Bad Behavior – Chapter 10
Turning Corners
"You have got to be kidding me! How could this happen?" Holding her head Kirsten sighed with disappointment. "No, no, I'll take care of it just give me until seven o'clock. We'll just have it here. That's fine. Bye."
Seth, Ryan and Sandy had walked in and heard half of the conversation and looked at Kirsten with blank faces.
"Yeah. Exactly. A pipe broke at The Iris so the Women's League can't meet there tonight…instead they are coming here."
"You mean I set that place up for nothing?" Ryan asked, perturbed.
"Believe me Ryan, I'm just as frustrated with this as you are. If you help me get through tonight it'll be your third set up and you'll be done. I need all the help I can get tonight."
Taking his turn at sighing, "Okay. I'll help," he consented, accepting her offer.
"I'll help too," Seth chimed in.
"Well don't leave me out," Sandy added.
"Oh thanks guys! We have just about two hours to pull this off. Ryan, Seth go to the garage and get some of the spare tables so we can put out some appetizers. Sandy, check the bar and make a list of anything we'll need, you know how these ladies like their drinks. And ice, add a bag of ice to the list. I'm going to straighten up the living room and the kitchen. Everyone meet back here in twenty minutes."
Team Cohen, Ryan included, worked feverishly to prepare the house for the soon-to-arrive Women's League. In twenty minutes they met back in the kitchen for step two of the preparations.
"Okay, next task, food. Sandy, run out and get whatever you need for the bar. I'll take the boys with me and we'll hit Luigi's and bring back some food for the party. We've got to be back here in forty-five minutes to put the food out. The officers for the club will be arriving a little earlier than the rest of the ladies."
"Don't say officers Mom, you'll scare Ryan."
"Shut up Seth," Ryan warned, shoving him toward the door.
"Good luck," Sandy chuckled, kissing his wife. "See you in a little bit."
-- -- -- --- --- --- -- -- --
Marching right through the doors of Luigi's, Kirsten was on a mission. "Boys, go over to the other side by the deli and pick out some appetizers for platters. Anything. I don't care what it is. Recanting that statement, "I take that back. Seth, nothing with lobster in it."
"You're killing me Mom."
Shaking her head, she went to the counter to order some main course items to bring home. "Hurry," she called over her shoulder.
Ryan and Seth stood in front of the giant display case eyeballing all of the choices.
"So, what's your pleasure Ry? Anything look good to you?"
Feeling lost, Ryan stared into the cooler and raised his eyebrows. Nothing beyond the glass looked like real food to him. With their fancy swirls and garnishes, the items in the cooler looked more like decorations, rather than edible items.
"I can see you aren't going to be much help. How about you just tell me what you think looks pretty?"
Turning his eyes sideways, Ryan wrinkled his face at Seth's request.
"Ryan, for the ladies…the ladies would like the ones that look the prettiest. We'll just make a platter of the prettiest ones. It'll be a bouquet of edible goodness."
Turning their task into a game, the boys managed to fill up six giant platters. The woman behind the counter put lids over each of the trays and gave each of the boys a stack of three platters to carry.
"There ya go guys. Please be careful. Your Mom will not be happy if you drop these."
"You have no idea," Seth agreed.
Snagging an empty cart, they stacked the platters inside the basket and crossed the store back towards Kirsten's location. Their trip was cut short when Blaine and Carter stepped in front of their cart.
"Well don't you two make a cute couple? What's all this for? It's not like you two have any friends or anything."
"You sound like someone that speaks from experience," Seth sassed back.
Blaine gave Seth a shove that caught him off guard and knocked him to the floor.
"Don't touch him!" Ryan hollered. Planting his left foot down, he cocked his right arm back.
"Ryan! NO!" Kirsten's stern voice bellowed through the storefront. "No! Put your arm down…now!" she reprimanded. "Don't you dare do this! This is exactly what they want you to do. Walk away…we don't have time for them and their games."
After a brief hesitation, Ryan straightened up and slowly lowered his fist. Glancing at Seth on the ground, he opened his hand and helped him up.
"As for you two," Kirsten scolded. "Get a new routine already. This one is worn out and tired. I'll be seeing both of your mothers tonight and they will hear about this. Go home."
Once the instigators had walked away, "Come on boys, we're running out of time.
When the Rover pulled in the driveway, Sandy was already on the porch ready to help unload the car.
