Expectations

[chibinanashi†]

((Raine Schwarz continued from Mix and Matching))

Raine was nervous. No...She was incredibly nervous. That didn't summarize it at all either! She was downright paranoid! What if she made a mistake of not taking off her shoes at the door? What if she did and was told she didn't have to making her look like a neat freak? What if she dropped a fork, a spoon, or a knife at the dinner table? Would she get a new one? Would she abide by the five second rule? Ten or fifteen seconds?

She drew in a deep breath and sighed deeply, her shoulders slumped. Raine did her best to dress appropriately that day. She wore a soft, cotton white sweater and a pair of dark green slacks. Today, she had chosen to style her hair in a long braid that hung over her shoulder. Raine had also chosen to try on a pair of blue teardrop earrings and a silver cross hung around her neck.

Would this make a good impression? God she hoped so. The last thing she needed was to be told to leave and come home to her parents. That is...if they were home and didn't lock her out.

Raine waited outside the school's entrance to the student parking lot. The breeze blew by and she pulled a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. Was she early to meet Ridley?

[KingKamor†]

((Ridley Landon continued from Mix and Matching))

"Shitshitshitshitshitgogogogogogogo!!!" These were the only words that ran through Ridley's mind as he raced to finish his work. He had added his Graphics and Design class on a whim when he signed up for classes at the beginning of the year, but he didn't expect it to be such a time-waster. All he had to do was use Photoshop to swap a horizon onto a different skyline, but all the artistic energy in the world couldn't make him go fast enough. The regret of goofing off in the middle of class was catching up to him.

If it was one thing that Ridley hated, it was being late, and people who were late themselves, and the bell had already rung three minutes ago. His teacher told him and everyone else who hadn't yet finished to stay after class until they were finished, much to Ridley's frustration. He was almost done with the thing, but he still had to touch it up a lot, save it, put it on a flash drive, and print the picture out.

Just as Ridley heard the clock tick into place five minutes after the bell rang, he heard his teacher say, "Alright, you can go if you're still not done yet. Come in tomorrow at lunch and finish it then, okay?"

That was all the incentive Ridley needed to click the save button and log out of the computer at top speed. With a passing wave and "Bye!" to the teacher, he ran out the door with his backpack over his shoulder.

There were still many students left in the building, and he frequently had to make some swift maneuvers to get past the ones still lazing about in the hallways.

As he passed some of the resident "Schoolyard Tough Guys" as he called them, one of them yelled at him, "Run, Forest, Run!"

Ridley immediately shot back, "Not today, okay, ass hats?" Either way, it wasn't long before he made it outside and the parking lot was within view.

[chibinanashi†]

Raine looked over and spotted Ridley. She smiled widely and picked her bookbag up, an off shoulder red and black plaid design. She was quick to run over to him. "Are you all right Ridley? You didn't need to rush. I was daydreaming!" She paused and seemed to think for a moment.

"Your class...How did it go? English went pretty well with me. I only have to do some Shakespeare readings for homework." Raine nodded her head to her bookbag. One book, Romeo and Juliet and the other Merchant of Venice, stuck out a little. "I'm very excited for tonight though. What was being cooked for dinner?"

[KingKamor†]

To say the least, Ridley was relieved to see that Raine wasn't mad at his tardiness. He chuckled when she said that she wasn't any better, since she was daydreaming. "Yeah, sorry about that. As for my class, my teacher said that I can finish it tomorrow." With the mention of Romeo and Juliet, he said, "I remember reading that thing in middle school. It was okay." He checked the time and saw that they still had at least twenty minutes to walk to his house. "My mom didn't tell me what she's making, so we'll find out when we get there."

He presented his hand to her and said, "Shall we?"

[chibinanashi†]

Slipping her hand into his, Raine walked side by side Ridley. A soft blush crossed her cheeks as she felt comfortable by his side. In the back of her mind, she was still curious about what Ridley had talked about at the mall when they were driving the car home. That thought was pushed to the back of her mind and listened to him.

"Romeo and Juliet is nice I suppose." She commented, glancing to her bookbag. "I just don't understand why people keep calling it a tragedy. They win in the end, don't they?" Raine asked Ridley, looking over to him. She laid her cheek against his shoulder as they walked.

[KingKamor†]

Ridley felt a little self-conscious about the two of them walking together. He had always been wary of his height compared to other people, and Raine was no exception. He was merely glad that she was at least slightly shorter than he was. Even so, he always felt himself looking around to check in anyone was looking at him funny.

When she mentioned Romeo and Juliet, he glanced at her and said, "Have you read the whole thing yet? If you have, then I don't see how you can picture it as anything but a tragedy." He had to write a paper on Romeo and Juliet in middle school along with reading it, and the topic he chose was 'What makes Romeo and Juliet a tragedy?' He remembered tearing the poor play a new one quite fondly.

[chibinanashi†]

"Well..." Raine laid her index finger on her chin and lowered her gaze in thought. No one had challenged her on her opinion regarding the famous Shakespearean play. Truthfully, she was afraid of answering Ridley with the truth. She didn't want him to think of her as someone weird, but then she wanted to honest with him.

