Disclaimer: Nothing related to the OC belongs to me. I'm just borrowing the characters.
The SATs
Although it required only a walk out to the curb, Dawn Atwood hated to get the mail. It was easier to let Ryan, the dependable one, bring in the mail when he got home from school.
She complained to anyone who would listen that no good news ever arrived in the Atwoods's mailbox. It was all crap: junk mail, letters from collection agencies, or ominous envelopes imprinted with dire warnings about the "Penalties for the Unofficial Use of Government Mail".
Mail from government agencies was the worst. When those letters arrived from the Department of Social Services, CalMed, or Child Welfare, especially Child Welfare, Dawn made life hell for Ryan. He stopped being the smart one, the good one, and became the cause of all her troubles because an improbably large number of those letters concerned him. Nosey do gooders were always sniffing around wanting information about his family life, investigating the circumstances of his medical claims, or concerned about the safety and well-being of Ryan Atwood.
Ryan tried to arrive home from school before Dawn got up to get ready for her night job. With his mom asleep, he had time to sanitize the mail of any potentially hurtful correspondence and be gone before she started her day. Letters from his teachers and those from the counseling center got the highest priority. Ryan made sure that those disappeared into his backpack and never reached Dawn.
Mail that contained checks was accorded a different status in the Atwood home. When there was money at stake, Dawn would make the effort to get up. That must have been the reason she got up early enough to beat Ryan to the mail.
When he got home, Ryan found his mom sitting on a stool at the counter drinking a cup of black coffee. The mail was scattered across the countertop.
"Hey, you're up. I was gonna grab something to eat before I headed to the library to study." Ryan stood near the refrigerator, his backpack resting on the floor at his feet. He made no effort to open the refrigerator door.
From his experience at breakfast that morning, he knew that there were no snacks in the fridge, but it gave him an excuse to hang around the kitchen and check the mail. His attention was riveted as him mom took an envelope off the counter, bearing the return address of the Chino Hills High School, Counseling Center.
Dawn read the letter and as she reached the end, Ryan turned away and opened a cabinet door as though searching for something to eat.
"Ryan."
Ryan turned back to her, a box of dry cereal in his hand. He reached into the box and pulled out a handful. "What's up?" He took a bite.
Dawn examined the form that had been enclosed with the letter. "This letter came from your school today. It's about some test called the SAT I that's being given in a couple of months."
Ryan breathed a discreet sigh of relief. "Oh that, it's just a test that kids planning on going to college take. I don't know why it came here." He'd seen something about it in the newspaper at the library. The Chino Valley Unified School District wanted to increase the level of participation in the SATs this year. Some sort of state mandated requirement. "It's junk. You can trash it."
"You're not interested?" Dawn asked looking back at the letter in her hand.
"Did you see what it costs? You need to take more than just the basic test. Colleges want you to take the writing test, and some of the AP tests. That's like sixty or seventy bucks." Ryan couldn't believe he was having this conversation. Where had Dawn's interest in his education come from? She hadn't met one of his teachers since the third grade and she'd only seen the inside of his high school when she met with the Vice-Principal about his suspensions. She couldn't possibly be serious.
"You seem to know a lot about it for someone who's not interested." She glanced up at him. "It says something here on the application about fee waivers. We ought to qualify for that just like the lunch program you're signed up for." She re-read the application.
Ryan faced his mother, his eyes wide, and then ducked his head. He bit back the urge to correct her. That was back in Middle School, mom! You've got to reapply every year. You never got around to signing me up at Chino Hills for that program. "It isn't worth the effort to apply." He said flatly, "I'm not going to college anyway. Not even junior college. Toss it."
"If you're sure . . .." Dawn sounded doubtful. She didn't toss the letter or the application; instead the envelope and its contents went into the mail caddy on the counter. As the repository for all their unpaid bills and the official letters that she'd respond to someday - just not today - Ryan considered the matter closed.
****
Curfew was never an issue in the Atwood home. Dawn's only rule was that her baby had to be in his bed by the time she got home from her night job. On this particular Friday, however, Ryan, between girls, was at loose ends. Trey had gone out on one of his jobs; Eddie and Theresa were on a date; and Arturo was playing dutiful son and had taken his mom to dinner. He'd ended up at the bargain theater by default watching Indiana Jones save the world from the Nazis. Maybe the four-hour adrenaline rush had something to do with Ryan entering the house less cautiously than he did on other Friday nights. Perhaps heroic acts of daring do and the triumph of good over evil had clouded his judgment.
