Unbreakable Rules (Too Many Rules Book 3) (8 page)

"Come on, hurry up," I said trying to move things along. The sooner it was over, the quicker I could move on with my night.

Hailey glanced my way and gave me an encouraging smile. I think she saw my discomfort.

"Well, anyway," Mark continued, "because Ryan likes computers so much he spends his free time researching, testing. Playing around, he calls it.

So, one night he's buried deep in the Window's operating system and finds a little flaw. A possible security problem. He follows it, plays around with it, and discovers a major flaw. The kind of thing that could open up a server to full exposure. It's like someone left the door unlocked at Fort Knox."

"It's not all that uncommon. That's why they come up with updates every month," I said.

"Not big honking holes like this one," Mark said. "So what does Ryan do? Does he go on the web and tell the world? Hey look at me, look at what I found. No, not our hero. He would have been a sensation. A legend. No, not him.

“Does he sell it to the Russian mob for fifty thousand? Again, no.

“Does he grab that money and buy a car in which he could arrive at school every day, the envy of every dirt bag in that hell hole? No, not him. Even though it meant his best friend could have tagged along."

"Maybe his best friend should get his own car and give me a ride."

"Is it true that you could have sold it to criminals?"

"In a heartbeat, sweetheart,” Mark said. “I checked it out. No fuss, foreign account. He could have gotten away with it." Mark said shaking his head in disbelief at my failings.

"Anyway," he continued, "our boy doesn't do any of those things. Instead, he quietly sends an Email to Microsoft telling them about their problem. Not only that. He shows them how they can fix it."

"If I went public, people would have exploited it before Microsoft could get a fix out." Mark was dragging this out too long and making it way bigger than it was.

"What does this have to do with the UW."

"I'm getting to that. A couple of weeks later he gets an Email reply from Microsoft thanking him and offering him a job interview. They're interested in having him come work in their Information Assurance Division. Imagine their surprise when they found out he was only seventeen and getting ready to start his senior year in high school."

"Wow," Hailey exclaimed, her eyes growing big in surprise.

"Oh, it gets even better, after Ryan gently turned Microsoft down."

"I didn't turn them down. I agreed to talk to them again in a few years."

"Anyway. A couple of days after that, two men show up on the front porch. Both in Air Force uniforms. Ryan about crapped his pants. He'd been playing around in some places he shouldn't be. Not doing any damage, but looking around. He figured they were there to take him to Leavenworth for a couple of decades."

"I did not. I never snoop in Department of Defense sites. Those guys are too good."

"Anyway, they were there to recruit him. You should have seen them. Stiff backs, hats tucked under their arms. One of the guys had a chest full of ribbons. He'd come back from Afghanistan as some kind of frontline air traffic controller.

Like I was saying, they had been tipped off by someone in Microsoft, and they were there to offer him an appointment to the Air Force Academy. It was late in the process, but for someone of Ryan's skills they would cut through some red tape."

"Mom was ecstatic," Amanda said. "Papa, her father, had been in the Air Force. He flew Fighters in the Korean war."

"So Ryan's weighing his options, Air Force Academy, Microsoft. All of his problems solved. But, still he's not satisfied. He waits, he delays. I'm yelling at him to make a decision before they change their friggin’ minds. His mom is scared out of her mind that he'll blow it all.

Then, out of nowhere a letter shows up. One page. Offering him a full ride at the University of Washington. Books, room, board, classes, everything covered. Not only that, but entry into their entrepreneur Information Management program. He'll come out of there with all the tools and contacts to start his own business. And I'm the one who gets to help him turn it into a billion dollars," Mark said with a smile as he sat back in his chair.

"You, my boy, are my ticket out of here and don't you forget it,” Mark added.

"Yeah, well if they don't get the power back on, all those computer programs are going to become pretty useless,” I said. I could feel the tips of my ears burning.  I glanced over at Hailey to see how she was taking all of this.

I had never seen her look at me this way before. Her eyes had narrowed as she studied me for a moment. She started to shake her head and said, "Ryan, Ryan, what are we going to do with you." But, she said it in such a way that I don't think she was disappointed in me.

Snuggling under the blankets on the recliner in Ryan's living room, watching the flames dance in the fireplace, I thought over the day's events. Wow, what a freaky two days. Everything was off the charts unusual.