"The bar is stocked and ready for Newport's female alcohol intolerant guests."
"What time is it?" Kirsten panicked.
"It's ten after six. We've got to hurry."
Working as a team, some how, some way, they got the food organized for the party.
"Boys these trays look amazing. Oh they are just beautiful. They are almost too pretty to eat," Kirsten admired while Seth and Ryan exchanged a look and Seth mouthed 'I told you so'.
"Alright, I'm running upstairs to change my clothes. Sandy, please keep an eye on the door. Seth, Ryan, go change into something more presentable for company."
"Mom…" Seth moaned.
"You can't wander through the party unless you are dressed appropriately. And that means I can keep you away from the food."
"You're not gonna make us wear suits…are you?" Ryan was weary of her answer. It was bad enough he was going to have to parade around the party 'helping'. He hated the idea of being on display in front of so many Newpsies.
"Oh no, no suits. Ryan just put on your nice black pants and you'll find a new dress shirt hanging on your bathroom door. That's all you need. Seth, just, find something."
"You bought me a new shirt?" Ryan stammered, embarrassed.
"Yes, now go get dressed, both of you," she hollered rushing through the living room.
Putting his hairbrush down, Ryan looked at himself in his bathroom mirror. For the first time since he came to Newport, he realized he had turned a corner. He looked different. He felt different. He realized his life was his. The day's events up until that point replayed in his mind. It dawned on him that, even though he was dreading meeting the guests, he actually enjoyed the chaos of his new family preparing for their arrival that evening. He smiled and chuckled at his reflection when he thought about the ridiculousness of choosing 'pretty' appetizers from the deli counter with Seth…only in Newport. Then his mind jumped to the confrontation with Blaine and Seth. Kirsten's 'no' command played in his mind. He had walked away. He obeyed. Yes, he had definitely changed. Tipping his head back a bit, he looked himself over again. "Maybe you really can do this," he said out loud to himself. "Maybe this is what you've wanted all along and you just never knew it."
"Ry! Come on man, my Mom needs us," Seth called into the pool house.
"Be right there."
Making sure his shirt was tucked in just right and his collar straight, it dawned on him that it felt good to be wanted…to be part of a real family…to be loved.
Entering the kitchen, Ryan found the chaos had been kicked up a notch. The room contained about twelve women all with trays of food in their hands with the intention of giving Kirsten a hand with the party. Ryan quickly recognized a handful of the women from previous engagements, including Margaret, Blaine's mother. He made a mental note to keep a safe distance from her.
"Ryan dear, how are you?"
The voice surprised him. He turned and found himself in a half embrace with Peggy, the one person in Newport that stood up to the community for Ryan outside of the Cohen household.
"Hey," he smiled, embarrassed.
"I'll bet this is the last place on earth you want to be right now," Peggy sympathized. "Maybe you can sneak out after a little bit, find something more fun to do."
"Hmm, I can't. I'm a…I'm grounded right now. I'm definitely stuck here."
"Oh boy. So, did you deserve it?"
"Yeah…yeah, I did," he chuckled nervously.
Snickering herself, "I like you Ryan, you've got spunk. You're doing just fine. Just take it one day at a time honey. Speaking of which, I hear Sandy is whipping up drinks…could you check and see if he's making margaritas?"
"Sure."
"Did someone say margaritas? Oh Peggy, who's your…friend?" a stranger asked.
Seeing the crowd was gathering around Ryan, Kirsten jumped in to throw him a life line, "Everyone this is my son, Ryan. And he's, um…" she stalled looking at Ryan to see if he was going to play along with the program.
"Um, I'm heading over to Sandy with drink orders so…if anyone wants anything…"
"Oh I like him already! Ryan honey, a Manhattan please," a redhead by the stove requested, leading to a string of other drink orders.
Jokingly calling a time out, an overwhelmed Ryan left the kitchen saying he'd be back in a minute to take more drink requests. Wiggling his way through the crowd, he was relieved to finally reach Sandy at the bar.
"Hey kid, how you holding up?" Sandy asked, still in motion behind the bar.
"I can't believe I agreed to this. I hope you know how to make all of this stuff Sandy. These women belong at a Chino party with what they're ordering."
"You aren't kidding. Some of these women could even drink you under the table. Okay, I'm ready, what do you need?"
"Yeah, um, the group in the kitchen needs four Margaritas, a tonic and lime, a Highball, a Bloody Mary, a Manhattan, a Cosmo…oh, and a Diet Coke."
