Imperial High

MEI

"Well?"

I looked up. "What?"

My dad sighed theatrically. "I asked you whether you liked the-" He shot a glance at the tag sticking out of the one of the bags. "-Candy Flossy Sugary Pink or the Diamond Sparkly Peritzle Rose?"

He shook his head. "I have no idea where they get such names from."

I giggled.

He shook his head again. "Anyway, which one do you want to get?"

I looked at them.

"Neither of them."

He frowned. "Neither? Why? I thought pink was your favorite color."

I looked down and picked at a cuticle on my middle finger. It was my favorite color, but the whole studio incident had left me with an epiphany of sorts. I hadn't liked how easily Ms. Agnes and Brittney had easily left me feeling stupid and incompetent. They had pinned me as weak and an easy target for bullying and I had unconsciously slid into that role; taking all the jibes and insults as they came. My outburst had come as a surprise to everyone, me included. Sure, I had gotten kicked out of the studio as a result, but I couldn't help but notice the fleeting looks of admiration and shock I had gotten from the others, including Brittney.

The mouse had roared, and they didn't know what to do. I had enjoyed that temporary moment of power I felt, and now I knew what to do to feel it again. I may not have been a "rebel", but as they say, fake it till you make it.

I realized that the silence had stretched on from normal to awkward, so I looked up at the selection of bags before me with new eyes. My eyes roved the selection till they highlighted on one that the old me would have positively shrunk from, a black leather bag with a silver ring indent in the middle and a chain tag hanging from its zipper. It was on sale with a high waist patent leather belt and a pair of chunky school shoes. I pointed at it.

"I want those ones. They look absolutely fantastic and would offset the white uniform very well." What I said hadn't been a lie. I was a bit of a fashionista, and while those hadn't been the reasons I had chosen them, they would certainly go very well with my school uniform.

My dad looked at me warily. He wasn't dumb.

"Mei, you don't have to change who you are just because some brat decides to pick on you. Being yourself is more th-"

"-Dad! Can we just get the stuff and leave?"

Hurt flashed across his face and I felt guilty immediately. I hadn't meant to be rude, but I was afraid that if he went any further, I'd back down and forever continue to allow people like Brittney bully me.

He sighed. "I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable Mei. You know I just want you to be safe. Especially now that you're going off to a new school and leaving your old man to fend for himself."

I smiled ruefully. "I know, Dad. I think it's just the excitement about everything getting to me."

He nodded in agreement. "I understand. Everything seems to be moving so fast, my head's still spinning." He went back to picking out the items I had chosen, as well as whatever else had been put on the requirement list.

As soon as his back turned, my face settled into a frown. Ever since the letter had come, it was all my face had been doing. It had arrived in the morning, settled cozily in the dusty mailbox we had gotten but was hardly ever used. In fact, had it not been that my dad had finally decided to tackle the growing bird nest on the mailbox, we wouldn't have discovered the embossed letter with my name neatly written on the front in italics. I wasn't sure who was more shocked by the contents of the letter, my dad or me.

He had immediately started shouting and jumping around, embracing me in a tight hug. It had taken almost fifteen minutes for him to calm down long enough to give me a look at the letter.

Addressed to: Ms. Mei Yuna Miller

Dear Ms. Miller,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected as one of the few students part of the International Student Exchange Program, a program which grants opportunities to people all over the world to gain first-hand experience in different high schools and colleges that they normally would not be able to attend. As such, your school fees have been paid for in full. We are glad to welcome you to Imperial High, and we hope you enjoy your time with us.

Below is the list of requirements needed by students being registered for the first time:

1. Toiletries...

10. ...any necessary medication.

Anything else not on the list but required should be settled with the Administration Department.

The list of requirements was very short and contained items that weren't really needed. I had the feeling the list had been created just to make people feel as though they were contributing something. I had smiled and celebrated with my dad but immediately I had gotten to my room, I locked the door and after wearing my shoes, climbed out of the window.

Something had seemed off about the whole thing. I went to the library and researched the International Student Exchange Program, and while such a thing existed and was taking place with some schools, Imperial High was not listed among the schools on the paper printed. Encouraged by my discovery, I looked through the pile of school papers, sure Imperial High wasn't there.

To my disappointment, it had been an actual school. I read their prospectus and spent the next hour looking at their notable graduates and what they did now. In the end, I had been convinced that there had simply been a mix-up and Imperial High was valid.

However, something kept nagging at me, and I couldn't figure out what it was.

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