The weekend went by, and Ryan spent it trying to reconcile with Adam and writing songs. She hadn't heard from Ephram since he had left angry on Friday. Now, she had to see him, for the first time since then. She just happened to be running late that day, so he was at his locker before she was. She took a deep breath as she got closer. He had his headphones on and obviously didn't see her coming. She brushed past him, trying to get to her locker on the other side.
As she brushed up against him, Ephram suddenly got angry. Is she doing that on purpose? Trying to rub it in a little more, he thought. He was tempted to look over at her, but he resisted the urge, slammed his locker shut and started to walk away.
When his locker slammed, Ryan cringed inside. As he turned to walk away, she called out to him. "Ephram, wait!" She reached out and grabbed his arm. And as he turned around, a look of pure rage on his face, she pulled away quickly. All he did was shake his head at her, and walked away.
Ephram couldn't talk to her. He knew he was treating her horribly, but he couldn't help it. What she had done had caused a complete breakdown, he couldn't be near here.
Amy had watched the whole thing. The look on Ephram and Ryan's faces as Ephram turned and walked away. She wanted to run up to Ryan and start hitting her, because obviously she had done something to upset Ephram. But she didn't. Instead, she stood in front of Ephram's path.
"Ephram, what's wrong? What happened?"
Ephram looked up at Amy. He didn't really want to see her either. The car ride had been silent this morning. He couldn't hold back anymore. "Do I just wear a sign that says 'Hi, my name is Ephram Brown, if you are a beautiful girl, feel free to toy with my heart, let me think you are interested in me, only to crush me when you tell me days later that you have a boyfriend?'"
Amy stood there shocked. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know if there was anything she could say. He just shook his head at her and walked into homeroom.
Homeroom was awkward. Ryan was writing something in a notebook, and kept glancing up at Ephram every few moments. She needed to talk to him, but she didn't know where to start. So, she continued to work on the song lyrics she had started the night before. Ephram was sitting straight up in his desk, just staring straight ahead. And Amy just glanced at the two of them, back and forth.
The ten minutes of homeroom seemed like forever, but finally the bell rang. Ephram quickly grabbed his things and walked out as fast as he could. Amy tried to catch up with him, but Ryan was way ahead of her.
"Ephram, please, just hear me out," Ryan said as she walked behind him. "That's all I'm asking, and then you don't ever have to talk to me again."
Ephram stopped, and turned around, a blank expression on his face. Ryan came up to his side and the two began to walk. "Look, Ephram, I know I gave you the wrong impression. I know it made it seem like I was interested in you. And, to tell you the truth, I was. When I first met you, I forgot about Adam, that's why I didn't tell you. And it seemed like I was making at least one friend here in this stupid town, so I didn't want to ruin that. I should have been honest up front, I'm sorry, I did that wrong. So, I don't know what else to say, I'm truly sorry. If you want, could we start over?"
Ryan looked into his eyes and he melted. He couldn't help it. Plus, he could hear how truly sorry she was in her tone of voice. "It's cool. I should have asked or something before I got my hopes up."
Ryan stepped in front of him and held out her hand, "Hi. My name is Ryan Bailey. I just moved here from New Jersey with my mother and stepfather. I have a boyfriend back home and I play guitar. And I just want a friend."
Ephram grabbed her hand. "I'm Ephram Brown. I've lived for a year. I'm originally from New York. I have a little sister, I have no girlfriend, and I play piano. It just so happens that I'm looking for a friend. Oh, and I've been told that I'm conceited."
Ryan laughed at him as they returned to their side by side position. She rested her elbow up on his shoulder as they walked. "You know, Ephram, I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."
