chapter six: On the Other Line "Hi, sweetie... how'd that thing with Joey go?" Mrs. Turner asked after taking a bite from an apple. Stopping in his tracks while on his way to his room, he said, "It was fun, actually. A lot of fun." "That's good." She took another bite and said teasingly, "So when am I going to get a chance to meet this Joey girl?" "Oh... never," said Ryan with a shrug, now sprinting up the stairs. "Oh, come on, Ry! I'd love to meet her!" he heard his mom calling up to him. "Not in this lifetime!" he hollered back. "Pleeease?" she replied. "I'll be your best friend!" Laughing, Ryan shook his head and stepped into his room, half-closing the door behind him. Running a hand through his newly cropped hair, he sighed and sat on the edge of his bed, grabbing the remote and flipping the TV on. Just then, the phone rang. His head turned sharply to the left, his brown eyes falling upon the phone. Hastily, he lunged across the bed and picked it up, placing the receiver on his ear and lying on his stomach. "Hello?" "PLEAAASE!" Ryan held back a laugh. "Sorry, wrong number!" he chimed sweetly just before hanging up. "OH COME ON!" he heard his mom shout out jokingly. "Why is there nothing on?" Ryan wondered aloud, after going through all the channels at least twice. Frowning, he shut off the TV and checked his watch. 11:49a.m. Hmmm.... It appears as if the outing with Joey didn't take up enough time. Might as well get some shut-eye... And, rolling over onto his back, he shifted a while in order to get comfortable and finally closed his eyes. With a start, Ryan awoke. How long've I been asleep? he thought, still on the groggy/drowsy side. Lifting up his wrist to better see his watch, he blinked. 5:13p.m. That was what, five hours and so and so minutes?  And, gasp, he had said he'd call Joey later! Bah! He'd better get a move on, as now was a good time to be a 'later.' And yes, that makes perfect sense. Grabbing the phone again, he dialed up Brendan's number for Joey was staying there for the time being. "Hello?" "Hi, may I please speak to Joey?" "Ryan, it's Brendan. I take it you don't want to talk to me what with the new girl being in town? How very... Ryan of you." "That's m'name! Don't wear it out, because I am waaay too lazy for my own good, and waaay to lazy to find a new name for myself." "There's an idea." "So can I talk to Joey?" "Yeah... she's right here... actually, no, she's outside. I'll go get her." "M'kay. Thank you, Brendan." Ear apparently glued to the phone, Ryan got off the bed and stretched, his bone cracking in several areas. "JOEY!! Hey, JOEY!!" "What!?" "PHONE!" "OKAY! COMIING!" Ryan smiled slightly as he listened to the happenings back in Winnetka (remember, he lives in Glenview). She sounded like a natural Turner. "Y'ello," Joey said. "Hey there, Jenny." "Well, if it isn't Ross. Haven't you caused enough trouble today?" "Not really. I average about three bouts of trouble a day. And I've only had two." "What was the second one?" "Well, I was side-stepping across town again, but apparently I had side-stepped in front of the wrong person. Some police dude. But it was nothing serious," he added quickly at the sound of Joey's gasp. "He just told me to watch where I was going." "So... you side-step on the street?" "Naturally. Not the sideways side-stepping. But, you know, jumping sideways in front of someone and saying 'Side-step!'" If confusion could be heard, it would probably very loud coming from Joey's end. But she nodded anyway, saying, "I see." "Of course you don't 'see'. I'll have to show you next time. I would've this morning, but side-stepping is hard to do on bikes--" Several knocks pounded on his door, which Ryan just now realized was shut. His mom probably closed it when she had gone to go check up on him and realized he was sleeping. "Ryannn!" "What is it, Tim?" "Mom says it's time to eat dinner!" "I'm--I'm on the phone!" "On the phone? With whom?" Ryan's brother asked, though he sounded nothing short of amused. "Is it Joey?" came Mrs. Turner's excited voice from the other side of the door. Guilty, Ryan said with a slight cringe, "Yeah, it's Joey." "Oh! Tell her I said hi!" his mom answered back, drowning out Tim's question of "Who's Joey?" With a sigh, Ryan said into the phone, "Mom says hi." Laughing, Joey replied, "Tell her I said, 'Hi, Mrs. Turner!'" With a smile, Ryan said, "Mom! Joey says, 'Hi, Mrs. Turner!'" He could hear Joey laughing again, for when he had quoted her, he had put on a rather high-pitched tone of voice. "D'ja hear that? She called me 'Mrs. Turner'! Oooo, I like her already!" Mrs. Turner practically squealed. "Who's Joey, Mom?" Tim asked again. "Tate's roommate," she quickly filled her youngest son in. To the eldest, she added, "Well, go on and call her back after dinner, Ryan. The food's hot 'n' fresh, and I know that's exactly how you like it." Laughing now himself, Ryan said, "Look, I'm going to have to call you back. It's dinner time!.. Either that, or I'll just see you tomorrow. Sound good?" "Yeah. Sounds good... have fun at dinner!" Placing the phone back down on its holder, Ryan walked over to the door and pulled it open. His mom and brother both looked at him with the same, teasing grins. Giving them a look, he said, "So where's the hot 'n' fresh food?"