Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice doesn't belong to me. This disclaimer will be said only once, because I find it unnecessary to keep telling y'all the same thing. Thanks for reading.
chapter I
I'm so screwed, I thought to myself, before I looked at my reflection in the mirror of my dorm at Alice Academy, a prestigious boarding school that only allowed the rich and influential to enter. The academy was a strange school; first of all, the academy had 3 different buildings: one for the middle school kids, the high scholars, and the college students. The students were all segregated by wealth, so literally everyone stayed with the same people year after year. Another strange thing was that the academy was probably worth more than Japan and America combined. I mean, really, who puts spiraling staircases, enormous chandeliers, and expensive furniture in every single room for adolescent scholars? It just didn't make any sense. Also, when I entered my 'doubles' dorm room (my dorm mate has yet to come) it was larger than my garage, had a balcony with a gorgeous view of the campus, a beautiful Victorian-styled bathroom, and two canopy queen-sized beds. With what I've seen so far of this wealthy school, I'll bet you that everyone here will be stunningly beautiful, but snobby. This thought made me absolutely excited to see Hotaru Imai, my dorm mate. I shook my head and proceeded to change into my uniform to see if it fit. It basically consisted of a forest green plaid skirt (that was too short for my liking. It only reached mid-thigh!), a navy blue blazer, a black tie, and a white blouse. If I wasn't a scholarship student, heavens knows what I would've had to pay for it. Maybe around 500,000 yen? Anyway, this uniform was overly expensive, and unnecessary, for a 16-year-old. I looked at the grandfather clock and it read 5:00 pm. Butterflies were beginning to form in my stomach, as I mentally prepared myself for tomorrow; the dreaded first day of school. I was shocked out of my contemplation of how to escape the place when the door opened slowly. I panicked, thinking that it was a ghost, or a serial killer out to get me. I started to become light headed from all of the thoughts that came rushing to my head, until I saw who the intruder was.
The 'murderer' was only a girl. A really gorgeous girl with a willowy figure, deep indigo hair that ended at her shoulders, and side bangs that accentuated her dark amethyst eyes and cheek bones. The sunlight that streamed in through the glass window, which led out to the balcony, highlighted her pale skin.
"Are you Mikan Sakura?" Her exquisite voice made me realize that I stared at her, with my mouth opened agape like a fish. I felt my face getting red. Gods, that was embarrassing.
"Y-yes. I guess you're Hotaru Imai? Nice to meet you!" I mentally slapped myself for sounding like a love struck fool. Don't get me wrong, I'm not into girls, but she certainly 'dazzled' me. Like what Edward Cullen did to Bella Swan all the time.
Hotaru arched a perfectly made eyebrow at me, but then smiled a little. I relaxed and found myself grinning also. I instantly knew that we were going to be close friends.
"You're an idiot." She stated blandly.
Or maybe not.
The next day
I reluctantly woke up to the sound of the academy's grandfather clock ringing. I unenthusiastically dragged myself into the shower and did my morning routine. When it came to putting on the uniform, I appreciatively thought that one didn't have to spend any time deciding what to wear at this academy. All one had to do was put on the uniform and that's it. The downside is that this skirt is really, REALLY, (have I said really?) really short. I solved this problem by pulling on some black socks that ended just above my knee, and even though I still felt uncomfortable about the skirt, I sucked it up. I finished up in the bathroom, putting my boring brown hair up in a messy bun and stuck some bobby pins in, letting my fringed bangs hang limply over my eyes. I walked to the kitchen to Hotaru (I know, we have a kitchen in our dorm room. How unbelievable is that?), who really does consider me as a friend because I realized that she only smiles at people she's comfortable with, and grinned at her. The memories of our little 'Get to know each other' talk from last night came to me, and it was successful, much to my surprise.
