Extra Credit

Chapter 1

~

June

“Look, it’s too hot and early in the morning for this much ambition, don’t you think?” Madison’s voice cut through my stream of planning and overthinking with a smile that was sincere enough to soften the blow.

Embarrassed, I quickly shut up, pressing my lips together tightly as we passed beneath the shadow of red maples that lined the main university walkway. The leaves were a vibrant green, still temporarily immune to the coming fall season.

But she was right. It was our final year; our morning classes hadn’t even started yet, and already I was prattling on about all the steps I needed to take to make sure I’d be the best possible Masters candidate in the history of NEU’s architecture department. Just casual conversation, of course.

Though between Madison’s recovery from last night’s shenanigans and the sun overhead that still seemed determined to cling to summer, I could see where she was coming from.

“Sorry,” I muttered.

She threaded an arm through mine, the back of her heavy backpack—that was bursting with everything except books—knocking me in the side.

“You know I love you, June. Really. But I swear I have your five-year plan memorized just from hearing you talk about it all the time. It’s okay to relax, you know, especially right before the new semester starts. ”

A little crease appeared between her brows as she frowned.

“You should’ve joined us at the party last night. Most of the team was there, and I think you would’ve actually had a great time,” she said thoughtfully.

A pang of regret hit me, and I gave her a wistful smile. “I wanted to get in one final refresher session before the first lecture.”

She nodded, but I didn’t miss the unspoken point she was making. Some small part of me actually did wish I’d gone. It wasn’t the first time I decided to skip out on a party for the library, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.

But I was way too excited and nervous and honestly just eager to make sure I followed the right path and reached my goal: an urban planning job at the prestigious Muller & Co. That wasn’t going to come easy, and I didn’t have time to be anything less than fully focused.

“I’m sure it was fun. It’s just that if I slack off now, it’s going to set me back…” I started, then trailed off as Mads snorted.

“I’m not laughing at you,” she clarified, giving my arm a reassuring squeeze. “It’s just that you’re the last person on the planet who could ever be accused of ‘slacking off’. I mean, you remember who you are, don’t you? June Price: straight A’s, straightlaced, straight stick up her—”

“Screw you,” I said, shoving her lightly, but she clung to my arm, causing me to stumble with her. We nearly careened into a waste bin, startling a boy standing nearby.

“Sorry!” I called out to him before dragging a laughing Madison back onto the walkway. I couldn’t help a small laugh of my own. “You’re a bitch sometimes, you know that?”

“That’s why you love me,” she said matter-of-factly. “I’m your bitchy safeguard against overthinking yourself to death. And your constant reminder that you’re doing better than you think you are. Just learn to breathe.”

I took an emphatic deep breath and leveled a pensive glance at her.

We were a study in contrasts, the two of us.

Her golden hair, olive skin, and smattering of freckles lent an exotic, carefree vibe to her appearance that matched her personality to a tee.

My dark auburn hair and pale skin matched my predilection for indoor study sessions.

But we’d struck a balance during the course of our friendship.

I would help her think ahead and push her to grow, and she’d keep me present, pulling me into the sun with her when I needed it.

I couldn’t imagine it being any other way, or having any other roommate greet me that first day we met in the dorms. I knew that even when she tried to pull me out of my shell, Mads never forced me to do anything I didn’t want to.

She honored the rules I set for myself, knowing when to let it go and when to try harder. A skill I was, admittedly, lacking.

“Yeah, okay,” I conceded, rolling my shoulders back. “You’re right as always.”

Her brown eyes sparkled with humor. “Of course I am. Plus, you’ve got the academic stuff in the bag already. If you’re going to focus on anything this semester, it should be networking.”

My own brows quirked up. “Networking?”

“Yep.” We were fast approaching the point of the journey where we’d have to split to get to our different lecture halls.

Madison pulled back slightly, slowing us down.

“Collecting a decent list of contacts is going to be almost as important as studying. Moreso, if you really want to nail that job. It’s all about who you know that’ll get you a foot in the door.

Your grades and skills are what will help you kick it wide open. ”

I thought about that for a second. I knew I’d have to start meeting people and forging professional ties, but I hadn’t really weighed just how important that would be.

