it too!" Cassie repeated.

"The next number is...I should really get a drum roll for these announcements, eh ... G-52!"

Reema punched her card. "Yesss!!"

The first round was a lot of fun. Reema got into the spirit of things. Sadly, her initial success didn't last. Eventually, someone else jumped up and yelled, "BINGO!"

Reema pouted, "Oh, damn it!"

"It's fine, we'll win next time," Cassie counselled, noting Reema's increasingly foul mouth. "This is fun though, right?"

Reema coyly smiled. "It would be even funner if we won..."

Shirley awarded the prize to a guy wearing an ironic trucker hat. "I'm sure you and a special lady will have lots of fun with those...watch out for the sugar rush, though!"

Reema didn't actually win the next round. Or the round after that. Or even the one after THAT! She was getting antsy. She wanted to win something already! Normally, she wouldn't care about the last prize that was awarded -- a paperback copy of 50 Shades of Grey -- but competition was competition... and it was fun. She wouldn't have time to read a book like that, but wanted to at least say she won something tonight. Eventually, she was playing while standing up, hunched over the table and watching her card like a hawk.

"Will you sit down?" Cassie advised.

"I can't," Reema said, staring intently at the stage in anticipation of the next number. "I'm so close!"

"B..." Shirley paused, licking her lips and circling her eyes around the room for dramatic effect. Reema held her breath and wished for double ones. "...11."

Reema stabbed the marker down as if to put an exclamation point on her card. "BINGO!!" she yelled, completing a diagonal line. "BINGO, BINGO BINGO!!" Cassie called out along with her, hugging each other like two high school teenagers.

With her breasts moving quite visibly in her top. Reema hurried toward the stage. Shirley held out the prize for the round, a vibrating dildo. "For you, honey, the most dangerous of weapons," she winked.

Reema laughed on the way back to Cassie, holding it up for her to see. "What am I supposed to do with this thing?!" The sarcastic blonde took the package and played along, reading out some corny descriptions from the box. She was going to make a joke about Reema getting frustrated now that her boyfriend wasn't around, but Miguel's name didn't need to be mentioned.

"It will go in the very back of my closet, for sure..." Reema said with a laugh. "My parents are visiting soon. They would flip out if they saw this."

"You could always tell them not to come, you know? It is possible to 'get sick'," Cassie made quotation marks with her fingers. "...You know, like every week they want to visit!"

Reema laughed. "No, that would be all the more reason for them to come. They'd want to take me to a doctor -- and lecture me about how I can't take care myself."

"How'd you talk them into letting you go away for college in the first place?" Cassie asked, genuinely wanting to know.

It was a valid question. Despite making a bullet-proof argument about Montgomery's reputation, job prospects, and the potential to jumpstart her journalism career, Reema expected her father to say no, just because he could. "Honestly, I don't even know why they let me," she shrugged.

"Just tell them you're studying a lot right now and having visitors would interrupt your precious, precious study time..."

Reema considered it. As overbearing as her parents were, she never thought about asking them not to come. She thought they were going to show up whether she liked it or not. But having a lot of schoolwork to do...maybe that could be a logical reason to put them off? "Hmm. Yeah..."

The girls dropped the topic as soon as the next round of bingo began. Reema didn't win any other prizes, but she was satisfied that she could least go home with one souvenir.

As October rolled on, Reema's schedule became increasingly busy. There were midterms to contend with, as well as the usual course readings. Cassie also dragged her to one or two social events per week. On top of that, Reema regularly exercised at the gym...two-hour sessions, four times a week!

With so many commitments, Reema had to reluctantly scale back her extra-curriculars. She had to bow out of a couple of clubs. Saddest of all, though, she was considering stepping away from the newspaper. She would miss that, particularly because she was so good at it. To comfort herself, Reema decided that she could go back to the newspaper if and when the rest of her life settled down.

The day after mid-terms, Reema and Cassie were back at the gym -- bouncing out of the change room in their tight sportswear -- white runners, black workout pants, and teal and pink tank tops, respectively. Cassie took a sip of water and said, "So, today is..."

"Cardio day," Reema confidently interjected. "I know."

With three weeks of gym trips under her belt, Reema was starting to get a handle on things. She understood the strategy of building different muscle groups each day, and the importance of cardio for burning fat, so that all the other work could show. It's like what Cassie told her: "You could do all the sit-ups in the world, but without cardio, that six pack will be no good under all that flab."