"How the heck did you remember all of that?"
"I'm trained. An alcoholic Mom, her alcoholic boyfriend, my brother wasn't exactly an alter boy either. Drinks were sort of like the Ten Commandments in my house growing up."
"Right. I forget that sometimes."
"Hey, who's the Diet Coke for?"
"Me…"
.. … .. …. .. .. . .
Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, "Kirsten, is that the boy from Chino?" one of the women inquired.
"Yes, that's Ryan."
"This is the first time I've seen him. Oh he is just the cutest thing! He looks like a sweetheart. So is he…" she paused, searching for the politically correct terms. "Is he having a hard time adjusting to life in Newport?"
Kirsten was relieved that, for once, someone was using tact when asking about Ryan. "Ryan had a lot from his past to overcome and it took some time but he's doing very well. Sandy and I are very proud of him. He's really a great kid."
Kirsten turned to see Ryan handing out the requested beverages. He gave her a genuine smile and brought her margarita over. "I heard what you said."
"I meant every word," she said giving Ryan a shoulder squeeze before turning her attention back to the guests. "Ladies, if you could make your way to the living room please, Phyllis needs to make a few announcements and then dinner will be served."
The Cohens took advantage of the empty kitchen and enjoyed the lull for the time being. "You know what, I think you guys should grab a dish and get something to eat before the women return again."
"Finally, the first good idea Mom's had all day," Seth said grabbing a dish.
"Ryan honey, make a plate for yourself," Kirsten instructed handing him a dish.
"I think Ryan will just stick to the 'pretty' appetizers."
"Stop calling them 'pretty'!" Ryan laughed before slapping Seth in the back of the head.
"I'm so sorry I'm late," a voice interrupted. A voice that made Ryan's heart stop. Looking up, his horror was validated when he discovered Dr. Kim standing in the kitchen.
Sandy watched the smile melt right off of Ryan's face and noticed his body went rigid. Ryan's shirt tightened across his chest with each deep breath he tried to conceal. Sandy's own heart raced with the realization that Dr. Kim was a problem for Ryan. She was the one. She was the missing piece from Kirsten's theory.
"They're just getting started in the other room, you haven't missed anything. Let me take that for you," Kirsten offered taking the tray of desserts from Dr. Kim, unaware of Ryan's reaction. "Boys, go ahead, make your plates before…"
"I'm not hungry," Ryan announced through clenched teeth, his eyes locked on Dr. Kim. Putting his dish down quietly, "I'll be in my room."
"Ryan…" Kirsten called after him with no luck. Ryan hustled out the door without saying another word. "What just happened?"
Seth's lack of eye contact screamed 'please don't ask me'. Turning to Sandy, however, she knew something was very wrong. "Seth, why don't you go check on Ryan? Maybe you can get him to change him mind about dinner."
Seth nodded and left the kitchen, leaving the trio in a very awkward silence.
"I really hope I'm wrong on this," Sandy began with growing anxiety. "Is there anything you want to say to us?"
"Somebody better explain to me what the hell is going on." Kirsten looked at Sandy, still lost in the situation.
Dr. Kim swallowed hard, shame apparent on her face. "I…I may have…pushed Ryan a little too hard when he first came to Harbor." Her voice fluctuated from nerves.
"Oh my God," Kirsten gasped. "It's you. You're the one."
"Let's go outside on the patio. I have a feeling this could quickly become a rather spirited conversation," Sandy warned.
After asking Peggy to keep an eye on the party, the situation was moved outside.
"How could you do this to him?" Kirsten's forehead creased with anger, her voice quaked with frustration. "I sat down and talked with you when I registered him. I told you to give him a chance. Do you have any idea what that kid has been through?"
Sandy walked over and put his hands on Kirsten's shoulders in an attempt to calm her down.
"I think the fastest way to get through to her is to ask if she has any idea what he's capable of. He's a great kid, he really is. But he's not someone you'd want to lock horns with."
The comment got Dr. Kim's attention. Tears escaped her eyes and she found her way to a chair to save herself from the weak feeling in her legs.
"Exactly what did you say to him?" Sandy interrogated, stepping closer to Dr. Kim. "I want to know everything you said to him…for his sake, and for yours."
Trying to compose herself, "I was stern with him. I simply told him fighting would not be tolerated and such behavior could get him suspended or even expelled."
