valedictorian ⚣ ryden

1

Ryan doesn't blame his dad for being away from home almost his entire life, not completely being there besides a few phone calls per year. Yes, it was a little awkward to have such a small bit of a father figure throughout most of his years, but he's aware that if his dad hadn't been gone so much, seldom coming home to family, working hard at his job, Ryan wouldn't be sitting as pretty as he is with such a good education. Hard work is all his dad does. And hard work does pay off. Ryan does blame his dad for not washing his clothes last night, though. It's only the second day of school, and Ryan has already run out of things to wear. He has to borrow his dad's white button down and dark blue jeans for his second day of high school as a senior today. It's a blessing that they can fit each other's clothing. Otherwise he'd have had to try his luck in his mother's closet. God forbid.

He also blames his dad for using his car last night without putting any gas in it. Gas is an expensive commodity nowadays, and Ryan doesn't have a job. Thankfully, there's a gas station that's just on the way to class. Without its convenient presence, Ryan would be stuck on the side of the road with a gas tank on empty. He'd be incredibly late for class. As he pulls into the gas station parking lot, the lack of unoccupied pumps is alarming. The morning rush is causing this for sure. Besides the many advantages of a motor vehicle, There are a number of reasons Ryan dislikes driving, and the morning rush is one of them. But all negativity aside, Ryan's able to wait a good two minutes in the corner store parking lot for a pumping station to free up and still be on-time for class. There's absolutely no reason to panic.

Ryan has been going to his school for two years, going on three. Freshman year, he attended a public school, but that changed once his mother caught wind of Starship Academy of Prepared Students. According to their research, lots of colleges would gladly accept some of the best students that attended the school.

Ryan remembers the first day of freshman year like it was yesterday. Today, Ryan will start his final year: senior year. Anticipation shoots through Ryan's blood. He can barely drive; he's so excited. At least, with such frenzied nerves, he can drive better than the lunatic who's a few-hundred yards up the street, swerving across every lane on the road, though. It's six in the morning! Who drinks that early? Going probably eighty-five miles per hour on a sixty, the driver stops for nothing, and Ryan dreads the moment he'll be faced with the challenge of avoiding the car. In one frenzied moment Ryan's preparing his nerves for a Fast and Furious scene, and the next he's wondering where policemen are when he needs them. Adrenaline coursing through him, Ryan jumps out of his car. It's hard not to cry. His beautiful and sleek white BMW has been compromised. Crushed up in the front-right and scratched up everywhere else. Why isn't Ryan dead? As of now, death is his only wish as he stares in shock at what used to be his beloved.

The worst part? Ryan knows the person who murdered his car. Elizabeth's eyes are at their full potential of width as she steps out, but when she spots Ryan, her eyes shrink, and they're slightly squinted as she smiles at him. "Wow, Nerd!" she exclaims through a relieved laugh. "Small world! Good to see you, though! I haven't seen you all summer!" Ryan feels the opposite way. Why couldn't the world have been just a bit bigger? Just enough to give Elizabeth some room for her reckless driving. "Come here!" she demands, yelling at him from across his totaled white beauty. "You look like you've just seen a ghost!"

Ryan stares at Elizabeth's car. It's no wonder she's barely fazed by the collision. Her car was just as ugly before the wreck as it is now. Sighing, Ryan finds himself shuffling toward Elizabeth. He tries his best angry glare at her, but still, she isn't fazed. "What the heck has gotten into you?" he mumbles instead as he hugs her. He'd never seen her drive like that before.

"Not my fault you refused to take that defensive driving class with me," Elizabeth shrugs. "But don't get your panties twisted, Nerd. I'll call the police. You should call your dad."