Girl Meets Ryan Matthews

34.

"So how would I go about joining the debate team?" Ryan asked Farkle as they left the smoothie place Farkle brought them to after the debate.

"Are you finally going to?" He asked as they walked down the busy streets.

"I was thinking about it. I want to be a lawyer when I'm older," he said as he took a sip.

"Like your mom?"

"Exactly like my mom."

"Even though she ignores you?"

Ryan sipped his drink for a while before saying. "She's not the best at being there for me, but she is the best lawyer I could ever hope to look up to."

--

The next day after school, he and Lucas were standing in front of the debate team's scrutinizing.

"Shouldn't you be out hitting a baseball or something?" some bitchass nerd asks.

"Yeah. We don't debate sports or cars," a different, equally bitchass, nerd says.

"Good thing I don't know squat about cars then." Ryan rolls his eyes as he leans against the desk, arms crossed. Farkle spoke over them "Gentlemen, you're making assumptions and my current assignment is to consider how assumptions lead to our ultimate downfall. So let's not judge a book by its cover."

Ryan smiled gratefully at Farkle, but what he said had not dissuaded them.

"Looks like a book about skateboarding," the first nerd said, looking at Ryan. Ryan sat back fully on the desk and mumbled, "I don't even own a skateboard."

"These are my friends, I'm vouching for them." Farkle turned to face Lucas and Ryan, "Welcome to the team."

"Glad to be here." Ryan smiled and Lucas nodded.

Riley and Maya enter, Maya wearing new glasses and looking slightly dizzy.

"Maya, why are you wearing glasses?" Lucas asked.

"They're Smackle's," that makes sense, "I'm just holding them for her. On mah face."

Ryan shook his head, amused. "Lemme see those."

She handed them over and Ryan tilted them to the side.

"Maya wear them on your head, not your face. Please." He said, handing them back.

"Why can't she wear them on her face?" Riley asked, annoyed.

"Her prescription is thick. With four Cs and two Qs. Your eyes will die," Ryan laughed.

"Well, we're trying to see if people will treat Maya differently if she's wearing glasses," Riley explained. Ryan shook his head.

"Just... please don't wear them for too long. You're going to end up needing glasses yourself.

The nerds, geeks? Nerds approached them.

"Hello, Suddenly-Approachable-Woman. What's your prescription? Mine's 20/800. I can basically only hear you."

"I don't have a prescription, but I've gotta say you look a lot less blurry," Maya commented, pointing wildly in their direction. Ryan leaned forward and steadied her hand at the nerd in front of her.

"That's the nicest thing any girl's ever said to us," The second nerd breathed. Maya slid the frames to the top of her head.

"I liked you better blurry."

"That's the second nicest thing any girl's ever said to us," the same nerd repeated.

"Moving on," Ryan clapped, weirded out. "What did y'all come in here for?"