Note to self: don't turn the lights up so bright.

After spending the rest of the day down in the new photography studio (something that I still couldn't believe), I hadn't realized how bright the lights were until I had stopped flashing pictures. The room looked really dark and very eerie.

"Okay, one more time," I said to myself, seeing the time on the computer. After this, I was getting a shower and then going straight to bed. I resumed taking shots, hoping to get the right lighting on the vase I had found upstairs.

I remember the first time that I had went to my mom's studio. I was three and had those pig tails in my hair that all of the other girls had, pink scrunchies holding them to my head. My mom told me that she would be busy, but that was okay to me. We would go to lunch and spend the rest of the night together.

I sat back and watched in fascination as my mom told people what pose they would go into for the perfet picture. She would always have a smile on her face, even when the customers were super annoying. It was fun to watch, and at that age, I knew that I wanted to be like her.

I helped my mom on some of her away works, helping her take pictures at sporting events and banquets. We would always laugh if one of us got a good picture of something humorous, like one of the dads pretending to spike the punch at a bar mitzfa or a mom pretending to be a dancer while their child stood in the background with their face in their hand.

As I went into high school, I immediately went into the photography classes to learn about different lightings and filters. I learned so much from that class that my mom made me her assistant. It was a fun job, and I loved it. I continued to do it even after she passed away.

"Perfect," I said to myself as I added another saturation level. I saved it to my laptop, shut off the camera and went back upstairs. It was beginning to get dark outside, so I decided to start getting ready to go to bed. I showered, brush my teeth and laid in bed.

Maybe tomorrow won't be so bad, I thought to myself.

#

As soon as my alarm clock went off, I knew I wasn't ready.

My stomach was in knots and my palms wouldn't stop sweating. I had to stop myself three times during my morning routine to tell myself to calm down.

Before Ihad fallen asleep, an idea had popped into my head that I was representing the Kilton name, and that made it hard to sleep. What if people only saw me as the granddaughter of a famous artist? What if people didn't want to be friends wth me because my parent's hadn't done anything, but because it was the generation before them?

I know, it sounded ridiculous- and I kept telling myself that. You're overreacting, I kept telling myself.

But what if I wasn't? I didn't know how these rich people acted, and I definitely didn't know who they approved of.

Sighing, I tied the bow on my yellow dress before I walked to the car that I had requested to pick me up for school (I didn't like drving in a limo; it felt lonely without someone else in the big space).

It wasn't long before I had finally arrived to the pink academy. It was even more beautiful than the brochure showed me. I had my schedule in one hand and my bag in the other. With a burst of confidence, I slid out of the limo.

Surprisingly, nothing exploded. I got a couple of weird looks, but I was expecting those as I walked through the big double doors. The red carpet beneath my feet felt like it could feel soft if I didn't have my shoes on.

I followed the other students, the carpet transitioning to pink tile. Up ahead, the black sign that read 1-A was staring back at me. I swallowed hard, wiping my palms on my skirt.

I entered the door as fast as I could and went to the back of the room, sitting at the desk by the window. I stared at the dark, smooth surface, feeling like I was going to faint unless I calmed down.

Slowly, I set materials on my desk, not wanting to catch anyone's attention. My hands were shaking as I grabbed my math textbook from my bag.

"Hey," someone said shortly, startling me. I dropped the book, watching as it landed next to someone's foot. Looking up, I saw a boy with piked orange hair and amber eyes that were looking at me with annoyance. "You're in my seat."

"Oh," I said softly. "I'm sorry." I picked up everything off of my desk and was going to pick my book up, but it wasn't on the floor. I looked up to see the boy holding it out towards me. "Thank you."

"Hikaru, what are you doing?" a deep, feminine voice asked. Both of our eyes snapped towards the voice, and I frowned. Why is that girl wearing a boy's uniform? "We could have just moved down a seat; there's no need for her to move."

"But this is my seat," this boy- Hikaru, I assumed- said childishly."Besides, there's only three rows, Haruhi. I'm not moving to the seat in front of her."

"It's fine," I said, my voice a little louder than a whisper. "I didn't know this seat was taken." Without another word, I moved to the seat in front of the one I had previously sat in. The orange-haired freak finally shut up and sat down without another word. I stared at the door until another orange-haired freak came in. Twins, huh? Fan-freaking-tastic.

