Chapter Four – Awkward Silence
A week had passed, and Ryan had adjusted to school. It helped having Ephram around. She never got lost and always had someone to talk to. She learned to put up with the stares she got; as Ephram explained she was the closest thing to punk Everwood had ever seen since an Avril Lavigne poster. And that wasn't punk to Ryan. Then again, she wouldn't call herself punk either.
If there was one thing she missed, besides Adam, it was the fact that back home, she was surrounded by a group of people who accepted her. They were like her. They dressed alike, acted alike, and had the same musical taste. She wondered if she'd ever go to another "Battle of the Bands" again, if she'd ever be in a band again. She missed the band. It had only been a week and half, but everything she once knew seemed to slipping further and further away with each passing minute.
Ryan was trying extremely hard to pay attention, but she was distracted by her thoughts. She glanced over at Ephram, who was sitting next to her, with his head down, obviously asleep. She gave a half smile. She liked Ephram. Not in the "I wanna have your baby" way, but in this "I wanna figure you out" way. He had been the first person to extend friendship to her and the only person she could fully tolerate.
She was spending time with Amy, Bright, and Colin, through Ephram, but she just knew she didn't belong with them. Bright's IQ seemed lower than her dog's and Amy and Colin were too lovey-dovey for her. Watching them broke her heart and made her miss Adam even more. Plus, she didn't think Amy liked her too much.
Finally, the bell rang. The day was over. She reached over and shook Ephram from his sleep. He looked up, with that lost puppy expression that Ryan found endearing. "I think you have a little drool on your chin"
Ephram glared at her with this "I just woke up, don't mess with me" look. He grabbed his stuff and the two headed towards their lockers.
"Are you still coming over?" Ryan asked.
It was obvious Ephram still hadn't fully awoken from his nap and he looked at her questioningly.
"Earlier in the week, you said you would come over when I invited you."
"Oh yea," Ephram said, suddenly remembering. "I've got to go home first, but I'll be over."
"Good," Ryan said. She shut her locker and threw her messenger bag around her shoulder. "Okay, I'm off. Just come in when you come over, the door's open, and no one will be home but me."
Ephram nodded as he watched her walk away. He shut his locker and walked towards Amy, who had noticed was standing about twenty feet away, waiting for him. Bright and Colin had a basketball meeting after school, so it would just be the two of them for the ride home.
"What's with the grin?"
Ephram hadn't noticed he was smiling. All he knew is that he was thinking about Ryan and how he would be in her house, with her, alone, in less than two hours. "Grin? Am I grinning? I didn't notice."
"I did and I bet I know why," Amy stated. "You have a date with Ryan."
"One, it's not a date, and two, how did you know?"
Amy looked at him like he was the stupidest person in the world.
Ephram laughed. "Oh yea, that's right, I'm Amy Abbott and I know everything," he said, trying his best to imitate her voice.
Amy hit him playfully with the notebook she was carrying. "Actually, I overheard. And you know, I'm starting to think you spend too much time with Bright."
"And we all know spending time with Bright is dangerous for one's brain cells."
Ephram's comment sent the two in a fit of laughter. The duo had reached the car and by the time they were inside, Amy still had to calm herself down before she could drive.
"For some reason, that joke about Bright seemed a lot funnier than any of the other 10 million we've said," Ephram said.
Amy looked over him, with a rather serious look on her face. "Probably because we haven't joked in awhile. You haven't been around much in the past week. I'm in withdrawal of your sarcasm."
And Ephram just looked back at her. The two stared at each other, in an awkward silence that only grew over time. It was as though both were reliving the memories of when they first met, back in the days they spent a lot of time together, and maybe, Ephram hoped, that day she kissed him. Colin still didn't know. It was a mutual understanding between the two that he wouldn't.
Finally, after what seemed like eternity, Amy cleared her throat and turned her attention to starting the car and backing out of the parking lot. The ride home was spent in that same awkward silence.
