somethings aren't what they seem (UNDER MAJOR (re)EDITING & ON HOLD)

1

"What am I to say to you? Advise me, dispose of me. I trust myself entirely to you" She pleaded, on her knees, to her lover. The audience held its breath as she continued. Each word is more captivating than the other. Her nerves breathed, the way her eyes moved frantically analyzing what her lover would say, what they could do to change their fate. As the play continued, the audience would follow her as they laughed and chuckled. As the plot became more twisted and convoluted. And finally, curtain call.

"I nearly missed my cue" April laughed as the corset was removed from her body. Her friends chimed in the near misses of their own. Each excited the various figures in the crowd.

"Rumor has it some high-end schools came to check us out" A guy spoke up, APril raised an eyebrow at the thought.

"I thought the festivals were all over this semester?"

"Not in Japan," A girl teased, " Their theater works differently. The only school I know that might be here is one called Ouran High."

"What high-end school would sponsor some American theatre kid?" April rolled her eyes. The dressing room became crowded with voices and stories as the girl continued to remove her makeup and hairpins. The possibility lingered in her mind, as she removed her brown contacts, she looked down at her phone

4 missed calls from mom.

"Ah fuck," she groaned, before she could open the texts, she heard a door open.

"The dean of Ouran High wants to talk to Marianne." Everyone turned to April as she looked up from her phone.

"Me?"

Japan - present day

"I'll be fine, I'll text you what the principal says about it" April sighed as she walked past the gates of the prestigious academy. She slid her phone in her back pocket while walking through the grounds. To call it prestigious was an understatement. The gardens looked straight out of a painting, the school itself out of a fantasy. it was clean, it was big, it was colorful. It was wealth in its purest form. April walked past a group of girls as they giggled. She blinked and kept her beat. She tugged at her button-up, pulling it down just in case.

"Fuck" she whispered, her throat going dry due to the nerves. She continued, entering a grand hall of sorts. It was beautiful. The arches that connected each pillar made her want to stop and stare. Perhaps they were made for decorative purposes, or was it meant to hold the building up? Regardless, she tore her feet from the still position and walked on. She walked past paintings of roses she retired, alongside those she had never seen. Ceramics of different cultures and influences. Different groups of students stared her down.

"They know," she muttered, tugging at her skirt this time. She could feel their eyes as they soaked up every detail of her being. A button-up black cotton shirt with some fraying, a mini skirt thrifted from who knows when, and brown tights with black heels that had no brand name. Her best clothing, what they could see as the cheapest. Taking a breath to calm the bubbling anger, she pressed on. She eventually found herself in front of a grand door. It was the principal's office.

It looked more like a throne room to her.

"I'm April Cnotreras, the transfer" She introduced herself with a bow, the cultural shock was still very much there. After conversing with the intestine figure, she found out some important details. Her sponsor expected her to perform in every other play the school performed, emphasizing the end-of-year play. She was to meet the said sponsor after the school day, given they offered her housing as well. It felt overwhelming.

-

"I have to learn Japanese" I sighed. I held what felt like 50 pounds of papers and paperwork in my bag and hands. My uniform will arrive sometime after I start, so at least there's something final and set in stone. For now, I need to find a room to organize my load. The principal gave me various copies of the rulebook, contracts, and expectations of students alongside the added duties of a sponsor. I walked past another group of students, these weren't as subtle as the others.