Christine sat on the front step outside her house, mesmerized by the falling snow. She watched intently as the snow piled on the dead grass, side walk, and street, knowing that, at the same time, it was piling up on the navy blue sweater she was wearing, which was dry clean only. But the only thing on Christine’s mind at that moment was the boy who lived at the other end of the cul-de-sac. Tall, slightly built, and blonde, Christine thought her neighbor, Jon, was the most glorious being to walk the planet, or so that’s how she felt at the moment. Christine was promiscuous, roaming to a different guy every other week, never stopping to have a meaningful relationship. There was just one thing she wanted from a guy, and once she acquired it she was off searching for a bigger challenge.

Although her hormones were urging her to go after Jon, she wasn’t sure if it would be worth it. Jon was a nerd, which meant an easy conquest. He sat in his room all day consumed by the newest video game on X-Box and reading comic books. The closest thing to a relationship he ever experienced was the porn he looked up on his computer and on late night television. Christine knew he would jump at the chance of having a real girl that offered everything he dreamed of. This isn’t exactly what she wanted at the moment. She wanted a real challenge, a guy who would lead her on for several dates before finally giving in, which was really hard to come by in high school. But since it was winter break, Christine knew her choices were limited, and she always enjoyed getting a nerd excited, so she decided to go for it. The only question was how she would accomplish getting into his pants without it looking too obvious.

Without any plan in mind, Christine stood up as soon as she saw him stroll out of the house dressed warmly with a shovel in his hand. With a determined stride, she walked across the cul-de-sac and leaned against the metal wired fence that surrounded his small front yard. She noticed that he was wearing headphones, and she began to wonder what kind of music he was listening to. Probably something weird and foreign, Christine thought with a snigger. Hoping he would notice her before she said anything, Christine leaned against the fence and watched him shovel snow for a few minutes before speaking.

“Why are you shoveling so early?” The question made him jump, which meant he wasn’t ignoring her, he just didn’t see her. This annoyed Christine; she loved being the center of attention. Turning his head in her direction, Jon stared at her with wide eyes. The look he wore on his face made him seem frightened of her, which made Christine smirk in delight.

“Excuse me?” Jon asked, slipping the headphones off his head, making them rest around his neck.

“I said why are you shoveling so early?”

“Why not,” he replied curtly. Turning his back to her again, he began shoveling once more, but he kept his headphones off, which meant he was open to a conversation.

“Well, it just started snowing. If you start shoveling now you’ll just have to shovel again later when the snow stops.”

Jon stopped again and turned around, all the way this time, to get a good look at her. “Look,” he said sounding stern, “this is how I’ve been shoveling snow for the majority of my life. I find it easier this way. If you don’t like it then mind your own goddamn business. I didn’t ask you to come over here and critique the way I shovel snow, so why don’t you go and fuck one of your boyfriends?” Placing the headphones back firmly on his head, Jon turned his back to her again. Christine couldn’t help but stand in front of his house stunned. While plenty of girls had talked to her that way, no guy had ever dared say anything like that to her. Quickly, Christine shook the shock off and scurried away from his house as nonchalant as possible. The sound of her snow boots crunching on the snow helped her mind process what she just experienced. She shivered, not only from how cold she was, but from the coldness Jon had shown her. Reaching the front door to her house, she hesitated and looked over her shoulder at Jon’s hunched figure as he continued to shovel snow. A small smile began to play its way across her face. This would be a tougher conquest than she thought.