The American Dream

Chapter One

Lady Catherine Abbey. School for the rich, elite and famous. Oh, and me.

Every year one scholarship placement is offered to join one of the most prestigious boarding schools in England. Although I was absolutely ecstatic to be offered the place, I can’t say that my past four years here have been…memorable.

Six years later & I’m in my second to last year at LCA. Year twelve; one more year left in this place- unless I become clinically insane…

Lets just say that the wealthy & elite are not as welcoming to those who come from more humble backgrounds…

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The warm June sun woke me up, streaming through the curtains and brightening my dorm room; I sat up and stretched my arms above my head, smiling at the dazzling view of what had slowly become my home. Surely it couldn’t be so bright, so early?

“Shit!” I gasped, blinking at my alarm clock. I jumped out of bed and raced to my wardrobe. It was already 8:55 which meant I had five minutes to get ready and get to assembly. I pulled on my skirt, hastily tucking in my shirt and fastening my tie around my collar. Whilst running to the bathroom, I yanked on my tights, which was clearly too much to handle in the morning because I tripped, knocking over the entire contents of my roommate’s toiletry bag with my arm. As I hit the floor, I felt something warm and sticky spreading through my hair and down my neck; I touched my fingers to the roots of my russet hair and examined the gold, balmy substance.

“No! Oh god no!” the golden hair removal wax dripped down my fingers and across my palm. This was bad, this was really bad! I jumped up immediately, noticing a yellow post-it note stuck to the mirror; I peeled it off and read the words scrawled in un-even, messy writing: ‘Thought I would let you have lie in. see you in assembly, well…EVERYONE will see you! Love you (not), Becca xo xo’

I knew it. Unfortunately, Rebecca Simmons was both my roommate and reining Queen. Unlike Rebecca, I was a loner. No friends. No allies. Everyone seemed to either hate me or have been warned by their socialite parents not to mix with the scholarship student. Evidently I had no friends which meant I had become the main target for every practical joke, rumour or embarrassing event that had ever occurred in LCA.

I quickly washed my hands and rinsed out as much wax as I could from my hair. Unfortunately, life seemed to be completely against me this morning and I just looked worse. What was I supposed to do now? I grabbed my comb and attempted to tease it in the way Rebecca like to do; I rifled through her toiletries bag and pulled out what I assumed to be mousse, then quickly squirted the contents into my hand; as I smoothed the mousse into my hair I realised that no matter what I did, my hair was going to remain hideously messy all day, not to mention the fact that the wax simply wouldn’t come out!

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As I reached the entrance doors to the main assembly hall, I straitened out my uniform and attempted to smooth my hair. I raised the cuff of my blazer and checked the time. 09:07. I was late. I was very late and I would have to walk to the very front of the hall to sit with my form class on the front row. I would have to humiliate myself and walk directly past every student, giving them the perfect opportunity to mock me.

I tentatively pushed open the grand oak doors, instantly hearing the creaking twist of the hinges, announcing my unpunctual arrival. I walked quickly down what appeared to be a never ending isle, tugging at my sleeves nervously and concentrating on my shoe laces rather than the mocking glares. I felt my face reddening and my hands sweating whilst hearing the taunting comments I had grown so used to.