d woken me up long before that. The screen was a wall of

P. PLEASE. I'M

man, get onlin

cole. And her friend is with her. They

ike, actually p

in protest. The first tuition payment was due, and the latest bill for my mom' s

hone and typed

w m

response w

a couple of hours. Come on

a good rate. It

g on. But I have

BEST. THE AB

ummed to life, a stark contrast to the quiet dorm room. I logged into Valorant, my gamer

x," and Nicole's, "Niki." There was a

riend. Just another pla

the party chat, my voic

d, I did my usual pre-round check. I scanned the enemy team' s composition and re

l round," I typed. "Their Jett is overconfid

f in A-U-Hall, holding a tight angle. As the barrier dropped, I

dent. I didn't hesitate. Three qu

ice calm and flat. "Rotate B. They'll

e scrambling, disorganized. We picked them of

xecuted. We controlled the pace, anticipated every move, and dismantled the enemy team

enemy team typed "gg" and on

surre

7:30 AM. Time to get re

to the party. "Fir

headed for the communal showers, the weight of UCLA and my mother's bills settling back onto my shou