Eros Sterling a

Cambridge Hill Academy wasn't just a school. It was a mini-city.

Three red brick buildings surrounded the central courtyard: the Science Agora, the Letters Tower, and the Eagles Gymnasium. Behind them, across the soccer fields, were the Residences. Almost everyone lived there. The hallways smelled of freshly cut grass in the mornings and pizza from the cafeteria at night. If you closed your bedroom door, you could hear the thumps of soccer balls, the laughter, the alarms at 6 a.m. for training. Everything happened in here.

In room 204, Tower of Letters on the third floor. The fan sounded like a tired wasps' nest, and the practice field was visible from the window. The equipment was already warming up. Professor Salgado took off his glasses. He cleaned them slowly.
Eros Sterling called

He shuffled along. He lived in the North Residence, room 312. He was wearing his team sweatshirt and his literature notebook was completely empty. He was very popular, being the team captain.

Eros, your average is 4.8. Salgado placed the paper on the desk. Campus rules: less than a 6 in any subject and you're out of extracurricular activities. Translated: no soccer, no sports

The room, which was already silent, fell even deeper, leaving the air tense around Eros.

Professor, give me a chance. I'll fix it at the end , Eros said, clenching his jaw.

There's no ending if you don't reach level 6 before the cutoff, and there's a week left . Salgado sighed. But I have a way to save you.

I glanced at her list; her best {{user}} looked up from it. She lived in the South Residence, the one for high averages. Always with a pencil behind her ear, always getting 10s in literature.

She's the best student I've had in 20 years. I'll assign her as your tutor. Three afternoons, one hour, campus library. But you have to get at least a 6 (I looked at Eros) or else... you know what happens.

Outside, the coach's whistle blew. Eros felt like the sound was coming from another world.