Chapter Text
BEEP.
BEEP.
BEEP.
Ryland Grace woke up to the sound of his alarm. 6:00 AM flashed on the screen, and he hit the stop button on his phone. He knew if he clicked snooze, he would succumb to the temptation of sleeping in. School doesn’t start until 8am, but he preferred waking up two hours before school. It gave him enough time to get ready, go to the coffee shop, and bike to school without feeling rushed.
Ryland got up from his bed and hopped in the shower. When he was done, he dried himself, brushed his teeth, and got dressed. He grabbed his “I had potential” shirt, displaying a downward curve before plateauing, with a ball at the end. He checked the time. 6:30am. Perfect, he was on time. Ryland made his way out the door, grabbing his bike, and headed for his favorite coffee shop.
The weather was beautiful, the sun just beginning to rise as Ryland pedaled down the street, enjoying the breeze. Within five minutes he was pulling up to the coffee shop. He parked his bike and locked it to the bike rack before heading inside. It was busy, as was to be expected for this time of the morning, but he had luckily planned for this and had time to spare before he had to be at school. He sidled up to the back of the line behind a man in a pressed shirt carrying a briefcase. While waiting, he pulled out his phone and opened the daily crossword game.
”I can help who’s next!”
Ryland jumped, not even realizing the line had moved. He quickly stuffed his phone back into his pocket and walked up to the register. He didn’t even need to look at the menu, already knowing what he wanted. “I’ll have a medium pour-over coffee, and…” he glanced up at the case of pastries, and decided he could use a little breakfast, too. “A cheese Danish.”
“Gotcha. Can I get a name for the order?”
Ryland finally looked up to make eye contact with the barista. Woah, this guy’s really cute, he thought, mouth slightly open. The barista had deep brown eyes, broad shoulders, chin-length wavy hair that he had tied up in a messy bun, with loose strands of hair in the front framing his face. If Ryland had to guess, he would think the guy was Asian, perhaps half? It didn’t matter to him, though. He was beautiful.
“Sir?” the barista followed up. Ryland didn’t realize he was staring. He snapped back to reality, offering him a sheepish smile.
”Oh, sorry. Grace. The name is Grace,” Ryland answered. He never used his first name when it came to food orders. It was a mouthful, and sometimes the person wouldn’t hear him right. He’s gotten some… interesting spelling interpretations in the past.
“Coming right up!” the barista smiled. Ryland squinted at his name tag. Simon, it read.
“Thank you,” Ryland hesitated, “…Simon!” He smiled.
Simon returned the gesture before turning away to start his order, and Ryland took that as his cue to sit down and wait for his coffee. He resumed the crossword on his phone but found himself distracted, occasionally glancing up to steal glances at Simon. Sometimes, Simon would catch him staring, to which Ryland quickly looked away and pretended to fix his hair.
”Order for Grace?” Simon called out. Ryland stood up and walked to the counter, taking the cup as it was slid across the counter towards him. He and Simon made eye contact, sharing another small smile. Ryland walked out the door and unlocked his bike, slipping his cup and danish bag into the basket.
Fifteen minutes later, he arrived at Grover Cleveland Middle School. It was only seven, so he still had an hour to spare before class. Plenty of time to enjoy his breakfast and review his lesson plan for the day. Ryland parked his bike and locked it once more and grabbed his coffee and cheese Danish. As he picked up the cup, he noticed there was writing on it. It read, “Have a nice day!” with a smiley face. He blushed at the memory of Simon at the register, and his heart did a backflip.
”Whatcha smiling at, Grace?” Ryland jumped at the sudden voice. The vice principal, Carl, was walking up to the school, clicking his keys and locking his car. He and Ryland quickly became friends when Ryland got the job. At first, Ryland was nervous, not only with Carl being vice principal, but also being in a new environment. However, Carl eased the process, and even introduced Ryland to Rocky, the math teacher, who he had since become best friends with.
”Oh, nothing,” Ryland replied, gripping his coffee cup close to his chest. Carl only gave him a menacing look. Unfortunately for Ryland, his feelings often showed on his face, and he knew his cheeks were likely still flushed if the warmth he felt there was any indication.
“Oh, come on, Grace. Don’t even try hiding it,” Carl teased, clapping him on the back as they walked into the school together. He smiled good-naturedly.
“Okay, fine,” Ryland groaned. “I went to the coffee shop today, and there was this really cute guy working there. And look what he wrote on my cup!” He showed the vice principal the scrawled handwriting, then pulled back, embarrassed. “It’s probably nothing, though.”
“Ooh, looks like Grace has got a crush!” Carl sang, opening the door. The school was still quiet, most of the students having not arrived yet.
“Shut up, it’s not a crush. I just saw the guy. We didn’t even talk! The only conversation we had with each other was about my coffee order.”
“…So what’s his name?” Carl pried.
“Ugh, you’re never gonna stop bothering me about this, are you?”
A clicking of dress shoes on the linoleum announced the arrival of Rocky. The math teacher waved at Carl and Ryland as he approached, “What’s he bothering you about, now?” he asked.
“Grace has got a cruuush!” Carl said, in a sing-song melody.
“Again, it is not a crush!” Ryland retorted, not liking that he was being ganged up on all of a sudden.
This seemed to intrigue Rocky. His eyes shone as he leaned in. “Dr. Ryland ‘I don’t fall in love’ Grace, has a crush?” Rocky exclaimed.
“For the last time, it is not a crush. And I do fall in love! Just… not a lot,” Ryland said. Ryland doesn’t get into relationships much. He was pushing thirty and had only been in one relationship, and it didn’t go well. Colt, his twin, often teased him about it. Lightheartedly, of course. Ryland didn’t mind, though. Romance wasn’t everything to him–he had more important things to do with his time.
“What’s their name? How did you meet? Tell me everything!” Rocky demanded, the rings on his fingers clicking as he fidgeted.
Ryland sighed. He knew there was no way of getting out of this. “His name is Simon. I went to the coffee shop today and he was the barista working the counter. I’ve never seen him there before, he must be new.”
“Oh, the coffee shop Adrian works at?”
Right. Ryland forgot Adrian, Rocky’s partner, works there too. Ah, geez. The two of them were totally going to gossip about this and tease him all day about it.
“...Maybe.”
Rocky grinned. Oh, no, Ryland thought.
“Anyways, I’m gonna review my lesson plan for the day. Talk to you guys later!” Ryland said before the two men could further poke fun at him, slipping away and speed-walking to his classroom. Taking a seat, he admired his decorating skills. There were models of atoms hanging from the ceiling. In the center of the ceiling was a model of the solar system. At the back of the class was a giant periodic table. All over the walls were science jokes, growth mindset posters, and motivational quotes. Ryland reviewed his lesson plan, scribbling notes of specific things he was going to say and pulling up his powerpoint, making sure all the slides were ready to go. Once finished, he stretched, cracking his knuckles before standing to open his door in preparation for his students’ arrival. Today was going to be a great day.