Vincent's morning was turned upside down as three words escaped his lips.
“No, no, no!”
The freshman computer science major looked frantic as his grades came upon the screen. Vincent gripped his black medium length curly hair.
His roommate Skylar, a light-skinned half-Mexican English major, took out his earphones. “What happened?” He asked in a dry voice.
Vincent let go of his hair and turned to his friend. “My last exam was a B. This bumps my GPA down to a 3.68. I'll lose my scholarship!”
The college student landed himself into Faux Weston College on a near full ride scholarship thanks to his academic capabilities. He was, in short, a genius. He had been cruising through the semester with nearly everything paid for and would be on one condition: maintain a 3.8 GPA at all times, or else lose the scholarship forever.
With the small college costing more than he could ever afford out of pocket, he had to figure out a way to pay. He loved the school and all it had to offer (not to mention its liberal and relaxed intellectual climate), and he didn't want to leave.
Skylar didn't seem to understand Vincent's predicament, although he too was at Faux Weston on a scholarship (albeit a smaller one). “Why don't you just appeal to them why you should keep the scholarship? You have a grace period of a week to make it up anyway.”
“Cause I can't,” Vincent replied immediately. “That was my last exam for a while and I already made an appeal before — last month when I got a 3.7. They said there would be no next time because they can't make anymore exceptions.”
“Yikes,” Skylar simply said. “There's nothing you can do?”
Vincent sighed. “I don't think so. Even if I work, it'll be hell trying to juggle my major with the hours I'd have to work just to pay half the tuition. And I'm not taking a loan.”
The young adult seemed completely stressed. In a sudden motion, he closed the lid of his laptop and stormed out. “I'm going for a walk,” he said brusquely, as he slammed the door behind him without another thought.
Although he wished he could help, Skylar knew that he had no power in the situation. He just shrugged off his friend and went back to doing his homework.
Vincent walked out of the dorm building and onto the grounds of the small campus. He passed by the financial aid office which just made him stressed. It was obvious that the walk wasn't helping like he thought it would. He just hoped that someone or something would come out of nowhere and be his saving grace, save him from the situation he was in.
Lucky for him, he passed right by the announcement board. He passed by the board quickly but slow enough to notice the bright red letters that said “SCHOLARSHIPS.” Yes, in bold letters as well.
The student suddenly stopped in his tracks when it finally clicked. Slowly, he backtracked to read the announcement printed on yellow paper. It was stapled six times.
Vincent's eyes widened as he read the paper. It seemed to be… an experiment of sorts. He couldn't tell.
“Volunteers needed,” Vincent read aloud. “Join a new project by new instructor Carter Phelps. Involves a study.”
He hasn't heard of a Mr. Carter Phelps before, but remembered rumors of a new professor coming to the college. He didn't think much of it though, as he quickly moved to the next (and most important) part.
“NEAR FULL RIDE SCHOLARSHIPS GRANTED IN EXCHANGE FOR FULL PARTICIPATION. LIMITED SPACE AVAILABLE. COME TO ROOM 342 FOR MORE INFO.”
As he finished reading, he realized — he’d found it! His saving grace. He was beyond eager, but what happens now? He most certainly could go, but he knew Skylar could use a better scholarship. Skylar was his best friend and they could do it together.