Even though he took some getting used to, Ryan thought Seth was pretty funny. He got the feeling that he made a lot of jokes that went right over Ryan's head, but the over dramatic, extreme hatred for school reminded him of Trey. Of course, Trey was always more angry, more violent, more serious. But the quip made him feel like he was at home. A safer, weirder home in a twisted universe. But it wasn't so bad.
"What did the school say, Sandy?" Sandy was glad for Kirsten to bring the conversation back on track. If she hadn't, Sandy may have just continued to stare at Ryan for who knows how long. That smile. He had smiled. And it was amazing.
"Oh my God. What is wrong with this family?" Seth was 'stormed' out of the kitchen leaving his side kick to fend for himself. Sandy smiled. Maybe one day Ryan would act like that. Or at least feel like he had the choice to act like that without being afraid.
"Anyway. Ryan, I spoke with the principal at Seth's school and before we sign you up, she wants you to come in for some tests."
"Tests?" The poor kid looked absolutely terrified. Sandy was not happy that his smile had faded. He quickly considered offering to home school Ryan so he would never have to take tests again. But that probably wouldn't make him feel too much better. Maybe Sandy could just give him permission to never go back to school. Anything to get him to smile again. But he settled for smiling himself and tried to be reassuring.
"Nothing major. They just want to see what classes you would be placed in. Or if you'd be a good fit for the school. If not, no big deal. We'll find somewhere else." It didn't look like Ryan was going to be smiling again anytime soon. "Hey we're about to order Chinese. Why don't you pick something out?" Ryan shrugged and looked away. It looked like he was looking to see where Seth went. Or just looking for a way out. Well, seeing him try to run and hide from a conversation was at least somewhat better than seeing him try to run and hide because he thought he was going to get beaten.
"Anything's fine really."
"Yeah, but we like to shake the order up every once in a while seeing as we get Chinese about once a week. What should we add?" Ryan glanced down at the menu open on the counter, obviously uncomfortable. Sandy felt the urge to pull back and let Ryan leave without actually saying anything, but he knew he couldn't. He couldn't keep pulling back every time Ryan flinched. If he did, Ryan would never learn that everything was going to be okay, that he really was safe.
"Um, pot stickers?" Sandy watched as his eyes nervously looked back and forth between his face and Kirsten's. He scrunched up half of his face the same way Rosie did when she was uncertain about something.
"I haven't had pot stickers in the longest time. That's a great idea." And with that, Sandy's wonder woman was sauntering out of the room with the takeout menu and a phone. Ryan looked significantly less uncomfortable. Another battle won.
Ryan was actually getting good at some of the video games he and Seth played. The one they currently played, both sprawled out on the couches, was not one of those. The had played it a few times before and Ryan finally realized he would never be good at it. Therefore, he didn't really put much effort in. Instead, he thought about everything going on around him. The video games, the not screaming parents, the little girl playing with dolls in the corner, the weird level of attention he got from Seth. It was all so foreign, but it was seeming more and more familiar by the hour. Except Seth was unusually quiet.
Usually he would at least joke about Ryan being so bad, but as he glanced over, Seth was properly zoned out, staring at the TV. It probably had something to do with low blood sugar or something.
"Hey, uh, so what kind of school do you go to that I have to take tests for?"
"Huh?" Ryan had broken the silence and confused Seth. He considered just turning back, but he had already come this far so why not have an actual conversation?
"Your dad said I had to go in and take some tests before starting school."
"Huh. I don't know probably to see if you'll go into AP classes or something? Trust me. You don't have to be a genius to get in. It's kind of pretentious. And full of douchebags. And a terrible, terrible place in general. But…" Ryan smiled as Seth obviously lost his train of thought. As he get angrier, he mashed the buttons on the buttons on the controller harder. Ryan laughed.
"That awful, huh?" Seth glared at him as his character's head flew off. But Ryan could tell he was joking, mostly.
"Yes. Ugh!" He dropped his remote and rolled over. "It's full of stupid jocks. Were you a jock at your other school?" Ryan scoffed and shook his head. And since Seth had dropped his remote, he finally won the game.