Mom and Nana flying to North Carolina. Breaking up with Jarret. My phone swimming in the girl's commode.  The power disappearing into who knows where for who knew how long. All of it couldn't compare to the story I'd heard earlier about Ryan. The boy was playing in a different league than the rest of us. I'd always known he was smart, but this was so far above what I'd expected.

Most of my friends couldn't tell you how their toys worked. The phones, tablets, and gadgets they used constantly all day. It was all magic to them.

Here Ryan was, an apprentice magician being admitted into the guild of masters. You've got to admit, it was sort of cool. In a nerd kind of way.

I smiled when I thought about how the tips of his ears turned red when people talked about him. It drove him crazy to be the center of attention. It was too cute.

I fell asleep, relaxed, and semi-happy. Sometime in the night, I woke to a blinking 12:06 on the DVD player tucked under the TV. I stared at the blinking red lights for several moments before I realized what it meant. The electricity was back on.

I squealed as a sense of relief flashed through me. The power was back. I quickly reached over and shook Ryan's chair. "Ryan," I hissed. "Ryan, the power's back on."

He blinked awake, then shot up in his chair looking at the red lights. A huge smile spread across his face to be replaced by a brief, sad look. I wondered what that was all about.

"And life returns to normal," he said with a small shake of his head.

The big yellow school bus slowed to a stop at the end of the Cul-de-sac. I let the other five high-school kids go first, then ducked my head as I stepped onto the first step. That early morning stink of teen angst, fake leather seats, and diesel exhaust hit me like a fist to the stomach. I couldn't keep doing this. I could feel my face turn red as the freshmen, sophomores, and the occasional loser junior watched the only senior on the bus make his way to the end.

I plopped into one of the only open seats next to a scared little freshman. Giving him my best scowl I was able to cut off any attempt at conversation. The last thing I needed right then, was people talking to me.

The power had been back on for two days now, at least for the most part. The occasional drop still made my stomach clench up every time it happened. Rolling blackouts they called it. Two hours out of every twelve, just enough to keep your whole life off balance.

Mrs. Thompson and Hailey's mom had come back and Hailey had returned home without stopping to say goodbye.  Now, here I was stuck once again in Loser Ville, riding the bus, heading to hell in a hand basket.

Maybe Mark was right, maybe I should get a car. It'd never seemed that important before. I had access to Mom's mini-van if I needed it. But, things felt different. A girl like Hailey would never go out with a guy driving a mini-van. I shuddered to think of picking her up on a date, pulling into her driveway in a mini-van. God, could there be anything worse?

Mom's bills were caught up. I had enough in the bank, maybe I should get a used car instead of saving it for college. I had a full scholarship after all. I could afford to splurge a little.

"Okay you heathens," Mr. Stewart yelled from the front of the bus as he slammed the doors open. "Go forth and learn new things. Fill those little brains of yours with wondrous knowledge."

He'd said the same thing every morning for the last ten years. Always before, it had been no big deal. Now it sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard sending a sickening shiver down my spine.

Today! I was getting a car, today. Or, this week at least. Never again would I set foot on that bus. Relaxing, I stood up and joined the crawling line as we left the bus. I smiled for the first time in two days. 

The school halls buzzed with stories about the great Black Out. Each student and most of the teachers seemed to have a story about what they did and how they were impacted by the power outage. You'd think they'd made it through six episodes of Survivor on some deserted island. - - Oh the hardship.

I turned the corner, headed for my first period Trig class when I spotted Hailey down the hall. She was talking to Brittney Marshall. Holding a textbook to her chest. Both arms wrapped around it like it was a life jacket in a hurricane.

How I envied that book. The woman was a picture of perfection. Her eyes sparked like precious gems. She wore a black skirt and a pink fitted shirt. Most of the other girls in school tended to tight jeans. Nothing wrong with that, but Hailey always stood out.

Laughing at something Brittney said, she tucked a strand of luscious hair behind her ear and looked up. Our eyes locked, my heart stopped, as it always did when I saw her. She smiled slightly and nodded. I smiled back and returned the informal nod.

Brittney's head whipped around to see who had caught Hailey’s eye. The look of surprise and disbelief in her eyes let me know all I needed to know. Hailey hadn't spent the last few days telling her friends about the wonderful time spent with Ryan Hardy. It had probably never even crossed her mind.

