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There's a new science teacher at Abbott.
It happens very suddenly and without much fanfare. It's a mere footnote in Ava's updates for the week, which mostly consisted of her after school plans and what restaurants she wanted to try that week.
The only warning the teachers get is a small comment at the end.
"Oh and by the way, we have a new teacher coming tomorrow. In other news, the upstairs toilets are also clogged, so only use the downstairs ones from now on until we get those fixed."
"Wait, a new teacher? Ava, for what grade?" Janine asks.
"Eighth, I think," Ava replies as she walks away, already tapping away at her phone.
And that's all anyone knows about the new teacher until the next day.
Because Janine is Janine-and very proud of that, actually–she wants to meet the new teacher immediately and welcome them to the school properly.
Unfortunately, for the entirety of the first day, Janine doesn't see them. It kind of makes sense, what with them teaching upstairs and her teaching downstairs, but she doesn't even catch them in the teacher's lounge.
"Has anyone seen the new teacher yet?" She asks the following day as she's eating her lunch. She hadn't seen them all of that morning either.
Before anyone else has a chance to respond, Jacob groans from across from her.
"Don't even get me started on that guy," he says, stabbing at his salad forcefully.
"Wait, why?" Janine asks, leaning forward in interest.
"He's the worst!"
"What did he do?" If he was the worst, then he definitely didn't need to be teaching here.
"The kids love him," Jacob grumbles.
Oh, there it is. Now his vitriol makes sense.
"Jacob, that's a good thing," Melissa reminds him.
"Not really! I'm supposed to be the only cool white male teacher for the eighth grade. I worked hard to earn that title and this guy shows up and does it in one day!" He stabs a cherry tomato in his salad, causing it to pop.
"What has happened to the universe?" He mumbles.
"I think it's wonderful he's settling well, even if I haven't seen him yet," Barbara says.
"I think so too! The kids deserve good teachers," Janine adds.
"So you're saying I'm a bad teacher?" Jacob says.
"That's not what I said at all!" Janine rushes to say. "Him being a good teacher doesn't make you a bad one."
Jacob huffs but keeps poking at his food.
It's only when she's walking out of the school that day with Jacob that Janine gets her first look at the elusive new teacher.
The man's standing on the steps of the school talking with a group of kids as they get ready to go home for the day.
He's tall, with blond hair and round glasses. He's dressed in a gray suit jacket with jeans, giving him a put together, yet casual look.
"Ugh, there he is," Jacob hisses. "Did you know that I had to ban hacky-sacks from my classroom because of him?"
"What? Why?" She doesn't see what that has to do with anything.
"Apparently he gives them out, plays games with the kids. They're like little prizes."
"Aw, that's cute."
"It isn't! He's made me hate hacky-sacks! That is not cute," Jacob huffs. "Too many kids came in holding them today so I banned them from my classroom."
"Were they being disruptive with them?"
"No, but I just don't like seeing them."
Janine doesn't see the logic in it. It's just him being unreasonably petty.
"And look at the way he wears his glasses," Jacob continues. "It's basically a cardinal sin."
Janine looks back out to the man, having to squint for a better look as she's not wearing her own glasses. Sure enough, they're dangling off the side of his face by his ear, but he seems unperturbed by it. It looks a bit silly; Janine's definitely never thought to wear her glasses like that.
Still, not technically a sin. And Jacob should consider himself lucky that Barbara isn't around to hear him throw the word around so loosely.
"Jacob, you don't even wear glasses. Why do you care?"
"It’s about the principle, Janine!" He says. “It’s like he's trying to be cool and it is so not working.”
The man they're watching suddenly looks up and towards them, as if he’s sensing them talking about him.
“Oh my gosh, act natural,” Jacob whispers behind a forced smile.
Janine ignores him and waves at the man. He returns it, not quite matching her enthusiasm but Janine likes it anyway.
He turns back to the kids he’s talking to and Jacob scoffs, “The nerve of this guy.”
"Jacob, he's not doing anything wrong."
"No, I think he knows what he's doing."
