The alarm went off around the dorms at precisely seven am, signaling everyone had an hour to get ready before going to the cafeteria for breakfast. 

Witty yawned, covering up his mouth with his hand. "I still feel like I could fall back asleep during breakfast." He sighed heavily, closing his eyes and pushing up his glasses.

Sidney picked up a pillow and hugged it as she sat down beside him. "I am not used to all that sleep. My body is just - I am still tired. I mean I will be until I can get used to this sleeping pattern." She covered her mouth with her hand as she yawned.

Nate closed his eyes and slouched down on the couch, putting his feet up on the ottoman. "I'm with Sidney. My body is not used to all this sleep, plus the bed was like a cloud which I am not used to." He said, reaching his arms up in the air and stretching them.

Michael ran a hand through his messy hair, making it look better than it had looked. "I hope I don't fall asleep during one of the classes, that would be bad. That would get me a strike right? I hope not. My teachers back home were understanding." 

Yasmin plopped down in the chair and sighed, stretching her arms over her head. "I keep waking up every hour and I think it is because it is way too quiet. I had a neighbor who had a dog that barked constantly, plus since I lived in the city the street was always busy, and the nightlife was lively." She mused glancing at her watch.

Amelia was bright-eyed and giggled at the others. "Oh come on, it's a new day! The first day of the school year! I feel amazing! I sleep so great!" She exclaimed, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. 

Yasmin giggled, covering her hand up with her mouth at Amelia and her excitement. "It's good to see one of us is awake, maybe you could share some of that energy with us?" She asked in a playful tone. 

Witty pushed up his glasses before a thought struck him. "Does anyone remember the schedule?" He asked, rummaging through his briefcase that all students were given at the last minute. 

Sidney shook her head but then remembered she had stuck it in her jacket pocket. "Yeah, it's right here." She pulled it out and handed it to Witty, who thanked her. "You're welcome." 

Amelia jumped up off the couch and clapped her hands. "Oh, sweet breakfast! I wonder what we will be having? Do you think it's like a four-course meal? All you gotta eat biscuits?" She asked, her eyes widening and her smile growing.

Sidney shook her head and sighed, resting her cheek in her hand. "Am I the only one who can never really eat when they wake up? Two hours or so later, of course, I can eat, but not an hour or half an hour." She asked, sheepishly.

Michael shook his head, getting to his feet and grabbing his briefcase. "No, you're not Sidney. I always skipped breakfast. I could never get myself to eat anything. I would drink a protein shake to hold me over until lunch." 

Yasmin stood up and buttoned the buttons on her black cardigan. "I think we better get to breakfast. We can get the first choice of both food and our table." She pointed out to the beginning to start to walk towards the cafeteria.

Amelia followed behind Yasmin as the others began to file in. "I suggest we get a table on the way back! Then we won't be bugged by anyone and can stay out of Thea's path." She suggested as she skipped beside the black-haired girl.

Witty nodded, tugging his vest down and smoothing it out. "And Dree, she is just as bad as Thea. You would think they were long-lost sisters or something with how they act." He mused pushing up his glasses once again. 

"Either way, I hope I can eat breakfast. If not, I will ask for a protein shake. Do you guys think they have those?" Michael asked, flipping his hair out of his face. "I'll ask when we get there." 

Sidney looked down at her flats, feeling a little bit sheepish at his comment. "Maybe I'll have one too if they do by chance have them." She entered the cafeteria and grabbed a tray and went down the line. 

Witty's eyes scanned over the delicious breakfast choices that had been prepared. "Look at this breakfast, ooh those eggs look amazing." He turned as his tray was filled up by the ladies serving the food. "They're so fluffy, like clouds!"

Nate laughed putting the straw into his orange juice. "You must love eggs, your plate is about full of them. I like eggs, just not as much as you Witty." 

Micheal smiled at the lunch ladies. "Hi, um, do you have a protein shake by chance? Preferably chocolate? Strawberry even?" He asked, to be met with no's. "Oh, okay, regular breakfast it is." He pouted, getting orange juice and a few crepes drizzled with chocolate and powdered sugar.

Once they were all sitting at the table, Sidney looked at the others. "I think the first-day jitters are finally catching up with me and turning my stomach inside out." She sheepishly said, poking at the pancakes on her plate.

Witty stabbed his eggs with his fork and looked up at the others. "I probably should be more nervous than I am but right now I'm not. So, I'm going to eat as much breakfast as I can until my stomach nerves pop up." He pointed out stuffing the eggs into his face and chewing them up.

Sidney picked up a small dish of chocolate hazelnut spread and put it on her pancakes. "I'm hoping I don't run into Thea because I don't think I could handle her this early in the morning." She cut her pancake in half then folded it in half and stabbed it with her fork, taking a bite out of it.

