“Non-Disclosure Agreement.”
“Please understand that there are some things that I’m not able to divulge, but I want you to have a better understanding of Omnia Academy by the end of the evening.”
While I understood that he couldn’t tell me everything, I also didn’t know why things were so secretive. Though, I guessed there were things other schools didn’t make public.
“By signing this, you’re agreeing to keep everything you and I discuss between us.”
Okay, this was weird. Very, very weird. Despite that, I picked up the pen and signed it. I hadn’t planned on telling Pam or Roger about any of this anyhow. I set the pen down and watched as he picked it up, signed the paper, and slid it back into the folder. He picked up his glass of water and sipped from it. I did the same and looked out the window.
“The views from above can be quite stunning,” he said. I nodded as I gazed at the pink and purple puffy clouds. “I enjoy a sunset out west.”
“Do you get to come out to California much?” I asked.
“Every now and then. Living in New York doesn’t give me the opportunity to see many sunsets. The weather isn’t as favorable out there. Unfortunately, I don’t get to see many of the Southern California sunsets that people rave about.”
For whatever reason, I thought this would be a good time to ask where he was from originally. I’d been interested in trying to figure out his accent, but really, I had no clue.
“Can I ask you a personal question?” I asked. I thought that was the polite thing to do rather than blurt it out.
“You can ask me anything or discuss anything with me. Part of being your assigned mentor means that I’m here for you whenever you need me.”
I didn’t think I was going to attend Omnia Academy, but we were getting along well for now, so I didn’t want to wreck anything.
“Where are you originally from?”
“I was born in Athens, Greece.”
“Wow! Greece seems really cool.”
“It is. It’s beautiful.”
“Do you miss it or get to go back much?”
“There’s nothing there for me anymore. I was seven when my family moved to the U.S. My father was the youngest in a long line of fishermen. He wanted something better for my brother and me.”
I nodded and turned to look out the window again as I felt the jet starting to descend.
“What are you thinking about, Ryder?”
I sighed as I thought about my foster family.
“I was just thinking about what it must be like to have a family of my own. I mean, one of blood relation. I have no idea what it would be like to have a family that would do something like move across the globe if it meant there was a chance for something better for them.”
Atlas was quiet, and I turned to look at him.
“You were left at a firehouse in Bakersfield,” he said calmly.
How did he know? I frowned at him and wondered where he dug that info up. Then I realized it was my own fault for putting that on college applications. I turned back to the window to avoid this conversation.
“I imagine it would be easy to feel thrown away and discarded, or as though you were hated so deeply that you could easily be left at the firehouse. Consider thinking about it from a different vantage point. Think about where you were left—in the safety of a firehouse. You weren’t thrown in a dumpster or drowned in a bathtub. Someone cared enough to put you in safehands. It’s evident they knew they couldn’t give you what you needed in life, but they cared about you enough to at least put you in safe hands and give you the chance for something better.”
I turned to face Atlas, and when our eyes connected, he smiled and added, “We’ll be on the ground soon and on our way to dinner. Are you hungry?”
I appreciated the fact that after he dropped that kind of thought-provoking thing to consider on me, he quickly changed the subject so I didn’t have to respond.
“Starving.”
“We’ll talk more over dinner.”
