Aurelia's POV

"There you go Aurelia! Wonderful brevity and grace."

I bowed in respect. "Thank you, Miss."

"As for the rest of you," She began, "make sure your chins are up and one foot is in front of the other! You look like a collection of zombies when you walk like that. No one wants a zombie-walking lady in their abodes." 

I inwardly cringed at the analogy she chose.

The girls immediately straightened themselves up and continued walking to their classes. Instructors would watch and make sure the girls are acting proper and with beauty. Nothing else would be tolerated. 

I was a victim of nepotism. Nobody truly loved me for me. 

It's only because of my wealthy family and upbringing. I was taught manners and to live without parvenu, to write cursive with a flourish at the end of every letter, drink only tea with a pinky up, and to never ever say unnecessary things that would distract from the conversation at hand.

At this moment in time, I was on my way to Class A study. The class I'm in is only available for selected students with exceptional smarts and manners of course. I'm convinced they only let me in because of my family name. I'm truly not that bright. I'm starting to get tired of it.

If I were to say anything of the sort in front of a counselor or instructor in the school, that would be my one-way ticket to expulsion. Of course there would be no other way to avoid it, but if I went to a normal public school for at least a year, there would be no harm right? Who said I couldn't continue living like a lady in a public school? Surely not everyone knows about my familial history. There would be boys, but I don't think there would be many of them.

Believe it or not, the only males I've ever talked to were my own father and diction instructor. Otherwise, I was ordered not to associate with them. I have no idea why.

There would also be the subject of sports. We don't have sports teams in this school besides indoor tennis. They always said that sports were bad for your image. If people took pictures of you sweating, that would be degrading. We don't want those types of pictures in our history. However, my mom allowed me to do ballet since I was a little girl. I'm secretly good at hip-hop too. I love it!

I finished up my homework and slid it into my folder, then back into my bag. I looked up at the clock and sighed when there was thirty minutes left of the study hall. I turned around and searched for my best friend, who was all the way in the back. She's the only person in this entire school who I trust. I care about her immensely. 

There was no teacher around, so I gestured for her to sit in the empty seat next to me. She acts proper when superiors are around, but when they're gone, she's just like a normal girl. Her parents are wealthy, but they don't have a very important role in the world, so she's free to act how she chooses outside of school.

She quietly sat down into the seat next to mine and grinned. "Hey Reli! I haven't seen you in a while."

I giggled and said, "It's only been two hours, Anastasia. Is it possible to miss someone in that short amount of time?"

"Duh! If that person is really important to you, then of course!"

The door opened and we immediately sat up straight and pretended we were having a logical conversation with elegant hand motions. "That's a very... selcouth idea of yours, Anastasia. Do you think it's possible?" I asked to start up a random conversation.

She put a finger on her chin thoughtfully. "Now that I think about it a second time, it's probably only possible by working with a silkscreen. Oh~ how I hope it would be possible for use in our normal homes one day.."

I was on the verge of laughter. The instructor thinks we're talking about something logical, but we seriously have no idea what anything we're saying means!

The teacher that walked in raised an eyebrow at us and grabbed something from the desk. "Hello girls," she said, "I just forgot to grab something from my desk. I'll be leaving for a bit so make sure everything here is in order, Aurelia."

Anastasia grew an irk mark at the teacher for excluding her, but kept an elegant smile on her face so she wouldn't get in trouble. I nodded and said, "All will be well, Shira-san, I'll make sure of it."

Once Shira was out of the room and the door was shut, Anastasia and I slumped into our seats and ran a hand down our faces. "I just wanna end this year already," she said. I silently agreed with her, but students were staring at us, so I told her to sit up straight and act proper for now.

We don't wish to get into trouble this close to the end of the second semester.

I was debating on whether or not to tell Anastasia about my decision to go to a public high school. Will she like the thought or not? Will she want to come with me? She would handle it better than I would anyway.

"H-Hey, Tasia? I have a question to ask of you," I whispered.

"Hm? Stuttering isn't like you Reli. Is it that serious?"

I nodded and pressed my two pointer fingers together nervously. "If I wanted to go to a regular p-p-public school next year, would you come with me? I know your parents are more lenient than mine so it shouldn't be-"

"OF COURSE I WOULD!" She shouted standing up suddenly, causing the chair behind her to topple over.

I gasped at the sudden jolt of movement and looked up at the class after the shock. The girls behind us looked up from their homework then collectively eye-rolled since they know Anastasia's ways. She quickly put her hands over her mouth and sat back down into a chair that was slightly cracked because of her.

"Of course I would!" She whispered back. "How will you get your parents to agree though.... You know how they are. The only public school they'll send you to is going to be the most rigorous one in the Miyagi prefecture, Shiratorizawa. I wanna go to Aoba Johsai!"

I laughed nervously. "I want to go to Karasuno... C-Can't you go there instead?" The reason I like Karasuno so much is because it doesn't stand out. The uniforms are black, the buildings aren't really a 'sight to see', and it doesn't have a big stamp on Miyagi itself.

She frowned at me with pity. "Aoba Johsai is known for both their girl's and boy's volleyball teams. I love volleyball, so I'm thinking that if I join them, I'd be able to get to nationals and be noticed by an agent or something. Even if we're separated by school, we can still hang out on the weekends right?"

"You love volleyball that much huh.. It depends on my schedule. You know how hard it is to hang out outside of school because of it, Tasia.. I guess, I'll just be texting you until I'm able to see you again."

This is what I feared the most- being separated from my best friend. I'll be all alone in a school where I don't know anyone, and don't exactly know what to expect. She knows so much more than I do about this stuff.

School ends in a week. That's the only time I'll have to hang out with her. She's my only friend, so I gotta make it count!

I'm so nervous..