“Plus, that’s significantly more fun than breathing in the smell of mothballs in the study hall for hours on end,” she gave me a playful nudge. “Socializing. Can you imagine that?”

“Well, if anyone knows anything about having fun, it’d be you, right?”

“Hey, it’s my last year. I actually do plan on prioritizing fun and getting an A-plus for my effort,” she replied breezily.

Ahead of us, our invisible forked road began to diverge.

She turned to me with all the seriousness of a mother sending her kid off to their first day of school.

“This is where I bid you farewell. Try not to outpace the professor in class, okay?”

I rolled my eyes but returned her hug tightly before pulling away. “As long as you don’t forget that you actually have a professor. Or a class.”

“Sure, sure,” she waved over her shoulder as she headed off. “Meet up at the dorms before practice?”

“Yeah. Good luck, Ashford,” I answered.

“Thanks, Price.” She turned around, taking a few steps backward as she offered me one last grin. “I’d say the same, but we both know you won’t need it.”

As I headed off to my lecture, I tried to savor the cool breeze that nipped my skin and carried the faint sweet and woody aroma of pending fall, heavy with the promise of change. Madison’s words replayed in my head over and over again as the building entrance loomed larger and larger before me.

Excitement and nervousness had my stomach twisted in knots, but I was ready. That was what rules were for, after all.

*

The lecture hall buzzed with the energy of a new semester, though it was bound to taper off the longer the months stretched on.

But for now, things were a few levels below rowdy.

I caught up with some of my class friends, and we picked a safe spot near the top of the steep, tiered seating—close enough to help us pay attention but far enough for an easy exit at the end.

“Have you heard anything about the replacement?” Chloe asked, eliciting a round of “no’s” from the rest of us as we settled in.

“I’m hoping whoever it is is better than Oswald Graminski.

” Her face contorted as if she’d just sucked on a lemon.

“I mean, his first name is Oswald, for God’s sake.

Why that fact alone managed to get past the faculty, I have no idea. ”

“Ease up on the man,” James laughed. “He’s like a hundred years old.”

“Exactly!” Chloe threw her hands up. “The guy should’ve retired eons ago. Before bringing in his archaic bullshit ideals and ridiculous grading standards. Total capitalist lapdog.”

She wasn’t wrong. I’d done okay in his class, but I wasn’t the biggest fan of his work ethic and principles. Which tended to sully the course somewhat.

“It’s okay to say you flunked out, you know,” James teased.

“Stones and glass houses,” I said glibly as I placed my laptop on the desk. Chloe chuckled.

“Hey, I’m only in this for the money. Don’t care how ugly my transcript looks, as long as I do well enough to get a job, I’m golden,” James replied. “So are most people here, professors not exempt. This isn’t exactly a field of passion.”

Not necessarily, I thought to myself. But I remained quiet while the two of them continued to bicker and pretend not to flirt until our aforementioned professor finally made his debut.

Very few people even noticed at first. He didn’t come in bellowing for silence like Professor Graminski had last semester.

But there was nothing timid about his entrance, either.

He was tall, broad-shouldered beneath his gray sweater, and walked with an air of quiet authority.

The kind that didn’t need to be demanded.

He just dropped his satchel behind the podium, then leaned slightly forward, holding onto the sides as he waited for the class to settle down.

He didn’t wait long.

Soon enough, a hush fell over everyone as they silenced each other impressively quickly. I blinked, the knots in my stomach from earlier twisting even tighter, but for a very different reason this time.

“That's definitely not Graminski,” Chloe whispered, her own gaze transfixed. I shook my head.

“Welcome back, everyone.” His deep, smooth voice filled the hall with a confident projection that didn’t match the youth of his face. “I’m Lucas Blackwell, your professor for this semester.”

There were a few whispers and some giggling scattered throughout the class.

I couldn’t help but lean closer. Lucas Blackwell looked young, easily the youngest professor I’d seen on campus.

He couldn’t have been more than a few years older than me, twenty-nine or thirty at most. He straightened, folding his arms across a broad chest that matched the shoulders.