Disclaimer- Do not own Gakuen Alice
If Only Dreams Were Real
Chapter 1
Welcome To Alice Academy.
I drove through the gates as if I were a criminal giving consent on my death sentence, but the Academy was not scary, old or gothic. Actually it was quite the opposite. Just two weeks ago I had receive my letter saying I had passed the first round. Now I was driving in for the ultimate test. The limo stopped outside the front door. It looked like it took two levels and was beautifully engraved. I stepped out in my Alice Elementary uniform. It was a black and red tartan skirt, mid- thigh, a white blouse that had poofed shoulders, a red ribbon and a black blazer with the school crest on the breast pocket.
"Remember, a lady walks with her head straight, in a straight line and on the same level." I remember that lesson. I had five hardback books on my head. Every time I dropped a book another one was added. My black heeled mary-jane's gently clicked as I walked up the steps towards the open door. Through the door were many people, but not the full eighty. The man by the door, who could have been easily been mistaken for a woman, announced my arrival.
"Okay everyone, this is Mikan Sakura of Sakura Corp." I bowed my head, my brown hair dangling at the side of my face. I looked up and everyone was staring at me. I recognized a few people who also attended Alice Elementary. They were shocked, it was understandable seeing as I had not introduced myself as the heir to Sakura Corporations. I walked into the crowd, clutching my briefcase tightly with both hands. I turned around where I saw my reflection in the window pane. Next to me was Nat. I smiled and I felt strong to know someone believed in me. During the period in before the exam, I used the time by reading my book 'The Chronicles of Narnia'. It was in English and was by an author named C S Lewis. On the chair next to me was a girl from Otori Academy Elementary. She was reading the same book. I smiled and decided to make conversation.
"That's a good book." I held up my own copy. She looked above her copy.
"Mine's in English, the original text." Her voice was emotionless, but not spiteful like my mentors. I looked the girl in the eyes. They were a amethyst colour which looked great against her porcelain skin and jet-black hair.
"So is mine," I said in fluent English. Her eyes looked shocked.
"That's interesting. No one I know speaks English as fluent as I. I'm impressed. Hotaru Imai charmed I'm sure." Her English was impeccable. She had lowered her book and held out her hand.
"Mikan Sakura pleased to meet you Imai-san, and thank you for the complement." I took her hand and smiled genuinely at her. To be honest the only person I had ever smiled at was Nat, so being able to smile at Imai was a great achievement. I was about to speak when the cross-dressed male started to gather us round some wooden doors.
"Okay everyone you have all worked hard to become one of eighty but now we must put you knowledge to the test. Only half will attend this school and for most of the year this will be your home. I wish you all good luck and I hope to see no disheartened faces and angry letters when you don't get accepted for being one of eighty is also a great achievement." The cross-dressed male was speaking in a serious way. If I didn't get into this school my father could never forgive me, so I had to do my best.
I stood there, last in line in entering the exam hall. What I found most unusual was the golden bird which nested above the doors. It was a statue of course, but its ruby eyes seemed to look straight into me, and before I entered the exam hall, I swear I saw its feathers ruffle. Strange indeed.
Most of the questions which I had anticipated would be on the test were there. I looked towards Imai-san whom looked at complete ease scribbling away on her test paper. I looked toward a boy with orange-brown hair, also from Otori Academy, he was scratching his head and looked confused. I let out a sigh and continued on my paper. For the last fifteen minutes of the test I check all my answers making sure my spelling, grammar and of course the answer itself was right. Five teachers walked along the five rows collecting 16 papers each. The teacher collecting the papers on my row looked strict. He was wearing a 19th century waist-coat, which was a style emergency, with an old pocket watch. He took my paper and stared at me. I stared back, I knew it was rude but he was staring at me, what was I supposed to do?
