Princess of the Court

Chapter One

The gym was filled with a warm energy. Students stood in multiple lines, categorized first by class, and then by gender. They chattered among themselves, ignoring the teacher's attempts to calm them. It was their first day of high school, staying calm wasn't a possibility. The good vibes washed over Majida, putting her at ease. She'd managed to arrive before the start of the opening ceremony. Something of a miracle considering her morning, but now none of that mattered. She identified which class was her's and moved to enter the line of girls.

"Where are you going?" a teacher asked, tapping her shoulder.

Majida sighed loudly before turning around. She glared at the teacher, only softening her gaze when she saw how it distressed him.

The teacher, an oily pockmarked nothing of a man, straightened his tie as he collected himself. Majida tracked the emotions that flickered on his face. Embarrassment, confusion, a little bit of fear. It all dissipated into an overwhelming smugness once he seemed to categorize her. "I'm sorry." he asked, speaking slowly. His smirk made Majida's eye twitch. "Can you understand me?"

"Yes, I can understand." she answered, resisting the urge to glare again. It figured he'd make that assumption. "I'm lining up," She pointed to the girls in her class.

"That's the girls line," the teacher explained. "You belong in this one," He gestured to the line of boy's.

Majida opened her mouth then closed it. She choose Akai Hoshi high school partly because of its uniform. Not that the uniform from, Amaririsu Academy, the all girls school down the way wasn't cute. If anything it was too cute, she wanted neat and smart, not cute. The girls uniform for Akai Hoshi High paired a grey blazer with a maroon and grey plaid skirt. The bow was a solid maroon, so was the tie that came with the boy's uniform. The boy's wore a grey blazer with maroon and grey plaid slacks. Guess which uniform she found herself in....

The manufacturers informed her via email that they assumed her form was incorrectly marked. The height recorded was 178 cm, a few inches shy of six foot tall, that was unheard of for a female high school freshman. Yeah, its not common around here. She typed furiously onto an email. So? At least check first. Isn't that your job? She deleted her screed and came up with a more diplomatic response. Besides, the manufacturers had already agreed to do a rush order free of charge. The wrong uniform was hers to keep, and she'd have her new uniform by the end of this week. She'd just make due in the meantime.

And make due she did. Or at least she tried. Majida arrived much earlier than the opening ceremony in a dress suit. That dress suit was now back in her closet. The emergency exception outlined in the student handbook didn't count in her case since she technically had a uniform. So the principal insisted she wear one like everyone else. It wasn't, however, possible to take his "rules are rules" statement seriously since he giggled during its delivery. The ruling niggled at her during her rush home to change. She should have just stayed home.

Majida resisted the urge to look down her shirt to check that her boobs were still there. She had half a mind to flash this teacher as proof but didn't want more trouble. "Yes, yes, whatever you say," she said as she trudged to the boy's line. The administrators were beginning to file onto the stage, signaling the start of the opening ceremony Neither of them had time for this.

"Only one yes! And take off those earrings!" He said, sounding bolder now that she was following his directions. He muttered under his breath about how boys were getting too feminine these days with the jewelry, and the long hair, and blah blah blah...

Majida ignored his tirade. She had worn her favorite pair, studds shaped like red roses, in hope, a silly hope in retrospect, that some good luck would come her way. Black studs occupied the other two holes she had in each ear. She styled her dark hair into a neat french braid to look even more professional. It worked when she was in her dress suit. Now she wished she'd just left it in a high ponytail like normal.