Page 1 of Hacking His Code

Arinessa

Buzzzz…

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Buzzz…

You can do this.

Buzzzz…

Pick up the phone!!!

“Hello, Ari here!” I chirp into the receiver.

“Arinessa Sylvan, this is Angela calling from—”

“It’s okay, I know what you want—that perfect bikini body that will have men drooling and all the women jealous—”

“No!”

“Oh, forgive me. You must be interested in my new goodie box, Makeover Moods—”

“Arinessa, I’m from the university, but I suspect you already know that—”

I inject a sultry inflection into my voice. “What are you wearing, Angela?”

“You have five days—”

“Because for just one-hundred-and-twenty dollars, you could be strutting around campus in some Super Sage leggings as you drink your ImPressed coffee.”

“—to come up with your tuition before you are dis-enrolled from the…ehhh…Bachelors of Science in Computers program.”

Fuck me…

I gather my courage, knowing it’s time to let real-life take center stage, but it’s a bitter pill to swallow.

“I know, and I’m trying.”

“Against better judgment, you were given an extension—”

“I can’t get any more loans! God knows I’ve tried.”

“I supposed that means you’ll be disenrolling?”

Panic takes hold as I desperately try to come up with a way to keep myself afloat. I can’t stop now, not when I’m so close to achieving my goal. Not when my mother has so little time left.

“I’ll do anything—please! Any odd job no one else wants on campus if it will give me a tuition break. I’ll tutor. I’m literally the best student this campus has ever had—ask my instructors. I’ll scrub the damn toilets—the septic tank if I have to.”

“I am aware of your gifts, it’s one of the reasons we’ve been so lenient, but that doesn’t mean we can overlook your tuition shortage indefinitely.”

“It’s ridiculous—especially with how easy the football players have it.”

“Football revenue is high—”

“Look, I’m the first person in my family to attend a university—to even enroll in college. I have to finish this, because if I don’t…if I don’t…”

I don’t want to think about my mother, weak in bed, completely oblivious to my plight. I promised I’d get my degree before she passed—her dying wish, but at the time I made that promise, I didn’t know how complicated my life was about to get.