After the test we were taken to the Academy's cafeteria. There were lots of rectangular tabled made of oak, which were covered in the centre by a red strand of cloth which ended with a V shape and a tuft of red strands lied together. Instead of benched there were matching oak chairs with red cushions. The floor was oak and he walls were a vanilla colour, giving it a home-y feel. I looked up at the curved ceiling where a huge crystal chandelier hung. There were about 8 huge two-story windows, with crimson draping, which looked out to trees and a coble stone path. Around the edges there were various stalls: Chinese, Italian, Japanese etcetera.
"Okay, would you all take a seat and you will start your trial day at the Academy. Enjoy your lunch." I followed Imai to a table where others were sitting.
"Can I take this seat?" I asked nervously. I looked at the five people which were sat at the table. The blond boy with glassed smiled brightly at me,
"Sure." That lunch I had made five friends. Anna and Nonoko, fraternal twins, Yuu, the boy with glasses, Koko, the boy in the exam who had looked confused, and Hotaru who I was already acquainted with but now we were friends than acquaintances.
Anna and Nonoko carried the same traits, face and body though Anna had wavy pink hair and Nonoko had straight Navy hair. Anna love Home Economics and Nonoko loved Chemistry.
Yuu was the smart one. He was Class-Rep in his old school. He is sort for a guy, blond hair and prefers glasses over contacts.
Koko was the clown. He loves practical jokes and was voted funniest in his class. He has an older brother in Alice Academy named Kitsume. He had orange-brown hair and brown eyes.
Hotaru was the silent type. She was extremely intelligent, always first in her class, Student Council President and likes inventing things. She also likes black-mailing people, which I was made aware of.
Anna, Nonoko, Yuu, Koko and Hotaru all attended Otori Academy so they already knew each other. I don't know why but I felt left behind.
"It's so beautiful here. I hope I get in." I gazed out of the window and saw a boy. He was wearing the Alice Academy school uniform so he was my pier, but why was he here. It was spring break wasn't it? My eyes adjusted to the distance so I was able to make out his appearance. I gasped mentally. That get black hair, chiselled features were familiar to me. The boy opened his eyes and saw me staring at him. I blushed and looked away, even those crimson coloured eyes. He was Nat, but Nat was a pigment of my imagination. He can't be real. I looked back out the window and saw no one. I sighed in relief, though I somewhat felt disappointed.
"What's up?" Koko said between slurps of his milkshake. I broke my gaze from out the window and looked at him.
"Oh nothing. I just thought I saw someone." I mumbled.
"That silly," he said playfully hitting my arm," it's Spring Break. No one sneaks into school at Spring Break."
"Yeah, how stupid of me." I laughed, but I continued to look out of the window hoping my Prince would appear again.
"Okay student's you've tasted the food, now let's look at the living quarters." The she-male, whose name was Narumi, guided us to a rectangular lake. On both sides was a building and in front of us was a big block connected to them. Over the lake was a long bridge, the water seemed familiar to me. As we walked across the bridge I stopped in the centre. I looked over the side and saw a dark shadow glide under the bridge, disturbing the stillness of the water. I gasped and tried to look further but I saw nothing more. I gave up after a while and caught up with the group.
The living quarters were amazing. On each side there were double doors, the pink doors on the right leading to the girl's dormitory and the blue doors on the left leading to the boy's dormitory. The building was three stories and on the third story I caught a glimpse of books.
"Okay everyone make your-self comfortable, but not too comfortable, but explore by all means." I smiled and left the plasma and sound system and ran up the stairs. On the first floor there were lots of plants –some of which don't bloom-, which gave of an amazing aroma. There were quite a lot of sofas with gold and cream striped cushions. I climbed up another flight of stairs where the walls were and aquarium, home to lots of salt water fish. I stared at the fish as I made my way to the last flight of stairs and climbed them. It was like a dream. The walls were covered in bookshelves and there was a place in the corner with coffee coloured sofas an old green armchair and a matching coffee table. They were sat around a large marble fireplace. I was in heaven. I tuned and looked down at everyone. Some were sat on the chairs in front of the plasma, some were dancing to music and some were checking out the dorms. I walked to the seating area and sat in front of the fireplace. I looked around and saw a closet with a seven-sided star painted on. It seemed to merge into the wall, almost unnoticeable. I eagerly approached it and as I got closer it seemed more and more obvious it was there. I searched for a handle but the doors were just wood. I tried prying it open but it wouldn't budge. I lowered my head in disappointment.
