Hello, everyone ^^ This is the rewrite of "My Story." Hopefully, it's going to be better than the original. I also made a few changes that you will have to read to find out ;) Also, this chapter is mostly to inform how the school system will work so nothing super exciting here. Also, I would like to apologize since I did say it would be published during the first week of May... T_T Anyways, let's get on with the story.

Achieving Happiness

Chapter 1

I do not own Gakuen Alice

I stared at the tall silver gates that were the only thing that blocked me from entering the school, that and a few bodyguards. I made sure that I had my ID, invitation and everything in my bag before going to one of the two guards in front of the gates. Seeing my arrival, one of them quickly halted me from coming too close.

"Is there anything we can do for you, miss?" He asked, using a monotone voice.

"Yes, you see, I'm a new student here," I explained while taking out my invitation and ID card to prove it to him. He read them and checked with bodyguard no. 2 for some sort of confirmation.

"You may enter, Miss Sakura." He motioned to the other guard to open the silver gates which the latter, in response, quickly unlocked.

The moment I finally stepped foot into the academy, I felt a feeling of relief wash over me. I was safe, at least for now. I started wandering around the academy for a good thirty minutes—in hopes of finding a teacher or something of the sort—before seeing a woman not too far away.

"Hello!~ What are you doing here, my lovely?" A lovely woman with blond hair and violet eyes asked.

"I'm a new student here," I explained ignoring her chirping voice and—wait, this isn't a woman. Her voice and body are a bit too...Holy crap, it's a he!

"I see, you must be Mikan Sakura then!" I awkwardly nodded, a bit uncomfortable being with this man.

"Follow me! Fortunately, I'm your homeroom teacher, Narumi Anjo." He continued while always keeping a stupid grin on his face.

"I'll tell you a bit about the school system before we get to homeroom." I once again nodded, unsure if I should say anything yet.

"Like every student in the academy, you will be assigned a partner. Partners are people you do school assignments with and someone you practice with. There are also times the school makes you do competitions, and you will be paired with him. He will also be the one who will show you around the academy." It sounded pretty cool other than the fact I probably won't be choosing my partner.

"There's also a ranking system, called the Star Ranking. There are 5 Star Rankings: 0-star, single star, double star, triple star and lastly, special star. Most students have the single or double ranking. Triple stars are actually quite rare and are normally class presidents. The special stars, on the other hand, well, there is only one; now two, with you here. He's actually going to be your partner. I'm sure you both are going to get along just fine!" He took a deep breath as he finished explaining.

"What are 0-stars?" I asked curiously.

"Ahh, basically, if you're a 0-star, or also known as no star, you suck, and it's a miracle you're still in the academy." I immediately felt a wave of pity for whoever had that ranking. I know high schoolers can be mean, and I'm sure no one will think twice before trying to bring someone down at this school. Alice Academy looks like—and is—a place that rich kids go to. Heck, it doesn't even look like a school!

"Well, here we are! Wait outside until I tell you to come in; then, you should introduce yourself to the class. I'm sure they're going to love you~!" He gushed before going inside the room behind a wooden door.

As soon as he went inside, a sudden feeling of anxiety rushed through my body. I haven't gone to many schools before and ended up just getting home-schooled instead. I'm not used to talking in front of this many people, nor am I used to waking up at 6 AM every morning.

"Come in." I heard Narumi call out from inside.

I took a deep breath to calm down. And now, with most of my nerves under control, I turned the doorknob and stepped into the classroom. Just like the rest of the school, it was huge and extravagant, except for the chairs and desks which were in tip-top shape and actually looked normal for a change.

There seemed to be around 30 students in the class, with most of them staring intensely at me and only 3 who looked like they could care less.

"Hello everyone, it's nice to meet you. My name is Mikan Sakura, I'm 16 years old and recently came here to Tokyo. I hope we can be friends!" I gave them a small smile and many gave approving looks. A small part of me wanted the earth to swallow me whole, but I couldn't show that now.

"Are there any questions for Mikan-chan?" As soon as Narumi asked, almost everyone raised their hands.

