Tuition
Forty Thousand Reasons to Cross the Line
Tuition by Simon Simpson
This week’s story unfolds in the dim light of a lakeside café, where two brothers face a choice that blurs the line between survival and integrity. When Max’s dream of college collides with a harsh financial reality, an unexpected and dangerous solution is placed in his hands.
Set against family fracture, quiet desperation, and the weight of inherited dysfunction, this story explores the moral tension of doing something wrong for what feels like the right reason. What begins as a practical conversation becomes a test of character, forcing Max to decide not just what he will do but who he will become.
Simon Simpson is a soon to be college graduate who tries to squeeze what little free time he has into writing! He loves writing narrative fiction that focuses on a few characters and their conflict. He would love to write a movie or play one day and would be more than willing to tell you his ideas.
Teaser for this week’s story
In a closed café on the edge of a Montana lake, one brother offers a way out and a line that can’t be uncrossed.
“Forty thousand dollars,” Evan said, his voice low, steady. “Money he can’t report. Money he doesn’t deserve.”
Max stared at him, the words landing heavier than they should have.
“You’re talking about stealing,” he said.
“I’m talking about your future.”
The café fell silent except for the ticking clock and the hum of something unraveling.
Max looked down at the napkin in his hand the numbers written in ink, simple and final.
For a moment, it felt like, possibility.
Then it felt like something else.
The choice was his.