The Fall of Magnificence Academy

the beginning

Don't you just hate school? Do you ever just sit in class, spacing out and not listening at all to what the teacher is saying? Do you love uncomfortable, overly dressy and flashy school uniforms? If so, then Magnificence Academy is for you.
My name is Eliza Zephyrine Peppercorn, and I am a student at Magnificence Academy. Magnificence Academy is a boarding school for children ages four to twenty-four. From pre-k to college, these poor children live at this dreaded place. I have been one of those poor children for eight years now. I am thirteen.
   If my life had gone as the school board planned it, I would have stayed one of those poor children for eleven more years, until graduation. Thankfully, though, nothing in my life has ever gone just so. I was never one to follow rules carefully, but I was also never one to break them in extreme ways. On September the third, I broke the biggest rule I'd ever broken.
   My life at school was difficult, as most others' were. Try as I might to stay away from bigger and meaner people, I still got into trouble. Mostly, I stayed in my dorm when classes weren't being held. It was 12:30 exactly when I left my singles dorm for lunch. I never looked forward to meals at Magnificence, seeing as they were always rubbish.
   Today, they served unidentifiable gray mush and soggy frozen chicken fingers, but I decided I didn't want it. I sat at a table alone, pulling a tiny, crumpled bag of Doritos out of my pocket. They made all children—regardless of their gender—wear mid tone gray dress pants, white, collared, button-down shirts, black loafers, and red bow ties. I, myself, didn't tie the tie at all, since the teachers only show you how to do it once, and my five year old self had never figured it out.
   I finished my crushed-up Doritos and dropped the bag on the floor. I stood and made my way speedily to the exit. Where I had been sitting, I had to walk all the way across the room to get out, which made it hard not to draw attention. I moved briskly and kept my head down, which resulted in a head-on collision. I had bumped into something. Someone. I quickly backed up, preparing to fight if I needed to.
   I looked up to see a boy, about my age, with messy brown hair and blue eyes. He was pale, but not as pale as me, and his nose and face were sprinkled with freckles. "Sh*t, sorry," he said to me, looking a little worried. His accent was American. I frowned at him, which made him even more nervous. I liked that. "Don't worry about it," replied I, starting to move past him. "Oh, cool. You're British," he said. "I haven't met many of. . . You guys."
   I looked at the boy over my shoulder. "I'm from England, actually." I tried to walk off again, but I heard him start talking again. "So, um, what's your name?" By then, I was finished with this kid, but I answered him anyways. "Eliza." He nodded. "Cool. I'm Peter." I pushed the doors to the cafeteria open and Peter followed me. "Listen, Peter, was it?" I asked. "This has been a lovely chat we've had here, but if you don't mind I think I'll be going now."
   Peter nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Okay." He sounded polite, but also sort of intimidated, like someone had messed with him before. "That's just grand. Ta-ta," I said, dryly, wiggling my fingers in a wave. I treaded along down the hall, not thinking much of my and Peter's conversation. I'd never see him again anyways. Tonight, I would escape from Magnificence Academy.