The first day of college, and it was my turn to stand at the front and introduce myself.

"Hi, everyone. My name is Eugene Summers, and I—"

Before I could finish, laughter broke out across the room.

"Did you hear that? He said his name's Eugene. I can't breathe."

"Ha, never thought I'd live to see a real Eugene in the flesh. College really does broaden the mind."

I hadn't done a single thing. Just my name, and already the looks aimed at me were pure contempt.

"Oh my God, so this is what a Eugene looks like in real life? Look at that face on him. Makes me sick."

"Boys, since this Eugene's so eager to show off, let's give him a hand."

During a break in the orientation meeting, a few guys drifted over and closed in around me.

"Eugene, right? Look, we're all in the same class now. People coming together from all over, that's fate, you know?"

"Here's an idea. Since you're clearly such a big shot, why don't you step up today and treat the whole class to a meal? Guy named Eugene like you, you can't be short on cash, right?"

I nodded, unbothered.

"How about the Grand Harbor Hotel? Six stars, decent food, plenty of room in the private suites."

"As it happens, that hotel's in my name. If nobody objects, I'll have the general manager set aside the largest suite for us."

1

The words were barely out of my mouth before the whole room erupted.

The loudest of all were Cole Butler and his little crew.

"Ha, did you hear him? He said the Grand Harbor Hotel is in his name. I'm going to die laughing."

"So Eugene really is just like they say online. He'll say anything to get attention."

"Everybody knows the Grand Harbor is the only six-star hotel in the whole city, and he's claiming it's his. Not afraid the wind'll knock his tongue loose, huh."

The other students hid their mouths and snickered too.

"A second ago I thought Cole and his friends were being harsh. Turns out they were the smart ones. Saw right through this Eugene Summers's act."

"This is too much. Playing rich kid is one thing, but claiming the Grand Harbor is his? I'm about to die."

"Stop, stop, he's looking over here."

Seeing the whole class swing behind him, Cole looked even more pleased with himself.

"Tell you what. We're all classmates, meeting like this is its own kind of luck, so just apologize to everyone. Say you were showing off. It's normal for a guy to want to look big, we all get it."

"But if you keep running your mouth, and we actually walk into the Grand Harbor after this meeting, that's when you'll really make a fool of yourself."

"Don't say I never gave you a chance. This is me handing you a way out. I'm doing you a favor."

I gave Cole a cold, sideways glance.

"But the Grand Harbor Hotel really is in my name."

"First day of school. Treating everyone to a meal is fine. It's nothing to me."

The instant I said it, Cole's grin froze on his face, then slowly went cold.

"So you don't want the way out. You just have to keep up the act, don't you?"

"Everybody, we're going to the Grand Harbor right after class. Since Eugene wants to treat us, let's not turn down his kind offer!"

A few of the girls had had enough and stood up.

"That's enough, Cole. It's the first day. We're all classmates here, stop pushing him."

"Sit down. The academic advisor will be back any minute."

Cole turned his head toward the girls.

"What's your problem? Don't tell me you're taking his side because he's got a decent face?"

"Or do you actually believe he's some rich kid? Give me a break. Look how spineless he is. He's a real Eugene, every inch of it, just like the name."

"And do none of your dorms own a mirror? Even if he were a rich kid, you think he'd look twice at any of you?"

Cole's words kept getting uglier, and the girls' faces flushed red with anger.

I couldn't stand it. I stood up.

I had a good four inches on Cole, and the second I rose, his whole presence shrank a size.

"Whatever's between us stays between us. Leave the others out of it."

"You call yourself a man, talking to girls like that? Aren't you ashamed?"

Feeling the ground shift out from under him, Cole bristled.

"Fine, fine. Still talking tough, are you?"

"Then we'll see. Since you want to keep up this act, I'll eat you out of house and home today!"

I was about to answer when the academic advisor walked into the room.

"What's all this racket? Get back to your seats, now."

"The meeting isn't over yet."

The moment the academic advisor walked in, Cole Butler and his crew didn't dare say another word. They shot me one last vicious glare and slunk back to their seats.

The second half of the orientation meeting went smoothly after that.

The advisor pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"The enrollment guidelines and the introductions are all clear by now, right? Nothing left that anyone doesn't understand?"

"Then let's move on to class assignments. The welcome party's coming up soon. I looked over everyone's files, and Eugene Summers, you seem to have quite a few talents."

"I'll leave the welcome party to you. Put some effort into it. That work for you?"

I was about to nod when Cole Butler and his group burst out laughing again.

This time they didn't even care that the advisor was standing right there. They started jeering out loud.

"Hahaha, oh my God, this Eugene guy is just full of surprises, huh? Talents? What talents?"

"You mean his talent for playing basketball in the rain? Or his talent for dancing in the rain to get attention? Hahaha, I'm dying here."

"Eugene's Eugene, all right. Never lets us down."

I didn't answer. I just quietly memorized every one of their faces.

My parents had always placed a lot of importance on developing me in every direction.

From the time I was four, they'd hired several private tutors.

