"I'm not exactly a uniting force," Neil said.

"You've obviously got something Andrew wants," Matt said. "Where Andrew goes, they all go. You just have to pull him harder than he pulls you."

They made it sound easy when Neil knew it wasn't. "I'll try."

"Good," Dan said, squeezing his shoulders once before letting go. "That's all we ask."

Dan sat on the couch and pulled Matt down beside her. Neil sat at his desk and attempted to catch up on his homework. It was only the second week of school and he was already behind. He tried to read his chemistry notes, but a few paragraphs in he started zoning out. He made it three more pages before he gave up and pushed his textbook off his desk.

"Neil?" Dan asked.

"Why is chemistry so awful?" Neil asked, reaching for the next assignment.

"If I figure it out, you'll be the first to know," Dan said. "You could always ask Aaron for help. He's majoring in biological sciences."

Neil would rather fail than spend more time with Aaron. His Spanish homework was easier to get through, but his history was too boring to stand. Neil dropped that book on top of his chemistry one and stared blankly at his English assignment. He gave the paper a half-hearted effort, then dug around in his backpack for his math book. As he did he realized Matt and Dan were watching him.

"How many classes are you taking?" Dan asked, frowning at him.

"Six," Neil said.

"You aren't serious," Dan said. "Why?"

Neil looked from her to Matt. "That's what the catalogue suggested."

Dan grimaced at him, but Matt answered. "That schedule is for people graduating in four years. Your contract's five for a reason. Everyone knows you can't take a full course load and play on a team."

"Four classes," Dan said, holding up her fingers at him. "That's all it takes to be considered a full-time student. That's the most I want you taking this semester, okay? Figure out which two are going to make your life the most difficult and get rid of them. You're not doing us or yourself any favors by burning out this early."

"Can I drop classes?" Neil asked, surprised.

"In your first two weeks, yes," Matt said. "Where's your schedule? Let me see."

Neil dug it out of a binder and brought it over. Dan motioned for Neil to sit on her free side. She held the schedule where they could all see it.

"See this?" she asked, pointing out Neil's Monday-Wednesday-Friday classes. "This can't stay. If you don't leave yourself any breathing room you're going to snap. When I was in high school I worked an overnight job, went to school, and captained my high school Exy team. It made me hate everything about my life. I don't want the same thing happening to you. Matt said you and Kevin have night practices on top of all of this. Tell me: when do you actually sleep?"