Ricky and Nini - Song Fics

Oceans

Song: Oceans by MisterWives

AN: All the grammatical errors when Ricky writes are intentional, don't try and cancel me. Nini lowkey seems one dimensional, and I promise it's not on purpose. I tried to focus more on Ricky this fic.

Ricky was the type of student who would confidently state that he was tanking most of his classes. He saw it as almost a comedy routine, and he didn't show any interest in trying to improve his academic performance.

It's not like anyone cared about his academics, he would always remind himself, as his parents had split in the middle of his sophomore year, and neither his dad nor his mom were concerned about their son's school grades. The two parents were more focused on growing apart from each other while leaving Ricky in the middle. Ricky wasn't always a bad student, he used to try and use his good grades to get his parents attention, but to no avail. With his mom in Chicago, and his dad constantly at work, Ricky quickly lost his motivation to perform well in school.

With no real incentive to get good grades, Ricky decided it wasn't worth putting in any effort. He had school counselor, after academic advisor, after vice principal tell him that he wasn't going to have any real future if he didn't get his act together.

Now almost halfway through his first semester as a junior with a GPA just barely over a 2, Ricky was in no place to change his current trajectory.

*****

"Mr. Bowen, could you hang back for a second?" Ricky heard his English teacher call after him as he tried to rush out of the classroom. He reluctantly turned on his heel, and told his friend, Big Red, that he'd see him later.

"What's up?" Ricky asked, still hanging in the doorframe to make a quick escape once the meeting was done.

"You can stand in my classroom. I don't bite." His teacher instructed.

"Haven't heard that one before." Ricky scoffed as he slowly made his way to stand in front of the teacher's desk.

"You've got a bit of snark, don't you?" she asked, sitting up in her seat to more properly address him.

"Is this what you wanted to talk about? Cause I'd much rather be doing anything else." Ricky snipped.

"I wanted to talk to you about your performance in this class. I can tell that you've got a knack for writing. The work you actually turn in shows promise, but I see that you're not putting in as much effort as you could be."

"So that's what this is about. Look, I like English, I do, but I've got no real reason to put in the effort." Ricky explained.

"That's what I was about to share with you. I know your grades are slipping, the end of your junior year is rapidly approaching, college applications will be due soon, and before you know it, you'll be walking across the stage to receive your diploma from East High. I'm not sure what opportunities you're getting in other classes to boost your grade before the end of the Winter semester..." She continued.

Ricky thought about how most of his teachers had reached out about extra credit, so he could at least pass some of his classes with a C+ or even a B-, but he threw away their offers because he didn't see the point. He knew he would do the same with whatever his English teacher was about to throw his way.

"But there's a school in England that we do exchange programs with on occasion, and I've decided the best way for you to get encouraged to pursue your promising writing potential is to--"

"You're not sending me to England are you? Cause that's not something I'd even think about for a second of doing."

"No, no!" His teacher threw her hands up in defense, "You'll be participating in a pen pal exchange program." She told him, and Ricky didn't know what to say.