Chapter 1

My alarm blared at 6 AM, but the Discord notifications had woken me up long before that. The screen was a wall of messages from Matthew Clark, my roommate and best friend.

"ETHAN. WAKE UP. PLEASE. I'M BEGGING YOU."

"Stardust, my man, get online. I need you."

"There' s a girl, okay? Her name is Nicole. And her friend is with her. They're good. But I need you to carry us."

"They'll pay. Like, actually pay. Good money."

That last one got my attention. I sat up, the worn springs of my dorm bed groaning in protest. The first tuition payment was due, and the latest bill for my mom' s treatment was sitting in my email inbox, unopened. I already knew it would be bad.

I grabbed my phone and typed a short reply.

"How much?"

Matthew's response was instant.

"A hundred bucks. Each. For a couple of hours. Come on, man. That's a good rate."

It was more than a good rate. It was a lifeline.

"Fine. I'm getting on. But I have orientation at 9."

"YOU'RE THE BEST. THE ABSOLUTE BEST."

I sighed, pushed myself out of bed, and sat down at my cheap, second-hand desk. The PC hummed to life, a stark contrast to the quiet dorm room. I logged into Valorant, my gamertag "Stardust" glowing on the screen. Matthew immediately sent a party invite. I joined.

In the lobby, I saw Matthew's ID, "Clax," and Nicole's, "Niki." There was a fourth, one I didn't recognize: "Nyx."

I figured she was the friend. Just another player who wanted a boost.

"Ready up," I typed in the party chat, my voice still rough from sleep.

Matthew started the queue for a competitive match. As we loaded into the map, Bind, I did my usual pre-round check. I scanned the enemy team' s composition and recent match history. Their Jett player had a 70% win rate. Aggressive. Predictable.

"They're going to push A short hard on pistol round," I typed. "Their Jett is overconfident. Let's stack it and shut her down early."

My team followed my call. I bought a Ghost and positioned myself in A-U-Hall, holding a tight angle. As the barrier dropped, I heard the tell-tale dash of the enemy Jett, just as I predicted.

She flew around the corner, confident. I didn't hesitate. Three quick taps to the head. First blood.

"Jett down," I said into my mic, my voice calm and flat. "Rotate B. They'll panic and try to take the other site."

We moved as a unit. The remaining enemies were scrambling, disorganized. We picked them off one by one. Round one was a flawless victory.

The rest of the game was a repeat of the first round. I made the calls, and the team executed. We controlled the pace, anticipated every move, and dismantled the enemy team with cold efficiency. They tried to rally, but it was useless. Their morale was broken.

The final score was 13-2. The enemy team typed "gg" and one of them added, "coach diff."

They surrendered.

I looked at the clock. 7:30 AM. Time to get ready for the real world.

"Gotta go," I typed to the party. "First day of classes."

I logged off before anyone could reply, shutting down the PC. I grabbed a clean shirt and a towel and headed for the communal showers, the weight of UCLA and my mother's bills settling back onto my shoulders. The easy confidence I had as "Stardust" vanished, leaving only Ethan Scott, the broke freshman.