Ryder the Love Expert | Protector 2.1

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

       "Ryder," Tony said in a stern voice. "Can you please put that bag of chips away? There's no eating in the class."

       I looked at my bag of chips, then at my uncle. "But I'm hungry."

       "Then you should have had breakfast," Tony said.

       "I did," I said. "My dad made me bacon."

       Tony sighed. "Please just put the bag away. You can't expect to be exceptions to the rules."

       "I don't think that," I objected. Tony raised an eyebrow and I sighed before putting the bag of chips back into my backpack. My smoky bacon flavored chips. I couldn't help it if I was hungry and needed a bacon fix.

       Tony continued talking about the expectations and safety whenever we were going to the biology lab. Then, he told us he had assigned us lab partners. My partner ended up being Mae, the new girl who was also new in the dance studio. I didn't mind being her partner, because I that meant I would get to know her more.

       And hopefully prove to her who the better dancer was. Even though that had nothing to do with biology.

       We then had to go down to the biology lab, even though we weren't going to be dissecting anything, thankfully. We were just getting to know the lab and making sure we knew how to behave in it.

       And no surprise that he was looking at me when he said that.

       When we got to the lab, he gave each pair their assigned table to work at, then told us to look at all the equipment and the list of them we got to make sure we had everything.

       Mae and I both got to our table and I pulled out the container of the equipment. "So," Mae said slowly, and a bit quietly. She was a bit shy. "How long have you been dancing for?"

       "Fourteen years," I said. "Ever since I was three."

       "W-wow," Mae said. "That's long. No wonder you're such an amazing dancer."

       That caused me to give her a smile. "Thanks. You're an amazing dancer, too. How long have you been dancing for?"

       "Only eleven years," she said. "I started when I was six."

       "That's still a long time," I said, taking everything out of the equipment container. "Some of the dancers at our studio have been dancing for as long as eight years and they're still amazing dancers. So, where did you live before moving here?"

       "Lachine," Mae replied.

       "Lachine," I repeated. "Nope, never heard of it."

       "It's in Quebec," Mae said. 

       "Oh, so you're from Canada," I said. "Have you ever had poutine?"

       "All the time," Mae said with a small smile. "I loved it there, but all good things come to an end, I guess."

       "Why did you move, then?" I asked. "To an all new country?"

       "Well, my parents recently got divorced," she said.

       "Wow, I'm sorry," I said. "I have no idea what that feels like."

       "Don't worry, I knew it was coming for a while," she said. "They're still close friends, but they're just not in love anymore. My mom's family was here, so I came down with her. So, is all the equipment there?"