The teacher walked in, a smile on his face. "Okay, class, settle down. Today we have a new student. Ementon Aria, would you please step forward?"

It took me a moment to remember that they said names backwards here. I stood up and walked to the front, keeping my eyes on the chalk board until I stepped behind the podium. I didn't have to be told what to do from there.

"My name is Ementon Aria, I was born and raised in a small suburb outside of Paris, France, and I enjoy pho- reading in my spare time," I said, changing my mind at the last moment. Everyone clapped politely, whispering between each other.

"She's so pretty-"

"-her eyes are so beautiful-"

"-her hair is so... brown-"

"I wonder what kind of mascara she uses-"

I sat back down in my seat as the teacher started teaching the lesson. I focused on his words instead of the ones that were floating around the room. I was on my second page of notes when something hit me in the back of the head. I froze a second before continuing to write down what was on the board.

Thud. Another one hit me before hitting the floor. I ignored it still, not letting it bother me.

Thud. Thud, Thud, Thud. The paper was starting to pile up around my desk. I turned the page and continued to concentrate.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud. Okay, maybe I was starting to get a little frustrated. Fine, but so what? I didn't know who it was, but that didn't bother me. Nope, not at all.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud. I finally turned in my seat, only to get hit in the face by paper. I scowled at the orange freak, who was laughing quietly at my unamused expression. I took the paper from where it landed on his desk and unwrapped it.

Music room 3, it read. I raised an eyebrow at the words before looking at him. He wasn't paying attention to me, still laughing as I threw it in his face. He flinched back in surprise before scowling at me. I shrugged and went back to my notes.

I haven't known his name for ten minutes, yet he pisses me off. The whole class period went by without the teacher noticing.

"Hitachiin Hikaru and Ementon Aria, pick up those papers right now!" the teacher yelled angrily. I sighed, putting my pen down as the bell's ring for the next class came to an end. I picked up the paper rolls as the orange freak sat there and watched me.

"Are you going to help or not?" I asked irritably. I was not going to let this guy use me as one of his toys for his own personal interest.

"Not," he replied flatly. His twin, who sat next to him, rolled his eyes as he kneeled to help me.

"I'm sorry about him," he said in a slightly more high-pitched voice. "I'm Kaoru, by the way."

"Aria, and it's a pleasure. What did you do, use the whole notebook on me?" I asked Hikaru, throwing all of the paper in the trash bin.

"Of course not," he said innocently. "I'm not that wasteful." He held up his notebook, one piece of paper left. "I have more."

I threw another paper at him. "Now you have two." I smiled a bit as his brother laughed along with me.

#

As free period- or, as they call it, 'advisory period'- came along, I decided to wander the halls of Ouran. All of the libraries were starting to fill up, so there was nothing interesting there. The gardens were also filled with people who chatted amongst themselves. The classrooms weren't even that quiet anymore,

So much for peace and quiet, I thought to myself. I sighed, grabbing my backpack and heading towards the only other place I knew of.

I know, it's not a good idea. That Hitachiin twin throws a note, telling me to go to music room 3, but honestly, I don't think I have another choice. It's probably the most quiet place in this whole damn school, so why not give it a try?

Because the orange freak told you to go there, I tell myself. I don't think he meant any harm, though, And even if he did, I know a few moves to keep him away. Far, far away, my thoughts reassured me.

My hand hovered over the handle, scared of what was behind it. There isn't a reason to be, I thought, Taking in a deep breath, I slowly opened the door.

There was a blinding light and some... things that flew around me. Petals, maybe? I blinked until my eyes adjusted, seeing a group of guys- and that Haruhi person- surround a chair, where a blonde boy sat.

"Welcome," they all said in unison. And goodbye, I wanted to say. I wanted to leave and find someplace to study. But instead, I had to find a whole bunch of good looking guys- excluding the orange freak and Haruhi- who looked to be bored.

"Good afternoon, m'lady," the one in the middle said, standing up and walking over to me. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure. I am Suoh Tamaki, third year and president of the host club. But you can call me Tamaki."