Three days before classes were scheduled to start Kate’s computer crashed. Kaput. It wouldn’t turn on. She’d press her finger against the power button frequently, for varying lengths of time, to no avail. Nada. Zip. Zilch. The demoralized contraption remained lifeless. With rising hysteria, Kate stared desperately at the blank screen. She’d officially run out of troubleshooting ideas. The last time she’d had a computer break down she’d just gone out and bought a new one, but then she’d had a more or less limitless income. Now she was looking down the barrel of a different financial bracket—she was living solely off her familial inheritance. And suddenly, splurging for a…