Title: Sentence (1/1)
Author: Morgan
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.geocities.com/crimsonclad/
Rating: PG
Summary: Ryan gets some restrictions.
****
Ryan finished drying the last plate, wincing slightly as the weave of the dishtowel scraped his raw knuckles. Dinner had been quiet, him refusing to say anything in his own defense, Sandy and Kirsten acting as if everything was normal and he hadn't violated every implied promise he owed them.
"Ryan, we'll meet you in the poolhouse in five minutes, okay?" Kirsten didn't look angry, but she did look...determined, and Ryan just nodded silently. Plodding past the pool, he thought they might want to help him pack- but no, Sandy had said he wasn't getting kicked out. He'd said it before Ryan had moved beyond victimless crime, though, so maybe it was a good thing he had gotten his bike back after the file room incident. The bus station was only half an hour's bike ride away, a ride he had made at least a half dozen times during the summer before turning around and coming back. He still had some Christmas money left over, so he could probably manage a ticket to somewhere interesting.
With that comforting thought, he opened his door and sat down on the bed, staring at the bouquet of flowers Rosa had put on his coffee table that morning. He was pretty sure hydrangeas were out of season, so the tasteful arrangement haloed by flickering light from the pool must have been expensive.
He scrubbed the back of his neck with his non-punching hand, and when he looked up, Sandy and Kirsten were walking out of the champagne room and heading in his direction. Kirsten was laughing as Sandy did a little half-skip, and Ryan braced himself for the ways their faces would harden into lines of disappointment once they crossed his threshold.
The door opened and he clenched his teeth, but his eyes widened a little when Kirsten sat down beside him on the bed. She was usually very careful with her personal space- around him, anyway. But her knee was almost touching his and he could smell her shampoo, so already something had changed.
Sandy sat down on his other side, heaving a sigh as he clapped a hand on Ryan's shoulder. "So. Quite a day you had there, huh?"
Ryan didn't know how to respond to that, so he stayed quiet, flinching a little when Kirsten brushed her fingers over his sore hand. "Did you put some disinfectant on this, Ryan? It looks pretty sore." He turned to look at her, nodding slightly, still not sure what was going on.
"We can wrap it up in a minute," Sandy suggested. "So that will take care of the hand. As for the rest- Ryan, we've discussed it, and talked to Dr. Kim as well. I told her about our plans, and she agrees that detention isn't the best place for you."
Ryan furrowed his brows at that. "What?"
"Listen up, because your schedule is about to change drastically. Your weeks will be set on an alternating itinerary from now on, and you now have two afterschool destinations- providing you're still in school, which I hope will be the case. On Monday, Jimmy Cooper will pick you up at three o'clock and bring you to the restaurant, where you will be helping him control the work crews and organize the place. Jimmy has trouble making decisions- come on, Kirsten, you know he does- and you will be helping him out by giving him your honest and well-considered opinions. There will probably be some heavy lifting, some accounting, and a lot of personnel issues. I'll be there some days, when I'm not pandering to the rich. And on Tuesday- honey, you can take this one."
Ryan turned to Kirsten, who was smiling a little ruefully. "This might seem like a harsh sentence, but I think you can do it. On the days when you aren't working at the restaurant, you will actually be helping Julie Cooper, who has just been hired as- I can't believe this is true- the new interior designer for the Newport Group. She managed to pull off her last job because I did all the work, and she's going to need help from every angle. I've arranged for you to have a desk in my office, but you'll be helping Julie when she needs it- which will be often- going to the model homes and dealing with vendors. She has a staff of about ten, but you'll be a spy for me and muscle for her. And when she's dancing attendance on Dad, I'm sure I'll find something for you to do, what with all the architects who need babysitting around that place."
"And at six," Sandy continued, pointing to his watch for emphasis, "Rosa will pick you up and bring you home where you will begin cooking dinner. We know you're good at cooking and Kirsten isn't- don't give me that face for speaking the truth!- so dinner will now be your responsibility. You can give Rosa lists of any ingredients you need, and the menu is entirely at your discretion. After dinner, the rest of us will do dishes while you start on your homework- in the house. No more retreating out here, got it? You can work in the living room, the game room, the dining room, Seth's room- whatever you like, as long as it's in with us."
"We could all come and join you out here, but Seth might self-combust without his PlayStation," Kirsten added, rolling her eyes. "Mountain, Mohammed- you get the picture."
Ryan wasn't sure he did. "Dr. Kim agreed to this?"
Sandy grimaced. "Yeah, well, we discussed it, and I think this whole chapter has illustrated that solitude is not the best environment for you, decision-wise. I know you're used to a lot more freedom- but, well, get over it. In a month, we can discuss a relaxing of the structure, but until then you go where we tell you, when we tell you. Got it?"
Ryan nodded, his head buzzing slightly.
Sandy and Kirsten stood up, smiling down at him. Sandy nodded in the direction of the house. "Come on- let's go inside."
Ryan stood and followed.
