The Consensus Top 10 Hottie

Sydney was in trouble. She knew that. In fact, that felt like the

only

thing she did know for sure. All her other knowledge had seemingly slipped away. Her brain was completely fried from her efforts to cram an entire semester's worth of information inside for her upcoming finals. She was burnt out and her mind was pure putty.

A few weeks back, Sydney felt confident she had been managing her time well this semester, but finals season somehow snuck up on her. College had been a hard adjustment from high school and rushing a sorority had taken its toll on her study time. But, she just

had

to find a way to pull through. She had always dreamed of going to a top law school, all her family and friends knew this and that only added to the pressure.

Future Girlboss

, her friends jokingly called her.

It was really just the damn Computer Science elective she was required to take that was killing her. Her advisor had said a minor in Economics would help her stand out with law school admissions. Unfortunately, that came with a required programming class. The rest of her courses were challenging, but at least they made sense when she applied effort. She could stare at the Computer Science textbook for hours and seemingly get nowhere. She had a program due in a few days and a final exam following shortly after. She hadn't started the program. She didn't even know where to start. The final program and exam added up to a total of 60% of the final grade, and it was too late to drop. She cradled her face in her hands.

You can't cry, Sydney, this is the quiet section of the library,

she thought. The shame was crushing.

They'll know you're just a bimbo, that you were lucky to get into this university, that you don't belong here. Don't give in...

Sydney didn't have anyone to reach out to for help. She hadn't made friends in the class; it was the one class she didn't have a squadron of sisters to escort her to.

In theory

, she was open to meeting people, but the guys were... unkempt, and the few girls that were in the class always dressed a bit like weird anime characters. To each their own, but they simply didn't have anything in common with Sydney. Sydney, the former cheer captain. Sydney, the current owner of a diabolically tight-ass and a stylish collection of Lululemon pants with which to show it off.

Sydney sat in resigned silence. Then she remembered Mark—Dungeons and Dragons Mark they had all called him back in high school. Mark wasn't in Sydney's computer science class. She was in the intro class, while he was a CS major who had passed out of most of the basics already and was in the advanced classes—as he had taken great care to highlight to her at orientation. Mark and Sydney were the only two students from their high school class who were attending this prestigious university halfway across the country. The only time they had ever talked in high school were a few small talk conversations at the end of senior year after everyone made their future plans public.

"Oh, you're going there too next year, I bet I'll see you around campus! I'm studying Political Science, how about you?"

"Computer Science."

"Nice!"

That was about the extent of their conversations. However, at campus orientation they were put in a group together since they came from the same school. It was awkward. Sydney, trying to find

some

common ground, had mentioned she was taking a computer science class. And Mark took the opportunity to brag about how he had passed out of that intro class and about five or six classes beyond that and that Sydney's intro class should be really easy, and she had nothing to worry about.

"What a great conversationalist..." she had thought sarcastically.

Thinking about it now made her angry all over again. How had he expected her to respond anyhow?

Wow Mark, that is sooooo impressive, I wish I could be like you, or at the very least, have a man like you.

But now it did seem impressive, or maybe not impressive but at least... useful. She would have to swallow her pride to ask him for help, but he would help her. She smelled nice, that was more than he could probably say about any girls willing to give him attention. But even more than her good hygiene, what Sydney was really banking on exploiting was the difference in their respective social standings back in high school. She had been a consensus top 10 hottie at their school (to be precise, #6 out of over 300 girls, based on a poll from the boys on the anonymous app Yik Yak their Junior Year). Boys, and especially nerdy boys, were willing to do things when she asked, that's just how it worked. She would borrow pencils and never think twice about giving them back—the nice ones too, the ones with the twist up erasers.

Sydney sent Mark a follow request on Instagram, admittedly it was a bit of a bad look that she hadn't been following him already; he already followed her (and why wouldn't he, everyone from their high school followed her). She could see that he had a grand total of 4 photos, though she couldn't see what they were until he accepted her request, but she imagined they were from a robotics championship or something. Would he even have photos from prom? Did he even go? She couldn't remember. She knew who almost everyone went with and whether they hooked up at their after parties, but stories about Mark, if there were any, hadn't been relevant gossip.