Jacob crosses his arms, "Did you know that he rides a bike to school? The last time I did that, it got stolen. But his? It's still here!"
"He's only been here for two days," Janine says, confused. "Maybe it'll get stolen eventually."
"So you're saying that I should steal his bike," Jacob says, looking out the window and nodding. "I like where your heads at."
"What? No. Why would you even do that?"
"Then he can't come back to school and take my kids from me."
"Please don't steal his bike. That won't help anything," she says, exasperated. "I think you should just give him time, maybe you'll even become friends with him."
He scoffs, "That will never happen, Janine. Trust me, you'd probably agree with me if you ever met him."
"I guess we'll see."
The next day, Janine gets her wish of formally meeting the new teacher, without even intending to.
It's been a busy day, so much so that the thought of the new teacher had been pushed to the back of her mind. It only resurfaces when she sees him walking around the lower levels during recess, looking a little lost.
"Hey, are you okay?" She asks, coming out of her classroom to see what was going on.
In the man's hand is a very loaded key ring, and he's holding it out in front of him like the keys will show him the way.
He seems almost startled to see her, jumping slightly.
"Yeah, I'm just looking for the bathroom." He turns and looks around the hall.
"No one told you where they are?" She's confused.
"No, they just gave me these keys and the janitor said I'd figure it out," he holds up the key ring to her.
"And the bathrooms upstairs don't work, so I'm down here," he mutters.
"Oh my gosh, no one told you that either? I'm so sorry." Janine says. "But I'll show you where they are."
It's sort of funny, seeing this tall man look very confused, but Janine leads him to the bathroom down the hall.
"Here it is," she says. "And if you ever need anything else, just ask. I was new here once too, I know how hard it can be."
"Thanks," he says, pushing his glasses up on his nose. "Miss, um, sorry, I didn't catch your name."
"Oh, I'm Janine. Janine Teagues." She holds out her hand for him to shake and he does so.
"Ryland Grace."
"It's nice to meet you, Ryland," she says with a smile.
He returns it, "You too, Janine."
After that, Janine sees Ryland around more often.
If he has any questions about anything around the school, he always comes to her. She's happy to show him around and teach him the ins and outs of the place. Despite the fact that he's socially awkward–which she can relate to–he gets along well with her.
The kids really seem to like him too and she's glad to see him settling in well.
As for the teachers, well his interactions with them have apparently been limited, save for Jacob and Mr. Morton, who Ryland has talked a little with about science.
Jacob still hasn't come around to Ryland, but either he's really good at hiding it or Ryland is just oblivious, because Janine doesn't think he even knows Jacob can't stand him.
Still, Janine enjoys teasing Jacob about his apparent hatred for science teachers.
Ava has little to say about Ryland, only commenting, “So tall and so scared, and for what?” with a shake of her head. Mr. Johnson complains that he "refuses to answer his riddles three, and that's his problem."
Barbara's only interaction with Ryland was one time when he tripped in front of her and Melissa's was when he complimented Sweet Cheeks in passing.
Despite these mostly positive interactions, Ryland still always took his lunch in his classroom instead of the lounge.
Janine dislikes how he's ostracizing himself and takes it upon herself to coax him to come join the rest of them. The teachers are all a team, after all, and she wants him to know that he's wanted on the team.
She's been the new teacher before and she remembers how daunting the teacher's lounge once was in her early days. It had felt unwelcoming and she'd never want anyone else to feel that way about it like she had.
So Janine makes the journey up the steps to the top floor, realizing that she doesn't come up as often as she should. It's almost brighter in the upper levels, closer to the sky.
It's only when she's up there that she realizes she has no idea what room he's in. Still, that's not going to stop her.
Janine walks up and down the hall, squinting through windows and trying to catch a glimpse of him.
She finds him a few doors down from Jacob's room, sitting at his desk and eating what looked to be a cup of ramen noodles.
She knocks on the open door, "Can I come in?"
It startles him, causing him to spit out some noodles. He wipes his chin and waves her in, "Yeah, yeah, come in."
