I walked toward Atlas, but he’d stopped walking and instead was looking at the man I’d been talking to. I didn’t want Atlas to ask me about the conversation because I was afraid something would come out about how I didn’t use correct diction or gave too much away about not being from a well-off family.
“Did you find your friend?” I asked.
“I did. Come on.”
I followed him as he moved through the crowded room, and stepped beside him when he came to a stop. I smiled and nodded to the two men standing in front of us.
“Ryder, this is my good friend Louis Ridley and his mentee Finn Kessler. Louis and Finn, this is Ryder Smith.”
“Ryder, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you. Atlas speaks highly of you,” Louis said.
“Nice to meet you,” I said.
I knew right away that I liked Louis. His smile was genuine, and I could just tell that he and Atlas were great friends. Their body language showed they were comfortable being around one another.
“Hi, Ryder. Congratulations on becoming an Omnia student.” Finn held his hand out for me to shake.
“Thank you, Finn. And congratulations to you as well,” I said as we shook hands. Finn was about the same height as me and had a mix of dark-blond and light-brown hair with green eyes.
The four of us stood there and talked amongst ourselves. Atlas and Louis did most of the talking, but they’d ask Finn andme questions here and there. They were explaining things about our upcoming first day and what to expect. I felt like if I could get past the first day, I’d be okay. The first day was going to include a vasectomy procedure, which I was a little nervous about. I’d read enough about it over the past week that it didn’t sound terrible, but I wanted to be done with that part.
“You boys can wander a bit if you’d like,” Louis said.
I looked at Atlas and then to Finn.
“Yes, you should. Don’t be shy to introduce yourselves to others,” Atlas said.
“But be back here in about ten minutes. Dinner starts in fifteen, and we need to be in our seats by then,” Louis added.
“Okay. Want to walk around, Ryder?” Finn asked.
“Yeah… Yes, I mean.”
“Stop at the bar and get yourself a Coke, Ryder,” Atlas said as we started to walk away. I turned around to face him, and nodded.
“Come on. I could kill for a Coke,” Finn said as we headed toward the bar.
“What can I get for you?” the bartender asked as soon as we arrived at the bar.
“Two Cokes, please,” I said. The bartender quickly filled two glasses with ice and Coke and set them on napkins in front of us. “Thank you,” I said as I picked up a glass.
“Do you know where we can find the Apollo suite?” Finn asked quietly as he leaned on the counter toward the bartender.
The bartender looked at us, smiled, reached under the bar, then set two large napkins on the counter. These were much larger than the napkins he had set our glasses on, and it was obvious to me that there might be something between the folds of them.
“Go out to the main hallway and go into the lounge. Walk through it and exit from the doorway opposite the one youentered from. Go left in that hallway until you reach the end, then go right. It’ll be the first room on your right. Have these on when you step inside.”
“Thank you,” Finn said. “Come on,” he murmured to me as he took the two napkins from the bar top.
“What’s the Apollo suite?” I asked quietly so only he could hear me.
“When I was at Dawson & Clarke’s, there were a few second-year Aqua guys there. They highly suggested that I find the Apollo suite at this party.”
Finn and I walked out of the crowded room and into the hallway and stopped near the orchestra. I glanced across the hall to see if the man I’d spoken to earlier was still there, but he wasn’t. Finn was looking at his watch, unfazed by the beautiful music being played mere feet from us.
“Dinner is in fifteen minutes. So we’ll go find the Apollo suite after dinner,” he said. I was curious about this suite.
Even though the orchestra was still playing, it was quieter and calmer in the hallway than the room most of the people were in. Finn and I stayed there and talked some while we drank our Cokes.
