If he could go back in time to kick his past self for volunteering, he would. Cole pulled down the tights that were riding up his ass, or tried to, at least. It was the biggest elf outfit available, but it couldn’t fit him. And he was supposed to wear this for eight hours? Cole groaned. If only he had signed up for firewood cutting. He could’ve gotten a workout out of that. This was just embarrassing. He peeked past the false wall of Santa’s Workshop and winced. There were so many people in line. He would never live this down. “Who ever heard of a 6′ 3″ tall elf anyway?”
this is the very last place ryder wanted to be, as much as he loved his mom, walking around with her whilst she’s in uniform and seeing plenty of his “clients” didn’t look good on his part. so this was the very last place he wanted to be but at least he wasn’t 6 foot 3 dressed up as an elf. “ a first for everything, huh? ” he’s laughing but he plans on going easy on the guy, if not for his clique keeping him safe (for the most part) he’d be the target of all kinds of ridicule. “ i’d shit myself if you showed up at my doorstep with santa but i’d also shit myself if santa showed up at my doorstep. ”
He sat. He wasn’t scared or even seemingly confused or offended at what she had said. He just…sat. But he was quiet and she quite liked that. She had seen Ryder here and there in the halls and town, but she had never really talked to him. They just existed in the same small town. After a minute or two of awkward silence, she took a deep breath and decided to speak. “Sorry I threatened you. I’ve been…really stressed. Math is kicking my ass and I need to get my grades up before I get kicked off the volleyball team,” but math had never made sense to her and after the trauma of the past year, of seeing her dad leave in cuffs and being re-homed - she’d been a little stressed. (Not to mention, she felt like an idiot almost all of the time.)
“ hey, no, i deserved it. ” for a guy failing classes, he is in no position to give any advice on how to get your grades up. in fact the advice he will repeat is counselling heard given to him. “ we have tutoring, you know. there’s some pretty bad ass tutors in our school too. ” none that he personally knew of but he knows enough to know they’re good at what they do. “ i don’t think math is something that normal people know anyhow. ” he chuckles, his hands place palm down on the pavement. “ be honest, have you ever met anyone who knows how to do math and genuinely likes it ? ”
“Please, dude - just…leave me alone or get decked.” She was working on her anger - in the past, she would’ve just went for the punch. It was sometimes surprising to her, that people still tried. ( maybe they just felt bad, considering the recent turn of events in her family )
“ okay. ” ryder nods, sitting down on the ground next to her as his arms sit over his legs. leave me alone for ryder never truly meant leave me alone. he has learned that there is nothing more dangerous than being alone with your thoughts. his mother told him to keep an eye on naomi, for what reason he wasn’t sure of, & if that meant sitting next to her quietly he has no problem doing so.
“Depends on what you classify as a word. Then you have to take into account that early humans probably had a definition different from yours. The origins of language are pretty much subjective. Most early documents were written in glyphs, so there’s a starting point. ” Nicola rambled, not even looking at him. Weed had the tendency to bring the talkative brainiac out of them and the two spent so much time together that they weren’t really self-conscious about it. “But based off of my eurocentric education, I think it was probably something in Latin.”
ryder puts the blunt they’ve been passing back and forth to his lips as nic began speaking. “ holy shit, nic. ” her intellectual response caused him to laugh suddenly which soon turned into coughing as smoke leaves his lips. “ i thought you’d say something like food or - i don’t know butter. ”
“So two questions.” Jackie started with a deadpan expression. “How high are you right now, and where are you getting your shit?”
“ i’m holding it for a friend. ” ryder whispers in an attempt to cover his ass but he gave himself away when he snorted at the joke. “ i’m a little high, i’ll be honest. my seller prefers to remain anonymous but his name starts with m and ends with e. ”
“I feel like that’s the kind of thing you only think about when you’re high…” Then it hits him. Bellamy turns his head, small frown on his face. “Dude, are you high?”
“ i’m high on life. ” even though it should have, the question caught ryder off guard. relaxed, he widens his arms and leans back in the chair he finds himself sitting in. “ and pot, if i’m being honest. ”
he’s been quiet for awhile now, only staring off into nothing but still laughing at any silly situation that would come up. “ have you ever thought about the first word? man, what was the first word ever spoken? ”
“You know, holiday drinks are all fun and games until you realize that egg nog is just melted refrigerated ice cream. That, and it originated from old milk that they curdled with wine or ale back in the day. But what’s your stance on it?”
“ come on, man ! ” Swallowing the remaining eggnog that was in his cup, Ryder laughs in spite of being disgusted by the news. “ i liked when i was in third grade and thought it came from special cows who hibernated until christmas. ” that did not stop ryder from trying to slurp out the remaining lack of liquid in his cup. “ ruining eggnog for me, you’re like the grinch. ”
“what’s so bad about southbank?” her tone raises a whole octave higher and her brows knit together, the topic peaking her interest. “my mom went there. my cousins went there. i don’t really see what’s so bad about it. maybe it wouldn’t seem like much of a problem if most of the kids here didn’t treat them like shit when they —” she sucks in a breath, not wanting to get riled up over something so small. it was just a fun conversation after all. “yeah, well, you better tell it right and by right i mean exaggerate the whole dang thing. go big or go home.”