"Sorry for scaring you," she says walking inside. It's the second time already; she should start keeping track.
The room's not really decorated, which she isn't surprised by because he's only been here for a few days.
Still, she's delighted by the random doodles on the whiteboard. She can't tell if they're from the students or from Ryland himself. A few posters are hung up with science diagrams she doesn't really understand and some pictures of space.
All in all, she can see there's potential.
"Did you need anything?" He asks, drawing her back to the present.
"Yeah, actually. I was wondering why you're eating alone up here and not in the teacher's lounge."
He sets his fork down. "It's easier up here, quieter. I don't mind being alone while I eat. That's how it was at my last school."
"But now you're in a new school. It's a fresh start. Things can be different here." She walks closer. "And hey, you can sit with me. Because we're friends, right?"
Ryland blinks at her in confusion. "We are?"
"Yes!" Janine says it like it's obvious–because it is. "At least, I think so."
He thinks on her words for a beat.
"I guess we are," he says quietly, but there's a smile growing on his face.
Then he looks up at her, "Okay, I'll try to go tomorrow."
Janine beams at him, "Great! I'll save you a seat."
The next day, Ryland enters the teacher's lounge, just as he said he would.
Janine waves him over and pats the seat between her and Jacob.
She had told Jacob Ryland was coming so he had to be nice, so she hopes he'll keep his promise. She had also told Gregory, who was much more open to the idea, greeting Ryland as he sat down.
"Hey, good to see you here."
"Glad to be here," Ryland replies.
There was one thing Janine had forgotten about, and that was his choice of lunch. Like yesterday, he had brought ramen noodles to eat, which Janine knows from personal experience would severely shock Barbara and Melissa.
Sure enough, the two women can not contain their displeasure.
"Oh my gosh, what the heck are you eating?" Melissa asks, lowering her glasses to get a better look.
"That cannot be your lunch," Barbara says.
Ryland takes it in stride, however, saying, "No, it's fine, I swear. There's tons of different flavors I have and this is pretty normal for me."
It's as he explains it as if it's the most normal thing in the world that Barbara and Melissa look even more aghast.
Janine gets it, though, and based on a lack of strong reaction from Jacob and Gregory, they get it too. A teachers' salary is pretty thin and she's been known to eat ramen for many a meal herself.
She's just happy that she's since upgraded to being able to afford more consistent fruits and vegetables for her meals, being able to make pastas and sandwiches.
Regardless of how okay Ryland is with his lunch, the next day both Barbara and Melissa approach him with their own respective tupperware containers, not taking no for an answer.
He stops short, perplexed at the offer. "Thank you very much, but you guys shouldn't have. I'm fine, really."
Barabara won't have it. "I insist. I'll do anything to never have to see that poor excuse for food in this room ever again."
As his attention is taken by Barbara, Melissa tosses Ryland's ramen cup into the garbage.
Janine smiles; it's a really sweet gesture. Once, when they had caught Janine eating the exact same thing, they had done the same for her.
She likes to believe they do it because they care, but she also knows a big part of it is because they really do consider instant noodles to be a personal offense.
Jacob meanwhile, doesn't quite share the same sentiment as Janine.
"You guys never do this for me!" He says.
Melissa gives him a look. "Jacob, you literally live with me. You eat like this all the time. Actually, you’re eating it right now."
And he looks down at his bowl, filled with the exact same thing that's in Ryland's. “Okay yeah, but still.”
Ryland thanks the two women and eats his fill gratefully.
He doesn't completely cut ramen off cold turkey; Janine sees him eating it in his classroom instead, where Barbara and Melissa can't see him.
Baby steps, she supposes.
Ever since Ryland began taking his lunch in the lounge with her, he and Janine have become pretty close.
They have a surprising amount of things in common and she finds she can really relate to him.
He's also a big fan of the Night at the Museum movies, so she and Gregory talk about them with him extensively. His favorite is the second one, as he's actually been to the Smithsonian museum. Janine and Gregory think the first is the best, mostly because it has the best tone and atmosphere.
