The Tuition Fee

Chapter 1: October, Year 0.5

Alina's POV

I clutched the folder tightly in my hands, smiling faintly at the coordinator in front of me who handed me my name tag. She had the air of someone who could fully function on only two hours of sleep if given enough caffeine and look at the world like it was made of sunshine and rainbows. Her smile was infectious though, as I took the paper sticker from her outstretched hand.

"We'll be starting in twenty minutes, so go ahead on inside and mingle around!" She said cheerfully. "Maybe you'll find your future roommate or significant other!"

"Thanks," I mumbled, putting the sticker on my chest. My stomach churned at the significant other comment. How could I ever meet my life partner at a college recruitment event

I moved past the check-in table for the Britton University recruitment event, moving along inside to the massive church gymnasium the college had rented out. It was decorated in the school's emerald and gold colors, streamers and banners everywhere discussing everything from academics to clubs to sports to Greek life. I'd requested this day off from my job at McDonald's weeks ago to be here. My dream college, so close I could taste it. 

Glancing around the crowded room, there were a lot of other prospective high schoolers there too, joking with friends or talking with their parents. I wandered around the folding chairs set up in the middle of the room and made my way over to the Student Life table. In the middle of the tri-fold board was a candid shot of the Britton student section at a football game. 

"Are sports big at Britton?" I asked aloud, picking up a flyer from the table when a heard scoff next to me. 

"They're only known as the top school in the country for soccer and baseball," the voice responded. I turned and looked up at a tall, athletic boy standing next to me in a Britton sweatshirt. He was attractive in the way most student-athletes all, lithe and trim with an air of being important. He flicked a lock of dark brown out of of his face, raising an eyebrow as he looked at me. 

"So that would explain why they used a football game picture," I responded, slipping the flyer inside the plastic bag the coordinator had handed me with my folder of information and a free t-shirt. 

He pursed his lips when a hand appeared on his shoulder and another, equally -as-tall boy with blonde hair materialized at his side, laughing. "She's got you there Nate. No one ever goes to our games like they do football." He turned to me, and held out his hand. "Hi, I'm Reese." 

I felt my cheeks turn pink as I shook his hand. This was more male attention than I think I'd gotten all four years of high school. "Uh, Alina. Are you interested in Britton too I'm guessing?" I gestured to his baseball hat and he shook his head. 

"Already got in actually. Baseball scholarship." He tilted his hat and Nate grinned, throwing an arm around the boy's shoulders. 

"We're all very proud of our hometown hero," he crowed and Reese laughed, pushing him away. 

"Oh shove off. You'll get the scholarship too and we'll be roommates, chill." I blinked and looked at the two boys a little closer. Reese in a varsity jacket, Polo sweater, designer jeans and shiny leather boots. Nate had the same jeans in a darker wash and Yeezy's on. Scholarship? Why would this boy need a scholarship, he was wearing shoes that cost over a thousand dollars. Per foot. 

"That's my goal too," I added, hugging the folder tighter to my chest. My heart was pounding as the same anxious thoughts that had been plaguing me since the start of junior year flooded my head. How was a poor girl like me going to get into an Ivy League private college like Britton?

Nate tilted his head to the side as he looked at me, mischievous eyes softening ever so slightly. They were hazel in color and swirled between a light brown and icy grey in the harsh gym lights. "Alina, right? Do you want to sit with us?" he asked, gesturing to the folding chairs that were starting to fill up.