Blue Skies Academy

Chapter 2

Can't believe I had to wake up so early on a Sunday. M. de LaRoche sent a car for me, and not just any car, but a whole limousine. Meanwhile, I was on the sidewalk, in front of my house, half awake, wearing the first things that I could find and that looked at least a bit presentable while my parents were still giving me all sorts of warnings and advice. I just hope that since it's so early and on a weekend, there won't be as many people at the academy. Can't say I want to make a fool of myself on the first day of being there...
The car makes a left turn, and we're now on a road lined with trees. It's beautiful. We come close to a grandiose golden gate. How Renaissance. Guess they're quite classic. And boy, that was the case. The school hardly looked like a school, more like a gigantic baroque castle with medieval influences. It's stunning. The greenery is everywhere, and the light is freely dancing with the shadows of the tree leaves. We enter the school's parking lot, and I get out of the car, truthfully still a bit shaky, while the chauffeur unloads my bags from the limousine's trunk. I can hardly believe where I am, how I got here, what I agreed to do, and that I actually had my first ever ride on a limo. There's a first for everything, I guess. With my bags now taken care of by some magically-appeared-out-of-nowhere butler, the driver leads me into the lobby. The inside of the school is as extravagant and mesmerizing as the outside. The walls are made of old stone, and the ceilings are rounded. Golden chandeliers are lighting the halls, their glow mimicking a diamond's.

"Miss De Vere?" a woman asks.

She can't be older than thirty. Her hair is neatly coiffed in a tight bun at the top of her head. She's wearing a light blue uniform, which, in my very inexperienced opinion, is really similar to a flight attendant's. Only that in this one, you can see just how luxurious and delicate the material is.

"Yes, that's me!" I finally answer after recollecting myself a bit.

I received, at the beginning of my car ride, a folder. My instructions were meticulously given in it: my new identity. To make sure that no one knew who I really was and to stop drawing attention to myself, Mr. De LaRoche created a whole new identity for me to slip into. Ironically enough, being the richest of the richest was here more of a cover-up than a standing out from the crowd. My name is still Kamari, which is quite reckless, seeing how punctiliously the whole project was planned out. I was now part of the De Vere family, owners of Verrerie's Shine, a famous jewelry store. I was, and still am, in awe at the amount of work put into this. After all, convincing so many people that the Verrerie's Shine is a real store is truly impressive. Then again, De LaRoche must've spent more than just a few days building up an identity for this bodyguard he needed so much. I wouldn't put it past him to invest and build up the jewelry collections and reputation of the business. So, as of right now, I am Kamari De Vere, daughter of Meredith and Thomas De Vere, next head of Verrerie's Shine jewelry production and one of the richest people in the world. Who would've thought?

The assistant leads me through a multitude of halls and stairways, one more elaborate and well-decorated than the other. Portraits of monarchs, tapestries, sculptures, I've seen it all. We parted ways with the driver a few minutes ago, and I now feel quite lonely, even though I haven't even really spoken to the man. Still, he was the only familiar face around. Just when I was about to ask the woman guiding me if we could take a break because I was starting to feel a bit faint with all the corners we already rounded, she stops in front of yet another set of blue wooden doors with golden locks.

"Here is the girls' dorm." she says. "There are a few rules you need to know: you are not prohibited from bringing boys here. It's a common occurrence. However, they cannot stay after curfew hours, which are 10 pm from Monday to Friday, and 12 am on the weekends. You are also forbidden from leaving your dorm after this hour. You can exit your room but not this part of the building after the specified time."