Dissolve Read Online Free Page A

having a lot of history - and a ton of old white famous dead dudes on its alumni list. Because it isn’t an Ivy, apparently it’s semi-affordable, too. Not that I would know. Sixty-thousand a year is still a huge amount of money for my family. Dad pays half, and FAFSA pays the rest. Mom contributes to my living expenses, and I’ve been searching for a job since November to lessen their burden, but it turns out no one wants a future English major who wants to teach middle school. But I’ll find something soon. I hope. It’s only my first year - I took a few months off after graduation to take a trip to Spain with my mom, who’s half-Spanish and wanted to visit Spain since forever. After that, I applied to Montcrest and got in for the spring semester. I’ve been here ever since.
    “Evelyn!”
    I turn and watch Mrs. Smalls jog up to me. Her strawberry-blonde hair is pulled back in a bun, and her casual converse and jeans make her a campus favorite. She’s young, too - probably 28 or 29 - and compared to the rest of the fifty-something faculty, she’s a breath of fresh air.
    “Hi Mrs. Smalls,” I smile. She stops in front of me and pants, hands on her knees.
    “Sorry, I haven’t run like that since high school track.”
    “It’s fine! What’s wrong?”
    “Oh,” She looks up at me with hazelnut eyes. “Nothing! I just heard the news - your piece got accepted for the Hilldebrant scholarship!”
    “Holy shit - I mean, crap,” I hiss. “Are you serious?”
    The Hildebrant scholarship is the largest scholarship in the school by far, given only to English majors. Each person is required to submit an essay on the importance of education in the modern world. I’m not the best essay writer; I’m clumsy with my words and always leave the essay until the last-last-last minute, but I try my hardest to make it sound halfway decent.
    “I’m dead serious,” Mrs. Smalls chuckles. “You and three other finalists.”
    “What happens now?”
    “We wait. They’ll judge each, assign the winner. Then there’s a small dinner at a local hotel, you know Bernard’s?”
    “The fancy place with the doorman downtown?”
    “Exactly. There’s an awards dinner there. If you win, that’s a whole year paid, just for you.”
    “Thank you so much!” I bounce on my toes. Mrs. Smalls informed me of the scholarship after she read an essay of mine, and encouraged me to enter.
    “It was all you, lady. I’m crossing all my fingers and toes,” She laughs. “Alright, I’ll see you in class.”
    She turns and waves as she leaves, nearly slipping on some ice. She gives me a thumbs up to assure me she’s fine, and I laugh. Mrs. Smalls is nothing if not enthusiastic. As I make my way to world history, my head swims with possibilities. A whole year paid. That’s one less year I’m in Dad’s emotional debt. He’s always held money over us like it’s something to be grateful of, and it is, but he uses it to manipulate people. He used it to manipulate Mom, and I try my hardest not to let him manipulate me with it. But whenever a disagreement pops up at family dinners, he always pulls out the ‘who’s paying for your tuition’ card as a way to silence me. It’s getting more frequent, and more annoying. It would only be for a year, but it would be so nice not to have to rely on him.
    I’m so wrapped up in my thoughts I don’t see the ice on the sidewalk. I flail as gravity pulls me any way it wants, and collide with something warm and softer than cement. I blink away the impact, only to come face-to-face with a pair of mismatched eyes.
    “You!” I scrabble off Kai, our limbs practically entwined. The smell of him is everywhere - oil and leather and cinnamon. I can feel every hard edge of his muscles beneath his jeans and jacket. He laughs.
    “Well hey, lioness. You okay? Did you break anything?”
    “Why am I running into you everywhere all of a sudden?” I snap. He clambers to his feet in no particular rush, and runs his