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Prologue

"Natalie, come down here!" Natalie sighed, sadly. Today, she was going back to Wimberly Prescott Academy, the best boarding school in the world. It had a remarkable music program, an outstanding art corps, state of the lab classrooms, world renowned teachers and 98% of all students go to an Ivy League school. The 2% went off to owning their own successful business before they could even go to college. Her mom sent her there when she was 10 when her mother, Noelle discovered she was musically gifted with a singing voice and she could play a saxophone.

"Natalie, come down here! We're leaving!" Her mother's voice rang.

"Coming!" She sat up from her canopy bed with white sheets and black pillows that covered every inch of her bed. She scanned her room since she wouldn't be coming back till mid winter break. She glanced at her light pink walls, her white French doors leading out to her balcony that looked over the Los Angeles coastline, her vanity mirror that had light bulbs all around like in the movies, a flat screen tv that hung off the wall above her cozy fireplace, her red loveseat and her door that was filled with pictures of her, her sister and her friends.

She walked up to her mirror, letting the tears flow she'd been suppressing. She hated leaving her home, even though she had lived at the Wimberly Prescott Academy for 6 years. Even though, every fiber of her being wanted more than everything to stay home, she couldn't help missing her dorm.

The way Manhattan lit up at night at exactly 10:56PM. The way if she left the window open on Tuesday night, her whole room smelled like the cinnamon buns the cafeteria made every Wednesday morning for breakfast. Her dorm mates Bailey Swanson who was the most girliest girl ever and the other dorm mate Ava Janetti who absolutely despises Natalie from something that happened earlier in the year which is a tale for a different time.

She couldn't even process how her sister had always been the average girl. When Natalie was younger, her sister used to outshine her all the time. She was often surprised that she was the talented one.

She walked up to her large suitcase that had embezzled DIVA in cursive on the side. She unzipped the side pocket and gently picked up a crisp, white envelope. She contemplated opening the letter even though it wasn't addressed to her, it was to her parents. She ripped open the letter in a surge of confidence and immediately felt guilty. Well, she thought, as long as the envelope is open. She quickly scanned the letter. And again. And again. Each time in more disbelief.

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Pearce,

I regret to inform you disappointing news about your daughter Natalie Pearce. She has been in loads of trouble since the beginning of her junior year. As you know, our funding come from test scores. Our usual funding a year around $900,000 per year. That is, if all of our upper school has a certain score. Natalie has not met that score. She also didn't meet that standard in her sophomore year of high school but since she was 3 points under, we had decided to let her in for the next year since she was an amazing singer and saxophone player. I'm afraid that, she was 134 points under the standard this year. She has decreased her test scores immensely. From when she first came to Wimberly Prescott Academy up until her freshman year she was the number one in her grade. It is not so unusual we have to kick students out but not often students who have deeply truly contributed. It is truly a sad sight but we have to let Natalie go. She is one of our beloved students and we will dearly miss her. She is a wonderful girl who is remarkably talented but isn't quite there for the academy. We request she only comes to the Wimberly Prescott Academy to take her things then go.

Best wishes, The Wimberly Prescott Academy Team.

Natalie was shocked. She was expelled? How could she go from the snootiest academy to some second hand private school? Or even a.... *Shudder* public school? Her heart was beating faster then the fire in her fireplace. She ripped up the letter without a second thought and threw it in the fire. Natalie watched as the fire consumed the paper in whole. She flopped on her bed her eyes not being able to stand it and she burst into tears. She cried until her head hurt, her face was salty and her tears and snot were streaming down her face. She heard a four knocks, a pause and three additional knocks. That was her and her sister Mads code. Natalie dove fast to her box of tissues and took off her snot. She wanted pity but not sad weirdo desperate kind of pity. "Come in." Natalie called.