Sydney returned her attention to her poli-sci essay. A few hours later she received the notification that Mark had accepted her request. It was 2am. Sliding into a guy's DMs at 2am was bad form, and Sydney thought about how ridiculous it was that she was breaking the rules and bending over backwards in such a way for D&D Mark. But there was no time to waste, and anyway, she wasn't asking him

you up?

"Hey Mark, hope you're doing well. I'm taking CS 101 and struggling a bit on the final program. It's due on Monday 😬 I know it's super last minute, but I was hoping we could meet up and you could help a girl out 🙏 , I know you're already in the 400 level so it's probably pretty basic for you! I'd be forever grateful 💖 ."

Sydney tried to imbue the message with as much damsel in distress energy as possible.

Please Dungeons and Dragons Mark, come rescue this fair blonde princess, perhaps she'll reward you with a kiss on the cheek

. But in reality, her lips weren't going anywhere near D&D Mark, her presence would be enough to get him to help her. She knew what she was doing and who she was working with.

Sydney's phone vibrated:

"jones hall. tomorrow. 10pm. msg me when ur in the lobby."

Sydney paused. Jones hall is a dorm building... presumably Mark's dorm building... and tomorrow is Friday... While sure, Friday night is a bit less sacred during finals season (there probably would be a lot less people going out, except for the damn Business Majors, like her roommate, whose finals seemed to consist of preschool stuff like coloring within the lines), it still was a bit forward to invite a girl over to your dorm at 10pm on a Friday. But Sydney assumed Mark, ever the social dunce, just didn't understand the potential subtext of his proposal. Plus, she knew the CS kids lived on a different schedule than everyone else, they'd be in the computer lab until 5am and spend the daylight hours sleeping. Friday night didn't mean the same thing to them as everyone else. And Sydney was desperate. It was Thursday and the program was due on Monday. The meetup

had

to happen this weekend, if he backed out, she'd be screwed, so it was best to accept his offer with no modifications and not give him a chance to leave her all by herself. She'd be studying on Friday night anyway, she figured. And it was also better to not be seen in public with Mark. Plus, in a dorm room she could turn on the charm with a bit less shame, flirt a little harder, maybe wear a little bit lower of a top than she could if they were meeting at a library where her sorority sisters might see and start spreading speculation on Snapchat. No, Mark's plan was perfect she decided. And she felt safe about the idea of going to his place. Sydney didn't know Mark super well, but she had been around him enough to sense his character. The vibe he gave off was soft, and scared. Being alone with him represented a potentially awkward situation, but not a potentially dangerous one. And she'd have the pepper spray in her bag, as always, in case she'd misjudged.

"You're the best Mark. See you there 😊 . "

Sydney was finally able to put the stress of CS aside for a bit. She made a ton of progress on her other classes. Before she knew it, Friday night had arrived, and she was getting ready to go to Mark's. A few extra sprits of perfume. Some light but strategic makeup. A casual low-cut top. A sweater on top that would be coming off immediately because "

it's a little hot in here"

, maybe getting stuck halfway up her arms and requiring a helpful tug if she was feeling like adding some theatrics.

All Sydney's playcalls were straight out of

how to entice a boy to do your homework for dummies

, if there were such a book. She did feel a little bad. This was not aligned with her highest ideals. But this was college, highest ideals were constantly getting drowned by beer bongs and handles of $8 vodka. And anyway, this was part of the

future girlboss

game; Men have more than enough advantages of their own in this world. So, if Sydney could bat her eyelashes and have someone help her out in a one-off class with stuff she'd never use again, she'd be foolish not to take that advantage. College isn't about learning; it's about building a transcript. Her future competitors for those precious few spots in the top law schools were doing the same, probably worse.

Sydney listened to her

Hot and Horny Sorority Sl*ts

playlist on the way over. The title, and the selection of over-the-top spicy R&B and rap tracks, was mostly a joke. It was something her and her sisters listened to while doing makeup and pregaming for frat parties. They would all laugh every time they thought about a new obnoxious track to add to it. But, Sydney had to admit that somewhere deep down the playlist did get her hot and bothered.

