Sandy paced the hallways of Harbor, waiting. But still, he smiled to himself. He was just a nervous dad, worrying about how his son was doing on a test, just like he would be with his other kids. As much as he was enjoying the moment, he was also slightly miserable. He couldn't stop the thoughts from running through his head. Was Ryan doing well? Had he been nervous when he had gone in? Was there something Sandy could have done to help him feel better? What would happen if Ryan didn't do well on the tests? What if he did? Would he fit in at Harbor? Seth didn't. The door eventually opened and the teacher who had been proctoring the test walked out. Ryan followed a few steps behind, shoulders slumped over.
"These tests aren't going to take long to grade. Why don't you two come have a seat in Dr. Kim's office?" Ryan didn't look too phased, at least not more than usual. He looked just like he always did. He had a way of assessing everything in the vicinity he was in, looking for danger. It was almost as if the lockers or a table or the floor would jump up and grab him at any moment.
"How'd it go?" He simply looked at Sandy and shrugged. Just for a moment, he didn't look worried. After the few brief seconds of nonchalance, the door to the office opened and he almost jumped out of his chair.
"How are we doing today? Good?" Sandy made mindless small talk as he watched Dr. Kim sit down behind her desk, holding a file. Did the file she had look anything like the file he had?
"Great. Well, you'll be happy to hear that Ryan did an excellent job on his tests." Sandy beamed at his son, relief taking over. He really wouldn't have minded if Ryan didn't do well on the tests. He wouldn't have minded if he flunked them, had to go to the other high school down the street, and struggled with every class there. But knowing that Ryan was smart, that he would be able to go to the same school as Seth, that he would probably do well, made Sandy relax more. It was one obstacle Ryan wouldn't have to overcome.
"Way to go, kid!" He resisted the urge to pat him on the back as he watched blood rush to the young boy's cheeks. Dr. Kim rattled off the specifics of the tests, all much better than what Seth would have gotten.
"We also received the transcript from your old school." She looked down at the file. "Excellent grades, excellent SAT score… Not much of a participator though, huh?" She looked at Ryan, expecting an answer. Sandy could have laughed out loud. She sure as hell wasn't getting anything. Ryan, in turn, looked at Sandy expectantly, looking for an out. "Maybe we can work on changing that once you start here, okay?"
"We sure can try." Sandy smiled at both of them and watched Ryan relax.
Ryan had been vaguely aware of female voices, but didn't pay them much attention. He figured that it was just a normal part of being in the backyard of the Cohen house. The huge, gorgeous backyard, complete with a pool, hot tub, whole other house, and a view Ryan could have never imagined existed.
Even though Seth had been suggesting they go outside for days, it was the first time Ryan was outside for more than a few minutes. Now it had only been an hour since Ryan had settled to put on the swim trunks Kirsten had bought him and climb into the pool. Out of everything she had bought for him, it was the first thing he'd actually put on. He wouldn't have even worn it if he had had his own swimsuit. He couldn't even remember the last time he had worn a swimsuit. He had vague memories of being in a pool on vacation with Trey, but they hadn't gone on vacation in years.
A giant splash and a squeal snapped Ryan out of his thoughts. Seth was nowhere to be seen. Until he popped up from under the water with Summer. She immediately shoved his head back under, yelling. There was laughter from the side of the pool.
"Hey." Ryan looked up to see the same smile he had seen at the school earlier that day.
"Hey." Ryan didn't know what else to say so they sat in silence, watching Summer apparently try to murder Seth as he laughed.
"So are you… Seth's cousin?"
"No, that's dad's bastard. Long story." Ryan felt like he should say something, but had no idea what was appropriate so he just shrugged as Marissa laughed confused.
"God, Cohen! You can be such an ass sometimes!" Now they were both laughing even though it seemed like Summer's violence was escalading. Seth tried to defend himself between moments of having his head shoved under water.
"What? I thought you would have told her already!"
"Should we… help him?" Marissa turned her attention back to the escapade going on in the pool.
"Nah. They do this all the time. So how'd your meeting with Dr. Kim go?" Ryan wasn't quite sure as to why she had dropped the 'bastard' subject, but he was grateful.
"Fine. Took some tests. Did okay."
"Okay? Dad said you were, like, off the charts smart. He said Dr. Kim smiled. Dr. Kim never smiles."
"Ooo so are you some kind of super genius or something?"
"Uh, no?" They all laughed and changed the subject to things that Ryan didn't have to be the center of. It was weird just sitting around, hanging out with people his own age. But it was nice.