Friday nights were always dicey around the Atwood house. Payday for the hourly workers who called Chino home, including his mother, made it payday for AJ, too. As fast as his customers cashed their paychecks, AJ's pockets filled up with their twenty-dollar bills. If he had a good day on the street, early evening was a pretty mellow time. He didn't drink or sample the merchandise while conducting business so he'd be in the early stages of his Friday night partying then.
As the evening wore on and AJ's "partying" grew more intense, the danger to bystanders like Ryan increased proportionately. Nearly midnight, it wasn't a good time for Ryan to be careless about the time or the atmosphere prevailing in the house when he returned home. The good mood created by the movies evaporated as Ryan faced the reality of life with AJ.
"What're you doing home so late? You had your mother worried. You shoulda called or somethin'," AJ snarled from "his chair" in front of the TV.
Dawn was, unfortunately, not nearby.
"Screw you."
Trey liked to joke that there was only one good thing about their mom's boyfriends – they made sure the cable bill got paid so they always had ESPN and porn. It was wrestling tonight, Ryan noted with a snort. He ignored AJ's question and crossed to the kitchen. Maybe she'd bought some food on the way home from cashing her check. Popcorn only went so far.
When he heard AJ get out of his chair, Ryan realized he'd made two big mistakes: he'd failed to take the hour into consideration and he'd trapped himself in the kitchen. Damn, why hadn't the landlord fixed those sliding doors onto the patio? Still, with some warning and if AJ was wasted enough, Ryan could be up and over the counter and out the front door before AJ could react. He knew from past experience that AJ's weight and longer arms made letting him get too close risky.
"I asked you a question, you little fuck." AJ started for the kitchen just as Dawn came back into the living room.
She carried an empty glass and walked with exaggerated care to the couch where she sat with equal care. "What are my two guys doing out here?" Her words were slurred.
Ryan and AJ exchanged a glare of mutual hostility. AJ returned to his chair and rested his arms on its back. "Your kid copped an attitude when he came home. He and I were just about to discuss it."
Dawn waved her empty glass and AJ took it from her. He walked to the counter separating the kitchen from the dining area where a bottle of Seagram's, a bucket of ice, and cans of 7-Up sat.
Dawn gave them a foolish smile. "I'm glad it wasn't anything serious. You know how I hate it when my guys fight. Honey . . ." She waved her empty hand, impatient for her drink.
Ryan turned his attention back to AJ. Whatever was going to happen had only been delayed. He was still trapped in the kitchen and AJ still stood between him and the front door.
As AJ added 7-Up to Dawn's drink, he gave Ryan a cold smile, which Ryan interpreted as a signal that AJ also knew that their business had been postponed, not forgotten. Turning to deliver her drink, AJ stopped suddenly, set the glass down on the counter, and plucked an envelope out of Dawn's mail caddy. "Chino Hills High School, Counseling Center," he read. "Mama's little boy in trouble at school again?" He asked with a smirk.
Ryan scowled, but remained silent.
Dawn looked away from the TV and gave AJ a confused look. "Oh, that. No, it's just stuff that came about some college entrance tests that are happening at his school in a couple of months. Ryan's a smart kid," She added vaguely, her attention drifting back to the set.
AJ carried the drink to Dawn, then came back to the counter and sat down on the first stool, the one next to the opening from the dining area to the kitchen. He ignored Ryan like a cat confident that he had the mouse trapped.
AJ opened the letter, glancing up occasionally at Ryan as he read. AJ's angry expression turned cold and calculating. When he finished, he looked over at Ryan and motioned for him to come closer. "Get over here, you little prick."
Ryan held his position as far from AJ as the small kitchen allowed.
"You don't want me to come around this counter and get you. You really don't want that." His voice was softer and more threatening, still Ryan didn't move. "You get your ass over here, now!"
The crack in AJ's voice and the lack of alternatives persuaded Ryan to take a step away from the counter he'd been leaning against.
AJ smiled coldly. "That's showing some of the smarts your mom's always bragging about. Now, I have a little proposition for you." He tapped the letter on the counter top.
Ryan raised an eyebrow skeptically and stayed where he was, his arms crossed, safely out of reach.
"Here's the deal. I'll spring for the cost of this SAT I and in return you drop the attitude." AJ slid the application form across the counter toward Ryan.
AJ sprouting horns would've caused Ryan less shock. "There's got to be more in it for you than me not talking to you." He said emphatically, twisting AJ's plan into something he might be able to live with.
AJ's eyes narrowed and his crafty smile appeared "Sure there is, smart boy. I figure this is just the ticket to take mister high and mighty Ryan Atwood down a peg or two. It'll show you, you little asshole, that you aren't the hot shit you think you are. Never saying a word, watching and judging everything and everyone like a goddamn saint too good to be around the rest of us. Well, you ain't no fucking saint and you've got no place to judge anything. So, you got the balls to do it? "
"Come on Ryan, you know you want to take those tests. I could tell the other day. You never could fool me about a thing like that, honey. AJ's really doing you a favor. Don't be rude, Ry. You've got to be willing to accept a favor when it's offered." Dawn didn't bother to take her eyes off the TV.