And my god with the number of guys Molly—Sydney's best friend in her pledge class—had slept with this semester it must've been *really* working for her too,

Sydney thought, with some menace. Sydney's mind drifted to Stephen, the bouncer at the Jungle Bar who always let her and her friends in even though they didn't even have fake IDs. He was a Junior in Sigma Chi. He didn't know her name...

yet

. How she wished to be invited to his place tonight instead of Mark's...

Sydney messaged Mark when she arrived in the lobby. She waited. And waited. Streams of stressed-out looking kids rushed past her, in and out of the lobby doors. There would be lots of late nights at the library tonight.

10 minutes had passed when her phone finally pinged.

"coming."

WTF Mark. This is no way to treat your fair princess.

Sydney thought.

The elevators opened and Sydney saw Mark standing in a crowd of other students. Had he gotten taller? He was standing a full head above the other guys in the elevator.

Mark sauntered over to her.

But he's still lanky as hell

, she thought,

no freshman 15 for Mark. But he does have potential, I've always thought that

, but this was deeply revisionist history, she hadn't always thought that.

Sydney continued to evaluate Mark in her head in the gossipy way her and her sorority sisters always did. To them, life was like a dating show and everyone was a contestant with a profile and a backstory.

He'd make someone a lucky bride someday, with his Microsoft salary, someone who didn't remember his pimples and high-pitched voice from freshman year of high school.

She thought.

Importantly, that

someone

would also not know the story about the sizeable puddle of drool Mark left on his desk after falling asleep once in Biology class. The puddle that got all over Maggie Horn's hair. Maggie was the consensus #2 hottie and sat in the seat in front of Mark and his puddle, she had long flowing hair that draped onto his desk, and she was exactly the worst person to have your drool crust all over if you ever wanted to hear the end of it. She was popular and she was cruel. In her disgust and embarrassment, she loudly freaked out at him for all to hear. Maggie later spread a rumor that Mark hadn't been sleeping, but rather that he started drooling just from gazing longingly at the back of her head. Dirtbag David latched onto this and claimed that he had seen Mark touching himself during the incident. Most people didn't really believe this, but they played it up it anyway in the spirit of teasing. The incident left Mark with a gross vibe in the eyes of most people, especially the girls, and being the captain of the robotics team, Mark really couldn't afford such a stain on his reputation as girls were already an uphill battle for him.

But Mark certainly wasn't gross now, with a fresh look. No, he was cute actually. He had a bit of the boy-next-door energy. But, Sydney wasn't the girl-next-door. She was a consensus top 10 hottie. So, while he, like everyone, was a contestant on

a

dating show to her, he definitely wasn't a contestant on

her

dating show.

"Hey, long time no see, how you been Syd," he said, giving her a casual one-armed hug like they were old pals.

"Good, good, but a bit stressed out not going to lie," Sydney responded.

"Ahh no need to worry Syd, relaxxxxx, it'll all be just fine I'm sure."

She could smell the weed on him. My god was he lighting up in his room while she was waiting down in the lobby? This was not the Mark she knew. But then again, maybe smoking weed and then being all

don't-worry-be-happy

is exactly the kind of cheesy bullshit someone who struggles to be cool naturally would do. Like

okayyyyy there Bob Marley why don't you stop forcing it

?

Next week is finals, the whole campus is stressed out, let's save the don't-worry-be-happy schtick for later

.

Sydney certainly wasn't impressed by Mark's lack of punctuality and drug use. In fact, she was a bit irked at how little regard he had for having a consensus top 10 hottie over.

"Shall we?" he said, placing a hand on her upper back and subtly pushing towards the elevator.

"Uhm yeah, I guess."

They small talked as Mark led Sydney to his room. She smelled the weed as soon as she entered.

Jesus, Mark

she thought.

Mark had quite the setup. Jones Hall was very far away from the other dorms and the heart of the social scene, but the tradeoff was that the rooms were huge. Mark's room was clearly the hangout spot for the floor. Across from a sizeable flat screen TV sat a massive double decker futon setup. It was constructed from a hodgepodge of Home Depot scrap wood. It looked like every boy with an Xbox Live account's dream and the lawyer responsible for University Housing liability's worst nightmare.

