Mark was a great kid from a bad neighborhood. Crime, drugs, fighting and poverty: You name the 1 and his neighborhood had it. A scholarship fund 2 his tuition to Catholic High School, where he was a great baseball player. Mark 3 in the classroom, though. He was bright, but behind, perhaps due to a 4 home environment. But there were problems 5 the time for all he needed to do. Some felt Mark should give up sports and 6 schooling. But, in reality, if he was going to attend college, he would need his 7 . A fellow teac her, Mrs. Jones, 8 to tutor Mark in math. I helped Mark with other areas of work. No one 9 us. Mrs.Jones 10 it up this way: “Pay day doesn't always e on Mondays.” When we were not working with Mark to 11 his skills for the ACT, Mark's dad took him to various 12 to talk with both baseball and football program co aches. He settled on the one college that offered him 13 to play both sports. But he 14 a good ACT score. It took months to receive the 15 of college entrance exams. One afternoon after school, Mark rushed into my office and yelled, “I'm going to college! I'm going to college !” “I guess you got your 16 ?” I asked. “W ell, yeah !” he laughed. “And guess what? I got one point more than I need to be 17 . Thank you! Now, where's Mrs. Jones? I've got to tell her, too!” Until that moment, I had 18 quite understood what “pay day doesn't always e on Mondays” 19 . But it was clear to me the instant Mark came to 20 his news. No amount of money could ever reward us as much as the news of a boy who finally had a chance at a better life.