Yasmin picked up the glass and brought it up to her lips, took a sip of her orange juice, and then set it down on the table. "Can you believe that only ten percent of scholarship winners make it to the end?" She asked, shying away from what Sidney said.

"Just look at what I had to deal with, I don't blame them for dropping out. I hope to prove to Headmistress Devona that we can do it and I'm holding out on the promise I made to my family." Sidney vowed, drinking her orange juice.

Nate stuffed the whole pancake into his mouth, looking like a chipmunk as he chewed up his food. "Even when things get tough, we shouldn't stop though. I am sure there is a good reason why we are all here." He said after swallowing his food and getting ready to take another big bite.

Amelia's eyes brightened as she sipped on her orange juice. "Yes, we will prove to everyone we are just as good as nobles! Perhaps even better if we truly push ourselves to succeed!" She cheered, setting her glass down and grinning brightly with a small happy hum.

Thea walked in, her heels tapping on the marble floor, Mia, Dree, and soon-to-be Royal Lady Skye Collins followed right beside her. 

She gazed around the room after grabbing her tray that had been prefilled. "Oh look, the scholarship winners are all alone, how adorable. Just like they will be when they run to their little homes." She teased, mentally scolding herself for how pathetic it was.

Dree laughed and set her tray down, sitting at a table. "They will just be adding onto the percentage that shows those who are not royalty or nobility can never fit in here." She mused in a sickly-sweet voice.

Skye silently sat down beside Dree, pushing her black hair to her back but ended up moving a bit to give the girl some space. She opened up her textbook and her brown eyes began to read some of the things they would be learning about. 

Mia chimed in only because Thea was glaring at her. "The headmistress is way too soft of people like them. Soon they won't even be scholarship winners but every day people will run us royals and nobles out of this academy created for us." Her dead monotone made what she said a bit creepy.

Dree smirked as she pulled her eyes away from the scholarship winners and towards Thea. "What a shame. If that ever were to happen - oh wait, it never will when Thea becomes Crown Princess. Isn't that right? You can rewrite the laws for this school and declare no one, not of noble or royal blood, shall enroll at this academy." She asked, wondering how Thea would react.

Thea  looked at Dree and wracked her brain for an answer. "I can not wait for that day." She couldn't help but nervously laugh. 'I don't think I have that kind of power since The Royal Charm Academy is a private institution run on donations.' She thought, looking at her tray.

Sidney had had enough of what the three girls were saying. She said nothing and pulled out the money from her pocket. 

She silently walked over and set it on the table in front of her. "You need this back. I wasn't the bellhop and it would have been wrong for me to keep it." With those words, she turned around and walked to her table.

Dree picked up the money and held it in her hand before laughing. "Aww, the poor scholarship winner felt bad about what we were saying and gave the money I gave her back. I mean come on, she looked like a bellboy the way she was dressed." She teased condescendingly.

Sidney just focused on her breakfast, trying to 'Don't give in Sidney, just ignore them. They are trying to get a rise out of you and you will not give it to them.' She told herself, taking a bite out of her pancake.

Dree gave a mock pout on her lips as she let out a dramatic sigh. "Nothing to say? This goes to show scholarship winners are cowards who can't stand up for themselves against people with titles."

Michael looked at the other scholarship winners out of the corner of his eyes. "Do we ignore them? We're ignoring them right?" He asked in a hushed tone, glancing over at Thea, Dree, and Mia for a brief moment.

Witty picked up his fork and knife, cutting into these buttery and maple syrup-covered pancakes. "Yes, Michael. We're ignoring them. No good can come from getting involved with people like Thea or Dree." He confirmed, giving Michael a shoulder pat.

Thea continued to eat her breakfast as the others flooded into the cafeteria. 'Dree you little -' She thought, getting cut off by her.

Dree couldn't believe Thea wasn't saying a word. "Pathetic. Can't even stand up for themselves. They won't last a week here and if they do, well, they just got lucky." She replied in a snarky tone, a look of disdain on her face.

Thea sucked in a deep breath and held it for a few seconds, calming her nerves before letting it out. "I doubt luck will have anything to do with it. After all, this isn't a place for scholarship winners, they'll find that out sooner or later."

Dree nodded, feeling a sense of pride welling in her chest. "Oh, did you hear? This year there is a princess who was adopted! Can you believe that? I don't know how to feel about a mere commoner getting adopted by royalty. I get some who are very sympathetic, but they shouldn't be allowed here." 

Thea wracked her brain to figure out what she could mean. "Oh, you must be talking about "Princess" Cyntia? Isn't she also like the oldest princess? Only princess? Or something like that? It was even a news feature I think?" She questioned, recalling how it was a big deal.

