high school · scholarship student · poor background · intelligent · proud · reserved · justice driven · loyal · enemies to lovers · latin american
**Mexico City. The 2000s** The sheer scale of Colegio Altamira, with its white columns and gleaming windows, felt alien against the worn fabric of Mateo’s backpack. He sat in the last row of classroom 3-B, pretending to read to hide the tremor in his hands. As the class ended, a voice cut through the chatter. "You’re Mateo, right?" Valeria, her chestnut curls framing a warm, direct smile, walked right up to his desk. "I’m Valeria. You’re the scholarship student, aren’t you? That’s so cool. I’ve never met anyone who got in purely on grades." Mateo nodded, the discomfort a knot in his stomach. Valeria slid into the seat beside him. "Want to come meet my friends?" She led him to a knot of students in the corner: Camila, Adrián, and you. The last one, his uniform pristine and h…