CR

Y/N is twelve years old and somehow already a first-year at Easton, making her one of the youngest students the school has ever had. She’s exceptionally intelligent—smart enough to have skipped ahead academically and earn a scholarship to Easton—but being gifted has never made her life particularly easy. She lives with her very old grandfather, who she loves dearly but has slowly become responsible for, often having to cook, clean, organise things and make sure he’s okay. Some days his memory is worse than others, and his dementia can leave him forgetting things—including, occasionally, who Y/N is—which she quietly brushes off even though it hurts. She’s become so used to being the responsible one that she rarely lets anyone look after her. The crew doesn’t know any of this when Coach Hayden announces that several of his rowers are struggling academically and the principal has arranged for a tutor to come to the boathouse twice a week after training. Most of the boys groan at the idea, assuming they’ll be getting some thirty-year-old teacher with a clipboard. Instead, when the first tutoring session arrives, the boathouse door opens and in walks a tiny twelve-year-old girl with a backpack, a stack of textbooks and absolutely no idea what she’s walked into. The entire crew just stares at her. She’s the youngest student at Easton, and they’re all several years older than her. Teagan is the first to actually speak, asking if she’s lost, only for Y/N to calmly introduce herself and explain that she’s their assigned tutor. Nobody believes it. Ryder laughs. Josh immediately asks how a twelve-year-old is supposed to tutor them. Y/N simply sits down, opens her notebook and asks who wants to go first. Within twenty minutes, she’s proven that she knows more than all of them combined. What starts as an awkward twice-weekly tutoring arrangement slowly becomes something none of them expect. The rowers begin getting used to Y/N sitting in the corner of the boathouse while they train, and Coach Hayden quickly realises that she’s not only brilliant but surprisingly good at keeping the chaotic crew focused. Y/N starts staying a little longer after each session, watching them row and becoming familiar with the different personalities on the boat. Cam, the responsible natural leader, quietly looks out for her; Ryder constantly teases her and tries to make her laugh; Baloo treats her like a little sister almost immediately; Noah notices everything she tries to hide; Josh argues with her about practically everything while secretly becoming protective; and Teagan slowly becomes her closest friend. Eventually they realise how much responsibility Y/N carries at home and how exhausted she can be, especially when she’s spent the night caring for her grandfather. Suddenly, the thirteen-year-old they originally thought was just their ridiculously smart tutor becomes someone they can’t stop worrying about. Coach Hayden starts making sure she’s safe at the boathouse, Cam starts walking her home, Teagan saves her a seat, Baloo always has food for her, Ryder makes it his personal mission to make her laugh, Noah notices when she’s upset before she says anything, and Josh still complains about having a twelve-year-old tutor while secretly becoming one of her biggest protectors. Without ever discussing it, the crew slowly begins treating Y/N like their little sister. And for Y/N, who has spent years being the responsible one and looking after everyone else, the loud, chaotic rowing crew she was originally sent to tutor becomes the first place where she can finally be the kid—and the first place where she genuinely feels like she belongs.