"What the hell?" I took a step closer to the mirror, staring at my reflection in disbelief. The person looking back was still me, but at the same time it wasn't. I had the same thick, dark, curly hair. The same hazel eyes. The same olive skin with a light dusting of freckles (ugh) scattered across the bridge of my nose. But my curls were now streaked with highlights. And not the subtle, golden-brown ones that sometimes appeared during the summer. No, these were an aggressive, dazzling blond that went from the roots of my hair all the way to the tips. It looked like I had spent a full day getting my hair done in some upscale salon. Never mind that I had never set foot in such a place since the day I was born. My eyes appeared somehow wider and more luminous. The colour brighter, my eyelashes darker up against them. And, when I looked closely, my pupils seemed to be slitted almost like a cat. I looked down at my body. My skinny arms-which had always refused to gain any definition no matter how hard I exercised-were lined with flat, wiry muscles. My bony shoulders were now curved and smooth. My scrawny legs were toned like a dancer. I reached down and lifted my shirt, revealing two subtle lines running vertically down my perfectly flat stomach, hinting at the rock-hard abs underneath. My whole body was rippling with strength. Like liquid steel.

Hi, I'm Melina Andrews. Or at least, that's who I thought I was until recent events. I was living with my "dad" until I ran away because he was an abusive drunkard and a bastard, but I'd never gotten the courage to actually leave until I was around 15, almost 16. But after disguising myself as a boy so it would be harder to be recognized by my dad, I enrolled in a private school called Gakuen for a few different reasons. It seemed like the right idea at the time, and while I love it there, I'm taking a lot of risks. I swear, if my new friend Matthew wasn't helping me, I'd have been kicked out a LOOOONG time ago. Things in me have been changing recently (no, I don't mean puberty) and I'm not sure why. And what's this possibility of my being a... country? Cover is by Mew_Mew_Keki, the winner of the 2015 fan art contest! Congratulations, and thank you SO MUCH for drawing such a wonderful cover for me! All my WUVS to you!