Page 3 of Loathing Ryan
I narrowed my eyes at him in a challenge for him to say something. He had grown more over the last year, his shoulders filling into a broader stature. Even from my position, I noticed the angle of his jaw was sharper, giving his face a leaner appearance. His sandy blond hair was a mess as it usually was, a few strands falling over his forehead. As much as I hated him, I couldn’t lie and say that Ryan Miller wasn’t attractive.
Honestly, I think that made everything that much worse. It would’ve been one thing if I didn’t think he was handsome, but he was. I’d have to be blind not to notice. As if he could feel me studying him, an evil, knowing smirk appeared on his flawless face. I sighed in deference.
Even though he had grown and changed, he was the exact same as I had left him last year.
2
RYAN
“Hey, Ryan!”someone shouted my name, loud enough that I could hear it through my headphones. I grumbled under my breath but pulled the ear bud out and looked around for whoever was calling me.
“What?”
“We were just wondering what you have planned for this year?” my buddy, Todd, said from his position three seats in front of me.
I raised an eyebrow at him questioningly. “What are you talking about?”
“You know, with Izabel? You always have such great pranks lined up for the minute we set foot off this bus. We were just wondering if we could get a sneak peek.”
“Maybe just wait for us to actually get to camp, bro,” my other friend, Liam, said from his seat beside me. “No point in ruining the surprise.”
I was immensely grateful for Liam’s input. Out of my two friends, at least he was somewhat socially aware. He must have picked up on my shitty mood right away—or maybe the fact that I wasn’t as giddy about my top-tier summer pranks this year. I looked over at Todd to see his crestfallen expression and felt a pang of regret.
My history with Izabel, a senior from our sister school, Hawthorne Academy, had become somewhat of a legend amongst our class.
It was stupid, really.
It started with a misstep; a total accident that got blown out of proportion when we were freshmen.
I’ll admit, when she first tripped and dropped that bright red spaghetti on my new white golf shorts, I was pissed. I won’t even pretend to deny it. Following that incident, I made it a point to make her pay for the rest of the summer.
I just never imagined that it would continue for the next three years.
What started off as payback quickly turned into an annual spectacle. Like clockwork, we’d get off the bus at Camp Wildwood every summer, and I’d see her staring warily at me as if expecting the worst. And like an idiot, I always lived up to the expectation.
The guys in my class anticipated the rivalry between Izabel and me almost as much as they anticipated the Super Bowl. I know some of them were taking bets on what evil scheme I’d concoct for her for the three weeks we spent at camp, and I’d usually deliver. It wasn’t an option not to.
I was theking, after all. It wasn’t like I had a choice if I wanted to keep my kingdom. They expected a certain level of animosity from me. So that’s how, even now, the games with Izabel were still continuing.
Most of the time, I brushed it off as no big deal. I kept my head down and played the part that was expected of me for three weeks, then I went back home to Cedar Ridge and pretended Izabel didn’t exist.
Until I ran into her at the grocery store, the car wash, or some bullshit place like that. She just so happened to live in the same small town as I did, on top of attending my school’s sister campus.
It happened more times than I cared to admit. Whenever I ran into her in the real world, she tilted her nose up, gave me a scowl, and then turned on her heel without a word.
Can’t say it didn’t sting, but I probably deserved it. I never attempted to smooth the waters over with her when we were outside of school or camp. I just let it be.
I wasn’t a bad guy, but Izabel Sanders was the unlucky girl who got to experience the worst parts of me.
I wondered what Todd would say if I told him that I really had nothing planned for Izabel this year. He would be disappointed, but I was curious about what else he would do. Todd could be unpredictable sometimes. Though he was part of my little group of friends, I didn’t trust him as much as I trusted my best friend, Liam. Todd latched onto this game with Izabel and blew it way out of proportion.
With my headphones securely back in my ears, I flipped on my favorite playlist. I let my mind wander throughout the rest of the ride to thoughts other than Todd and Izabel. When the bus eventually pulled up the gravel road leading into Camp Wildwood, I leaned my head against the cool window, watching the trees pass by. Only three weeks. And then I’d never have to set foot in this camp again.
The minute the bus stopped, my classmates hopped out of their seats and grabbed their duffle bags from the compartments above. I waited a few minutes, letting everyone grab their things and file off before I departed the bus.
When my feet hit the hallowed ground of Camp Wildwood, I took a deep breath, letting the fresh mountain air fill my lungs. Looking around, I noted that we had arrived before the Hawthorne girls. That was good. Now I had a chance to get my shit settled.
I had too much on my mind this summer to worry about playing mind games with Izabel.