"Think of it like this." She finally explained. "Romeo and Juliet were seperated when they died. Therein lies the tragedy. However, if one were to believe in heaven, they were reunited there. Heaven...the afterlife...Only there could they be truly together. So, in a way, Romeo and Juliet had a happy ending."

"Heh...Sometimes I think too much when I daydream." Raine used her free hand to tug a little on her braid. "Does it sound silly?"

[KingKamor†]

Ridley laughed softly. "It's not so much weird as it is that I simply don't agree with that view. I'm atheist, so I don't believe in Heaven or even God, so that whole theory is lost on me." He wondered if he was being too frank about the issue, but he said what he wanted to say.

"Not that your theory doesn't have merit, though." He added a little late. With his free thumb, he nudged his glasses into place and scratched his head. "I guess that it also has to do with the fact that I just like tragedy a little more than the whole happy ending shtick."

[chibinanashi†]

"I suppose you're right too." Raine replied, giving him a quick soft smile. She looked away from him and stayed focussed on the ground. Raine wanted to ask Ridley about being atheist. If you were atheist, you don't go to heaven because you don't believe in it. So what did that leave them? Just darkness? No thoughts, no senses, no nothing? Just nothing? Raine suddenly cringed at the thought and she shook her head.

"And people do like tragedy I guess." She didn't know what else to say. Her shoulders slumped a little and she breathed a deep sigh.

[KingKamor†]

Ridley looked at her staring at the ground and said, "Sorry if that put you off. I like to rant, so... yeah." he scratched his head and looked away a little. "Anyway, we're almost there." It was only a few more blocks from his house, so he was expecting the brown two-story to come into his sight very soon.

After a pause, he added, "I guess... I guess that I've never seen, felt, or heard God, so that's why I don't believe in him. Or any other kind of god or religion for that matter... Heh, I mean, a curious, probing kid can ask questions about religion that even a pastor would have trouble answering in God's favor. Not to be rude to you or anything, but religion is all in the head and nothing more."

[chibinanashi†]

"I completely agree."

The response may or may not have surprised Ridley. Raine's gaze remained focussed on the ground as they walked. She had a rather melancholy look on her face as she continued to speak. "I guess religion can be seen as all in the head. How would you suppose so many different other religions can be around at the same time? To tell you the truth though...I'd rather live and think that there's something or someone waiting for me on the other side and not just everlasting darkness."

She then smiled and looked back up at Ridley. "I could see my mother again. I'd very much like that. She was very kind." Raine then shook her head as if remembering something. "That was a refreshing rant though. Everyone else would have simply agreed with me."

[KingKamor†]

At first, he thought that Raine was agreeing that there was no God, but his surprise lessened once she clarified what she meant. "Heh, yeah..." He really didn't have anything to add to her statement.

"The thing is, it's not like I haven't thought long and hard about this. I actually lost sleep over all this, way back when." Ever since he was confirmed at his church and became a member of it, that was when he realized the pointlessness of having to believe in some sort of almighty being to have such a great community. Before the ceremony, he had asked his pastor some questions, and none of them were answered to his satisfaction. To say the least, his mother was a little put off by his decision.

He paused for a moment to look up at the sky. A few clouds had made their way between them and the blue beyond, but he always thought that clouds kept the sky from being boring. "In my mind, not having something after death makes life all the more valuable. If you think like I do, then you only have one life to do what you need and want to do, so you'd better live it, you know?" It had been awhile since he'd told anyone about his beliefs, so it was somewhat refreshing.

[chibinanashi†]

"I lost sleep over it too. I remember thinking of what would happen if nothing happened after death. You'd see nothing right? So...when I went to bed, I closed my eyes and was scared because it made me feel like I was dead."

Raine shook her head, as if shaking off the horrible memory. "I had to listen to music in order to get to sleep. Silly, huh?" Gently, she squeezed his hand. "Ridley, thank you for sharing your opinion with me. It's a comfort knowing I can talk to you about these things. Hey...How about we race to your house? I bet I can beat you there!" This would be her first attempt at living life. Raine decided to embrace life more often now.

[KingKamor†]

Ridley hadn't ever liked to share his whole opinion with someone in one fell swoop, but Raine didn't seem to mind, so neither did he. She still spoke a like a stiff, though, but he wasn't about to change the way she spoke.

"Race...?" He echoed. "Sure! My parents might think something's going on if they see us from the house, though, so we should just stop in front of the neighbor's or something." He hadn't raced against anyone in months, and he had already seen much of the city, so there was little point in exploring lately when there was homework to be done, so he was beginning to worry that he was too out of shape to beat someone who was on the swim team.

"You ready?"

Before she could answer, he had already taken off towards his street, laughing maniacally on the way.

[chibinanashi†]

"H-Hey!! No fair!" Raine stood there for a moment as Ridley began to run. A grin formed on her face though as she started off after him. Raine was thankful for her long strides as she seemed to catch up to Ridley. If anything, she was probably a couple of seconds behind him. She probably could have passed him but she was laughing too much to care.

"Slow down!" Raine called after him, out of breath already from all the laughing.