She also found that she and Ryland have the same humor, as one day she told a joke that didn't quite land in the teacher's lounge and he was the only one to laugh at it.
Janine's really happy she found a new friend that matches her wavelength and she's started thinking of her, Ryland, Gregory, and Jacob as a little group.
Her students draw Ryland little doodles in crayon to hang up on his wall and he lets them come upstairs to sit in on some of the experiments he's running with the older kids.
Janine is especially touched by this because it gets her students into science and they start adding 'scientist' to their dream jobs lists. It makes her heart warm.
She has also entered an unintentional and very unserious fun fact competition with him. Every so often, Ryland will poke his head into her classroom and prattle off a random piece of trivia.
"Good morning, Janine. Did you know that pumpkins are actually fruits, not vegetables?"
"Did you know France has the most time zones of any country? By the way, what do you want for lunch?"
"Hi kids. Did you know that all clownfish are born male?"
"Like Nemo?" One of the students asks.
"Like Nemo." He nods.
If Janine doesn't have a piece of trivia in response to his, then Ryland gets a point.
So far, she's only a couple points behind him and she's started keeping a 'fun facts' Google search tab open on her phone at all times.
Sometimes he'll come in while her students are inside, causing them to gasp at some of the facts he says.
When he told them that no human can lick their elbow, of course they all immediately tried to do so, insisting they were the exception.
The students have also caught on to the game, encouraging Janine to come up with facts to answer with. Sometimes the kids suggest their own, which counts as a point on Janine's behalf.
"Did you know Bluey is actually a girl and not a boy?" One of them asks Ryland.
"I actually did not know that because I don't know what that is exactly, but that's a point!" He says, making the kids cheer.
Now, her days are filled with students coming up to her with new facts they looked up the day before or know off the top of their head. They're her little secret weapons against him and she's glad he doesn't mind them helping her.
It fosters an engaged learning environment and the kids are excited to learn new pieces of trivia. It wasn't Janine's intention when roping them into the game, but she can't deny that she's proud of the outcome and of her students.
Aside from their little game, Ryland and Janine also share a surprisingly similar fashion sense.
Janine has been a long time connoisseur of cozy cardigans, so when Ryland shows up one day with one of his own, she knows it's really good.
"Oh my gosh, Ryland, your cardigan! It's so cute!" She says when she sees him in the hall.
It's a cream color and on the front are stitched fox faces with a tiny paw print pattern near the hem.
"You like it?" He asks, "They're on the back too."
Then he turns around to show her that indeed there are two more foxes, full bodied this time, on the back.
"That's amazing," she says.
The following week when Janine wears her hungry, hungry caterpillar themed cardigan, Ryland has a similar reaction to it as she did to his fox one.
The caterpillar cardigan is not only a hit with the kids, but with Ryland as well.
"Janine, that is genius," he says when he sees her in the morning in the lounge. "And so well made too!"
She does a little spin, showing off the striped pattern and the fact that the buttons are little fruits in the style of the book.
"It's just incredible," he says, giving her a small round of applause. "No notes."
One day, Janine is looking through the teacher records for her own file. Ava–or well, Dia on behalf of Ava–recently alerted her that her university was apparently listed extremely incorrectly on her file and that she should fix it.
Janine of course rushes to fix it because she can't have people thinking she went to Princeton, of all places.
As she's flipping through the files to find her own, she drops one of them by accident, leading to the papers spilling out onto the floor.
"Shoot," she murmurs and scoops up the papers into a stack as best she can. It's as she's doing so that one catches her eye.
It's Ryland's file and at the top where his name is, it reads 'Dr. Ryland Grace.'
Wait, he's a doctor? Why did he never say so?
And the more Janine thinks about it, he always goes by 'Mister' Grace, not 'doctor.' She wonders why he's keeping it a secret.
She decides to go against the voice in her head that tells her not to be nosy and decides she'll ask him later. First, she has to change her university name on her own file.
