Ryan Awoke Part 1

Ryan awoke, but did not open his eyes. He felt the heat and humidity that pervaded the room.

“Man its hot” he said to himself as he opened his eyes to be greeted by his small room. The heat reminded him of the box Robert Redford in Cool Hand Luke spent his punishment times at the prison camp.

His undershirt was soaked with sweat caused by the heat and humidity of the South East Texas climate. It was May 30, 1992 and the high temperature would reach 90-95 degrees with 70-80% humidity sapping the strength from his body. The 30-year-old mobile home had a window air conditioner unit, but it had quit in August of the previous year.

Ryan opened his eyes. Looked around the room his room. Ryan slept on a mattress on floor in the small room. Around the room were strewn books of every shape, size and subject. In one corner sitting on a cheap worn out card table was a computer monitor and a Computer tower with no cover and various wires hanging out. Noticing a dull pain in his back Ryan reached down and pulled out a sweat soaked copy of Harry Turtledove’s Guns of the South.

Ryan smiled and started laughing to himself. He just realized that he only had one more night to endure in this hellhole of a room. The clock on the card table said 12:00 and for a minute Ryan thought that the electricity had gone out again. Then the digital display changed to 12:01 and it jolted him out of that thought. This time tomorrow he would be checking into his dorm room at Texas A&M University.

Ryan had quit public school during his sophomore year. How is this high school drop out going to college you may ask? He had scored a perfect 1600 on his SAT. His family consisted of his mother and her IRS tax liens which were courtesy of his father who ran off a couple of years ago. Officially Ryan was a home school student, but since leaving school no one had “schooled” him. He had an aunt named Patty who home schooled for own four children. Each of them were accepted to Texas A&M following very high SAT scores. Patty was a very small women with a hugely infectious laugh. She had sowed the seed of home schooling in Ryan’s mind and it had changed his life. Ryan had spent an entire year studding for the SAT 50-60 hours a week. By the time the test rolled around he had taken 20 full-length practice tests and scored perfectly on the last three.

He got up and started towards the kitchen of the mobile home. He had a thick nasty film coating his mouth. Entering the living room he spotted his mother Nancy Black. She sat on the formerly tan sofa that had seen much better days in much better houses. A long cigarette was perched on her lips. From the blue haze in the room she must have been smoking for a while.

“Hey Momma” Ryan said letting her know by his expression that he did not approve of her smoking.

“Morning Ryan” she said in a patronizing way in response to his expression.

Ryan crossed the living room and reached the dorm fridge on the counter next to where the real fridge was. The real fridge has failed a few months ago and Ryan could not afford to get it repaired. Patty had given them the mini fridge from her husbands Frank’s office.

Opening the small fridge he grabbed the gallon jug of water and after retrieving a huge Jack in the Box cup from the cupboard he pored himself a huge portion in the cup.

“Are you working today Ryan?” Nancy asked.

“No mom you know that I am going to college tomorrow” he replied with a angry sneer.

“Oh baby are you sure you want to go to college you will be manager of the restaurant in less then a year probably” she repeated the mantra as she had been repeated for the last few months.

She had known that for the last few months when Ryan was not only accepted to, but had received a Naval ROTC Scholarship to go to Texas A&M University.

“Jack in the Box is not a restaurant” he said for as he did every time when this discussion came up.

Ryan believed would have been going to the Naval Academy in Annapolis if his mother had not ruined it for him.

To attend one of the three major service academies Army (West Point), Navy (Annapolis), Air Force (Colorado Springs) you have to be nominated by a Congressman or Senator unless your father was a Medal of Honor winner. Since Ryan’s father had no honor let alone a Medal of Honor he needed a nomination. Ryan had become a finalist for the nomination on the basis of his application essay and his perfect SAT score. Ryan and his mother, along with the other finalists and parents were invited to the Congressman’s house for dinner. Since the invitation had come while Ryan was at work pulling a double shift his mother had opened the invitation. Other wise Ryan was going to keep it a secret from her. He begged her not to go, but she insisted.

It became the night that Ryan gave up on his mother.