"Open Sesame?" I said doubtfully. Miraculously the doors clicked open and a white light shone through the gap. I slowly drew open the door. I saw a picture in the back. I opened the left door and showed the full picture. I looked closely at the glowing picture. Astoria. How could this be? Astoria was my special place I created when I was seven. I urged my hand towards the picture. I shut my eyes and I waited for my fingers to feel the plank of wood, but I never did. My fingers felt warm so I opened my eyes. I quickly pulled back. My hand had gone right though. I looked back at the picture and where my hand had gone through it was rippling where my fingers had gone through.
"What are you doing?" I cringed and turned around to see Nat and some other people I had not met.
"Nat?" My voice was high and confused. The partially bald one looked at me hard.
"How dare you address Natsume-sama in that over familiar tone, you're just a plebeian! Prince Nat..." he was about to continue when I interrupted. I took a step closer to this boy who looked like my Nat.
"You mean he's a Prince. Let me guess Prince Nat of Astoria and that painting is a portal to Astoria." My voice was doused with heavy sarcasm. The blond next to the Nat imposter looked shocked as did the partially bald boy.
"How do you know of my kingdom human?" the imposter took a step towards me. He was identical to Nat.
"But this can't be real. Nat isn't real. Astoria isn't real. It's a dream I've kept scince I was seven. Astoria, the secret meadow behind the castle and the seven-star portal seal, it's my imaginary world." I could feel myself losing control. My fingers tingled in a weird way. Was I going mad?
"How do you know that much human?" He grabbed me by my arm and shook me. I was going to cry. I looked at his hand, it had the ring. The ring in the shape of the crown. When a Royal is born a ring appears on their thumb and it grows with them. It was a sign of royalty.
"That ring, you're the Prince of Astoria but you can't be." My voice was croaky. There was only one way to prove me wrong. Nat once told me a wild bear had attacked him and he still had a scar on his right shoulder-blade. I shook off his arm and pulled his collar down. The buttons on his shirt became undone and the scar was there.
"What do you think you're doing? You're sexually harassing the Prince." The bald boy shouted and grabbed me as if he were about to arrest me. Tears were falling down my face.
"That scar," The Prince stopped buttoning his shirt and looked at me wide eyed.
"A birth mark," he said simply. I could tell in the irritation in his voice he was lying.
"Lie. When you were four you got attacked by a wild bear. You didn't want the king to worry so you called it a birth mark." I could feel my stomach turning and my heart beating fast. He looked at me from shock to anger.
"How could you possibly know that?" His face was in front of mine. I brushed of my restrainer and stroked him gently on the cheek as I did with Nat.
"You seem so familiar, yet you seem like a stranger. Tell me how do you know me? How do you make my heart beat in this unfamiliar way? Tell me." His voice was soft and gentle. Like Nat and I could feel myself being warped into his spell, but this was a real person. This was the Prince. I dropped my hand back to my side and turned to walk away. I felt something slip from my pocket, my necklace that my grandmother gave me. It was a black chocker with a bronze-gold seven-sided star. "That necklace." I grabbed it and in an unladylike manner I slid down the banisters till I reached the first floor where I jumped to the ground and I power-walked to the girl's bathroom. The mirror in front of me showed a shocked girl all teary eyed. I splashed my face with water and looked back up to the mirror, behind me was Nat. My imaginary Nat. I looked behind me and he was lent against the wall.
"Nat, is Astoria real?" he looked up and nodded."Why didn't you tell me?" My voice was cracking again.
"Miki, you're a smart girl. What would you believe Science or Science-fiction?" his voice was angry but sad.
"I would have believed you." Nat wrapped his arms around me and I felt the warmth of his heart.
The rest of the day I was distracted. The school must know about Astoria. Why else would they have a portal, a Prince and two aristocrats?