Sighing to myself, I continued on to class. My head down, and a heart so heavy it felt like it was pulling me into the floor.

I spent the morning staring off into space analyzing my problem from every side. My teachers ignored me. They knew I'd ace their tests. In fact, I could have skipped the last six weeks of school and still aced the final exams.

Okay Ryan, face it, I desperately wanted to go out with Hailey Martin. I wanted way more than that, but would be satisfied with a simple date.

It seemed to be all I could think about. I fantasized different scenarios. Rescuing her from a rampaging bear, or pulling her off the street, away from some out of control car. Something, anything that would make her see me as someone worth knowing. Someone worth being with.

Sighing to myself, I left my fourth period AP Chem course and headed to the cafeteria for lunch.

"Face it," I mumbled to myself, "she's out of your league."

Hell, there isn't a boy within a hundred miles of there who was in her league. On the other hand, I knew that in fifty years I'd deeply regret the fact that I hadn't asked Hailey Martin out.

My stomach hurt thinking about it. I almost turned around and skipped lunch. Instead I grabbed a tray and started sliding it down the rails, looking for something good to eat.

I knew Mark and the others would be expecting me to join them at our table back in the far corner.

I could already imagine the teasing I was going to get from Howard. Megan would look at me and shake her head, then start in on Tony about how she'd kicked his butt in Medal of Honor. Mark would tell stories. Lay it on thick, and entertain the group. Tony would look for an opportunity to start an argument. There were definite drawbacks to being King of the Nerds.

"Hey, don't I know you from somewhere?" an angelic voice said behind me.

My heart lurched and my lungs seized up. Hailey Martin stood in line behind me, smiling like I was her friend or something.

My mind refused to work, and my tongue had locked itself in place. Here in public, the great Hailey was acknowledging my existence. I quickly looked around to see if anyone was watching. Wondering what the catch was.

"Um ... Hi, um ... hello." It was now official. I was the dumbest person in the world. I'd just proved it.

"Hi," she answered. "I wanted to say thanks again for taking me in. You were a life saver."

"Oh, sure no problem. Anytime the power goes out you are more than welcome."

She laughed as if I'd said something funny. "So you're saying I can only come visit when it's dark. Don't want to be seen with me is that it?"

"No. No. That's not it," I sputtered.

"I'm only kidding Ryan," she said resting a hand on my arm. Her eyes narrowed in concern, obviously worried that she might have made me upset. It felt as if her fingers were burning a brand into my skin, but I could no more have moved my arm than I could have moved Mt. Rainier.

"I really enjoyed it," she continued, "tell Amanda I said ‘hi,’ okay?"

"Hey, move it," someone further down the line yelled. Couldn't he see what was going on here? Didn't he know this was way more important than if he got some cafeteria meat loaf?

My knuckles had turned white with the grip on my tray. It seemed to be the only thing anchoring me to this world. I slid it down towards the cashier. Say something, I kept telling myself. Something smart, witty. Maybe this was the time I should ask her out. I'd never get a better chance.

I finished paying Mrs. Carver, the oldest cashier in the world, and stepped aside while I waited for Hailey to pay.

Should I have offered to buy her lunch? The fact that I didn't have a clue about what I should do made me mad. How does a person get to be my age without knowing the rules about things like this?

Hailey stepped up next to me.

"It was good seeing you again, Ryan. Like I said, thank you again." She looked off towards her friends sitting at a far table. A wistful look crossed her eyes. She turned and glanced at my friends at the Nerd table. The wistful look didn’t go away.

Both of us stood there for a moment, not knowing what came next. Finally, she sighed and gave me a weak smile.

"Well, see you around. Oh, and tell Mark I said, ‘hi,’ and that he needs to expand his reading material. There are more things in this world than Batman comics."

I laughed. "Don't ever tell him that or you'll be pulled into a long boring argument that you cannot win."

Hailey laughed, smiled, and nodded her head slightly, then walked towards her friends. I thought I might have seen a slight look of regret cross her face, but that didn't make any sense.

I sighed and started towards my table, my people. Cussing with each step. What a perfect opportunity and you blew it, I said to myself over and over.