It's a few days later when she finds the opportunity to ask him. They're both on lunch duty, watching the kids go by and making sure they're doing alright.
It's as good a time as any to ask.
“Hey, why didn’t you mention you literally have a doctorate?”
Ryland visibly freezes at the question and looks away.
After a small pause he replies, "How did you know that?"
"I saw it in the teacher files while I was looking for mine. Why don't you ever mention it?"
"It just never comes up. It’s not that crazy.”
“Uh, yes it is! It's a doctorate. What did you get it in?”
“Molecular biology.”
“Whoa," she says. It's some big science thing. "But, if you have that, then why are you teaching at an elementary school? Shouldn't you be in, I don't know, a lab or something?”
If he had frozen at her earlier question, then he goes absolutely rigid at this one.
“I don’t know. Maybe I just like teaching the young minds of tomorrow?” His voice is quiet and as much as Janine believes in the words he said herself, she knows he's lying. Or at least dodging the question.
He's uncomfortable, and now she feels bad for asking him about it.
He looks at one of the kids standing up and walking to throw their trash away. “Hey, no running!” he calls.
“I’m walking!” The kid replies, giving him a weird look.
It’s like he’s trying to change the subject, but he’s pretty bad at it. Worse than Janine herself, surprisingly.
“Hey, I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I just saw on your record that you have one and I was just wondering about it.”
“It’s okay,” he says, shoving his hands in his pockets. “It’s just, not something I talk about.”
She’s about to apologize again when he keeps going.
“I was kind of blacklisted from my field.”
Her jaw drops without meaning to.
“It’s not that bad. I just wrote a paper no one else agreed with. It happens.” He shrugs again, like he’s trying to make it seem like it isn’t anything.
But it is.
“Oh, Ryland, I’m so sorry.”
“That’s just science,” he says, kicking at the ground.
“I bet the paper wasn’t that bad.”
He laughs, something dry and hollow. “Oh no, it was about how not all organisms need water to live.”
“Oh yeah, that’s,” she takes a breath, “that’s pretty bad.”
"And you know what's worse? I fought someone on it," He shakes his head. "That's why I'm blacklisted, really."
"Wait, like physically?" He's tall, but he doesn't look like a fighter to her.
"No, no," he says quickly. "More verbal."
"That makes more sense. I mean, at least you were passionate about it?"
"Passionate and wrong. Kind of an embarrassing combination."
"Do you wish you were working in a lab instead of here?" She decides to change the subject a little.
"No," he answers immediately, his voice resolute. "I like working with the kids a lot. It's not a lab, but I still really like this job. It feels rewarding, y'know?"
"I do," Janine says with a smile. "There's really nothing like it."
"Nothing at all."
They stand in silence for a minute before he sighs. "I guess this is as good of a time as any to tell you I have also seen your file. But I wasn't being nosy, I was just turning mine in."
She tilts her head at him so he can continue.
"And I saw that you went to an Ivy League school, that's really amazing."
"Aw, thank you. It is kind of amazing," she says modestly.
"I was wondering–and no offense–but why did you decide to teach at this elementary school? You probably got first pick of all sorts of cool private ones."
"Well, I have always liked these schools," she says, gazing out at the students in the cafeteria. "I wanted to teach here. These kids deserve good teachers and I want to be that for them."
She looks over and he's smiling at her. "I think they're lucky to have you."
"Aw, do you think so?"
"They definitely are. I can tell you're a good teacher for them and they really care about you. It shows all your hard work is paying off."
"I guess we're both pretty good fits here, don't you think?" She asks him.
He doesn't answer immediately, looking around at the kids for a second.
"Yeah," he finally answers. "I think we're right where we need to be."
Janine loves Halloween, as she loves all holidays–but there is something so special about this one. The candy, the costumes, it’s all so magical to her. And what makes this year especially special is that she’s doing a couple’s costume with Gregory.
They spent a lot of time brainstorming and making their costumes and if you ask her, they absolutely nailed it. Seeing them stand side by side together just makes her so happy.
