Julian's POV
I've been working extra hard on my schoolwork, trying to pull my grades up before Dad follows through on his threats. Hours in the library, tutoring sessions with the TA, staying up late reviewing material I should have learned weeks ago. It's exhausting, but the alternative is losing hockey, and that's not an option.
Today I had a meeting with Professor Daniel about my economics grade, so I texted Coach that I'd be late to practice and got permission. The meeting was scheduled for thirty minutes but dragged on for almost an hour - sixty painful minutes of listening to the professor list out every single one of my failures and warning me exactly what would happen if I didn't improve by midterms.
"You're a smart kid, Hayes," he said, looking at me over his reading gl
