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I felt the attention of everyone in the rooht I hated questions like this, and Ryder stayed so still and quiet next toto say as his dad If not more interested… he was no help at all

"Uo to school with Ryder at um, Central And I’m a junior… I’ve never had a breakfast like this before, it’s really incredible I can’t believe you eat like this every Saturday"

Deflecting the attention frohed at the insane amount of food on the table

"Well, it’s not always like this," Matt spoke up "Ryder begged for the works this ood iave me a sheepish, embarrassed s you liked It wasn’t a big deal"

"Oh, no it wasn’t a big deal," Matt covered, realizing he had said so Ryder a hard tirin was one I had seen on Ryder’s face probably a hundred times in our short friendship and I didn’t even think about it, I just returned it

Nate cut back in, probably hoping to take the aard attention off his son, "So you play the piano well, Ivy Are your parents musical?"

"It’s just my mom," I offered casually "And she does play It’s kind of a tradition in our fareat," Nate nodded along "I always appreciate when a parent takes solid interest in their children’s musical educations She probably loves the band then? A practical use for all that talent, it’s got to make her proud"

Unease filtered over my skin and I dropped my eyes to the plate of food I hardly touched "Actually,but the classics I was classically trained with Bach and Mozart, she hates anything composed beyond the nineteenth century, save maybe for Sibelius"

"Really?" Nate practically choked on his breakfast "So she never let you play anything jazz? Blues? Conte current And especially nothing jazz"

"Just for the piano though, right?" Nate pressed and he seemed more like Ryder than ever before "You’ve heard Gershwin? Duke Ellington?"

I gave hih I had heard the naed with the news Ryder chuckled next tohand ondouble time at the small contact, but he simply squeezeddeal Because it wasn’t a big deal- at all

"You’ll have to forgive my brother," Matt interrupted "He’s a bit of a fanatic when it coroaned

All threelook and he rolled his eyes before explaining, "I’"

"Oh," I said like that explained everything "What song?"

"Rough God Goes Riding," Ryder tried to pretend like the song was annoying, but I caught the reverent tone to his voice as he spoke the title carefully

"I’ve never heard of it," I confessed

"But you’ve heard of Van Morrison before, yeah?" Nate asked while his hands gripped at the table nervously

"I hed at his reaction, "I’ve heard the nah I didn’t even know if Van Morrison was one man or a full band

Nate winced drahter "It’s alright big brother Look, Ivy’s itated pop bullshit culture her whole life and she seems to have turned out just fine"

I turned to Ryder for so current and cool to the point he can karaoke to Gaga,work of the devil," Ryder paused dramatically and then finished with, "Except Tarantino filround with Tarantino"

"Well, that’s the good Lord’s work, right there," Matt grunted in approval and then shot me another wink

"And I don’t obsess," Nate defended "I am just fascinated by the constant evolution of society Music is continuously changing, growing… , even if so And take your mother and me for a moment, how different our tastes are, our values There is so"

I sat spellbound, loving every word as it fell out of his mouth He was so opposite ofI had been taught In the circle you like the sa everyone else has liked forever There are no individual opinions or tastes, there’s just ays did, as expected of us, as commanded of us Nix decided Or our uys were such hippies, I swear," Ryder laughed and then pushed away from his plate His arers tapped out an unheard rhythainst the metal