They Weren't Kidding

Chapter 3

After that first practise I went and sat in on, there were a few more practices before Ryan and I entered into actual conversations with each other. We had a bit of a rocky beginning, but we did eventually become friends after having multiple conversations about different topics that the both of us were interested in. We found out that we have a lot in common which made it easier to talk to.

It began one evening after practise had ended. Kristin was talking to Ryan about the practise. The two were discussing how their teammates could improve. At one point, one of the other players had walked up and began talking with Ryan about an anime that I had seen before and quite enjoyed. Feeling a random surge of boldness, I stepped into and joined their conversation, inputting my opinion about the show and what my favourite part of the anime was. At one point, the other girl had left Ryan and I to continue discussing shows that we had both seen and enjoyed. That was the first time we had actual conversation together.

From there, Ryan and I would talk before and after practices and games the volleyball team would have. I made sure not to take Ryan from her responsibilities towards the team. I was surely to get her into trouble and find myself in the same situation.

I was happy when we finally did become friends. I had someone to talk to when I would normally just be sitting around doing nothing. I had a reason to get out of the house. It sounds like I was in love with her from the time we were merely friends, but that's not quite true. I just wanted excuses to get out of the house and see people that I actually tolerated. Mind you, it's been quite difficult to find people who I actually am even okay with being around, let alone like being around.

I would often times go to games for the sole fact I had someone to talk to and hang out with. I would get bored and lonely being by myself for the most part all day. That's what online school would do, cause me to feel like more of a loner than I already am.

Now, I say that as if I thought of her only as someone to talk to. That wasn't really the case either. Even then, I quite enjoyed talking to her and hanging out with her. She wasn't ever someone to just talk to when we became friends. She was one of the only people I would ever talk to. I would text her often when I didn't see her in person.

Even back then, she was probably my favourite person to just hang around with. There was something about the others in that volleyball team that made it hard to merely speak with them. They had this feeling to them that annoyed me.

Of course, it's easy for people to annoy me. I often don't get along with people all that well. More often than not, they have so many attributes I can't stand. If you were to ask me as to why I don't like them, I wouldn't be able to give you a straight answer. People just rub me the wrong way, more often than not.

This being the case, as you can guess, it's always been difficult to find friends for me. Most peoples' characters always seem to clash with mine which doesn't make for a good friendship. Not to mention, most times I want to injure them in some way so they stop irritating me. It sounds a bit harsh, but that's why I hang out with people who don't irritate me.

Ryan and I began to talk and hang out often. She was the only one of any of my friends that I ever had that would invite me out to just hang out. Every friend I had before wouldn't bother to invite me anywhere unless it was for an event set before or a holiday of some sort. Even then, it was quite rare. Ryan would invite me to hang out just because it was a weekend on occasion. Whenever she and I would hang out, conversation always came easy and everything was super chill.

One of the first times I remember the two of us talking more than just a few moments and just the two of us was one time on the way home from a volleyball game that was out of town. We were in the same van riding back with others on the team. Towards the beginning of the ride, Ryan had everyone's attention. They were all discussing the game and what each person could do to become better. Slowly, people split off into their own conversations. At this realisation, Ryan appeared to be sad. When I noticed her change in disposition, I informed her that I was still listening. She perked up a little bit and she and I entered into different conversations.