“Or anywhere, for that matter.” Roger had to add his two cents. “Ryder has a scholarship waiting for him?—”
“Yeah, to nowhere,” I blurted out, interrupting Roger and not caring how rude it may come off.
Pam ignored the death stare I was getting from Roger for interrupting him, and kindly told Atlas, “Ryder has a scholarship to Lancaster Community College.”
“I see. Congratulations, Ryder.” Atlas took another sip from his mug. “What will you be studying there?”
“Nothing.”
“Ryder!” Roger slapped the back of his hand against my leg.
“What? Sorry! Look, I’m not studying anything there because it’s a two-year school, and I was just going to take general education courses that will transfer to a bigger school.”
“He has his heart set on a larger four-year school, yet he forgets those all cost an arm and a leg. And in some cases, a kidney,” Roger explained.
“What area are you hoping to study in college?” Atlas asked me.
“I want to study business administration and community development, with an emphasis in sociology.”
“What is it that draws you to that field?”
“Wait till you get a load of this,” Roger said to Atlas. Roger always seemed to mock what I wanted to study. “He has the grades to be a doctor or lawyer.” Roger bumped my leg with his. “Go on, tell him why you want to study that.”
I really despised Roger tonight.
“I want to work toward finding solutions to reduce poverty globally.”
Atlas stared at me for a long moment until he smiled and nodded. “What larger school are you looking at?”
“USC,” I replied. Roger laughed out loud and shook his head at my lofty goal.
“He’s applied to several arm-leg-and-kidney schools, including USC. He’s been rejected from all of them.”
“I haven’t heard from USC yet,” I corrected Roger.
He quickly added, “USC’s rejection letter hasn’t come yet.”
“I would like to wait until I hear from USC.” I looked at Atlas and felt like I’d hurt his feelings.
“Is there anything that could change your mind and have you commit to Omnia Academy?” Atlas asked. When I shook my head, he nodded before he finished his coffee with a long sip.
“I wish you the best of luck with your endeavors at USC. They would be foolish not to accept you, Ryder.” Atlas stood, and the rest of us followed his lead. “Should things not work out with USC, please reach out to me.” Atlas opened his portfolio and pulled out a glossy piece of paper with pictures of the academy on one side and information on the reverse side. “All expenses, and I do mean every single expense, are covered for Omnia Academy.”
“Whoa, wait a second! You’re telling me that your school is offering him a scholarship and will cover expenses?” Roger asked for clarification.
“Every single one,” Atlas confirmed.
Roger and Pam looked at me like I was crazy for passing this up.
“I know. It sounds great, really it does. I just need to hear from USC.”
Atlas smiled as he stretched his hand toward me for me to shake. He shook Pam’s hand and then Roger’s before we followed Atlas to the front door.
“Thank you kindly for the coffee and for inviting me to your home to discuss Omnia Academy.”
“Thank you so much for coming,” Pam said.
Atlas stepped onto the porch and turned to face me.
