❛ @starhidden | jim lake
when michael died, star-studded, sga-president, football-captain micahel, alex ngata’s reputation changed overnight. some thought it was her fault -- if she’d been there at the lake with him, why hadn’t she jumped in and save him ? couldn’t she SWIM ? others just felt bad for her, but alex hardly preferred the pity to the resentment. the attention, along with ( need it even be said ?? ) the GRIEF of losing a brother, was enough to crack anyone’s resolve, to destroy anyone’s motivation, to soil anyone’s morale.
at least, that’s what alex would say if anyone asked her why her grades had TANKED so badly in the weeks since the funeral. prior to michael’s death, she had effortlessly received As and high Bs, but in less than a month nearly all of her grades had dropped to Cs or lower. and she sincerely believed it wasn’t her fault -- her brain just REFUSED to work right in micahel’s absence. still, if she couldn’t get her grades up FAST, she would have to take ap world history again, and no, no way, that was NOT happening. aside from studying ( which, again, no ) there was only one possible solution.
wearing her most historically effective help-me-’cause-i’m-cute face, alex took a seat beside one jim lake, a kid she’d not even once talked to but who was pretty obviously one of the brightest kids in the class. ❛ hey. lake. jim. you’re, like, great in this class, right ? ❜ she didn’t wait for a response before barreling on with the scripted pitch. ❛ think you could, uh... give me a little “ HELP ” on this quiz next week ? it’s... looking like i’m not going to have time to study. ------ i can pay. ❜
