Kairi had always been the top of her class, ever since kindergarten. She never handed assignments in late and always strived to do the very best she could. Only once in her life had she gotten anything less than an A—in second grade she got a B, but only because she'd been ill and missed several days of school—and when her class was given a partner assignment, everyone wanted to be paired up with her. Not only was she known for her intelligence throughout Destiny Islands, but she was known for her kindness; raised by her father—a low wage fisherman—she was extremely modest, polite, and accepting. Everyone in her area of the island knew who she was, knew how light her soul was. She was beloved by everyone she encountered.
Kairi had dreamt about going to Destiny Academy For The Young And Gifted—the number one school throughout all of the worlds—ever since she was four years old. The Academy was known for only accepting truly gifted children, and for scholarly children like Kairi, it was a dream come true.
An impossible dream, though. Although she had good grades, she was sure she'd never be accepted—the Academy had ridiculously high standards.
The Academy was practically pulled directly out of a book or movie. The school itself was a massive old castle, situated in the rolling hills amongst Destiny Island's giant mountains. When you first arrived, you were met with a giant cast iron gate; after that, the winding path—lined with weeping willows and beautiful, whimsical flowers—lead you up through the winding, green hills towards the school. To the right, there was the stables and several large pastures; trails wound their way into the forested areas, giving students the chance to go for long trail rides. To the left of the school was the crystal-clear mountain lake; the water was the color of emeralds, and students could take canoe rides, swim, walk along the pier, or even take out one of the boats tucked into the boathouse. Hidden behind the school and camouflaged by more trees was the swimming hole, where students often swam in the hot summer days; a large tree with a rope hung overhead. The school grounds were neat, perfectly trimmed. Cobblestone paths lead from each building—there were dozens of buildings spaced amongst the rolling hills of the green mountainside: dorm buildings, libraries, swimming pools, indoor tennis courts—eventually all leading up to the main hall, where classes were located.
The interior of the school was no less luxurious than the exterior. Despite its rustic, castle outside, the inside of the school had been completely redone. The walls were a rich mahogany, panelled the entire length of the school; huge chandeliers hung from the ceiling, brightening the entire place. Up on the third floor were the dormitories; up there, the walls were the original stone and the floors were beautiful maple. There were about four hundred dorms—two hundred boys, two hundred girls—and each room held two roommates. The dorms were vast, looking more like expensive hotel suites than school rooms.
Destiny Academy had been ranked as the number one school worldwide for the past fifteen years. The school had extremely high academic standards, only accepting a slim few who impressed them. To get into the school, an application had to be delivered to the headmaster; only people with the highest of marks moved on to the next stage. If you met the academic standards, you were then invited to do an interview; the headmaster would ask you several questions and chat with you, judging you on your character. If you didn't fit the Academy bill, you were rejected feverishly. If you were accepted, you moved into the dorms immediately—after paying the high costs it took to get in.
However, there was another way to get into Destiny Academy. Sometimes, rather than the student applying for the school, the headmaster and her staff would scout at the students themselves. They would track them from a young age, looking for bright youngsters; as the child got older, they would keep tabs on their marks and attitudes. Then, once they were of age, the Academy would send them a letter, inviting them to join the schools ranks, no payment necessary. Being invited to the Academy was one of the highest academic honours there was.
And that is exactly what happened to Kairi.
She slipped her hand into the mailbox, fiddling around until she could wrap her hand around the oddly large amount of mail they'd received. She struggled to pull every piece of paper out, grunting as she did so; she flipped the lid closed, skimming over the addresses on the letters. Bills, bills, bills…and then, something else. Something new.
She read over the envelope, unsure. She tore it open, reading over the thick parchment paper folded within; instantaneously, her head broke out into a sprint, her face lighting up. "Dad!" She screamed, causing the neighbours to give her a few odd glances. She clutched the mail to her chest, running back up the walk and into their little beach shack. "Dad, you'll never guess what we just got!"
Her dad was sitting on the couch, watching television. He frowned, peering up at his only daughter. "What is it, sweetie?"
Kairi held up the thick paper, the ink sprawled across it in perfect swirls. "I just got invited to Destiny Academy, dad," She cried, her throat tightening up, threatening to spill tears from her eyes. "A full-paid scholarship. They scouted me."
Her dad's eyes widened, and he stood; she handed him the paper and his pale blue eyes skimmed over the words, eyebrows tugging down in concentration. After a few minutes—he seemed to be reading awfully slowly—he blinked twice, glanced up, then back down at the paper. "Well…" He trailed off.
"Please, Dad?" She begged, grabbing his wrist and clutching to him. "Please, can I go? It's the best school to exist and it's free and they want me and you know how big of a deal this school is to me, you've gotta let me go—it's far away, I know but I'll write to you, and—"
"Kairi," Her father chuckled. "You can go. This is great."
A high-pitched scream tore from her throat, causing her father to slap his hands over his ears. "Dad! Thank you so much, I love you, I can't believe this, you're the best!"
He smiled. "I know."
She let out another wail of excitement, then tore up to her bedroom. She reread the letter twenty five times, memorizing every single word. She called all of her friends, informing them of the good news. She slammed her head against the wall a couple times, trying to tell if this was all just a beautiful dream that she'd thought up. A purple bruise began to form on her forehead. She supposed that meant that this was reality.
She didn't sleep a wink that night.