I never thought I’d be standing there in the dining hall, my heart pounding, staring at the back of some guy’s messy hair while my teammates laughed about something stupid. But here I was. Coach had been on my ass for weeks about my biology grade. Hawkins was a total hardass, and if I didn’t fix this mess by Friday, I’d be riding the bench for the rest of the season. No Nike posters, no starting spot, just me watching from the sidelines while everyone else played.
I spotted him at the corner table with his nerd friends. Vincent. The TA for Hawkins’ class. Tall, lanky but with muscle in that quiet way, with those wired glasses and ruffled hair that always looked like he’d just rolled out of bed. He was wearing a black shirt and grey sweatpants, arguing about video games like it was life o
