To satisfy Jessica’s curiosity, I blamed what had happened between Ryder and me on his concern about his sister. I imagined that everyone would learn about her seeing a therapist, anyway. No one would be all that shocked. Ryder wasn’t too far off when he referred to it as being like seeing a dentist around here. At lunch, Ryder and I talked about after school. We again sat apart from everyone else.
“I don’t have to go home first now,” he said. “I can follow you if you want.”
“Sure, that’s great.”
“So what are you planning? Studying together or arm wrestling?” he asked.
“No studying, unless that’s something you want to do. Besides, I have a feeling we’d be terrible at it.”
He laughed. “That’s for sure. Okay, so? What does one do on a palatial estate?”
“There’s a lake. We can go rowing, and although I’m not that good, we can play tennis. Do you like tennis?”
“I can take it or leave it. My mother hired a pro to give me lessons when we lived in Spain one summer. I was only twelve, and she was afraid I’d be bored.”
“You’ve been so many places.”
“Yeah. My passport is full. You been anywhere out of the country?”
“No,” I said. “Unless you want to count this,” I said, gazing around.
He looked at me for a moment and then smiled. “That’s very good. I think I might get to like you,” he said.
“Thanks. I’m so flattered.”
He looked at the other students watching us and then leaned toward me. “You sure you’re not one of those narc plants or something and you’re not really about twenty-four?”
“I’ll check my birth certificate,” I said.
He nodded. “No, I’ll check it.”
We both laughed. I looked at the other students again. Aside from his conversations with Gary Stevens, who seemed disinterested in him now, Ryder had not made a single other male friend in the three days he was here. Whatever he had done or said had discouraged them.
“What extracurricular activities did you participate in at the other schools you attended?” I asked.
“Extracurricular? Don’t you sound like a guidance counselor?”
“What would you call them?”
“I wasn’t on any teams, if that’s what you mean, and I didn’t join any clubs. I’m with Groucho Marx.”
“What?”
“I don’t want to belong to any organization that would have me as a member.”
“Don’t you ever say anything serious?”
“If I answered that, I’d have to be serious, and you’d have your answer.”
“Okay. I call a truce for now,” I said as the bell rang for afternoon classes.
“Great. It will give me time to take my wounded off the battlefield,” he said.
We followed everyone into the building.
“Hey,” Shayne Peters said. He was right behind us. Ryder and I turned. “How much are you paying her?”
“Paying? For what?”