Missing in Action

Chapter 003

Spencer took a deep breath before lifting his head and sending a weak smile Ryan's way. "Hey," he said, cocking his head to the side and studying the boy in front of him. He remained silent for a few seconds, until the teacher cleared her throat loudly and Spencer opened his binder and found a blank sheet of lined paper. "All right, I think you should know that I hate essays and I'm really not good at them. On the other hand, I know almost everything there is to know about this country, its laws, and the way things work. So, the way I see it, this will be split into equal parts. I mean, I will help with the writing and all, but I think it would be better if you worked on the structure, our ideas and our arguments. Is that okay?" He mumbled every word, pencil in hand as he wrote down the subject and his name neatly in the corner of the page, waiting for Ryan to answer.

Ryan nodded slowly, eyes fixed on the paper. That sounded good enough for him. He wouldn't have to do research, and he would simply be able to write someone else's opinions down as though they were his own, or even write it neutral. Reports had made him used to never writing what he really meant. "It sounds good," he stated. "I mean, I don't really know a lot about this country yet, or how it works." He shrugged slightly. "I guess all I really know is what I've heard, so you're probably more qualified for the actual facts than I am. But I can write it, yeah. I've never had a problem with non-fiction. Besides, the structure is often better if it's not just split up to be worked on and written down apart." He sucked in a breath, finally looking up to meet the piercing blue eyes he was faced with. "On a completely different note, what's your next class?"

Spencer wrote a few more things down ('reminder: ask brendon about his father's workers,' 'look up what their minimum wage is,' 'only rich people have slaves.... lots of rich people') before answering. "I have... English Lit. Which means you'll be spending more time with Jon, and yes he told me all about you-- and your schedule, because he's rather good at stalking--, which I'm sure you love," Spencer smirked at this. No doubt Jon had annoyed this poor guy to no end last night. "And... well, Brendon's obviously going to be there, but I wouldn't really hold my breath for him to talk to you." Shrugging, he went back to writing more things that weren't really very important. He wrote down a few books he knew of that held the historic aspect of slaves and some on the economy, as well. He was really just trying to make it seem as though he was working.

Ryan nodded, peering down at the list with his brow furrowed in thought. "Well," he said. "I was mostly just asking because Jon was supposed to have helped me find my class and he didn't, which is why I now have a detention. So if we had the same class, which we seem to, I was just wondering if I could tag along with you and avoid getting lost again. Putting my faith in Walker doesn't seem that appealing." He let the corner of his lips quirk up a bit in a sort of half-smile, still following the pen's journey over the paper. This kid might actually not be so bad.

Spencer hummed in thought and then nodded slowly. "They only asked Jon to do such an important job because his parents have donated a lot of money to this school. Keeps him from getting into trouble, you see, and the teachers thought that maybe if Jon was... the go-to guy, then his father would be pleased." He paused, tapping his pen on the desk a few times. "Not that anybody actually knows who Jon's father is..." trailing off, Spencer went back to jotting down random words. It helped his thinking process, which made him disregard the fact that it looked like nonsense. Writing down one last thing, he closed his binder and looked at Ryan, seizing him up. "You can stick with me, I don't mind. You can even have lunch with me, which is after third period, by the way, but don't expect anyone but Jon to pretend to like you." It was as if he hadn't even realized that what he'd said could be taken the wrong way. He looked back down at his binder and shrugged. "We can continue working tonight."

"Okay, thanks," Ryan replied, making a mental note to get someone to check out the Walkers. It was useful to know as much about these people as possible. And he'd keep telling himself it wasn't because he'd always found information to be the best weapon if he had to. He was an adult, a grown man, he should be above petty things such as being annoyed with a stupid teenage boy. "And tonight sounds good," he added. "Not as though I actually have anything to do after detention. Where do I go for that anyway?"