Best of all, Reema was starting to see results. A vigorous exercise regimen had been tough on her body and seriously reduced her free time, but at least she was reaping some rewards. Cassie asked her to hop on the scale before they worked out, revealing that she had lost ten whole pounds. Cassie did caution her that rapid weight loss was to be expected at first, and to beware the dreaded 'plateau', but this was huge news!

Reema focused on trying to impress Cassie with how much they could achieve in their hour of heart-pumping exercise. She stopped dead in her tracks, though, when she spotted a tall, tanned student -- Josh - using a treadmill nearby. She hadn't seen him since their last encounter, and was beginning to think they might never cross paths at university again.

Reema quickly grabbed Cassie and circled back. "You know what? How 'bout we try those high-octane spinning classes you were telling me about?"

Cassie raised an eyebrow. "OK? Those are pretty intense, Reem. You sure?"

Reema was undeterred. "It couldn't hurt, could it?" She looked back at the fitness floor.

Forty-five minutes later, it did hurt... a lot, but Reema took it in stride. "Woo, that kicked my butt," she sighed as she swung her legs off the exercise bike. Her chest and legs felt tight as she limped along with Cassie to go get water. She was winded as she spoke. "But that was fun. We should...try again next week...like the instructor said."

"For sure," Cassie agreed, hiding her amusement and letting Reema take the first sip at the fountain. "After you, missy..."

Reema bent forward, her Lycra-clad ass inadvertently sticking out. She directed the stream of water between her lips for several seconds as she took an extra long drink. Backing away from the fountain, she wiped a droplet from her mouth and caught her breath.

"I think we should..." she began, but was quickly interrupted.

"Hey Reema."

That wasn't Cassie's voice. It wasn't even a female voice. Reema lifted her head and found herself standing in front of the towering, chiseled body of Josh Cameron. "Uh, hey," she uttered, trying to suppress her instinctive look of horror.

"So you did that spin class, huh? Pretty hard stuff."

"Oh, yeah. Thanks. I guess," she looked over at Cassie, whose eyes told her to keep talking and try to be more open. "Have you ever done it... like, spinning?"

"No, but I run about ten clicks on off-days, so that's enough cardio for me," he smiled.

"Oh yeah? Cool," Reema said calmly, although she couldn't help noticing he was trying to show off. "I never knew you planned on going to Montgomery, by the way?" She looked to Cassie, who nodded in approval.

"Yeah, well, a basketball scholarship didn't exactly hurt with that kind of decision."

"Yeah," Reema said, forcing a smile. So that's how he got in. She tried to think of a way to politely continue, but she couldn't fake this small talk anymore. Josh was a jerk, and she didn't want to kiss his ring or be nice to him.

As an awkward silence loomed, the high school basketball star terminated the conversation. "Anyway, I just needed a drink," he said, sidestepping Reema to take a drink from the fountain. "See you around, K?"

After Josh left, Cassie chimed in, "Holy shit! A scholarship? Those things are like really hard to get!"

"Yeah..." Reema flatly acknowledged. Scholarship or no scholarship, she didn't feel like it negated Josh's cocky, holier-than-thou attitude. The more she thought about it, the more she couldn't stand him. She remembered Miguel's humiliation in the cafeteria again. Reema dropped her arms and candidly sounded off, "I'm sorry, I just can't get past what a douche he was to everyone."

Cassie patted her friend's arm, which was on its way to developing some muscle tone. "Reema, you're going to exhaust yourself with negativity. It's like I said. People change. People grow..."

Reema was still shaken while listening to Cassie's words. She desperately wanted to dislike Josh and be done with it, but Cassie was making good points. Maybe he wasn't actually boasting. Maybe she was just projecting what she wanted to see, so that she could properly hate her boyfriend's tormenter. Maybe he wasn't such a bad guy now. He did say 'hello' after all - twice. Reema's head hurt; she didn't know what to think.

"And you really have to give everybody a shot, Reema. At least one chance... or you'll end up like the anti-social snob who everyone hates."

Reema blinked, offering a half-smile. She was still undecided about Josh Cameron, and Cassie could sense it. She rubbed her arm again. "Listen, I know it's hard to take the high road right now. C'mon, let's hit the sauna..."

Still lost in self-doubt, Reema managed to smile for all the welcoming faces she passed on their way. As they entered the steamy room, Cassie said, "I can't believe how nice his arms were, though..."