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!
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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 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.
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