Ryan’s Pov
I knew something was wrong before the email even finished loading.
When the Mid-semester Results were posted, I stared at the screen in my dorm room, with my jaw tight and my heart pounding in a way that had nothing to do with hockey. I clicked the first grade.
C minus. The next one, D. And the last one, C.
My grip tightened around the laptop until my knuckles turned white.
This wasn’t who I was supposed to be, I was not supposed to be perfect or brilliant, but not this, I hadn't expected to fall apart this fast.
The memory of Elsie sitting across from me, tapping her pen impatiently, making me redo problems until I understood them instead of memorizing them, everything felt heavier.
I shut the laptop and ran both hands through my hair. I could already hear father’s voic