ryder is momentarily surprised by the defensive twist in conversation but he understands it. even though he was nothing but welcoming to the southbank students when they transferred to northlake for a few months, his statement sounded otherwise. “ i’m you know. i don’t mean anything by it but they had a mold problem like a month or two ago, give or take. ” he was being genuine about why he was hesitant on being sent there and he figured he needed not to explain about how getting sent to a different school wasn’t fixing their problem at all. “ of course i’ll exaggerate. i might add in a few celebrities too, ones you were close with. how does oprah sound? ”
“i’d totally do it, you know — spontaneously combust — i’d take one for the team… class, school, whatever.” she shrugs and rests her chin atop her desk, not particularly minding what types of germs or infections that might’ve been left by its previous user. “i could ALSO light the school on fire, which would get us months… maybe even a year tops.”
ryder allowed himself time to think about the setting the school on fire ordeal but he came to a decision after shaking his head. “ no they would just transfer us somewhere, southbank probably. best bet is for you to combust but i’ll make sure everyone knows you died a hero. ” he uses a rolled up fist to place against his chest. “ i’ll tell your story. ”
standing by the table ( that the cafeteria lady miraculously decided to borrow for the day ) full of pastel pink cupcakes, the blonde continued to freely give them away to every passing student in the hallway; even to those who weren’t particularly fond of cupcakes ( or pink ) to begin with. but then again, no act of kindness or a charming smile was ever wasted when it came to eli. “have a great day ! “ she just guided yet another person away when she spotted her new victim; a beaming smile reaching her features as she stepped forward enough to grasp their focus. “— want a cupcake ? we have chocolate, strawberry, lime and coconut.”
the eye drops ryder put in moments before walking in the cafeteria weren’t enough to cover his intoxicated conduct. he was still delayed in actions, dragging on words like shit & laughing at evidently not funny situations. so it’s fair to say it didn’t take much time for him to find the table of food. “ eli, hey ! ” his greeting is soft, his hands sitting in his pocket as he approaches the table of desserts. “ are you running for -- ” he looks around at his surroundings, maybe there’s an ELI FOR PRESIDENT or SECRETARY poster hanging around. to be honest, ryder wasn’t sure how often those elections occurred but it was the one way to explain the extravagant snacks. and now for deliberation, he bends to take a closer look. “ what would you suggest ? i want all of them, am i allowed all of them ? ”
an exasperated sigh leaves daisy’s lips as she turns to her classmate to whisper, “god — if i have to listen to her speak for another thirty minutes i just might spontaneously combust.”
ryder’s lips flicker into a smirk at her words, then he nods in agreement. “ you should do that ! ” he whispers leaning over to assure she hears his encouragement. “ you combusting spontaneously would get us out of class for at least a week. maybe longer ? they’ll need the time to clean up. ”
“All I’m saying is that the pictures were definitely creepy, but what did we expect when we went out into the woods in the middle of the night? If the boogyman took pictures of me from inside my room or something, I would be a lot more worried.”
“ right ? i mean, why not expect someone to be stalking you in the woods, taking photos of you just to scatter it all over the halls of your school ? happens all of the time. in fact, it should be anticipated at this point. ”
RYDER MATTEN is an SEVENTEEN year old JUNIOR student at Northlake High. They sit with the LOSERS CLUB at lunch and are commonly known around school as the STONER, because they’re +ADAPTABLE and +RELAXED, but also -TROUBLED and -LAZY.
Come & watch the kid with the steadily
declining mental health & laugh as he
attempts to give you what he cannot
give himself
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL DRUG DEALER. it’s ryder. he’s your local drug dealer.
He was in and out of foster homes since he was three but was officially adopted when he was 11 by two amazing women whom he loves so fucking much !! he’ll fight anyone for them.
The mother he calls mama is a police officer which makes his side business a little awkward. Sometimes people get suspect because of that so he hides that it’s his mom.
He was diagnosed with manic depression when he was fifteen but didn’t care enough to take his medicine which lead to bad shit.
After an incident the summer after his Sophomore year his moms sent him to a psychiatric hospital but as far as everyone else knows he just disappeared.. It’s up to you what rumors (if any) your character hay has heard. He’ll more thanl ikely nod and agree.
LOVES HIS SKATEBOARD. It’s like a child to him, he always has it on him and he’s always riding it. he’s gotten it taken away from him a million times
full bio coming soon!!! / wanted connections.
—— his adopted siblings! he has three siblings, a mix of being related to one of the mothers and also being adopted.
—— best friends ;; a partner in crime, the ying to the yang. the pair or more that are typically attached by the hip, consult each other, and couldn’t live without one another.
—— good influence ;; a friend who looks out for him and often acts as a conscience to each other.
—— childhood friends ;; friends since the diaper days! his mothers depend on this person to sort of watch over him, could tie in with good influence.
—— partying buddies ;; a friendship that relies on nothing more than alcohol, drugs, going out and having a wild time.
—— best friends turned enemies ;; the two were friends up until high school. their opposite cliques (ie, preferably a jock) added angst and negativity to their relationship. they probably still care a lot about each other but high school split them up.
—— neighbour ;; they could live next door, across the street. maybe they hang out? maybe not? ryder’s mom holds little dinners every now for the parents of northlake and they would meet if they were dragged there.
