Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Nerd's Playbook: Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

When I was in fifth grade, I got cast as the female lead in a school play. Yes, you guessed right… Romeo and Juliet.At first, I was totally shellshocked. I kept wondering why I was picked because, at the time, I was fully rocking what can only be described as the Annie-from-the-80s-but-with-less-charm look. Frizzy hair that defied gravity, buck teeth that announced my presence before I even opened my mouth, and an overall aura of someone who had never met a hairbrush she liked. To the best of my knowledge, Juliet did not come with frizz or orthodontic ambition.Still, I convinced myself this was my moment. My glow-up arc. My destiny. This could have been one of the silver linings of my life. If only my Romeo had not completely chickened out.There was a kiss scene, of course, the scene every girl secretly dreams of. Lights dimmed, hearts pounding, stage magic and all that nonsense. I had been counting down to it with the enthusiasm of a kid who just discovered that chocolate exists.

The doorbell had already ruined my life once that evening. Naturally, it rang again.My mum popped her head into the hallway, her light brown hair twisted into a messy coiffure and her checkered apron tied far too proudly around her waist. She looked like a chef. A dangerous illusion.“I thought I heard the bell,” she said, scanning my face like she was solving a crime.I shook my head fast. Too fast.“Well, I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me. I’m making your favorite. Spicy salmon with bok choy rice,” she announced, already retreating.Mum never cooked favorites unless something was wrong. The last time she’d tried this hard was when Brandon left. Now I was leaving too, and she was determined to pretend everything was fine by feeding me aggressively.I turned back to Beck, panic bubbling.“You should go out there,” she said casually.“No.”“You have to.”“No, I really don’t.”“And what exactly do you plan to do instead?” she asked.“Hide. Relocate. Move to Spain early. Change my n

Aromatic spices and sweet breezes danced through the air as I wandered through the brightly decorated terminal of Matacan Airport. Pastel walls, intricate artwork, and giant screens flashing departures and arrivals made it look like a set from one of those fancy travel commercials. Honestly, if heaven had an airport, I was already standing in line at the gate.Classical music hummed softly in the background as I pushed through the crowd of people, some foreign, some local, all bustling around with purpose. I tried not to look like a total tourist, but let’s be real—I was practically vibrating with excitement. I was finally in Salamanca. My scholarship adventure was officially starting, and I could already feel something magical.Tourists snapped pictures everywhere, some posing, some making awkward faces. I almost took a selfie myself when an English couple barged in front of me to photograph an antique.“Can you move a little? You’re blocking the light,” the man frowned.“Naive teena

Faint voices pulled me out of sleep before light did.Soft at first, muffled, like sound traveling through water. I floated somewhere between dreaming and waking, my body heavy, my limbs uncooperative. The gentle rocking of the ambulance had worked better than any lullaby. I forgot where I was. I forgot Salamanca. I forgot Penny. I forgot the terrifying emptiness of standing alone with only a backpack and a bruised heart.Then the voices sharpened.“Is she the scholarship student who got left behind?”The words slipped into my consciousness like cold fingers.“Yes. Miss Montclair is going to lose her mind when she finds out we diverted the school ambulance for a scraped heel. I can barely see the bruise.”A soft laugh followed.Scholarship kid? My eyes flew open, but I stayed perfectly still.Heat crawled up my neck and settled behind my ears. Their words landed with surgical precision, slicing through the fragile pride I had been clinging to since I landed in Spain. I swallowed hard

Shirley led us out of the dorm into the open air.The breeze brushed my cheeks as we stepped onto a wide terracotta walkway. Tall elm trees stood on either side like silent guards, their leaves filtering sunlight into pale green shadows. Azaleas bloomed neatly at their roots, trimmed so precisely they felt less like flowers and more like decoration. Everything here looked arranged. Controlled. Even nature seemed to behave itself.Ahead of us rose another building, freshly painted, its pale walls glowing faintly under the morning sun. Students in crisp uniforms moved in and out of it with effortless confidence, laughing, chatting, living. None of them noticed Penny and I. Or maybe they did and decided we were not worth it.I had never felt so transparent.Shirley, on the other hand, was impossible to miss. Voices followed her everywhere. Hi, Shirley. Morning, Shirley. She answered each greeting with ease, like someone who had practiced belonging for years. I watched her, quietly amazed