Ryan took a second, cautious step forward and stared at the form lying on the counter. When he looked up he saw AJ watching him intently.
"You heard your mother. Don't be rude, Ry. Didn't anyone ever tell you not to look a gift horse in the mouth?" AJ asked sarcastically. "I'm going back to my program while you fill out the form." He stood and returned to the living room. AJ lifted the bottle of beer sitting on the table beside his chair in a mocking salute to Ryan before taking a swallow and settling into his chair.
Ryan looked at the form for several more minutes and then grabbed it and a pen off the counter. He walked into the dining area and sat down at the table to fill out the form.
****
It had been a good plan, really. He put Theresa's home address down on the SAT form, ensuring that, mysteriously, his SAT scores would never show up. So sorry. Must have gotten lost in the mail. AJ could stomp and swear and be as suspicious as he liked, but it was the Post Office, after all. No one could do anything about the Post Office. Ryan would get to take the tests, AJ would pay for them and get screwed over at the same time – an Atwood trifecta.
He'd neglected to take into account Theresa's mom and the fact that she, unlike AJ, was a good person. Theresa knew about the address substitution, her mother didn't. If Mrs. Sanchez had waited for Ryan, or let Theresa give him the scores, the plan would have worked. Letting a mistake go uncorrected wasn't her way, however. She saw the return address from the College Board and knew from the kids' chatter what must be inside.
Nothing would do but that she should deliver this piece of mail.. The letter was important to Ryan and, of all Theresa's boys, he was still her favorite. The Atwoods' house was even on her way to work. It was simple enough to pull up at the curb and slip the letter into their mailbox along with the day's other mail still waiting to be brought in.
Ryan hoped that he hadn't offended her when he rushed out of her house after she told him the news. Theresa's mom had done too much for him since he'd moved to Chino. He'd never knowingly do that; but he was afraid she had an apology coming, if he made it to tomorrow.
He checked the mailbox - empty. Dawn would have opened the envelope by now even though it was addressed to him. She wouldn't have been able to stand not knowing. If AJ was there he'd also know Ryan's scores and AJ was just smart enough to realize Ryan had tried to run a con on him by using Theresa's address.
Wondering if he dared to go inside, Ryan leaned against his bike and stared across the street at his house. He knew what was in that envelope and how angry the contents would make AJ. His counselor at school had called him into her office to discuss his scores. The last time Mrs. Nelson had him in her office to talk about his future she had offered to transfer him out of his academic classes and into Vocational Ed. This time, she rattled on about how he must have been bored in his other classes – not been challenged enough. Now she wanted him to transfer into AP classes. Two years of hard work, the right classes, and these SAT scores and he could be in college.
Dawn would tell AJ about Ryan's scores. If he asked her not to tell, she would do her best not to. Eventually, one night when she was wasted, she'd tell. Ryan knew that. Theresa had offered him a place to stay if he needed it; but if he could just talk to Dawn and buy himself some time, he could come up with a plan and everything would be cool.
Ryan slowly walked his bike across the street and into the yard where he left it leaning against a post on the porch. Taking his keys out of his pocket, he crossed the porch and unlocked the door. It was always locked. He had a fleeting thought. I wonder what it would be like to live somewhere you don't always have to lock your doors?
Turning the handle with his right hand, he pushed the door open slowly with his left. Goddamn it, it's my own house and I'm acting like a . . .. He didn't get the chance to finish the thought.
AJ grabbed his left wrist, pulled hard and Ryan fell through the door off balance. AJ clamped his other hand on Ryan's left arm and pivoted. Ryan, unable to regain his balance, slammed hard against the wall. His right shoulder absorbed some of the force before his head struck the wall a fraction of a second later. There was a blinding burst of pain and Ryan was sliding down the wall toward the floor. He barely heard loud, angry voices through the ringing in his ears before losing consciousness.
****
"What the fuck were you thinking, man?"
"Hey, Eddie. Good to see you." Ryan blinked and tried to focus on the door.
Eddie stood in the doorway, an angry scowl on his face. He looked around Ryan's hospital room and saw that Ryan had the room to himself. That was probably good he supposed. The kid would have been seriously pissed at him if he'd popped off that way in front of someone else. Eddie wasn't sure he gave a fuck what Ryan liked or didn't like today.
