Chapter 1
I got into this elite academy on a special scholarship this year. My hands shook holding the tuition waiver letter.
Everything was covered—tuition, fees, plus a 10,000-dollar annual scholarship. The library's leather armchairs, the gym's imported equipment, and the rooftop garden—they were all mine to enjoy.
But the cafeteria was the real shock. My meals were half off, but the food wasn't. The cheese pizza was topped with imported truffles. The salad bar had fresh lobster and jumbo shrimp. Even the grilled cheese sandwiches used artisanal sourdough and cave-aged cheddar.
Sitting in the bright classroom, surrounded by rich kids in designer uniforms and luxury watches, I knew what I had to do—fit in.
But my scholarship classmate, Keira Marsh, didn't seem to care. She didn't look excited. She looked disgusted. Every glance she shot around the room was pure contempt.
During the morning break, Gabriel Sinclair, one of the rich kids, walked over to our desks. He wasn't exactly polite, but he didn't act all high and mighty either.
"Can someone grab me some breakfast from the cafeteria?" he asked.
I was just about to say yes when a sharp voice suddenly cut through the air.
Keira said, "God, you're so annoying. Just because you've got cash to burn, you think you're all that?
"If I'd known this place was full of spoiled trust fund babies like you, I would've never come here."
*****
The classroom fell dead silent. A pin drop would've sounded loud.
Gabriel's laid-back attitude vanished in a flash, his face turning stormy.
I quickly stood up, tugged at Keira's sleeve, and gave him an apologetic smile.
"Uh... it's fine, Gabriel, I'll go. I'll get it for you," I blurted out.
His expression eased a little. He pulled out his phone and added me on WhatsApp. "I'll send you my order," he said.
I was just about to head out with my phone when Keira suddenly grabbed my arm, her nails practically digging into my skin.
"Are you serious? You're really gonna play lackey for that trust fund brat?" she snapped.
"What's it to you?" I frowned, shaking off her hand. "You don't want to do it, fine. Don't stop me."
Her face went from bright red to ghostly white in a heartbeat. She stiffened her neck and let out a cold snort.
"We're not the same. I've got some backbone. I came here to study, not to wait on a bunch of leeches," she shot back.
That was the last straw for Gabriel.
He took a step forward, towering over Keira.
He said, his voice icy, "If you hate it here so much, then leave. You think your scholarship and free ride just fell out of the sky? The donations my family and people like us give every year could pay your way for a decade."
He pointed at Keira's backpack—the high-end model issued only to scholarship students, worth three times the standard one.
He went on, "Everything you wear, everything you use—it's all funded by the people you just called leeches. A little late for your noble act, isn't it?"
Keira's lips trembled, but her eyes stayed defiant. She held her head high and snapped back.
She said, "I'm only here for the top-notch teachers. If it weren't for the faculty, I wouldn't step foot in this place. You can donate all you want—it doesn't make you any smarter."
Watching her dig her heels in, I finally lost my patience.
I said, my voice turning cold, "Keira, have you got any shame at all? They gave you a free ride, and this is how you act? One more stunt like this, and I'm done being polite."
She bit down hard on her lower lip, tears welling up in her eyes but refusing to fall. Instead, she jerked her hand away from me, grabbed her backpack, and stormed toward the door.
As she passed Gabriel, she couldn't help but throw out one last insult. "Just sharing a classroom with you people makes my skin crawl."
The door slammed shut behind her, and I quickly turned to the others, putting on an awkward smile as I tried to smooth things over.
I said, "Just ignore her. She doesn't get it, and it has nothing to do with me. I'll go get Gabriel's breakfast right now. I'll be back in a flash."
With that, I clutched my phone and dashed off to the cafeteria.
No way was I letting Keira, that ungrateful, clueless girl, ruin the opportunity I'd fought for.