“How did you sleep?” I asked him as I stirred the sugar into my coffee.
“Good,” he answered as he quickly doused his pancakes in syrup. I laughed at his consistent answer of good or fine while he hastily cut into his pancakes and stabbed a stack with his fork. Knowing he was also just going back and forth between the two answers, he found humor in it as well. “I was able to reach Kenton last night,” he volunteered while he concentrated on shoveling pancakes into his mouth.
“I’m glad to hear that,” I said and then took a sip from the mug. Ryder hadn’t been able to reach one of his foster siblings since he’d been here. Though he hadn’t said he was worried, I could see it was starting to get to him. “How is he?” I finally asked when it was evident Ryder needed a little prompting.
“He’s okay.”
Ryder was a young man of few words, but I knew there was more in him, and that he needed a little prodding. I thought hewas used to saying just enough to get by while he stowed the rest. I’d get him talking more very soon. He just needed to feel comfortable.
“Did he say what the delay was with getting in touch with you?” I asked.
“No, not really.” Ryder shrugged and kept his head down while eating quickly.
I took a slow, deep breath. The academy was going to be a great shock to him when he realized the instructors would pay close attention to how he carried himself. They’d come down on him if they felt his behavior wasn’t up to their standards.
“Ryder.”
“Hmm?”
“Ryder, look at me.” He raised his head and met my gaze. I smiled and gave him a nod. “Thank you. Now I feel like we’re having a conversation that we’re both paying attention to and invested in.”
“I’m sorry. I was paying attention. I can listen and eat at the same time.”
“I don’t doubt that. You may still eat, but you need to be aware of your body language. The lack of eye contact could silently tell the person you’re with that you’re either uninterested or don’t respect them enough to bother to raise your eyes from your plate to look at them.”
Ryder’s cheeks turned a deep shade of red.
“I’m sorry. That’s not what I want to convey, and it wasn’t my intention. I do respect you.” His eyes moved from side to side as he looked into mine. Faint lines appeared on his forehead as worry set in.
“Ryder—”
“I’m interested in what you have to say. I’ve been interested since the first time you visited my house. Aside from teachers atschool, you were the first adult who didn’t treat me like I was dirt.”
I closed my mouth and simply looked at him. He was so different than the other young men at the academy. Most of the others knew they were special. They’d strut around campus knowing they were privileged and ready to prove to everyone why they were incredible. But Ryder was just eager to show someone—anyone—that he wasn’t the garbage he’d been treated as since birth.
“I’m sorry if my body language gave off bad vibes. I know it’s not an excuse, but the food was hot. Since I usually worked through dinner, it was rare that I had something hot the first time around, or something that wasn’t reheated.”
So different than the others.Most of the others didn’t know what it was like to work or what it was like to eat leftovers.
“I was just hungry, and you’ve spoiled me.”
I thought about his words. I’d spoiled him with hot food.
“Relax, Ryder. I’m not angry, and you’re not in trouble.” I gestured toward his plate that had a few bites worth of pancakes left on it. “Please continue to eat while we talk.”
Not needing to be told again, he pierced another bite of pancake and put it into his mouth. He looked at me while he chewed.
“Today we’re going to visit Dawson & Clarke’s Clothiers and get you squared away on your clothes.”
“Okay.” Ryder took a long drink of his juice and wiped his mouth on his napkin while looking at me. “Aiden and Luca said the uniform isn’t bad and that there’s some flexibility with it. They said I’ll have gym clothes and a place for all of that in the locker room.”
“Yes, I’ll show you where your assigned locker is in the locker room. There’s a class uniform, and, as they said, there is some flexibility. Each Sunday morning you’ll receive an email that willoutline the schedule for that week’s attire. Mainly, every student must wear black pants, a white long-sleeved shirt, black blazer, and a tie. During the cooler weather, you may wear a sweater over your shirt. During casual dress days, you may wear twill pants and a polo shirt that is in the color of the cohort you’re assigned to.”
“That’s the one with all the navy stuff.”
“Precisely.”
We were in the car on the way to Dawson & Clarke’s Clothiers when Ryder spoke up.