Beyond the basics of schoolwork, chess, instruments, vocals, and horseback riding were all required courses for me.

A small welcome party wasn't going to be any trouble.

The advisor slammed his hand on the desk.

"Quiet! What's all this racket? Eugene this, Eugene that. What about Eugene? Eugene is a lot more impressive than any of you!"

"This is a university. You're here to learn, not to mock your classmates and disrupt the class!"

"Everyone settle down!"

Seeing the advisor genuinely angry, the crowd finally quieted.

Once things had gone quiet, he moved on to the next item.

"Your college life has begun. From here on there will be plenty of little things to handle, in your studies and your daily life, and plenty that needs coordinating."

"Today we're going to elect a class president. If anything important comes up, I can contact the president directly and have them pass word along to all of you."

"Whenever you have a problem, you can go to the president too, and the president can report it back to me."

With that, the advisor swept his eyes around the room.

"Anyone want to nominate themselves?"

After the earlier commotion, nobody wanted to be the one sticking their neck out. By silent agreement, no one spoke up.

Seeing that, the advisor had no choice.

"Then we'll vote."

"Whoever gets the most votes serves as interim class president for now. If anything doesn't work out later, we'll adjust."

There's never a shortage of people happy to stir the pot.

Sure enough, in the end I won by a wide margin and took on the job of interim class president.

When the result was announced, Cole Butler and his crew, who had been quiet for all of half an hour, couldn't hold back anymore.

"Hahaha, look at Eugene's face. Acting all calm, but inside he's grinning ear to ear, guaranteed."

"Of course he is. Showing off and posturing at the same time? That's Eugene's favorite thing. He's going to thank us in a minute, thank us for giving him the chance."

"Look at that dumb look on his face. Still happy? Doesn't even know we're setting him up to fall. This is too funny."

The advisor pounded the lectern until it rang.

"Quiet! Quiet! What is all this nonsense you're spouting?"

"Eugene Summers is this state's top science scorer this year!"

"You're calling someone else dumb? Are your grades anywhere near his?"

The advisor's words dropped, and the whole classroom fell into an eerie silence.

It was a long moment before the murmuring started up again.

"I've been wanting to say this all along. I remembered the name of this year's top science scorer was Eugene Summers, but Cole cut me off."

"And Cole and his crew kept sneering 'Eugene, Eugene' like it was an insult. Turns out he's got the real goods. He's the top scorer in the whole state."

"Honestly, I think Cole and those guys went way too far. Eugene didn't do anything. Just because his name is Eugene, they mocked him and gave him a hard time. What a mess."

I didn't really care what Cole and the others had done.

Still, hearing what the other students said, I felt a good deal better.

It made sense, though. Jayton State University was the top school in the state.

Most of the students here were sharp, high-achieving kids from all over the country.

Compared with a bad apple like Cole, the students of decent character were the clear majority.

When my scores came out, both Harvard and MIT reached out, each of them eager to get me to enroll.

But nearly all of my family's businesses were in this state, and I was the only son. On top of my studies, I had to help run the family's holdings.

After weighing everything, I chose Jayton State University.

Looking at it now, both the students and the teachers seemed like good people.

I wasn't the only one who heard what the students said. Cole and his group heard it too.

Cole curled his lip, unwilling to back down.

"So what if he's the state's top scorer? He's Eugene, after all. Course he needs something to show off with. Good grades are the bare minimum, aren't they?"

"Otherwise, if he had no real ability at all, he'd be a total laughingstock."

The girl who had spoken up for me earlier couldn't hold back again.

"The bare minimum? You're calling the state's top score the bare minimum? Then how come you can't even hit that bare minimum yourself?"

"Quit standing here whining that the grapes are sour just because you can't reach them. It's disgusting to listen to."

Cole's voice climbed a lot higher, his eyes full of contempt as he looked at those girls.

"So what if his grades are good? He's just a bookworm. And now he's sitting in the same classroom as me anyway, isn't he?"

"Good grades mean you get to talk big, is that it? Says the Grand Harbor Hotel belongs to him. What a joke."

"You girls really get on my nerves. What, you're that into Eugene? Who ends up on top down the line is still anyone's guess."

The situation kept getting messier, and the advisor couldn't stand to hear any more.

"Cole! I've already cut you some slack. You still want to keep disrupting my class?"

"One more word out of line, and I'm reporting you straight to the dean's office."

"You don't want a disciplinary mark on your record on the first day of school, do you?"

At the word disciplinary, Cole finally learned to be afraid.

However tough his mouth was, he was still just an eighteen-year-old freshman.

Seeing that Cole had quieted down, the advisor went on with the rest of the agenda.

Not until the bell rang did the advisor gather up the materials on the podium.

"That's the end of the class meeting. Everyone go back and get some good rest."

"Tomorrow we officially begin college life. Make the most of the next four years."

The advisor had barely stepped out of the classroom when Cole came over to me with his little group.

"What's there to be so smug about? You're just the state's top scorer. A bookworm who can only study. What's there to strut around about?"

"Nothing but a small-town test-grinder. Ha, and you actually think you're the big man now?"