"Yes, Emiko?"

"What's her ranking?"

"She's a Special Star." At that, everyone gasped. I guess having a new student and that new student being a special star isn't an everyday thing, huh?

"Where did she come from?" Another student asked.

"Mikan-chan came here from London. She's also a scholar."

"Anyways, there will be a free period because of the new student! Oh and Mikan-chan, your partner will be the guy with the manga on his face sleeping in the back!" Many people still had their hands raised, but he didn't give them a chance to speak and quickly dashed out the door.

I looked at the far end of the classroom and saw the guy Narumi-sensei was talking about. I couldn't see his face because of the thick book covering his face. He had his legs crossed on the desk and was leaning back on the chair with his hands placed behind his head as some sort of pillow.

Though he was asleep, he gave off that bad boy aura that girls loved.

I sat beside him, which meant I had the window seat (Yay!). Having nothing to do, not to mention being completely and utterly clueless, I observed the rest of my classmates who were mostly in their own groups, but many of them glanced at me from time to time, especially the boys. Ew.

In front of me is a boy with blonde hair and ocean blue eyes—a look any girl would immediately fall for. Next to him was a girl with raven hair that was in a short pixie cut. Her emotionless amethyst eyes were focusing on her invention that looked like some sort of toy gun.

My gaze then settled on the raven-haired boy beside me once again before deciding I should let him sleep. Instead, I decided to try and start a conversation with the blonde guy in front of me.

"Hello! My name is Mikan Sakura." I cheerfully greeted.

"Mine is Ruka Nogi." He replied.

"Can I call you Ruka?" I asked slightly tilting my head.

"Sure. But only if I can call you Mikan." He smiled.

Soon enough, Ruka and I became close friends and chatted as if we knew each other since forever. My partner was asleep for the rest of the time, but I paid him no heed.

Lunch was alright, but the food was to die for! Most of the students avoided me, probably because I was a scholar. Nevertheless, I ended up eating at the rooftop since I couldn't find Ruka or anyone else. Not that I minded. It was peaceful up here, and it gave me time to think about many things.

I'm heading to my last class for the day: Math. I groaned. Math was never my favorite subject. Fortunately, I had it with Ruka. I also made two other friends during Chemistry: the twins, Anna and Nonoko Ogasawara. Apparently, Anna dyed her hair bubblegum pink while Nonoko kept its original dark navy color. They're two very energetic girls who also seem to be quite well-known, the type of girls that were popular in the school.

We finally arrived, and I went to my usual place like the other students. This time, the seat beside me was empty, and I grew a bit worried. For what reason? I didn't have any, but it's just a bad habit I have, worrying about everyone.

"Hey Ruka, where do you think my partner is?" I asked. He has been here for longer than me so he might have some answers.

"Ah, he's actually my best and childhood friend. He has a bad habit of skipping classes, especially math." He explained.

"Why math? Is he bad at it?" I asked curiously.

"Actually, he's the best in the class when it comes to math, but Jinno-sensei isn't the most lovable teacher in the academy." As soon as he finished his sentence, some old-looking man with dark brown hair and eyes came into the room. Assuming that he's our teacher, I prayed not to get on his bad side.

"Is everyone here today?" Jinno asked.

A chorus of yes's chorused through the room. Jinno heard all voices except one. Not that he ever did hear it. "Hyuuga seems to be skipping classes again, isn't he?" His sharp gaze was glaring at the empty seat beside me. Then suddenly, his eyes averted from the chair to me, making me nervous.

"New student. What's your name." He ordered, quite rudely too.

"Mikan Sakura," I replied.

"Well then, since Hyuuga is your partner, why don't you go and bring him to class?" My eyes widened at his request. I didn't even know my way around the school!

"Alright." Not that I could say otherwise. Gosh, Jinno-sensei must really hate Natsume if he took out his anger on me. Ruka and the twins sent me worried looks before I got out of the classroom, knowing full well that no one had shown me around the school yet.

