Page 16 of Loathing Ryan
I nodded, and she motioned for me to go ahead. “Ma’am, Ryan has always given me trouble since our freshman year. Today, he snuck into the girls’ dorms, stole all my underwear, and hung it up on the flagpole in the quad. So, I punched him.” I chose to be blunt and to the point.
“Always the victim,” Ryan mumbled from beside me. I snapped my head over to look at him.
“Easy for you to say, because you’re always the villain,” I snarled at him. I was seconds away from baring my teeth like a feral animal.
The headmistress held up her hand, effectively shutting us both up. “That’s enough, please.” She looked over to the headmaster of Bennett. “What do you make of all this, Martin?”
The old man beside her, her husband, was rubbing his hand over his jaw as he observed Ryan and me, pondering his options. It was clear that the wheels were turning in his head. Here was his prodigy, the ‘King of Bennett,’ in his office after getting decked by a girl. I wouldn’t be surprised if he let Ryan off scot-free. That’s just how it worked when you were king.
Or how it worked when your parents shelled out lots of money to sponsor the new science wing.
“Are you telling me that you two have been fighting like this for all these years?” he finally asked us in a raspy voice.
“Yes.”
“No.”
Ryan and I both responded at the exact time, earning him another solid stink eye from me.
“Yes,” I repeated, trying to ignore the look Ryan was firing in my direction. “We’re arch nemeses, sir. It has been like this every summer.”
It had been some miracle that the headmasters had not been notified of this rivalry between us. I chalked it up to the events not eliciting as severe a reaction as this one. Typically, Ryan’s games were tame or could be handled by the counselors instead of getting the higher-ups involved.
The headmaster nodded and sighed. “It’s a shame that it would come to this,” he said as he looked at his wife. “Our goal with the camp and the two schools was to allow making lifelong relationships. The school year devoted to academics, the summers devoted to fun and making memories.” The headmistress nodded along with what he was saying.
“This unfortunate turn of events doesn’t change my mind. Learning how to get along and work with people you may not like is important. Your lives will change dramatically at the end of the summer as you leave here and go off to your respective universities. You both are off to do bigger, better, and braver things.” Ryan stiffened up next to me as he prepared for the drop that the headmaster was obviously leading up to.
“In the real world, you cannot turn to childish antics or throw punches whenever you don’t get along with someone. As much as there are times when you may want to do so, that type of behavior is simply unacceptable. Because of that, I can think of only one option to address this dispute.”
My heart raced as he trailed off to look at his wife for a fraction of a second. I kept waiting for him to say that we were both suspended, forced to stay for the whole summer, then redo our senior year–or maybe they would send me home. That wouldn’t be a terrible option.
But no. Of course, it didn’t work out that way.
“In addition to a phone call to each of your families, Miss Sanders and Mr. Miller will spend the remaining time at the camp learning to work together despite their differences. They will be paired together for all remaining partner activities.”
My jaw dropped. That was not what I was expecting at all. On the surface, it seemed like a tame chastisement. But this forced me into close proximity with Ryan Miller for the next two-plus torturous weeks. Ryan stood beside me, arms crossed over his chest, a smile slowly spreading across his face as if he was pleased with this outcome. Only making me glare even harder at him.
“You can’t be serious,” I snapped. “This isn’t going to fix anything. I punched Ryan! Send me home!” If I could convince them to crack the whip, maybe they wouldn’t make us go through with this. I would much rather suffer the wrath of two old headmasters than be forced to spend quality time with Ryan, who would continue his practical jokes as if nothing had happened.
The headmasters looked at each other, silently communicating with their eyes. “Our decision is final,” the headmistress told me with a nod. “I think this will be the best way for you to set aside your differences and learn how to work with others.”
“This is outrageous,” I announced as I turned on my heel and walked out of the office.
I stomped down the hall and back outside, smacking the door and causing it to slam against the wall. Juliet was waiting for me just outside the cabin.
She hopped up from the bench she was sitting on. “What was the verdict? Are they sending you home?”
I groaned and covered my face with my hands. “No! They’re pairing Ryan and me up for the rest of camp activities.”
“That’s it?” Juliet asked, puzzled.
I nodded. “Yeah, that’s it. Some bullshit about ‘learning to work with others’ or something like that. As if I am incapable of working with other people–I am, just not with him!”
Juliet rolled her eyes, probably thinking that I was being dramatic. Behind me, I heard the office door swing open and shut.
“Phew, well, that’s a relief!” Ryan let out as he stretched and walked over to us. “I was worried we’d be in actual trouble.” He draped his arm over my shoulders, causing me to wiggle as far away from him as I could. “Had me nervous there for a second, Bells.”
“Get away from me.”
