Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve The clouds are dense and opaque on the first day of my senior year, which kind of mirrors the state of my feelings. In my entire lifetime, I’ve never detested going to school so badly.

Mr. Ramirez kindly offered to drive me to school in his Rolls, which I can’t say no to, since he had made it clear that he wants to send me off on my first day. Looks like the secret of me being the Ramirez’s freeloader won’t be kept for long.

During the drive, Mr. Ramirez tried his best to easy off my nerve, but I kept tailing off from our conversation. As we approach the front gate of school, my symptom of nausea is getting worse.

The parking area is already packed with fancy cars when we get there. In my old school, everyone had limited budget for cars, and as a result it was common to see dingy second handed Honda and Pirus everywhere on campus. But things clearly work different here. Mercedes and Porsche would still be considered as normal. I just saw a flashy sport car with doors opened like wings pull into the student lot.

But our Rolls stands out, nevertheless. I feel people’s eyes flickered to me the moment I open my passenger door.

The attention is just unnerving.

Mr. Ramirez wishes me “good luck”, which I mumble a vague “yes” in return and jump off the car. As I start heading towards the front office, I let my hair fall off my shoulder, blocking all curious looks from the outside.

There’s already a long line in the front office when I walk in. It’s shocking to see how many students are transferring into this school each semester. Mom told me that this is the most prestigious schools in the city, so whenever there’s an open seat, everyone wants in.

I scan the room and try to talk to the student in front of me, “Umm, excuse me?”

He turns around with a smile, “yeah?”

“Hey. Is this the line for new transfers?”

“Yes. We are supposed to pick up our schedule and map here,” he seems to be glad for having someone to talk to. “My name is Eddie. Are you a new student as well?” He looks friendly, so I take the initiative to offer my hand. “Yes, nice to meet you. And I’m Natalia Moore by the way.” But his expression changes all of a sudden. He stares at me in shock, as if he just witnessed a ghost popping up from the thin air.

“Natalia?” he repeats, “THE Natalia Moore?”

I felt a surge of bewilderment. “Yeah… I guess so?”

His face immediately grows cold at that. Without saying another word and leaves my hand hanging in the air.

What the hell was that?

I can’t believe his sudden change of mood. Either this Eddie boy is insane, or there’s something going on without me knowing. As I raise my head to look around, people are quick to avoid any eye contacts with me, even though they are clearly staring at me a moment before.

Ok, something is definitely off.

I was afraid that I might become a target when everyone finds out about who I am. But can rumors spread this fast? Even if I am the stepdaughter of the multi-billionaire Shawn Ramirez, do they have to be so hostile towards me?

I keep wondering about this as the line moves on quickly. Finally it’s my turn. “Your name, please?” the red-haired lady behind the reception desk idly asks.

“Natalia Moore,” I inform her.

She snaps her head right up, looking at me with an immediate light of awareness in her eyes. And that’s when I can’t hold it back anymore. “I’m sorry. Have you heard of my name before?”

“No,” she automatically denies, but then quickly corrects herself. “Well, yes actually. I’ve seen your profile, very impressive transcript. No doubt you will fit right into our school. So, here’s your schedule and the campus map. Let me briefly walk you through.”

She gives me a short orientation and wishes me good luck. Her reaction seems normal enough, but I can sense something is hidden from me beneath the surface.

My first class is literature in Building 8, which is not so hard to find following the map. As I start walking down the corridor and approach the classroom, my heart starts thumbing crazy. It gets worse when I open the door and everyone’s eyes dart back towards me.

I gulp, pretending to be calm, and walk up to the teacher to explain my situation. Fortunately, my literature teacher doesn’t give me that weird look upon hearing my name. She hands me a reading list and assign me to an empty seat at the back.

As I start walking down the aisle, I accidently meet with some curious eyes-let’s just say that their looks are not exactly friendly.

This out-of-nowhere hostility carries on throughout the entire morning. A girl deliberately ignored me when I asked her direction of the classroom; one guy even bumped into my shoulder while passing by, even though it’s an empty hallway. Quiet whispers of my names follow me wherever I go, but as soon as I turn around to look for the speaker, the crowd immediately spreads out.

It’s so frustrating! Embarrassing even. Here I am, haven’t done anything wrong, and I’m already the school freak. Worst part is I don’t even know why.

During lunch break, I walk into the café seeing that people have already sat in groups. That Eddie boy I met at the Front Office is sitting with his new friends at a large table, talking and laughing excitedly about something.

So clearly this is nothing against newcomers. Just me. I hold my tray and walk to a table with empty seats. But a ginger-haired girl at the same table instantly stops me, “this seat is taken.” I felt a flush of embarrassment, but quickly gather my courage to stand up to her. “I’ll scootch over when your friends get here.” She gawks at me with a bizarre look, “there’s plenty seats here. Just find another table.”

I roll my eyes at her and take my seat anyway. “No thanks. I’m fine right here.”

My extraordinary bold behavior must have shocked her. She glares at me with rage-filled eyes, but it’s gonna take more than staring to scare me away.

And right at this moment, I hear someone calling my name. I turn around and find that it’s Katherine, the pretty girl I met at the school tour.

She’s even more stunning today. Her honey-brown hair is slightly curved to the back, seeming both stylish and casual. She has a very beautiful and angular face, which is accentuated even more by a light apply of makeup. She makes every girl in this café take a hint on her self-esteem.

She walks toward me with a bright smile. “Hey you made it! How’s your first day?”

I lose my tongue momentarily, but she has already placed her tray down and taken her seat beside me.

With her face, she can join any other table in this café, but no, she chooses to sit with the newly appointed school freak. How astonishing.

The ginger head sniffs at us. But Katherine ignores her, and turns to me whispering, “tough day, huh?”

“You bet,” I mutter.

“Wanna know why?” She looks at me apprehensively, “Valerie Vale issued a ban on you yesterday on her socials. Your name, face, all over the place. Everyone in this school takes you as a target now.”

I almost cry out.

That blonde bitch Valerie? Has she lost her fucking mind? So taking my phone and locking me up aren’t enough, and now she pulled this? This outrageous, even by her standard!

“Any ideas why she did this to you?”

I snap, “Yeah I have a theory.” Must be her pathetic obsession with Eason.

“This is bad, you know? She’s like a queen in this school. No one dares to go against her.”

I guessed so. Queen Valerie and King Eason, long may they reign.

“But what about you?” I grow worried towards her, “if they saw us talking,” “Oh, don’t worry,” she gives me a playful wink. “She wasn’t being fair about this. I think I’ve chosen my side.”

I can’t express my gratitude. Just when I thought I can’t make a single friend in this school, epot I wove she showed up and offered me some kindness. I want to thank her for everything, but her eyes dart to my back,”speaking of the bully. Look who just entered the café.”