Raphael Duran was an unusual choice for membership in the Tau Iota Tau fraternal organization. He would be the first Hispanic member of the group ever. It was a move that wouldn't have been considered an option in the past but Duran was considered an exceptional find by the rest of the younger members of the group.
In his circle of friends, he had earned the nickname Kevlar for his willingness to take the dumpy friend on in a group of girls. Raphie would dive on that grenade on a regular basis. Raphie would take on the D.U.F.F. (designated ugly fat friend) without hesitation even though he was subjectively a very handsome man. The effect of Raphie rejecting the more attractive girls in the group had the effect of messing with their self-esteem making them more susceptible to Raphie's friends' advances.
It was just this kind of dedication to being the perfect wingman that caught the interest of Tau Iota Tau. The organization existed to further the causes of the monied elite. They would grant access to the powers of the ruling class to the most promising members of the working class in exchange for the opportunity to milk the lower class members for every ounce of talent they had.
Raphie had an exceptional ability with computers. As companies were adapting to the new phenomenon that was the internet Raphie was way ahead of the curve on how to protect industry assets online. Raphie was top in his class in writing virus protection software. As fast as hackers could come up with new ways to get around security systems Raphie was finding ways to fortify net security. Raphie was probably the most talented cybersecurity student not enrolled in an Ivy League computer program in the entire country. San Fransisco Tech companies were already trying to lure him to the other coast of the country to head their securities divisions. Someone was going to get rich employing Raphie and he knew it.
The Taus wanted Raphie bad and invited him for a tour of the converted historic hotel that they had converted to a headquarters. The hotel was perfectly located so that they had nearby access to the local nursing and teaching college they were most closely associated with on a charity level. On the surface, this seemed like a benevolent act on the organization's behalf to produce middle-class professionals in an effort to better the community.
In reality, The Taus were major doners because it granted them access to a steady supply of young nursing and teaching students. Around eighty percent of the student body was female. The Taus held many fundraisers throughout the year that involved the student body of the school. They had an 80s karaoke contest, A Halloween costume party, a spaghetti monster church pirate-themed parade with bead throwing, a carnival, a track and field day, a carwash, a casino night, etc, etc... They basically had an event every month.
The Taus had a diabolical plan of pitting the nursing students against the teaching students for doner dollars at each of these events. The competition was always fierce and the school encouraged the students to go all out to win. Many of the events were huge tourist attractions that brought in people from all over the state to watch the mostly female students compete.