Unfortunately, no one’s gotten their absolutely cute and genius costume. It’s the most obvious thing, but not a single person has guessed correctly.
They’ve been able to guess all sorts of other–much more niche–costumes, but somehow Janine and Gregory’s very obvious costumes are too hard for anyone else to guess correctly.
It’s kind of starting to drag her down in frustration. Sometimes she wonders if everyone’s just messing with them. It wouldn’t be the first time, but something about this confusion seems too genuine.
How they don’t catch the reference to one of the most popular movies of all time is beyond her.
Janine sits with her sour mood as she ushers in all the children inside her classroom, trying to dispel her bad mood by admiring all their costumes. In the room beside hers, Gregory is doing the same for his class when Janine spots Ryland walking down the hall.
She doesn’t originally register that he’s also dressed up until she sees the headband he’s wearing and then everything clicks.
“Oh my gosh, Ryland, are you Nick from Zootopia?”
The man in question stops mid stride and blinks at her, as if he doesn’t quite get her question. Then, he seems to realize, “Oh, yeah. My students picked it out. Said it would be funny.”
He looks down at his outfit and does a small turn, like he’s showing it off. The costume consists of a green aloha shirt, a purple tie, gray pants and of course, a fluffy, orange fox ear headband.
“It looks good,” Janine says. “But, where’s the tail?”
“I thought it would be weird if I got one. And I don’t really know where they’d sell a thing like that,” he says with a shrug.
“Yeah, that makes sense.”
"I also have this," he says and pulls out a pink lollipop from his pocket. The wrapper is clear and shows off the candy's color. "I don't really get what it means. I haven't seen the movie, but the kids said it was necessary."
Ryland walks over to her and holds it out for her to take.
"That's so fun," she says with a laugh as she takes it. "Thank you."
“No problem. And you, you’re matching with Gregory? That’s a really nice couples’ costume.”
Janine is shocked. Gregory is too apparently, as he fully walks away from his students entering his classroom to come stand next to her.
“Wait, you’re serious?” Gregory asks. “You know what we’re dressed as?”
“Yeah, you’re Mr. DNA and Janine is the mosquito trapped in amber from Jurassic Park,” Ryland says. “Isn’t it obvious?”
Gregory laughs, something dry and without humor.
“Yeah, you’d think!” He exclaims.
“You’re actually the first–and only–person to get it,” Janine says.
“Wait, really? You’d think it would be more obvious,” Ryland says, tilting his head slightly.
Gregory looks absolutely elated and vindicated. Janine can see in real time the respect he has for Ryland go up. It’s similar for her, as she’s mentally pumping her fists.
Ryland then waves goodbye and heads upstairs to get to his own classroom and Janine turns to Gregory.
“See, I told you someone would get it,” she says.
“Finally someone got it,” he laughs. “You know what, he’s alright in my book.”
“So, do you have any fun winter break plans?” Janine asks as she packs away her holiday decorations.
It’s the end of the year, and the last day of school before winter break. She hates taking the decorations down–they make her room look so pretty–but she knows she’ll hate coming back from break and having to take them down then.
So, Janine’s doing it now.
Thankfully, she has company, as Ryland is helping her take down her garlands from where they’re hung up high on her walls. She did sort of ask him just because he was tall enough to reach them, but she enjoys spending time with him regardless. They’ve grown pretty close lately and she likes being his friend.
And she also promised him a coffee in return for his help.
“Uh, not really,” he answers, winding the garlands up so they don’t tangle in storage. “I think I’ll mostly just stay at home and read or something.”
That sounds a lot like Janine’s own plans, but for some reason hearing it come from him made it sound a little depressing. Janine at least has intermittent days planned to spend with Jacob and Gregory, but she doesn’t know if he has something like that.
Janine doesn’t want to press a bit more about his holiday plans. She knows families are tough this time of year, and doesn't know if it’s a touchy subject for him. After all, he’s never mentioned family at all, now that she thinks about it.
Still, the thought of him being alone for three weeks is sad.
