The Fall

Two

A couple days passed before Ryder spoke to me again. Looking back now, I realize he was just trying to play with me, make me think I was safe from him and then go in for the kill. But I didn't know who he was then, in September; to me, he was just another boy. An unsettling, incredibly forward boy- but still, only a boy.

He found me at lunch. Seventh period lunch was the worst- none of my friends were in it, so I know how pathetic I must have seemed sitting there alone. Ryder looked surprisingly normal and suburban clad in jeans, Converse, and a baggy shirt; no camouflage or hunting boots to be seen unlike many of the other high school guys I knew.

He was different- and I had to admit, it intrigued me.

"Hey, Kacey," he said, taking a deep breath.

I opened my mouth to respond, but was cut off as he talked right over me. Typical. I didn't even know Southerners could talk this fast- his voice was syrupy, but strangely without sweetness: like those sour candies we dared ourselves to suck on in elementary school.

"I kind of wanted to apologize for what a shithead I was to you on Monday. I don't know what I was thinking, you're just so pretty and...perfect, honestly, that I sort of lost my head. Can we start over? You know, pretend that never happened and that this is the first time you've ever met me?"

I didn't know what to say. Was he telling the truth? And if he was, did I have an obligation to accept his apology? I started unpacking my lunch as he stood there waiting, trying to figure out my next move.

"Okay, fine," I said, smiling. "I'm Kacey, and I'm a freshman. What's your name?"

"Ryder Mitchell, senior."

He sat down at the table, uncomfortably close to me: however, I waved it off. He seemed kind of sweet, even if he had gotten off to a bad start. It's not like I wasn't a little awkward myself, and everyone made mistakes. I could hear Lena's voice in my head, saying that practically pushing me against a building wasn't exactly a slight mistake, but I ignored it. Ryder was just a little dangerous and had a temper, what was so bad about him? I had judged him too quickly.

"Why on earth would you move to West Virginia, of all places?" I asked. "You don't exactly seem like the country boy type."

"Family stuff. Listen, do you want to do something later? Go out for pizza, maybe?"

"I have to babysit my stupid brother, sorry."

I wasn't lying- Jacob was nine years old, and still needed me to watch over him. All he did was sit in his room and play Minecraft, so it wasn't exactly a demanding job, but still. Family came first, unless I could convince my parents to get me out of it.

"Seriously? Fine, what about tomorrow?"

"Yeah, that works." He seemed strangely angry at the fact that I couldn't drop every preexisting obligation and hang out with him, but I had to set boundaries if this new relationship was going to function.

I pulled the foil lid off my yogurt container and began folding it into a tiny square, flattening and re-folding it as Ryder smirked at me. His smile was full of longing desire, though I couldn't figure out what kind- did he honestly want someone to share his life with, or did he see me as prey?

I guessed I would find out tomorrow.

**

In many ways, James Colescott High School was falling apart at the seams. The beige linoleum imitation tile was cracked down the middle nearly everywhere, and the ancient, broken vending machines in the 700 hallway still contained old cans of Tab soda from 1998. Upperclassman boys had broken in and stolen the things from every other machine except that soda one: a reminder, I supposed, that around here we would always be fifteen years behind. You couldn't wash your hands without being sprayed in the face by a defective sink, and lights blew out on the daily but it fit Fairview perfectly- we were white trash teens with accents in camo, where else would we go to school?

"So you're not going to believe this," I said to Lena as we exited homeroom and headed to our lockers. She stuck out like a sore thumb in the crowded hall- there were only five and a half people of color in the entire school, and Lena was the half.

'What?"

"I'm going on a date. Like, an actual date. With a non-fictional guy and everything!" I squealed, letting myself enjoy a moment of stereotypical feminity.

"Seriously? With who?"

"Just some guy I met at lunch yesterday. I have to go- we're headed to the pizza place on Main Street."

"See you later," said Lena, happily waving goodbye as I tried to find Ryder's car.

--Kacey, nostalgically.