Page 2 of Break Me

So, yeah. I’m failing.

“Are youawarethat if you don’t get your grades up–this fucking minute–that you will be suspended from the team?” Coach manages to say.

I haven’t seen him this pissed since the ref’s bad call screwed our championship chances last year.

And I knew about the suspension rule.

I just didn’t realize that I was so close to being one of those guys.

“Shit,” I said, staring at those damning letters. The C’s. The D’s. I’m so screwed. “What do I do?”

Coach grunts. “You’re going to get off your ass and take care of it. You’re going to work with a tutor of my choosing. And no more extra practice until I say so. You got that?”

I can feel my ears burning.

“But Coach–” I start.

He cuts me off. “I don’t want to hear it. You do this, Rayn, or I’ll suspend you myself.”

I shake my head. I have no choice here. If I want to be the legend I want to be, then I guess I have to be a freaking student. It’s messed up.

I’m not going to be an accountant. Never going to be a doctor.

All I have ever wanted in my entire life is an NFL ring.

So, why do I need a diploma to get there?

It feels like a waste of time. A distraction. And there’s nothing more that I hate than a distraction.

But I’ll do it.

Because sometimes you just need to play a different kind of game.

“Alright,” I say, resigned. “Just tell me what I’ve got to do.”

Coach looks at me questioningly, like maybe he doesn’t actually believe I’m going to do this.

He should know better.

I master whatever I set my mind to.

“Tutoring at the tutoring center. Every day. 9 a.m. Ask for Lennon. She’s the best, apparently,” he says. And then he just turns to leave.

Tutoringevery day.

God.

I’ll do what I have to do.

But I’m not going to like it.

Chapter Two

LENNON

It’s a beautiful morning.

I had my first class early this morning at 7, and now I’m sitting in the quad drinking my coffee while I read the New Yorker on my phone. This is one of my favorite parts of my day. For just a few minutes, it’s quiet. Relaxed.

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