“That sounds a little lonely,” she says. “I mean, don’t you have anyone to see during this time of year? I feel a little bad that you’ll just be alone in your house.”
“Alone? I don’t live alone,” Ryland says, turning around to face her in confusion.
Janine gapes at him. “What?”
“I have a roommate, Janine.”
“Since when??”
This is the first time she’s hearing about this.
“Since forever, basically. Have I really never mentioned this?”
“Ryland, up until two seconds ago I–and everyone else in this school–thought you lived alone. Of course you’ve never mentioned this!”
She’s mildly agitated, and a little embarrassed for assuming he had no one. In her defense, he never mentioned it before!
“Huh, I thought I did at some point,” Ryland says, going back to loading the decorations into the boxes. “Whoops.”
That seems like where he’s stopping that topic of conversation but Janine refuses to let that happen. She wants to know more.
“So, what’s their name? What do they do? How did you meet? Are you guys like best friends or just formal roommates?” The questions come out all at once.
Ryland grimaces, but he chuckles a little. The action makes Janine feel a little better about her insistent prodding.
“Well, his name is Rocky. He's an engineer. We met at a science convention on behalf of companies neither of us work for anymore,” he answers, checking off her questions one by one.
For the last question, he pauses a little, then smiles slightly. “And yeah, we’re best friends.”
“Aw, that’s so nice!” Janine says. “Sorry for thinking you were a loner.”
He shrugs, “I'm realizing I don’t really give off the opposite impression, so it’s okay.”
They continue packing up the decorations until Janine’s classroom is fully devoid of holiday cheer. She can’t help but be saddened at the sight, but Ryland’s presence helps.
As they’re stowing the boxes back into the storage closet, Janine says, “I still can’t believe you never told me you had a roommate. You’ve been hiding a secret best friend from me this entire time.”
“Um, I already said that I thought I did. And besides, you never asked,” he crosses his arms and huffs.
“I’m sorry. But, hey, I’d love to meet him sometime. Any friend of yours must be pretty cool.”
Ryland thinks for a second, like he’s actually considering it. Janine hadn’t meant to be serious, or pushy. It had more so been an idea for the future. Yet he seems to actually be thinking about it seriously.
He sighs and pulls out his phone. “Let me see if he’s busy.”
Janine gasps and bounces excitedly. She wasn’t expecting it to happen so soon, if at all. He’s a pretty private guy, but here he is, conjoining his work life and his personal life, just because she asked.
She’s so happy, honored that she gets to be the first to get a peek into what he’s like outside of school.
After Ryland shoots off a text, his phone dings with a response almost immediately.
“Ooh, that was fast,” Janine says. “What did he say?”
“He says he’s down to meet you. There’s a burger place nearby that he likes, want to go there after this?”
“Yes, of course! I’m not busy today at all.”
It’s the end of the school year, so she really doesn’t have anything going on. Her whole plans for today started and ended with taking the decorations down.
But now she had this.
“Cool,” Ryland sends the text and then pockets his phone. He and Janine walk back to her room and he waits for her to lock it up for the break.
As they walk out of the school, Janine can’t help the smile on her face.
“I’m so excited to meet him! What’s he like?”
“He’s funny, kind of has a dry sense of humor but it grows on you. He’s super smart and likes making sculptures.”
“Oh, that’s great!” She says. “I’d love to see some.”
“Don’t get him started,” Ryland says with a chuckle. “He has so many pictures of them. He might drag you home to see them all in person.”
“I would actually love that,” she says, which makes him laugh a little more.
He shakes his head, “I don’t think anyone should come by the house anytime soon. It’s not clean at all.”
Ryland shudders a little then keeps talking, changing the subject. “Anyway, I think you’ll really like him. But, probably not as much as he’s going to like you.”
Janine only becomes more excited at hearing that, eagerness growing with every step they get closer to the burger place.
True to Ryland’s word, Rocky and Janine instantly hit it off and they get along like a house on fire.
And much to Ryland's displeasure, Rocky does indeed drag Janine home to show her his artworks in person, not caring one bit about the messy house.