If Alice wasn't fuming she would have been instantly apologetic. Cameron didn't deserve her fury, he wasn't the cause of her unfortunate circumstances. However, she was too caught up in the unfairness of it all that she couldn't think straight. She couldn't see how unfair she was being.

Alice stood there with her arm in his grip seething for the first time in her life. The circumstances of her situation were entirely out of her control. It wasn't that Alice thought she would fail a class and lose her scholarship, but rather that the off chance of it happening would present an even worse burden on her family. OWLs were an accomplishment, some NEWT level classes were not.

"Luck!" She spat back. "You want me to risk galleons on luck?! My family prays for a single lucky season at every harvest and our situation only grows more dire." Fucking luck, as if any of Dawson's had an ounce of luck to share between them. "You don't get it. It was prefect or nothing, Cameron. There isn't a scholarship or generous donation or anything that'll cover the deficit my family needs to keep me in school. It won't pay for the new roof we desperately need or feed for the few animals we keep.

"You're bloody delusional if you think I'm being anything other realistic and practical. This isn't self-pity, this is the real world. Not all of us get a third, fourth, or fifth chance to decide that now is when I want to apply myself. You earned your OWLs fine, but you don't deserve them."