Social Norms

Chapter 4

It's Thursday. Some might also call it Valentine's Day, but I prefer to call it Thursday. 

Ryder slowly slinks by my locker before third period. I haven't heard from him since our blowup the other day. He looks really sheepish as he strolls up. "Hey, Pepple." It's always been hard for me to stay mad at him for a long time. That's probably why we've been able to stay friends for so long. "Hey," I reply. 

He says, "You know today's Valentine's Day, so I got you something." He hands me an 11 x 14 piece of sketch paper with a pen and ink drawing of his own version of The Gashlycrumb Tinies. He knows how much I love Edward Gorey artwork. 

When I look closely at it, I see that he's changed the names for each tiny. I look at K. It says "K is for Kristina who was killed by her own despair." My eyes then shift to R, "R is for Ryder who was run over by a Subaru." I can't help but laugh and smile. This is quite possibly the most thoughtful gift anyone has ever given me. 

"You made this for me?" He shrugs, "Yeah, do you like it?" I gush, "Ryder, I love it! This is so cool. I'm going to frame it and hang it up next to my original poster in my room." I look him straight in the eye, "...Ryder, listen, I'm so sorry for what I said to you. It's just taking me some adjustment to get used to you and Taylor. I want you to be happy, and if she's the one who makes you happy...then I'm happy with her too. I'm going to try to not be so judgmental from now on." 

He smiles, "Thanks, Pepple. Look what she got me for Valentine's Day." He holds out his arm. On his wrist sits a shiny black stainless steel Michael Kors watch. It looks very fancy. "Wow," I say, "That's really nice. She must really like you. What did you get her?" I see a twinkle in his eyes as he says, "Let's just say I gave her a drawing too, one especially for her...Titanic style, if you know what I mean. She really loves that movie." I roll my eyes, "Gross. That's too much information, Ryder." 

He smiles wide, and I say, "I hope you guys have a really nice night." He says, "You too." I laugh a little and turn to go to class. Yeah sure, I'll have a great night...alone.

As I make my way around the corner, Logan catches my eye and says, "Hey, Kristina. You want to get together after school today to make a game plan for our project?" A sense of dread washes over me. I had kind of put that out of my mind for the time being. Now, it all comes crashing back. 

Reluctantly, I say, "Sure, I guess. Can you come by my house after school?" We're now walking down the hallway toward class, and he seems a little on-edge. He says, "Well, my mom won't be able to take me until she gets off work, which won't be until five. Can I just get a ride with you?" 

All at once, the most unbelievable thought occurs to me. Unfortunately (because I'm stupid and have no etiquette), I blurt it out, "You don't have a car." For some reason, I had never thought about Logan Wagner having a car or not having one. I just always assumed that he did, like most other kids. 

He looks a little embarrassed as he says, "Nope. Don't have a car." I feel like a complete jerk. I say, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I just assumed that you did." Now, I'm fumbling trying to recover, and I awkwardly say, "You know what they say when you assume, you make and ass out of u and me?" I follow that up with a nice nervous laugh. Smooth, Kristina! 

He smiles a little and says, "I don't think you're an ass. Not yet, anyway." Now, we're both smiling. "How do you normally get around?" I ask. He shrugs, "Well, before Taylor and Ryder became a thing, she used to give me rides home. Now, it's the bus, baby." 

Can you even imagine Logan Wagner riding the bus? That has to be the most unbelievable thing I have ever heard. 

Something about this little nugget of information has really changed the way I see him, though. He seems a little more down-to-earth and less, I don't know, Idolish. I shrug while smiling, "Hey, nothing wrong with riding the bus. Some might even say it's a step up from riding in Avocado Toast." We're now at the classroom and walk in together. He looks as me quizzically, "Avocado Toast?"