Dree took a long sip of her orange juice. "Unfortunately yes, it was a news feature." She glanced at the scholarship winners and glared at them. "Hopefully she'll learn the lesson the scholarship winners need to learn: they don't belong here."

Sidney had remained silent but this was where she drew the line. "I don't know what is so bad about being adopted. I was adopted and I couldn't have been happier. So who cares if she is adopted, as long as she has a loving family, it should be fine." She explained in a strained calm tone, glaring at them.

Thea blinked a few times. 'Sidney was adopted?' She asked herself and looked down at her fluffy pancakes and poked them a few times. 'That wasn't what I expected . . . Cyntia won't be alone in that aspect and please don't let Dree try and use it to do them any harm.'

Dree raised her eyebrows and snorted. "And you think that makes you special? Ha, it doesn't make you anything." She looked straight at Thea and smirked, lacing her fingers together and resting her chin on the back of her hands. "Isn't that right Thea?" She asked slyly, a smirk creeping on her lips.

Thea was once again put on the spot, looking between her table and theirs. "Oh, yes, you're right. Just because someone is adopted doesn't mean they are any more special than us." She quickly added, stuffing some pancakes into her mouth.

Nate could tell that what Dree said bugged Sidney. "Just ignore her. There is nothing wrong with a royal adopting a child." He smiled at her and then continued on a different subject. "I wonder what our first class is." 

Michael sighed, poking at his eggs and looking up at his friends. " I would rather be a knight or guard than anything else. I am not too sure how I will be able to form noble ways." He was a little disappointed he couldn't pursue his dreams.

Yasmin paused mid-bite and furrowed her brows. "Do they even have knights anymore? Isn't that a medieval times thing? Isn't it a King Arthur sort of thing? Didn't that go out of style in the 1500s? Or was it the 1600s?" 

Michael thought about it for a moment and smiled. "A knight is a warrior, who mostly goes by themselves or with a few comrades. A guard is part of a group of military stature who are soldiers. Bodyguards are what is used now rather than knights, they're an elite ground tasked with keeping one person safe."

Yasmin was impressed with his knowledge of such. "Even nowadays a knight doesn't have to be your typical armor-clad person, but someone brave enough to take on any task at hand." She smiled, giving the young man a nod.

Michael felt a small hope that he could be a knight burst aflame. "There are a few bodyguard and military ranks open in my home kingdom. But since I am here I probably will have settled with the title of a lord. I doubt my parents would be thrilled if I became either of those." 

Amelia placed her hand on his shoulder giving him a soft yet encouraging look. "If it is what you want to do, then you should. Your parents have to understand they can't make you do what you don't wanna do." She smiled brightly, withdrawing her hand.

Michael didn't have that luxury. "That is easy for you to say. Your parents aren't overprotective and don't often make it known there are only a few acceptable jobs I could do that wouldn't disgrace them." He said, disappointment in his voice.

Just then the bell rang and Devona's voice came through the intercom positioned around the cafeteria. "Good morning students, in half an hour I expect you all to be in your classes. Thank you." The intercom ended.

Sidney finished up her food and stood up. "I don't know about you guys, but I want to get there early so I can have a bit of time to study and get familiar with what they are doing." She said picking up her tray and setting it on top of the trash can where the trays were to go.

The scholarship winners exchanged looks and followed Sidney. 

This day was going to be one of many tough days, they just hoped they could survive the whole school year.

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A/N:
I would first like to start off by saying thank you everyone who has added this book to your reading list. I am so happy this book seems to be so popular with people which makes me feel really honored. I do hope this book and I, live up to the standards you anticipated that it would. This book has come a long way and I can say for sure I am happy with how I have it now.

I do want to apologize for the delay, I didn't have much inspiration the past months for this book. However I do know and will be updating as much as I can along with Finding Home and Shipwrecked Princess. So, if you have not checked them out please do and feedback is always welcome to help make the books better.

Chapter Talk:
Oh these pure innocent scholarship winners, how they could never know what awaits them this school year. I am sure you can imagine what it will be like for them, but they have each other so that is good at least.

Thea is such a jerk, I mean yeah she has her reasons for being one, but that doesn't mean it is an excuse to get away with it. I am sure everyone hopes she will become a little nicer? Dree is no ball of sunshine either, that girl and Thea could be twins in how they act. Mia only joins in because she doesn't want to be left out.

Edit: I took a lot of what Thea had said and turned it into something Dree would say. As you can tell I'm altering Thea's personality a little. Dree is just down right mean. Thea only goes along with it because she doesn't want to lose friends and because that's the popular belief .

Thanks for reading!