****
Ryan sat quietly as Jimmy fiddled with the radio dials. "Sorry- you probably don't want to listen to old people music or anything- I'm sure we can find a compromise. There's at least one station Marissa put on here-" he cut himself off quickly, and Ryan had to fight his grin.
"How about Classic Rock? My brother used to like it."
Jimmy smiled in embarassed relief, pushing three buttons before he found the right one. "Yeah, sounds good. And if they play anything that I listened to in high school, you'll forgive me for running off the road."
Ryan half-smiled, on the side Jimmy couldn't see.
****
Julie's voice always seemed to get higher when Ryan with her, and he supposed it was either nervousness or unadulterated rage. Either way, it was pretty funny.
"No, don't mind him, he's just here to help loading the fixtures. Ryan! Edouard needs a hand here!"
He walked over dutifully, ignoring an offer of work gloves and hefting the first load. His meeting with the disciplinary committee was coming up, and it felt good to throw himself into some hard work with a blank mind. He lugged the crate into the empty house, frowning at the style of the columns in the entryway. They didn't match the style of the rooms, and he wondered why Kirsten would ever hire an inconsistent architect.
On the ride back to the office, Julie obeyed the speed limit scrupulously, never once using her passenger side mirror. Ryan thought about giving her a break, but he had to ask. "What is up with those columns?"
"I know! They don't match anything in the house, and I don't know how I'm going to incorporate them into the theme. I tried telling Cal, but he said I don't know anything about that kind of design. He can be so..." She trailed off, looking ahead in mortification for having spoken to her charge. "Never mind."
He should probably leave her alone, but if he was forbidden solitude, then so was Julie Cooper. "Who would put Corinthian columns in a Wright inspired house?"
She nodded desperately, her hair bobbing. "Thank you! I swear, I'm surrounded by incompetents."
"And delinquents?" he suggested.
She rolled her eyes. "Not when you're agreeing with me."
****
Seth took one bite and passed out.
"Thank you, thank you. Ryan, you are a god among men as far as the kitchen is concerned. I can't remember the last time I had anything so amazing. Maybe when Grandma visited, but she isn't cooking every night for the next month."
Kirsten frowned. "I've made meatloaf before."
Seth glowered through his bangs. "You wouldn't be saying that if you had tasted Ryan's latest masterpiece, and please desist from your profanation of the word. You've made charcoal before, not meatloaf."
Ryan slapped Seth's shoulder. "Cut it out."
Sandy took a bite, and his eyes widened. "Wow. WOW."
Kirsten echoed the sentiment as she swallowed her own mouthful. "This is- certainly superior to anything I've ever done. Is this a family recipe? What's the special ingredient, other than love?"
Ryan looked down at his plate. "Jack Daniels."
"Okay," Sandy said, taking another bite. "Three versions of meatloaf on the menu. But that is the absolute limit!"
****
Sully pulled Ryan aside, gesturing at the lounge with one callused hand. "Look, Ry, I know what Jimmy wants, but it just isn't possible. Structurally. Financially. Physically. Spiritually. In no way, shape, or form, is this going to work. Can you talk to him?"
Ryan put down the powerwasher and walked over to the bar where Jimmy was sitting. "Hey, Ryan. Check out these sketches for the lounge- pretty cool, huh?"
Ryan glanced at the drawings, squinting a little. "Yeah, it's just- I mean, I like the idea, but doesn't La Couronne have the same design in their banquet room?"
Jimmy looked at him, mouth hanging open. "Damn. Yeah, they do. Almost exactly the same- how did you remember that?"
Ryan shrugged. "Sandy and Kirsten took me there one night to give me a break from cooking, and I noticed that room in particular. But look- you could change it to this." With a few strokes of the pencil, he outlined a much more feasible shape that also matched the elegant lines of the dining room.
Jimmy stared for a minute, then began nodding enthusiastically. "Yeah, that could work- yeah! I'll go tell Sully, okay?"
****
"Is it weird- seeing the rest of the Coopers more often than you see Marissa?" Seth asked, eyes firmly locked on the tv screen as his hands fluttered over the PlayStation controls.
Ryan's pen stilled over his homework, and he sat back in his chair. "I guess. Hadn't really thought about it."
Seth nodded. "Right. And, come to think of it, you don't see Caitlin, do you?"
"Actually, we picked her up from school yesterday and drove her to the stables. Her schedule is almost as tight as mine."
"Yeah, but unlike her, you don't have to take ballet- unless you do. Dude, is that your next punishment? You punch anyone else, and you get to attend Madame Angelique's class for beginners. They make you wear tights, you know. Even the guys. If ever there was a reason for anger management, I have just given it to you. Control your temper or learn to pli�, Ryan. That is your new mantra."
Ryan returned to his notebook. "I'll keep it in mind. What do you want for dinner tomorrow?"
****
Ryan opened his locker quickly, shoving books inside. Julie was dragging him along to some vendor fair to carry her bags, and if he was late she would- actually, he didn't like to think about what she'd do to him. It would probably involve chicken wire and a curling iron.
When he turned around, Oliver was leaning against the opposite locker bank with a smirk on his face.
Eyes on his watch, Ryan walked away without noticing.
****
fin
