Fixing a Damaged Screen

I bought a 2019 MacBook Air (13") in mid April. I have always looked after it, kept it in a case and in a padded area in my school bag when travelling. I opened it this morning and notice a crack on the right side of my screen running about half way down the screen. I hadn't dropped it or sat anything on top of it ever and am genuinely at a loss trying to figure out how it got there.

Is this a common issue and will Apple be understanding if I took it in for a repair? I am a student and simply cant afford a couple hundred dollars to get it fixed, especially considering I have gone to so much effort to look after it and even spent an extra $80 to get a case from the Apple store.