"I asked you a question, idiot. You trying to get yourself killed?" Eddie walked to Ryan's bed and slumped into the room's only chair. He looked Ryan over and took in the large ugly bruise on his temple. "Good thing your head's harder than the shitty fiberboard they used in your mom's walls. I saw the dent your head made."
"How's she doing?"
"She hasn't been up to see you?" Eddie got his answer from the way Ryan looked down, not meeting his eyes. "Shit! She hasn't been up." It wasn't a question.
"She rode with me in the ambulance to the Emergency Room and got me admitted. But, Dawn really needs to keep this new job. They like her and they've been giving her overtime. She can't – we can't – afford to turn that down. I told her it was okay." Ryan's eyes narrowed against the glare coming from the window behind Eddie. "Eddie can you get the blinds behind you? All this light is making this double vision worse. It's bad enough that I have to look at your ugly face once without seeing it in stereo."
Eddie got up and adjusted the blinds. He'd noticed Ryan's difficulty with the light, but he'd also seen the reflection off the moisture in his eyes. "I thought you had better sense than to go up against AJ alone?"
"His car wasn't there. I figured I'd be in and out before AJ showed up. I needed to know if he'd seen my scores. If he didn't know about them, I'd tell mom to cool it."
"And if he did know – what?" Eddie shook his head and rocked back in his chair. "You know, I think he knew." He snorted in disgust. "Theresa told me about the little jam you'd gotten yourself into. Dumb, Atwood, dumb. You're supposed to be the one with all the brains. You ain't gonna survive around here acting like Trey. Has that screw-up been here to see you?" He waited for Ryan's answer, then nodded. "Figures. He just scored a big deal and he's out pissing the money away on booze, broads, and designer drugs."
"This isn't a big deal. I'll be out of here tomorrow – two days tops. Doctor's just being cautious because of that other concussion I had. They've had my head inside every high tech gizmo in this place."
"Good! They can make it official. You're brainless!" Eddie was glad to see the quick look that drew from Ryan and the smile he saw briefly lift the corners of his mouth.
Turning serious, he continued. "You know how AJ is on his best day but after trying to scam him that way . . .. You're lucky he settled for unconscious." Eddie shook his head.
There was a dark, bleak expression on his face that Ryan hadn't seen before. It made his face more angular, more deadly as though knife blades had been fitted together to form the planes of his face. "You know I would have done something about him if he hadn't stopped. If he'd . . .."
"No reason to think about that. AJ got his payback. He'll figure we're even and life will go back to normal. That's how you want it, right? You wouldn't want me to have to move in with Theresa and Arturo, would you?" Ryan's face wore the innocent expression that had always gotten Trey blamed for the few escapades his little brother had actually been guilty of. "I thought I was being careful. It was in the afternoon; it wasn't a Friday; and mom was home. I miscalculated. I don't suppose she pressed charges against the bastard?" Ryan asked hopefully.
"Nah. The story she gave Theresa, and probably the cops too, was that you guys were roughhousing and AJ tossed you into the wall when you were doing karate." He shrugged. "AJ was back at the house last night. No offense, kid, but whoever you get your brains from it sure isn't your mom." Eddie paused. "You falling asleep on me, man?"
Ryan's eyes had started to flutter and he had to force himself to follow the last of what Eddie had said.
"Okay, I can take a hint. I'm boring the genius. I'll leave." Eddie stood.
"Sorry, Eddie. I drift in and out. It's not the company."
"Sure, sure, I'll see you later. I've got to get back to work anyway. The boss let me take a long lunch. I told him my brother was in the hospital." Eddie smiled slyly. "Can't fuck this up though. The foreman's supposed to be leaving and I figure I've got a shot at the job when he goes." He reached down and squeezed Ryan's hand. "I'll see you tomorrow. Take care, little brother. Stay out of trouble!"
Eddie walked to the doorway before turning back for a moment. "Theresa and her mom are coming to see you this evening. There was talk of sopapillas."
Ryan's face blossomed into a radiant smile that seemed to brighten the room.
Eddie enjoyed his friend's happiness for a moment and then left. As he walked slowly down the corridor to the elevator he thought about how rare it was to see Ryan's true smile. It shouldn't be from a hospital bed with a concussion. Damn! The kid deserved better than that.
****
A.N. This is obviously not the missing, last chapter of A Bad Monday I still owe my readers. However, it belongs to the same universe. During the writing of my 12:30 pm chapter (Ryan and Luke's chapter) I had a long discussion with one of my readers about Ryan's test scores that so impressed Sandy. I turned out to be wrong and in changing the chapter to incorporate the correct information I started a flashback about how Ryan came to take them as a Sophmore. It seemed like too much to drop into the middle of that chapter but too good just to toss. This chapter is my take on how Ryan's records showed information about him that wouldn't normally be available for a kid his age.