"You know we've had Ryan living with us for some time now. If you're going to skirt the truth, you're going to have to do a lot better than that. Kirsten and I have gotten pretty good at keeping our thumbs on people until we get the entire story," Sandy warned. "Ryan was having fun with us in the kitchen until the second you walked in. There's more to this. You're not telling us everything."
"No, she's not."
All heads turned to see Ryan standing just outside of the pool house, with Seth behind him. They had been listening to everything.
"Ryan honey, come over here for a minute." Per Kirsten's request, Ryan walked across the patio with Seth in tow. "Seth, maybe you should…"
"It's okay Kirsten. He already knows everything."
"So you were hiding something," Sandy scolded and Seth nodded. "Ryan, what do you think about what Dr. Kim said?"
Ryan sized up Dr. Kim. He was going to enjoy this. "You look nervous. You're afraid of what I'm going to say aren't you?" He watched the Dean squirm. "You should be." Ryan walked over and stood between Sandy and Kirsten, directly across from Dr. Kim so she had no choice but to look at him. "She talked to me on the first day of school, right after I got my locker assignment."
"…In the middle of water polo player hell by the way." Seth interjected. "Ryan and I think he was strategically placed there. His locker is only about eight away from Blaine and Carter and you know how those guys all feel about each other."
Dr. Kim felt nauseous. This entire situation had taken a left turn and gone from terrible to horrific.
"Our conversation about not fighting in school wasn't quite as sugar coated as she'd like you to believe. I was told that Harbor wasn't a fight club or a street corner and fighting would get me expelled. I was also told the only reason I was allowed into Harbor in the first place was because of who my foster parents were. She was surprised that I tested as well as I did and she 'strongly' suggested that I keep to myself and concentrate on my studies."
Kirsten's forehead wrinkled with a combination of hurt and anger. "How could you treat him like that? And this was unprovoked. He didn't do anything wrong, you just thought he deserved this?"
"I gotta tell you Dr. Kim, this is extremely disturbing. I'm actually speechless at your behavior." Sandy stood with his hands on his hips, at a complete loss for words.
"You may want to sit down then Sandy because there's more."
Turning to face Ryan, "What could possibly be worse than the degrading reprimanding you got for no reason?"
Ryan's eyes left Sandy's and drifted to Dr. Kim who instantly went to pieces. "Ryan, please…"
With surprised laughter, "Begging. Nice. That's not going to work. You never gave me a chance from the minute I set foot in your school. Why the hell would I protect you now?"
"I think I better sit down," Kirsten announced with Sandy following suit.
"Last Friday Seth and I left school a little bit late, most of the parking lot was empty. Dr. Kim was in the teacher's lot and called us over." Ryan fed off of Dr. Kim's meltdown. It was turning out to be a tremendous relief to get this secret out in the open. "When we got over by her car, she told us she had locked her keys in her car."
"So far it's okay…isn't it?" Sandy asked.
"No. Not even close." Ryan narrowed his eyes at Dr. Kim. "I know you don't think I'm good for much. Unfortunately for you, you picked the one thing I can ace with my eyes closed. That day you said I was the one with the unusual talent. You want to know just how talented I am?"
She looked at Ryan with fear in her eyes. Her career was flashing before her with every passing second.
"Let's pretend for a minute that you were telling the truth and you weren't trying to frame me for stealing your car."
"What?!" Sandy and Kirsten exclaimed together.
"Mom, Dad, you've got to hear Ryan work this through, he's a genius. Go ahead Ryan."
"So the keys are supposedly locked in the car. How did I know you were lying without even looking inside the car? Let's start with the obvious. I'm a kid, a kid you hate by the way. I'm the last person on earth you'd ever turn to for help. And let's not forget, we're in Newport. Everything in this town is just a phone call away and money is no object. But I'm blue collar so I guess I don't have the smarts to figure that out according to you. You know what else didn't make sense? For the Dean of the school you were going home awful light that day. No briefcase, no files, even my alcoholic mother carries a purse. But you didn't, not that day. It sure didn't look like you were ready to go home."
Ryan paused allowing everyone on the patio to absorb what he just said. When the silence continued, he went on with his explanation.
"I've been around cons all my life. I know how they work, forwards and backwards. To be perfectly blunt with you Dr. Kim, I knew you were up to something the minute you called me over to the car. Where I come from, you gain strength by using people's weaknesses, their flaws, against them. You tried to use my strength against me. That was a huge mistake."