"So, Hotaru, may I call you that?" She nodded politely. "Okay, so tell me about yourself Hotaru.. What is your family like?" She told me that she had an older brother, whom she called 'Him,' and at first I was pretty confused, because I thought she was talking about Jesus or God. But then she hit me with this painful little gun called the Baka Gun and told me that he was a human being. Then, she proceeded to explain to me that her brother disowned her, and her parents could care less about their daughter, because they couldn't have a female run their business (a very wealthy investing business she told me). So, she decided to enroll into the academy on her own volition, and her parents were glad to be rid of her. Hotaru said all of this in her signature deadpan voice, but I couldn't help but notice that a slight shimmer of sadness was reflected in her violet eyes. Then it was my turn, and I told her that I grew up in a tiny town that was far from this academy, but still in Tokyo. I explained to her that my parents were honest citizens, but they were killed in a gun fight that broke out in a bank. I was then left with my grandparents on my mom's side, and since then, I've worked hard to get my scholarship to come to this place. I was holding back on my background, and I knew Hotaru sensed it, but she didn't pry. That's one of her best characteristics, in my opinion. She knew where to draw the line in a conversation between strangers, who are just getting to know each other. But I had a gut feeling that she was going to bring it up one day.
"About time, idiot." She got up from her place at the counter, where she was reading the business section of the newspaper, and held up a heavenly pot of my most adored drink in the whole world. Next to orange juice, that is. "Coffee?" I nodded gratefully as she poured a generous amount of it into my special, polka-dotted mug. She placed it in front of me, and said almost apologetically, "We don't have any sugar, or milk, or food for that matter. We should probably go grocery shopping after school today." I proceeded to take two white pills out of my skirt's pocket and swallowed them. I saw Hotaru's inquiring expression and I gave her a reassuring smile.
"I've been having a.. major migraine since last night." Hotaru didn't look convinced, so I quickly changed the subject. "It's okay, I can live with black coffee. And how are we going to get to the grocery store? I thought we were allowed only one visit out of the academy per month." I said, trying to act as nonchalant as possible. But of course, I had to be blessed with terrible acting skills, because Hotaru gave me a quizzical look.
"But the campus has a grocery store..." She replied after a beat, deciding to let it go for the moment. When I heard that, it's quite embarrassing actually, but I choked on my coffee and I could only imagine how my face looked. Probably a mixture of disbelief mixed with my eyes popping out of their sockets. Anyway, she slid into her stool, which was next to mine at the counter, and showed me the campus map. There, I could see the whole layout of the academy's high school and its college. Hotaru pointed a perfectly manicured nail at a little town next to Alice's high school, and the square said Central Town on it.
"Oh, well.. that's convenient. I'm guessing you also know how we're going to get there?" Hotaru nodded and told me that there were limos that took you to the town. Figures.
After drinking our two cups of coffee, we grabbed our backpacks and headed out of the dorm. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw how many beautiful male and female students were milling about on our floor. Apparently, the academy allowed the dorms to be coed, and could care less about what happened there. While I was gaping stupidly, Hotaru had enough sense to come to my rescue and drag me off to the opening ceremony that was going to begin in the school's rose garden. Every now and then I would openly point at some kids and say "Hey, I saw him/her on T.V.! I can't believe this." Eventually I stopped, because I could tell that my impromptu friend was getting pretty annoyed. Okay, pretty is an understatement, but never mind the details. We soon arrived at the rose garden (with me being able to walk again) and we settled into the very comfortable chairs they provided. Even at this gathering, the academy catered to everyone's needs. They brought waiters out to serve caviar and 'champagne,' which I have never heard of before, but Hotaru told me that it's an alcoholic beverage, so that was incentive enough not to go near it. Then, the low hum of everyone talking disappeared, and my attention was reverted to the small podium in the middle of our circle of chairs. Everyone began to respectfully clap for a tall man, maybe mid 40's, who went up to the mike. I guessed he was the headmaster of the school, so I joined in on the applause. Soon, we were all silenced as he began to speak. His voice was very monotonous, and I found myself falling asleep, but Hotaru kept kicking or pinching me, until the entrance ceremony was done. After that, we were jostled towards the Central Wing of the high school, where a computer printed out our schedule when we typed in our student ID number. Hotaru and I had only three classes together (much to my dismay), so we planned to meet in front of the Sakura tree behind the academy, after school. We went our different ways, Hotaru, on her way to Home Economics, and I, on my way to History.
