JENNIE
According to the itinerary I was emailed, I have a "tea" at 4 p.m., and since it's 3 now, I change into my new uniform, which was hanging up in the closet, draped with plastic, when I arrived. There's a knee-length plaid skirt, a short-sleeved white shirt, and two different sweaters, one long-sleeved, the other a vest. I choose that one, the Gregorstoun crest stitched on the front. It's warm enough, so I don't have to bother with the dark tights, settling on the kneesocks instead and finally sliding my feet into a pair of very plain black flats.
There's a mirror affixed to the back of the door, and I take a moment to look at myself, this new Nini. A Gregorstoun Girl.
Same boring brown hair curling over my shoulders, same brown eyes. Same dimples, as I see when I give a forced smile.
Same Nini, different place.
Sighing, I open the door and step out into the hall, only to immediately hear someone calling out.
"I'm telling you, Perry, she's on this floor!"
The voice around the corner is clearly coming from a Disney Princess—sweet, melodious, complete with the perfect cut-glass English accent, and I expect the girl I'm about to see will look like a cross between Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. There might even be woodland creatures trailing in her wake.
The girl who suddenly appears is beautiful, and she's also . . . a giant.
Okay, that's not really fair, but she is easily over six feet tall, although when I glance down, I see she's wearing high-heeled boots. And while she might not look like Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty, she is stunning, with long dark hair and smooth brown skin.
And when she looks down at me, I see she has lovely brown eyes that crinkle at the corners as she smiles. "Oh, hullo!" she says brightly. "I didn't even see you there!"
That's probably because I'm basically a squirrel while she's a giraffe, and I give an awkward wave. "I tend to blend in."
"Oh, you're Korean!" she trills, then gestures behind her impatiently. "LOOK, PERRY, I'VE FOUND AN KOREAN!" she calls, loud enough to make me wince.
No woodland creatures in her wake, but the boy who follows her is a bit . . . rabbity.
That's not nice, probably, but there's a slight overbite situation happening, plus he seems nervous and jumpy, especially compared to the girl he's standing next to.
"I'm Rosé." She offers her hand for me to shake, and I take it, grateful that someone in this place seemed like a normal human being.
"Nini."
Rosé grins, showing a crooked tooth, and finally, something slightly imperfect about this perfect girl. I'd been starting to wonder if you had to be a supermodel to get into this place, and I was some kind of charity case. "Nini," she repeats. "Cute. I like it."
I'd never thought of my name as being "cute" before, but Rosé doesn't seem to be teasing, so I just go with it. "Technically Jennie, but no one ever calls me that."
She jerks a thumb over her shoulder at the guy standing just behind her. "And this is Perry, who is actually a Peregrine."
"Please stop telling people that," he says, leaning forward so that he can shake my hand, too. He's a good six inches shorter than Rosé, his hair bright orangey red, freckles smattering his milk-white skin everywhere that I can see.
"So you're Korean," he says as he steps a little closer. He's also wearing the Gregorstoun sweater vest, but it looks a little big on him.
"Yeah," I say, shifting my weight to my other foot. "But from Texas."
It occurs to me that that might not mean anything to them, and when Rosé says, "Perry and I are both from Northampton," I realize that where she's from doesn't mean anything to me, either. This is a weird bit of culture shock I hadn't really anticipated.
But I nod at the two of them and smile, figuring that fake it till you make it is about to be my new motto around here.
"Well, come along," Rosé says, threading an arm through mine and tugging me back toward the stairs. "I assume you're on your way to the Girls' Tea."
I nod, letting myself be dragged along in her wake with Perry.
"It used to just be the First Years' Tea," he says as we make our way down the stairs. I spot a few portraits of stern-looking men in tartan, as well as some framed black-and-white photographs of uniformed boys standing in front of the school.
"But they're doing a special one just for the girls," he continues, and Rosé sighs, waving her free hand.
"Yes, yes, Perry, I'm sure Nini here could put together what I meant by a 'Girls' Tea,' for heaven's sake. She's Korean, not stupid."
"Thanks? I think?" I say as we come to the bottom of the stairs.
There are more girls milling around now, some who are clearly my age, but a lot who seem younger. Rosé looks at them, the corners of her mouth turning down.
"Poor loves," she says. "There aren't many of us intrepid ladies this year, and I feel it's going to be harder on the younger ones. I've even got one as my roommate, you know. Some little horsey girl."
"Horsey girl?" I ask, and Rosé waves a hand.
"There's always a handful. Those girls entirely too invested in horses. Anyway, there aren't enough of us ladies to pair us all up with our own age group, so some of us have to room with the little ones, yours truly included."
She takes a deep breath, folding her hands in front of her. "Like I said, poor dears. I only have to survive for a year. They're here for ages."
Okay, "survive" is not how I want to think of my time here in my brand-new, exciting life.
"It's not going to be that bad," I say, shrugging. "I mean, we all chose to be here, right?"
"Chae did," Perry said. "I have never chosen to be at Gregors- toun, and I want that noted for the record. And possibly engraved on my headstone."
Rolling her eyes, Chae leans down and says to me, "Perry has been moaning about this place since he was twelve, so I decided I'd come and see what all the fuss was about." Then she flips her long dark hair over one shoulder. "Besides, if it's good enough for a princess, it's certainly good enough for me."
She leans in closer, lowering her voice. "Princess Lisa is here," she says in a stage whisper. "As in the Princess Lisa."
"Right, not the other, off-brand one," I joke. "Do they give her some kind of special tower room or something?"
Rosé wrinkles her nose. "You haven't seen her? She's supposed to be rooming on your floor."
I shake my head. "I have seen no princesses," I say, and then . . .
No.
My mouth dry, I ask, "Do either of you have a phone? So you can show me her picture?"
Perry shakes his head, but Chae looks around before reaching into the waistband of her skirt and pulling out a rose-gold iPhone.
"Chae, it's supposed to stay in your room—you're going to get in trouble," Perry says, but Rosé just holds up one finger, clicking on her phone with the other.
"Here she is," she says. "Shopping in New Town, wearing a truly fabulous coat."
Before she even turns the phone to me, I know, but it's still a shock to the system to see the picture and clearly recognize Princess Lisa.
My roommate.
--
When Princess Lisa joins Gregorstoun this autumn, she'll be the first female royal to do so in the school's hundred-year history. However, Lisa won't be alone in making her mark as part of Gregorstoun's first female class! Let's have a look at some of the other aristocratic ladies who are heading to the Highlands this year.
Lady Miyeon Graham: Youngest daughter of the Earl of Dumfries, Lady Elisabeth recently celebrated her twelfth birthday by renting out the entire Edinburgh Zoo for the weekend. Like her mother, the Countess of Dumfries, Lady Miyeon is quite the equestrian, and we hear she's greatly looking forward to honing her skills at Gregorstoun.
The Honourable Sana McPherson: Miss McPherson is the daughter of the Viscount Dunrobbin, and like Princess Lisa, she will be completing her final year of secondary school at Gregorstoun. Another thing Miss McPherson has in common with Princess Lisa: She was briefly linked romantically to Prince Lucas' best friend, Jaemin Montgomery.
Lady Rosé Worthington: As the daughter of the Duke of Alcott, Lady Rosé is second only to the princess herself in terms of rank. Her mother is noted philanthropist and socialite Ishani Virk, whose wedding to the duke was one of the grandest in recent memory. We're told Lady Rosé has inherited her mother's flair for entertaining, as well as her interest in charity work.
("Ladies of Gregorstoun," from Prattle)