"I can't take this any more," Sandy said, looking at Dr. Kim with disgust. "Ryan gave us his side of this. What do you have to say for yourself? Is this true?"
Nodding, Dr. Kim covered her mouth with her hand, tears pouring from her eyes. "I made a mistake. I didn't give him a chance." She looked at Ryan through swollen, make-up smeared eyes. "Ryan, I'm sorry."
"I'll expect your resignation to be handed in to the school board first thing in the morning. If you don't, I promise you we will press charges to the fullest extent of the law."
"Get out of my home. You should be ashamed of yourself." Kirsten stood up from the patio table and wiped her eyes. "I'm sure you can see yourself out. I'm going to take my family inside and make sure they get some dinner. Come on Ryan. I know you're hungry honey."
"Dinner. Finally," Seth groaned. "Ryan, wait up. I'll keep you company."
Once of the rest of his family had disappeared inside the house, Sandy walked Dr. Kim to the gate. "This is extremely disappointing and I can't even find the words to convey my anger right now. I expected so much more from such a prominent person in this community. I'll be bringing the boys to school tomorrow. Word of your resignation better be circulating by then. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go have dinner with my family. Good night."
"Kirsten, Kirsten I can't eat that much." Looking at the plate she was fixing for him, Ryan raised his eyebrows.
"Oh yes you can, it's your favorite. Sit down and eat."
"Mom, if Ryan doesn't want it, you know, it's just more for the rest of us," Seth explained, reaching for Ryan's dish while Ryan raised a fork in his fist in Seth's direction. "Maybe not. Maybe Ryan's actually really hungry."
Walking up behind Seth, Kirsten leaned on an empty chair just as Sandy entered the kitchen. "Ryan, why didn't you tell us? Did you think we wouldn't believe you?"
Finishing his mouthful of pasta, he put his fork down. "No, that's not it. You guys believed in me even when I didn't believe in me. Ever since I came here, rotten as I've been at times, you keep telling me you brought me here to make a new start, a fresh beginning. The way she treated me…it reminded me of Chino. I wanted to believe all of you. I really wanted to believe that life here would be different, be better. I guess I just wanted to pretend it didn't happen."
"If anyone ever treats you like that again, you come to us immediately," Sandy instructed. "This isn't Chino. You don't have to take that anymore, from anyone. You don't have to handle things alone anymore. You don't have to be afraid here."
A crooked smile of embarrassment flickered across Ryan's face before he looked down at the table.
"You know kid, you gotta let us be the parents at least some of the time. It makes us feel important," Sandy joked, breaking the tension that had built up as a result of the Dr. Kim episode.
Ryan met Sandy's gaze with a genuine smile, "I know."
"On another note, since this is a party," Kirsten added, hoping to keep the upbeat mood going at the table. "We have some celebrating to do. Ryan walked away from a fight today." Kirsten beamed at Ryan's accomplishment. Even she was amazed that he walked away.
"He did? Where?" Sandy asked. "I always miss all the excitement."
"At Luigi's. There was a confrontation and Blaine knocked Seth to the ground. Ryan took exception to that. He got at far as cocking his arm back but when I told him to stop, he did."
"Well I'll be damned. Ryan that is outstanding! I'm proud of you son."
"Let's not get carried away," Seth interrupted with sass, and a mouthful of food. "It was only because he spent so much time in front of the PRETTY appetizers…must have softened him."
"You're asking for it!" Ryan warned, stifling a laugh.
"Bring it on buddy! Bring…it…on!"
Poking at his dinner with his fork, Ryan shook his head feeling oddly relaxed as the kitchen filled up with women from the League anxiously looking for dinner. None of them the wiser to what had just happened. He felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. As bad as the confrontation with Dr. Kim was, he was relieved the ordeal could be put behind him…or so he hoped. Just like Peggy said, one day at a time. The episode on the patio proved to him that the Cohens had his back, no matter what. He'd know all along that's what they were trying to show him, that they'd support him, love him. But standing up against Dr. Kim and taking his side took that promise to a whole new level. He could feel it…and it felt good.
Attempting to make a dent in the plate Kirsten had piled high for him, he wondered what the next day at school would bring. Would Dr. Kim still be there or would she heed Sandy's warning? He would know the answer in less than ten hours.
(To be continued)…
