Ryder

Stepping into the air-conditioned library is like walking out from the oppressive afternoon heat and into a blissfully cool evening. Cold air fills my sinuses with a gentle numbing feeling as it rushes down my windpipe and fills my lungs. I look over at Nathan in his beige sweatshirt and wish I wore a sweatshirt too. The soft glow of the library lights and the coffee-coloured walls gives off a very warm and inviting feel. Shelves after shelves of books line the walls, their mismatched spines giving colour to the library. I could see Nathan staying in here - living, maybe. It just fits him.

Nathan grabs a fiction novel from one of the shelves and I grab a Guinness Book of World Records (because I have nothing to read) and we take a seat at a small table at the far end of the library. Soon, Nathan becomes very engrossed in his book while I flip through one page of weird world records after another. After reading about someone who is, like, thoroughly tattooed or something, I steal a glance at Nathan and my heart skips a beat.

Sitting across me with the book in front of him and one hand propped under his cheek, he looks. . . how do I say this? Really adorable. (And I don't take the word 'adorable' lightly.) His eyebrows are slightly furrowed and his lips are slightly pursed like he's biting the inside of his lips. His deep blue eyes - which I guess means concentration or something along those lines - follow the text as if it was a soft call of a lover. From time to time, his eyebrows raise slightly in surprise or slightly knit together in confusion.

I mimic his pose, one hand under my cheek and continue watching him. He looks so at peace, which makes me feel the same too. I could sit here forever, just watching Nathan.

Yeah, I could do that.

Then, Nathan's head jolts up, snapping me out of my dream-like trance. I jump out of my skin and my heart rate spikes. Oh god, that scared the shit out of me.

"You scared me," I say and I look at Nathan. Cute, confuzzled Nathan. A blush sears through my cheeks and my face feels like a hot oven. Ugh, why does he have to be so cute?

"Sorry," he mumbles, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I don't like this book. Um, the plot's too confusing and messy."

"Okay, then. Try this." I slide the Guinness book towards him and sit beside him. "It's weird."

"Consider my curiosity piqued," he beams at me and I smile.

Together, we read about the world's longest eyelash, largest Batman memorabilia collection, largest teddy bear collection, oldest bodybuilder, tallest cat and the longest kiss on TV.

Nathan

My entire right side is warm with the heat from Ryder's body (although we're not touching, we're just close enough). It's sort of cosy here in the cool, softly-lit library and Ryder sitting next to me subtly warming me. He patiently waits for me to finish reading before flipping the page at a small nod of my head. Then, one world record catches my eye.

"World's tallest hat?" I say. "That's crazy!"

"I know, right?" He grins. "It's like a real-life Doug Dimmadome."

"Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome!" I add in, laughing.

Ryder chuckles. "Oh god," he says, "look." I follow his finger to another world record.

"Woah, largest Converse shoe collection?"

"Yeah. I'm so jealous."

"Me too." I look at him. "Hope all."

"Hope all." He nods back.

Unfortunately, the bell rings, signalling the end of lunch. Aw man, I wanted to skip english class and stay in the library, but the librarian will probably throw me out. I stand up and close the book softly.

"This is my favourite book now," I announce.

"No, I got that first." Ryder takes the book from me. "There are other Guinness Books here, don't take mine." He hugs the book protectively against his chest and I laugh.

We walk out of the library and the drastic temperature difference between the inside of the library and the outside causes my glasses to fog up, so I take them off and wipe them with the hem of my sweatshirt. When I put them back on, Ryder disappeared. I frantically look around, panic rising in my chest.

Oh no. Where did he go? Is he just going to leave me here? Did he realise I'm not worth being with? Was I boring? Did my breath stink of coffee? Did I laugh too obnoxiously?

Then, I feel a hand on my shoulder. I spin around and find Ryder standing behind me, smiling cheekily.

"Ryder!" I say, trying to keep my voice even. "I thought you were going to ditch me!"

"Sorry about that, Nathan," he says, sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck. "I promise I won't do that again."

I hold out my pinky. "Do you pinky-promise?" Ryder laughs at me. "Don't belittle the power of a pinky promise!" I warn him but I find myself smiling.

"Fine." He grins and links his pinky with mine.

*

Oh, man. This is it. The dreaded time has come: the presentation. My stomach sinks to the core of the earth as I squirm in my seat. I want to inject amnesia into Mr Wilson's brain, but he already has boatloads of it. I really hope he forgets about the presentation like what he usually does with homework.

But, as it turns out, he doesn't.

"So, class, today is your biology presentation," Mr Wilson says, clasping his hands in front of him. "I hope you all are ready. Can I have Juno and Sinclair up first, please?"

Phew, Ryder and I aren't the first to go. But then, it's better to go first so that it's over and done with early. Actually, how about we just don't go at all? Argh! I try to even my breathing.

Juno and Sinclair are pretty fast. They finished the whole presentation in under ten minutes. Oh, boy. I wanted them to drag it until it's only five minutes of class left, but that's impossible.

Then, Mr Wilson says, "Thank you, Juno and Sinclair. Next, Ryder and Nathan?"

Oh no. Oh no no no no. My hands turn icy cold and they start to tremble. My heart twists and my stomach does little flip-flops. I stop breathing and let my quickening pulse reverberate loudly throughout my body.

Then I feel a familiar hand on my shoulder, squeezing softly. "It's okay, Nathan," he tells me in a soft voice, bringing me back to reality.

Slowly, the panic and anxiety attack ebbs away, but trepidation still lingers behind like a bad aftertaste. I slowly rise up from my seat and walk with Ryder to the front of the class, clutching the script tightly in my clammy hands.

But as I stand in front of everyone, my breathing becomes rapid and shallow. I gulp. I can feel my heartbeat pounding in my ears; a loud, accelerating drumming of panic.

"The placement and structure of the frog's internal organs are very similar to humans'," Ryder starts with a loud and clear voice. "Frogs lack the diaphragm muscles of humans. So instead, frogs inhale air through their nostrils, inflating skin sacs in their throats, then press down with the mouth muscles to force it into the lungs." He pauses, indicating my turn.

"Um, the internal organs in the chest and abdominal regions of a frog sit in a single cavity called the coelom. The, uh, respiratory organs consist of the trachea and lungs. . ." My voice cracks a little in the middle of my part and a couple of people snicker. They are quiet ones, but my anxiety amplifies them into thunderous laughter.

Oh, man. I feel tears prick my eyes and I bite my lip to stop them. I really want a sinkhole to magically manifest where I'm standing now and swallow me whole into the depths of the earth.

Then Ryder glares at the kids who are snickering and they all fall silent immediately. Wow. The power this guy holds. I'm both scared and in awe of Ryder right now. He looks at me, his eyebrows raised in concern. I give him a minuscule nod of my head - a little motion of thanks - and continue the rest of my line.

". . . which are housed in the upper or thoracic portion of the coelom." I finish. Phew. One part down, a few more to go.

I manage to limp through the whole presentation without messing up, which is a huge achievement for me. After the obligatory round of indifferent applause, we head back to our seats.

Ryder pats my shoulder and says, "You did a great job, Nathan."

I smile. I have no idea how he's able to make me feel at ease but boy, am I glad to have him.

______________________
WASSUP my friends!! So uh I hope yall liked this chapter (be sure to leave a comment or a vote!)
The next few chapters is where the drama starts
Ok I'm probably exaggerating but it's something 'big'!
What am I saying LMAO just stay tuned for next week's chaper ;)
(Ily ppl pls take care of yourselves😘❤️)