The Girl Who Was Adopted

Chapter 5 - What Have You Got To Lose?

I stepped into my maths classroom and Ryder's eyes locked onto me. I ignored the teacher as he told me that I was late – I knew it, and since he wasn't all too bothered about teaching, I had decided that I wasn't going to be all too bothered with my respect for him.

I held Ryder's eye contact as I walked to the back of the classroom, stifling a laugh at the fear in his eyes. As I slipped into my seat, Ryder didn't say word; he moved slightly in the opposite direction, as though merely having his book face me left the possibility for me wanting to tell everyone about our tea party.

I pulled out my maths book and followed suit with the rest of the class. I took note of the page numbers from the board before starting on the work. Out of the corner of my eye, I focused on Ryder; he looked nervously in my direction every few moments, but I wasn't sure why– was he afraid that I'd send out a letter telling everyone about what a 'good boy' he was? I could imitate his grandmother's voice pretty well, so I knew that if he pushed me to tell the story, it'd be beyond convincing.

I couldn't blame him for being nervous, though, since his entire reputation could be ruined with just a few little recaps from the two hours I had spent hearing about what a 'lovely and polite' boy he is.

When the bell rang, everyone streamed out their classroom, heading to their next classes. I followed the crowd, but Ryder grabbed my arm and pulled me aside outside the classroom.

"Hi," I said awkwardly. I knew that he was either going to beg me not to tell anyone about what I'd witnessed, or he was going to tell me that he'd dug dirt up on me.

"Ada, hi," he sighed out the words. "I've been thinking, and I think you should spend some time with me – the real me – before you judge me."

I laughed, "What?"

"Well, you can't judge me from the way I am around my grandparents and you don't know me any further than the rumours," he shrugged. "I figure, if you're going to judge me, you should at least have your own perspective."

I shrugged, I wasn't opposed to the idea. "What does it matter to you what I think?" I asked, curious.

He returned the shrug, "I don't know, you seem cool. Also, nobody has seen me with my grandparents and so I really feel the need to rectify that – I am not like that around anyone else, I don't like anyone as much as I like them. You could ruin my reputation."'

I laughed. "I know. So, what do you have in mind?"

"Do you skate?"

I felt awkward. "No." I hesitated, I didn't want him to lose interest in hanging out with me just because I hadn't skated before. "I could learn though," It sounded like a suggestion.

Ryder smirked. "We'll see." He hesitated for a second. "I have to get to class, but I'll catch you later, okay?"

"Okay, see you," I answered before slipping into the crowd that was streaming past us, towards my next class. I wasn't sure how to feel about being invited to hang out with him. He seemed like he was an okay guy, and perhaps a good friend to have; but I wasn't sure where things would go with us, would he even want to be my friend after hanging out with me?

I spent the day thinking about what kind of things Alex would say if I called him, what kind of excuses he'd make up for not coming back to see me, for letting me think that he was dead for so long. It was a long day, and when Clare picked me up, she seemed to have her mind occupied, too. The drive home was unusually quiet, and once we were back at the house, Clare cut the engine in silence.

She climbed out of the car and walked purposefully into the house; that's when I realised that her mind was occupied with something that I'd done – or said? I wasn't sure, I felt nervous and my stomach swirled as I followed her into the house awkwardly.