“You look like you’ve had a really long day, Atlas. I can see the strain on your face.”
“It’s just the stress of making sure we find the right young men to invite.” I hadn’t mentioned anything about my task of finding Will Stone a potential Omnia.
“You’re more than welcome to come over if you need to let off some steam,” Louis offered.
“I appreciate it, but I think I just need some food, a shower, and to relax for the night.”
He nodded and smiled.
“You know where I’m at if you change your mind.”
“I do. Thank you.”
“Goodnight, Atlas.” Louis turned to walk to his door.
“Goodnight,” I called after him. He held his hand up to wave to me.
I unlocked the door to my place, stepped inside, and flipped the light on before I shut the door all the way. Though I was eager to sit down and start my search for Ryder Smith on social media, I could very easily end up sitting at the laptop for hours. After I took a quick shower, I made myself a turkey and cheese sandwich before grabbing my laptop and taking it to the living room. I pulled over the ottoman, propped my feet up, then ate half of the sandwich while the laptop started up.
Six hours later I had sifted through much of Ryder Smith’s social media accounts. I saw a plethora of pictures of temporary foster families. There were pictures of youth organized sports and school functions such as plays and performances. Pictures of prom with a beautiful blond girl were in abundance. He was his high school’s valedictorian, and there were a few pictures of his graduation. During his four years of high school, there were pictures of him hanging out with friends or being out with them.
In a few pictures he wore a varsity football sweatshirt for his high school. Though his senior yearbook picture said he was a member of the football team, I’d seen no other hints at Ryder being a football player. The yearbook could have been an error, but it said he was just a member of the varsity team during his senior year.
“How do you walk on a varsity football team during your senior year without having been on at least the junior varsity team for a year?” I wondered out loud. I decided to press forward and continue looking at posts and pictures.
There was a picture from his senior year of him and another guy who appeared to be his age. The other guy was baring his teeth and had some of the cartilage of Ryder’s ear in his mouth. Ryder’s eyebrow was arched as he looked sideways at his friend.
“Interesting,” I murmured.
What I found interesting about this photo was that he clearly felt comfortable with the young man. The fact that he mightbe comfortable with being physically close to men could benefit him greatly. Plus, he felt enough at ease to not only take the photo, but to post it on social media for all to see.
I scrolled back through the images again. There weren’t any images, posts, reactions, or comments that would lead me to believe he was bi-sexual. There also weren’t any indicators that he held negative thoughts about same-sex partners.
There were posts for charities he followed and some about their events. Some of the charities had pictures of him volunteering, and there was a post about how the charity presented him with a check for a thousand dollars to help with his college expenses. The post went on to say that the next day Ryder bought a cashier’s check for the same amount and donated it back to the program. He asked them to put the money in a college fund for a foster kid graduating who might need more help than he did.
He isn’t selfish and does charitable work for the betterment of others.
“Very noble, Mr. Smith.”
I found the high school’s social media accounts and perused them for a little while. I was searching specifically for anything with Ryder’s name. I stumbled onto something that was nothing short of exceptional. It was a post by the high school about the football team. Ryder had been encouraged by friends to just try football because of his ease with picking things up. Turned out he had some natural talent in athletics, but that wasn’t even close to the best part. Ryder was named the third quarterback for the team, and when the starting and backup quarterbacks went down in the same game with injuries, Ryder stepped in and helped lead the team to victory. The team went undefeated for the rest of the year with him as the QB. The coaching staff commented in the post saying that they’d never seen anyone pick up and memorize a playbook like Ryder. Tons of commentson the post were from students, and several of them said Ryder had a photographic memory and that he didn’t study.
My stomach dropped, and my heart skipped a beat as I thought about how potentially useful someone like him could be. He could observe and recall nearly anything for Will. I leaned back and clasped my hands behind my head as I looked at the most recent handful of his pictures, thinking. After a few moments, I closed my eyes and played out his potential four years here at the academy.
He isn’t from a well-off family, or a biological family at all. He wouldn’t have bloodline bragging rights.
He attended a public high school in Los Angeles.
His foster father works for a public utility.
He doesn’t have a car.
He doesn’t wear expensive clothes.
He wouldn’t have ulterior motives.
He possibly has a photographic memory.
I imagined him beside Will, and when I opened my eyes, I stared at the picture of him with the boy biting his ear.
