The Slut Survival Guide

Secret #5: Never hookup with someone below you. If you're a five, he has to be at least a six. Why settle when you can select?

"And so your debut as the slutty slut you are starts today," Cathy told me, smiling wickedly as we stepped out of her car and walked to Kennedy High School.

"No one's going to know anyway," I said, shrugging.

Cathy raised an eyebrow at me. "You hooked up with Tim. They're gonna know," she asserted, opening the door and holding it for me.

"What do you mean?" I asked. I had told her about Copper Boy, whose name I found out is Timothy Friedlander, the day after the party. She had been very proud of me and told me I had scored. I didn't see it as much of a score, but I didn't show her that. I embellished the story and made it seem like I had the best time.

"Do you know who Tim is?" she asked me, her heels clicking down the hall as we walked to our lockers.

"I know he apparently goes to this school," I told her.

"He's in our grade," she said, smirking.

"Oh, shit," I cursed. I fiddled with the lock on my locker, rotating it in the direction of my combo. I swung it open and shoved my jacket angrily inside. "He's going to tell, isn't he?"

Cathy nodded, and took her thermos out of her purse. She took a sip of her tea and then said, "But that's a good thing. Sluts are talked about."

"But," I began, sighing, and then deciding to trail off.

She leaned against my locker. "But what?"

I wasn't ready to tell her about Oliver, who was also in our grade. She would probably know who he was, and since I didn't know much about him, I didn't know what his rep was. Cathy would probably think he was not good enough to screw, and that would be that. So I shrugged. "Never mind. You're right," I said, and we continued walking to class.

We parted ways at a staircase; I went up and she went down. As I walked to my first period, the first bell rang and I picked up the pace. My black suede boots scuffled down the near-empty halls. As I rounded the corner, my bag ran into the wall, and my thermos and some of my pencils went flying.

"Shit," I mumbled, and ran over to them and started collecting. Luckily, my thermos hadn't spilled, and I was able to easily pick everything up. When I stood back up and straightened myself out, I saw a familiar face watching me from his locker.

Tim was putting away his Calculus book, and he caught my eye. He flashed me a smile and winked in my direction. My stomach did a somersault as I unsuccessfully tried to repress the feeling. I smiled back and then speed-walked in the other direction, regardless of my class being in his direction. I could hear Tim calling my name, but I didn't want to see him right now.

I walked into my first period right as the bell rang. Taking my seat in the very back, I looked around. Everything had gone dead silent, a sure sign that I was being talked about. I looked over at Lissa, the girl who sat next to me. She was leaning over to me with a big grin plastered on her gossip-hungry face. "So?" she prompted.

I looked toward the front of the classroom. Our AP English Literature teacher, Mr. Petrarovich, was late as always. I looked back at Lissa. "So what?"

"So, you hooked up with Tim? Tim Friedlander? Holy shit!" She whisper-shrieked. "He's so fucking hot!" she gushed, brushing a piece of her cropped red hair out of her face.

I laughed, leaning back in my seat. I could feel DeAnna and Holly, who sat in front of me, leaning into the conversation. I coughed to let them know they were unwelcome. They pretended to be stretching and turned back to their original conversations.

"Yeah, I guess he's cute," I said, brushing it off. I could hear Cathy's voice. Remember , she would say, always pretend you can do better!

Lissa's green eyes widened, and she scoffed at me in disbelief. "He's more than cute. Honey, he's beautiful. How far did you go?" she probed, grinning mischievously.

I laughed twice and answered, "Far enough." I took another sip of tea out of my thermos right as Mr. Petrarovich walked in. And for once, I was grateful to see him.



The day passed just as Cathy had warned. People watched me as I walked down the wall. I could feel their gazes on me and my name in their mouths. I saw Tim only once more, luckily, but I didn't see Oliver at all. And he hadn't texted me.

I walked to my locker and turned the lock, grabbing my jacket and then walking to my bus. Cathy usually gave me rides home, but she couldn't today. When I was almost out the door, I caught a glimpse of copper hair and sped up. But it was too late.

"Tanya!"

I turned around and feigned surprise. "Oh! Hey, Tim."

He walked towards me and soon enough, I was pressed up against a wall, his arms on either side of me. "That was fun," he whispered.

"What was fun?" I asked him, pretending to be unaware.

"The other night," he replied. He smiled at me and leaned his head in closer. "Would you be willing to come over and maybe have a little reenactment?"

I looked down at the floor but due to his positioning, I was looking right at his crotch. I blinked and looked back up at his face. "Uh...maybe. Depends on the day, you know?"

Tim grinned. "I'll pick a good day. Promise."

I laughed nervously. "Cool. Uh, I have to get to my bus. If you could excuse me...." I mumbled, placing my hands on his chest and shoving gently. He moved back and let me pass, but not without grabbing my ass on the way.

As I walked to my bus, I saw a familiar face that I didn't mind seeing. Oliver was standing near the other entrance to the school, smiling and laughing with one of his friends. He flipped his brown hair out of his eyes, and then he saw me looking at him. He smiled at me and held up a hand to his friend. He began to walk toward me. My breath caught in my throat. I hadn't expected to see him today.

"Hey, it's my bathroom friend!" He greeted. "Tanya, right?"

I nodded, maybe a little too eagerly. "And you're Oliver."

"That I am," he said. He smiled at me and tilted his head to the right, his brown hair tilting to the side. "Too bad I don't see you more often, Tanya."

I gave a loud laugh. "Yeah, wow, I was thinking the same thing!"

He chuckled at my awkward response and looked towards his bus. "Well, listen, my bus is about to leave, but I actually will text you this time...and maybe we can get together sometime."

"Oh, uh, yeah, we should totally do you-...er, that." I stammered, blushing bright red at my Freudian slip and looking at the floor. I exhaled deeply and looked back up. "Yeah. Text me."

He laughed, his green eyes glinting. "Alright, Tanya. See you around." He held up his hand in a wave and walked to his bus. I watched him get on and disappear behind the door.

As I started to walk to my bus again, I saw Tim out of the corner of my eye. His expression was blank as he looked at me from where he was standing.

"Shit," I cursed under my breath, and ran onto my bus. I couldn't let anyone know that I was considering Oliver for more than a hookup. Cathy would not approve, and Valerie probably wouldn't either.

As the bus drove home, it passed by Oliver's. I caught a glimpse of his hair from my window and his black t-shirt. My stomach somersaulted, but this time, I felt no need to repress it.