"My roommate dropped out a month in, couldn't handle the courseload. We had all this extra space, so we built this double-decker futon for the fellas..." he paused, then added with a sarcastic grin, "Oh, and sometimes for the ladies too, of course.

"Sorry for the mess," Mark said, as they stepped around the clothes, random objects, and trash strewn about the floor.

Sydney could tell he wasn't sorry at all. Mark pulled two chairs next to each other. They sat down and began to work. Sydney had worried about Mark's ability to help since he was clearly high on Marijuana, but he made quick work of it. They made more progress than she had in weeks, and Mark explained it as he went along. With him, it actually made sense. Mark spoke her language. He made it easy. Soon they were laughing. Sydney never expected to be laughing while doing CS. She wasn't going to have to turn on the charm at all. Mark seemed genuinely happy to help. Did it annoy her that the stuff she was wracking her brain over he was able to do while casually stoned out of his mind? Yes. But it impressed her a bit too.

Sydney's phone vibrated, she took it out of her bag: an unnecessary promotional notification from Uber. But, as she reached down to place her phone back her gaze happened to graze over Mark's crotch. Sydney noticed a bulge, the outline of his soft penis clearly visible in his gray sweatpants (actually more flimsy pajama pants than sweatpants—classic CS kid attire). Upon seeing it, Sydney froze. She was repulsed. In her head she screamed

omg D&D Mark's willy *retching noise*

And yet, if she was being honest, Sydney was a little lustful and curious too. She would never admit to it, but she was a bit of a junk gazer: hot guys at the gym, the beach, the library, on the way to class, frat parties. One privilege of being a cute girl is that you have to worry much less about politeness in such scenarios. Even if a guy does catch you oogling, he's not gonna have a problem with it. Not when you look like Sydney did. But the aim was never to be

caught

looking. In fact, she was a bit ashamed.

Dicks were gross

, full stop, is how she told herself she felt. But her gaze always betrayed her real feelings. And she had x-ray vision. After a quick peek, she always knew exactly what dudes were packing. Her diagnosis of Mark?

A little thin and pretty harmless

. Just like Mark. And

as soft as can be

. But that, she could change.

One thing that Sydney definitely did love about dicks was making them hard, when it was her intention to do so. If a guy came up to her and started dancing and he was already hard, it was creepy as hell,

don't you dare try to poke me with that thing.

But when she picked a hot guy out, enticed him to dance with her, and gave him the ole back it up a little bit routine, and he got excited, that was the best. Especially if he wasn't supposed to, if he tried to fight it. She had a tendency to do this to friend's boyfriends. She would steal them on the dancefloor for a minute or two, for an innocent dance, nothing that crossed a line. But the goal was always to get them to fantasize about crossing that line, and hopefully to stay fantasizing about it later that night, later that week, and maybe forever. Thinking about Sydney, instead of who they were supposed to be thinking about. The best part of the challenge was doing it without being obvious, without straight grinding on a guy. Any thot could get a guy hard from twerking. Much of the skill was in the subtlety. Sydney was good at subtlety. Truth be told, her boobs were tiny. Yet Sydney knew how to get guys to look at her like her last name was Sweeney. But she wasn't actually a bimbo, she was smart, she probably did have it in her to learn CS given enough time, but unfortunately, that time was gone.

It wouldn't be very nice to tease Mark in this situation, with no real chance of action, especially since he didn't need any convincing to help her out—he seemed perfectly willing to do it out of the kindness of his heart. But Sydney loved making the wrong guys want her at the wrong time, the ones that couldn't have her, the ones that were ignoring her.

"Sorry it's hot in here," Sydney said, her crewneck already halfway up her arms.

"Sure make yourself comfortable, let me know if you want water or anything."

"Ummmmmm... Mark... it's stuck... Can you help?"

After a momentary silent pause, Sydney felt a firm tug on both arms of the sweater as it was easily lifted over her arms. Once she was out from under the darkness of the sweater, she saw Mark standing over her, feet planted right in between hers. She felt even smaller than before, sitting in the chair with Mark standing and towering over her. He tossed the sweater to the side and confidently gazed down at her. He could see straight down into her top.