I brushed my chestnut coloured hair in front of my mirror. I didn't want to be upset, but Nat kept this from me. He did it for my own goo though. Grandma, I wish you were here to tell me what to do. I put down my brush and climbed into my king-sized bed.
"Mikan, Mikan?" I heard his voice and smiled.
"Nat," I accepted his embrace. We talked about our usual things, whilst looking at the stars.
"Nat the Prince of Astoria is Natsume Prince of Astoria." I couldn't help but blurt it out.
"Yes," was all he could muster.
"Then tell me, why don't you know who I am?" I turned my head from the belt of Hoshini to Nat.
"I don't know. I still don't know how you dreamed me up, remember I was so shocked when we first met," he turned his head towards me ," but I want to know you while I am awake too." He smiled and I couldn't help but smile back.
Today was a Saturday. It was meant to be my vacation.
"Darling, you got accepted into Alice Academy. You got the highest mark in the exam and your father is very pleased," my mentor squealed. She was only happy because she got a raise. I heard them taking about it the other day.
"I got into Alice Academy," I seemed to be pulled by a rope as I sat up in my bed. I reached for the letter in her hand. She glared at me and moved her arm away from me.
"Please." I tried to sound sincere but it just sounded weird. I watched her roll her eyes and she threw the letter at me.
"You have to go shopping today." She said in her stupid voice.
"Why?" I was too bothered in reading my letter to listen to what she was saying. All I remember is getting dressed in casual jeans and designer t-shirt. I was dragged round Tokyo buying up stores with my mentor. She of course was treating herself to MY money and MY allowance. You know when they say shop till you drop, I literally dropped. I was walking back to my limo when I saw a phone on display. I stopped dead in my tracks and stared at it.
"Drop it. Like you would get a phone like that." I didn't look away as I got pushed by my mentor and shoved into the limo. I sighed as I stared at the soles of my Manalo Blahnic's.
Once again I was caught in awe of the gigantic door, but this time I was surrounded by suitcases. It was like a hotel, there was a bell-boy carting my trunk and suitcases away.
"Mikan welcome to the Alice Academy. This is the key to your suite. Please dress in your uniform and come to the auditorium in two hours." Narumi-sensei bowed and I did the same.
"Thank you." I took the keys off him and sat on the cart the bell-boy was pushing. My room was on the top floor with ceiling windows that showed the stars. It was beautiful. The walls were white and the floor was a beach colour. The first room I saw was a living area with a kitchen. There was a cream sofa and a beach coffee table full of presents. I skipped off the cart and skimmed my fingers against the boxes. There was a white box with a red ribbon, which was the biggest. I opened it and took off the red tissue paper and there lay my uniform. It was a black pleated skirt and a white silk blouse. A red tie was tied around the collar. There was also a black waist coat wrapped around the blouse. Folded at the bottom was a pair of crisp white socks. There was a little card tucked into the waist coat pocket and it read:
Mikan Sakura,
This uniform is tailored to your style. Other sorts of uniform (blazer, winter coat, hats, gloves, scarves, bag ect.) are located in various other boxes (including shoes.)
The uniform was amazing I admired it for a few more seconds before opening my other packages. Apart from uniform I got a laptop, iPod and my dream phone. You know the type where the screen sides up and under it is a mini keyboard.
I grabbed my uniform and walked into my bedroom. There was a big white bed with a red canopy. There was a red day bed at the bottom of the bed and the opposite wall were book shelves will loads of books. There was also a matching desk with an Apple Mac. It was my dream apartment, the one when I moved out of the house. It was my dream, my beautiful, beautiful dream.
I dressed in my uniforms, which surprisingly fit me perfectly, and went into the dorm living area. Most of the other students were there. I looked up towards the third floor and saw him looking down on us. Actually it was probably his whole year because the banister was full of people looking down. I gulped and walked over to Hotaru.
"Why are they staring at us?" I whispered, not wanting to draw any attention.
