CHAPTER 11: BACK TO COLLEGE - RECONCILIATION

After class, Alex lingered while students filed out in clusters, their whispers trailing behind them. Mike, Sarah, and Danny waited by the door.

Mike looking hopeful, Sarah cautious, and Danny still radiating anger.

"Can we talk?" Alex asked quietly.

They found a bench outside the business building, away from foot traffic. Alex sat across from them, eyes scanning familiar faces that now felt distant.

"I owe you all an apology," he said. "A real one."

Danny’s jaw tightened. "You think?"

"Danny," Sarah murmured.

"No, he’s right," Alex cut in. "I screwed up. You warned me, you stood by me, and I threw it all away. Said some horrible things."

Danny stared. "You called me a jealous loser who’d never amount to anything. You said I was pathetic for caring about you."

The words hit like a slap. Alex exhaled. "I know. I’ve been replaying it ever since. I lashed out at the people who actually gave a damn. No excuses."

Mike leaned forward. "We get that Sophia messed with your head..."

"She didn’t," Alex interrupted, then caught himself. "Or maybe she did. But that doesn’t excuse what I did to you guys."

Sarah eyed him. "What happened at the gala, Alex? Really?"

He looked at her. "I woke up. Realized who I was turning into. Who I was hurting. And what I was losing." His eyes landed on Danny. "You were my best friend since freshman year, and I threw that away chasing something fake."

Danny’s voice was hard. "Yeah, well, clearly didn’t mean much when it counted."

"It meant everything," Alex said. "That’s why I’m here. Hoping you’ll give me a second chance."

Silence.

Finally, Mike clapped his hands. "Okay. We’ve all said dumb things. Alex owned up. Maybe we give this another shot?"

Sarah nodded. "We can try."

Danny looked at Alex for a long time. "You really hurt me, man. I backed you when no one else did. And you made me look like a fool."

Alex swallowed. "I know. I’d hate me too if I were you."

Danny let out a slow breath. His shoulders sagged. "Damn it. You’re still my idiot best friend."

Alex managed a small smile. "Only if you’ll still have me."

Danny rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever. But you’re buying lunch. For a month."

"Deal."

____

After saying goodbye to his friends...actual friends, finally....Alex made his way to the administrative building. The academic advisor’s office was on the third floor, tucked between Financial Aid and the Registrar.

Dr. Trisha Wells looked up from her computer as Alex knocked on her open door. She was a woman in her late forties who’d weathered twenty years of student crises with surgical calm.

Today was no different...except for the way she seemed to study him a little longer than usual.

"Alex," she said, gesturing to the chair across from her desk. "I wasn’t sure I’d be seeing you again so soon. After the... gala incident."

Alex sat. "That’s actually why I’m here. I’d like to request a temporary leave of absence."

Dr. Wells tilted her head. "May I ask why? Your academic record is exceptional. You’re in the top five of your class. Most students in your position don’t... walk away mid-semester."

Alex hesitated, then said, "Personal reasons. Family-related."

She nodded slowly. "This wouldn’t have anything to do with your recent... entanglements? Because I can assure you, the administration is..." she paused, choosing her words, "...aware of the situation."

Alex gave a wry smile. "I figured."

Dr. Wells folded her hands. "You should know...I defended you. When things escalated. There were discussions at the highest level. There was a version of this where you didn’t get the courtesy of filling out forms."

Alex blinked. "I didn’t realize it got that serious."

"It did." Her tone was firm but not unkind. "...when a student publicly confronts someone like Sophia Blackwood at a high-profile donor event, it doesn’t just stay a student issue. It becomes an institutional one. There were meetings. Phone calls. Certain people pushing for your immediate removal."

Alex kept his expression neutral, though his hands tensed in his lap.

"I spoke with the university president," she continued. "I reminded them you were a scholar, not a threat. That your academic contributions spoke for themselves. But not everyone in that room cared about facts."

She reached for a folder but didn’t open it.

"This is Sophia’s school, Alex. Her family’s name is carved into half the buildings on this campus. And Marcus Steele? His connections run deeper than you know....corporate donors, political board seats, foundations with names that appear on our funding reports."

She looked at him for a long moment.

"The truth is bendable when the right people decide it is. And if it comes down to your word versus theirs? You won’t win. You’ll be written off as a smart but troubled kid with emotional instability. It’s happened before. It’ll happen again."

"I haven’t done anything wrong," Alex said quietly.

"I believe you." She tapped her pen once against the desk. "But belief doesn’t change power. What changes things is surviving. And knowing when to take the graceful exit."

He let the silence hang.

"I’m not warning you, Alex," she added softly. "I’m helping you stay ahead of the story. And your application for leave of absence... it gives you distance. Dignity. Time to decide how to come back...if you come back."

He exhaled. "Thank you."

She nodded, her face unreadable. "Your scholarship is tied to continuous enrollment, as you know. A leave could put that in question. You’ll need to reapply for financial aid if you’re out longer than one semester."

"I understand the risks."

"And you’re certain?"

Alex leaned back in the chair. "Very."

Dr. Wells reached into her drawer, pulled out a thin packet of forms, and placed them on the desk. "Fill these forms if you want it to go through immediately."

As he took the papers, her voice dropped one last octave.

"You’re a smart young man, Alex. That’s why I went to bat for you. But smart people still bleed when they step in front of machines bigger than themselves."

Alex held her gaze. "I don’t plan to get run over."

She gave a small smile. "Good. Then don’t stand in the road."

He left the administrative building feeling lighter than he had in weeks. No more classes to attend, no more academic pressure, no more juggling schedules.

Just Victoria, and the final phase of making her completely his.

The Marcus and Sophia crowd was nowhere to be seen...probably off on whatever trip they’d been planning. Which was perfect. Alex had no interest in those particular complications right now.

He had bigger fish to fry.