I found my way to the classroom without any incidents and entered. Inside, everyone was segregated into their groups of friends in the large classroom. I was about to go grab a window seat, when I saw a group of incredibly handsome (more like hot) boys huddled in a corner, as to what they were around, I would soon find out. I changed my mind, and I looked around the room for another available seat. My eyes then traveled over to another group who stuck out to me across the room from the band of boys. When I gazed at the girls, one of them made eye contact with me. She motioned me over with a friendly smile, and I took it as a warm invitation into their group. I accepted gratefully, because I certainly did not want to hang out with the nerdy guy in the other corner, the buffed up man-woman, the pimply kid who just picked his nose, etc.
When I made my way over to the four girls, the one who waved me over introduced herself first. Her name was Sumire Shouda, and her family owned most of the elite beauty salons that only high class celebrities could get into. She had straight, forest green hair with some wisps of curly tendrils, and her hazel eyes went well with her slightly tanned skin. When I sat next to her in the group, I could see that a cute dimple would form on her cheek every time she laughed or smiled. After I met Sumire, two of the three girls introduced themselves as Nonoko Ogasawara and Anna Umenomiya. They have been best friends since elementary school, since their families created a company, together, dedicated to catering and running very successful restaurants. Nonoko was a very stunning girl, with auburn hair, high cheekbones, and light freckles, she surprised me with her meek attitude (whereas Sumire's personality was more outgoing and brave). Her best friend, Anna, had bubblegum-pink hair, that strangely suited her, and clear blue eyes. She was the 'artistic one' of the group and was also dubbed the 'crazy one.' I don't know why her friends thought she was crazy, because she seemed normal enough to me, but when I voiced this aloud, everyone started laughing hysterically.
"Wait till you hang out with her more. Then you'll know what we're talking about." I smiled uneasily at them.
"Hi, Mikan.. My name is Nobara Ibaragi." A delicate voice mumbled from behind me. I turned around and gasped. Nobara looked like a model; she had delicate features, big grayish-green eyes, and her hair was perfectly done in ringlets. She smiled shyly at me, until Sumire started waving her hand in front of my face.
"Helloo, you're going to get a bug in your mouth if you keep gaping at her like that. It's kinda creepy, also." I snapped my mouth closed and blushed. This reaction seems to be happening to me a lot lately, I reflected.
"Oh my gosh, so have you heard? Ruka and Natsume are attending the academy now! THEY'RE IN THIS CLASS!" Sumire squealed. I was about to ask her who Ruka and Natsume were, when the room got dead silent. Everybody's head were facing towards the back left corner of the room, and I slowly turned my head. An unbelievably handsome guy was standing up, casually stuffed his tanned hands into his pockets. I could tell that he had messy black hair, and when he looked up, I heard my sharp intake of breath. He had the most hauntingly beautiful crimson eyes I've ever seen. Standing up next to him was a Zac Efron look-a-like. I swear by the bible and my mom's grave that he had the same exact face structure and hair, except he had platinum blonde hair and the prettiest periwinkle colored eyes. The taller one of the two, the boy with crimson eyes, looked at me, and I noted a flash of interest in his eyes, which soon faded into a smug face.
"Hey, Strawberries, you're drooling a little." A low, husky voice said. All of the girls in the classroom began to smile dreamily at him as I was trying extremely hard not to run up to him and bash his face in, while kicking him in the place where the sun doesn't shine. I could hear the blood rushing to my ears as his voice bounced around my head. Hey, Strawberries.. Strawberries..
"What did you just call me?" I wished I could've just kept my mouth shut, because that one line caused my whole life to turn upside down. Or maybe it was the thing that happened afterwards. Either way, he was slowly walking over to me. His polished shoes echoed loudly throughout the room and stopped when he was in front of me. He put his face extremely close to mine and said in a stage whisper, "you should cross your legs like a proper lady, Strawberries." Everyone in his posse guffawed, except for Blondie, while I gawked at him as he pulled his face away from mine. He straightened up, and up close, I could tell that he had a killer body. But never mind that, who was this kid? Instead of asking him that logical question, something entirely else happened. I swear I didn't mean to, but everything just happened so fast, and I was royally pissed off at this pervert for even having the nerve to look up my skirt. I stood up, raised my hand, and before anyone blinked, smacked him clear across the face.
On my first day of school, I slapped one of the hottest men on campus: Natsume Hyuuga.
AN: In case you haven't noticed, I'm terrible with grammar.