"We're freshmen, fresh meat. They're probably scouting out the dork's and the popular's." She was reading a book on nano-technology and her voice seemed as if the subject was the most normal thing in the world. I looked back up but the only person leaning over the banister was that 'Prince'. As soon as I saw him my head shot back down. I could feel him staring at me, examining my every fine and every flaw. It was like being trapped in an awkward silence and everyone had disappeared.
The auditorium was probably the size of two football fields. There was a stage, with a podium, and a seat named to its owner. I found my name at the front next to Hotaru and Yuu. The plate on the side read 1B.
"Hey, isn't awesome we're all in 1B?" I whispered happily. Yuu reached over and took my hands and we happy danced over Hotaru.
"What about you Hotaru-san?" She was looking at us as if we were cheaply paid clowns.
"Absolutely ecstatic," her voice was heavy with sarcasm.
"Excuse me, could I have silence please?" The auditorium fell silent, "thank you. It's a new year with new students, a new Student Body President and new Prefects. Now as most of you should know a prefect and Student Body President can be anyone. Anyone who maintains a perfect record and a high GPA, Grade Point Average, and even though this could be numerous of you all these people have to be of exemplary character, a role model. So the Student Council, whom of which assist the President, are Noji Ruka and Shouda Sumire." It was then I figured the populars of the place. According to the racket the other students made. I turned my head as I saw the Student Council descend. Oddly enough they were sat in the 2nd Year Section. So I guess it really doesn't count on age, once you're popular you're popular. As I was immersed in my thoughts I ignored the rest of the award ceremony so the President and Prefects were absent in my mind. It wasn't exactly a school day so we got to walk round the school grounds to get 'familiar' with. There was only one place I wanted to visit but I was afraid I would run in to him and his minions. Then I remembered something. Something totally obvious but I had forced it out f my mind.
"I'll catch up will you later Hotaru, I forgot to do something in the dorm." I wasn't lying but I was just bending the truth. As I sprinted towards the dorms I could feel my skirt flipping over. I gasped as my skirt flew up. That sudden breeze was unusual, but I started sprinting again. Behind me I could hear laughing and wolf whistling and I blushed in embarrassment. Pervs.
When I reached the doors I panted hard. The Campus was so big. I silently creaked open the door and as I suspected it was deserted. I looked up and saw the books. I was having mega déjà vu, but this time I made it for the girls dormitory. I took the lift up, tapping my foot impatiently. When the ding of the floor finally came I walked past my dorm door and carried down the hall. As I remembered there was a pair of double doors. There was a pair on each floor. I slowly creaked open the door and peaked out of it. Excellent no one was here. I took of my shoes and in my bare socks I made my way to the closet undetected and said the magic words.
"Open sesame." How ironic. The picture in front of me had changed. Instead of a peaceful day it was raining, but it was a beautiful rain. The type that feels good on your skin and soft on your face. This time I did not close my eyes but looked deep in the scenery. I quickly looked over my shoulder before reaching for the portal. My fingers magically seeped through the picture and I could feel the rain. I rubbed my fingers together and sure enough they were wet. I reclined my hand back to my side and stepped into the closet. First my right foot through and then my left. Nothing to it, just like walking. I took the step and suddenly I could see Astoria and rain was beating down on me. I wanted to cry but I started laughing. I twirled, splashing the puddles on the round. When I stopped I looked back at the portal. I could see the dorm and looking at me was Shouda Sumire, Noji Ruka and Natsume. The two Student Councils grabbed my arms and pulled me back into the dorm. Shouda pushed me hard so I fell to my knees in front of the Prince.
"Welcome to the Academy." His voice was soft and gentle but it also felt untrustworthy. I looked up but unlike his voice his eyes were hard and hypnotizing. "You will forget." Now his voice was ringing in my head, battling my brain for my memories. "Sleep." His last command. My eyelids became heavy and hard to keep open. I couldn't sleep. If I slept I would surly forget. I couldn't forget. I can't forget. I can't forget my Prince, my first friend. Arguing with myself wasn't working. I could feel my muscles relaxing and I was falling to the floor, but the last thing I saw before my subconscious faded was Nat calling out to me as I fell into darkness.
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