The long and spacious halls were easy to get lost in. I'm probably going in circles by now. Finally finding my way to the bottom floor—after getting lost about 10 times in the other buildings—I was at the point of screaming my head off. Who knew some guy could be so damn hard to find?

I was near one of the exits, the one leading to the academy's garden. Not that I see why they needed one. This school has everything. It even has a town, a lake, and even a forest!

I was about to turn around before my eyes caught a glimpse of a sakura tree in the school garden. No, not just any sakura tree. As ridiculous as it sounds, this one was lively and elegant. It was different, it attracted you, and never mind it being different. It was special.

I looked around me and made sure no one was looking. One small break wouldn't hurt anyone.

I quickly made my way towards the special tree and started to climb its long branches. Yet, as I reached the spot I decided to settle at, guess who else was there? Yes, a certain raven-haired partner of mine.

I stared at my irresponsible partner who was currently taking a nap using a manga that covered his face.

So much for that break.

I contemplated on how to wake him up. In the end, I came to three options. One: Poke him until he wakes up. Two: Shake him and maybe scream a bit. Three: Take his manga.

As I contemplated between the three options, I remembered that my mom loves the saying: 'third time's the charm,' so why not try my luck and hope for the best?

I somehow felt nervous but ignored all the negative thoughts about how this could end up. He's Ruka's best friend, I'm sure he's a nice guy, or maybe I'm giving him too much credit…

I quickly snatched the manga off his head and was surprised to see a pair of crimson eyes staring at me intently. I was immediately put in a trance, but it quickly ended when they started glaring at me. I mustered up the small ounce of courage I had left and tried saying something, anything.

Sadly, my efforts ended up being in vain.

"What are you doing." He said quickly snatching his thick manga back.

"Uhm, well, the thing is—" I started, quite intimidated by the powerful aura he had.

"Just get to the point."

"Jinno-sensei sent me to get you since I'm your new partner," I explained.

"Tsk. Tell the old man I won't be coming." Old man? Rude much? Not only that, but I searched around the whole school just to find this arrogant jerk! So much for being Ruka's best friend. How are they even friends in the first place?

"Are you always this rude?" I asked, starting to get annoyed.

"Hn." My eyes narrowed at his response. That wasn't even a word!

We stayed there for a bit more. I didn't move, nor did I have any intention to, at least not unless he actually comes with me to math class. The last thing I want is to face Jinno-sensei's wrath! The mere thought of it sent shivers down my spine...

Instead of fussing over this, I took the time to observe the view. It's not deceiving in the least, all the swirling cherry blossoms and the colorful flowers. It was definitely worth it, coming to the other side of the academy to search for my partner.

"What's your name anyways?" Well, I can't keep calling him 'partner' all the time.

"Hyuuga Natsume." He said in his same monotone voice. Well, it's already better than receiving a "Hn." or a "Tsk." as a response.

Eventually, after another 30 minutes, the bell rang, marking the end of classes for the day. Hyuuga quickly got up and jumped off the tree at its dinging sound, while I, on the other hand, was a bit hesitant. You couldn't blame me though, I was wearing a skirt!

"Hey! Wait up!" I shouted as he was begging to get out of my line of view.

He didn't reply though. I tried to calm down and ended up taking the risk and jumped. I caught up with him and soon enough resumed my shouting.

"You know, you could've waited!" I screamed.

"Whatever. Polka Dots." He smirked. I raised an eyebrow at his sudden choice of nickname until realization suddenly hit me.

"Pervert!" I continued in a higher tone, this time glaring in the process.

"I'm the pervert? You're the one who showed them to me." Unlike his usual expressionless self, there was a slight hint of amusement as he spoke.

"I did not! How did you see them anyways? You were facing the other side!"

"As I said, you showed me, moron." He replied.

I sighed as we continued bickering. And I swear this arrogant jerk is probably the most annoying person in the world. I don't care how good-looking he is. His attitude is crap! Half the time, he would simply respond with monosyllables instead of actual words.

I swear, if he's going to stay my partner, then this would be the longest year of my life.