Chapter 1-I'm Leaving?

Rrriiiiinnngggg! Rrriiiiinnngggg! WAKE UP! IT'S ALREADY Click... A young girl wearily yawned and looked at her alarm clock. 6:00, it read. It's so like her to get me a clock that yells, she thought. She quickly got out of bed, got dressed and headed for the kitchen.

"Mikan, you don't have to go to work today."

"Wh…What do you mean, Mom?" the girl named Mikan stuttered out.

Something is definitely suspicious. The family was definitely poor and desperately needed money, which is why Mikan was at a loss for words for a moment. To think that mom is actually telling me not to work is just too much. It's the exact opposite of what she has always said.

"There's a man here to see you," her mother said, interrupting Mikan's thoughts. Mikan noticed that there was indeed a man. He was completely out of place, wearing a suit and a tie in such a poor, run down area.

Mikan and her mom lived in a small house with only four rooms, their bedrooms, a kitchen, and a tiny bathroom. The kitchen consisted of only one stove, a small rickety table, and three chairs, just enough for the three of them. The bedrooms held even less: one bed and some boxes. The bathroom had only a toilet with a cracked lid, and a shower stall. In one corner, mold was growing despite all her hard efforts to rid it.

" Why…?" Mikan broke off in confusion. She certainly had never seen him before, and she was sure that this was no acquaintance of her mom.

" He's Tamaki, one of the guards of Alice Academy. He told me that he wants you to go to Alice Academy."

Her mom went on excitingly," I'm sure you know just how great it is." Here her mom paused to gather her breath. You would almost that think that she was the one being sent. Mom is talking like a student just out of high school with a letter of acceptance from her top choice.

"It is The Most Prestigious School in the world. It has been ensured that almost anyone who graduates is guaranteed a well paying job. You will be provided with free luxurious room and food! I'm sorry, Mikan, that I didn't ask your opinion. I really am sorry, but it's not very often that such a good opportunity turns up, so I've already agreed," her mother explained. Despite being poor, both of them were surprisingly well- read and intelligent.

"But, but! Who'll work after I'm gone! Mom, you can't work when you're already in poor health, and Alita is too young."

"Mikan, what a good girl you are!" Her mom beamed at her. Mikan had been standing near the edge of a cliff, but now she was falling into a dark pit, doomed to never climb out. You mean in exchange. Mom always had a way of talking that made whatever excuses you could have impossible. This is one of those times. Her mother went on, oblivious to her daughter's thoughts and feelings.

"To put you at ease, the government will give us money so your sister and I will both be living comfortably. As long as you are at Alice Academy, the government will provide anything we need."

"You know that you can't support much longer, especially now that Alita is eating so much more. Please do this for us," she added on with just a hint of desperation.

"Yes, Mother," Mikan said with her head bowed.

There was nothing left she could say. Besides it was no use arguing when Mom gives a speech. Everything she said had been true, but Mikan couldn't help feel that her mom had just traded her away for money. No! No! Mom is doing it for our sakes. I will be going to a school most people can only dream of, yet here I am complaining. Mom must have pulled quite a few strings to get the school administration to notice me. Little did she know that her mother had not done anything. Nor did she know that the man hadn't told her that Alice Academy was more than a school or that some people never came out.

---End---