V&M Academy: School Of The Elite

Time seemed to crawl at an agonizing pace as I continuously stared at the clock on the wall above Mr Spencer's head. Each tick of the second hand echoed throughout the room, bringing more anticipation, bringing me closer to my fate. "Pssst!" I turned to the desk across me, where my best friend Lana sat. "Check—your—phone," she mouthed quietly. I nodded, putting my hand under the table to hide it from Mr Spencer sitting at his desk. He looked half asleep. I didn't blame him. This particular week had dragged on so long, and everyone was ready for the much awaited winter break. The pop-up notification on my screen read, "V&M RESULTS OUT NOW." I could hardly contain myself as I grinned at Lana, who returned my expression. If I made it in... Three. Two. One. Finally, as if in response to our collective plea, the bellrang throughtout the school. In an instant, desks were abandoned and books were hastily shoved into bags. Lana and I scrambled out of the classroom into the packed hallways. She grabbed my hand so I wouldn't lose the her. All i could see was the cloud of curly hair on her head as she weaved through the crowd. "Will Nate meet us there?" I asked Lana as we practically sprinted to the library. "Yes," Lana panted breathlessly. "He took his bike. To save a seat place for you." As expected the library was full. Lana and I made our way inside. Nate raised his hand and gestured us to come over. We made our way to him, and as always, i was in awe of him. I had been in love with Nate for as long as I could remember. He had bright blonde hair, the clearest blue eyes, and lips that looked so— "Amy," he smiled at me as I approached. I internally did a backflip when he smiled. Nate was a year older than Lana and me. We met when I was in the 7th grade and he was in the 8th after I accidentally knocked into him and spilled coffee all over him. I was some sort of an outcast, but Nate and Lana took me in. We've been inseparable ever since. Nate would be moving to California for varsity. V&M happened to be in California as well. Now I was fighting for two things. One; to get into my dream school. Two; if I got into my dream school, that meant I'd be close to Nate and I wouldn't have to lose him. Well the other problem was that Nate saw me as his younger sister. How did I know? He had told me. When I was 15, I mustered up the courage to tell him that I really liked him. It was one thing to get rejected by the love of my life, but to get told that he viewed me as his sister? That just crushed me. It took us a very long time to get things back to how they were before my dumbass confession. Of course, Nate could never be with a girl like me. His type was the model-looking blondes, and I was the complete opposite. Nate pulled back the chair for me and made way for me to come through and sit. I sat down, my entire body shaking with fearful excitement. I took a deep breath as I typed in my username and password onto the library computer. I went to my emails, and there it was, the one thing that could change my life forever: V&M Royal Academy. It was a school fit for princes, princesses, heiresses, and billionaires. Unless you were disgustingly rich or had some sort of title, you could only dream of being enrolled at V&M. Well, until the charity state exam was introduced. Once every five years, a state examination was written by the first 2500 candidates to register. Only 5 students out of 2500 qualified for a scholarship at the academy. 5 learners would be picked, one from each grade with the highest ranking score. If only 5 learners were picked out of 2500 students, that meant the other 2495 candidates received nothing at all for their efforts. It was a brutal system, and the odds were as thin as a web, but it was worth a shot. I stared at the email for a long time before opening it. "Are you ready?" Lana asked as she massaged my shoulders. I shook my head. "No, but I have to look eventually, right?" I laughed nervously. Nate crouched down to my level and smiled at me. "You got this." I had studied my ass off, not that I had one in the first place, but I had worked very hard. I was always a straight-A student, and I had won several academic awards. I was now in my junior year, and it would be a dream to spend the last year of my high school career at V&M. Five exams were set for each grade to qualify for a scholarship, which means I would be competing with 499 of the most academic and smartest junior year students across the entire state. "Open it,' Lana nudged me, eager, maybe even a little bit more eager than I was. I took one last deep breath before finally clicking onto the email and opening it. "Dear Miss Fitzroy Good day, Miss Fitzroy. I hope this email finds you well and in good spirits. Two months ago you participated in the Junior Year V&M Charity State Examination, and we are very sorry to inform you that you did not qualify..." I trailed off, my eyes filling with tears. Nate immediately took my hand in his. "Oh no, I'm so sorry, Amy," Lana apologized, closing the email for me and logging out. "They're stupid for not taking you in. It's their loss, really. You are the most brilliant person I have ever met." "But I... I didn't get in," I croaked. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I wiped my eyes. I was dumb to ever think a person like me could ever be accepted into V&M. "Like Lana said, it's their loss," Nate said as he helped me up from the chair. He stroked my hair. "You did your best. That's all that matters." "I'm sorry," Lana said again and again as we left the library. "Tell you what, why don't we get an ice cream sundae to cheer you up?" I shook my head. "It's fine. I'll just go home and sleep it off. See you at school tomorrow." Lana sighed softly. "Call me if you need to talk, okay?" Nate pulled me in for a hug. He smelled like tobacco and cologne. It was the most comforting scent on earth. He kissed the top of my head and finally let me go. You see, this is the kind of s**t that made me think he liked me. He would do things that made messed with my head and confused me. I offered both a teary smile before turning around and slowly walking home. It wasn't a home, but it was all I had. I was adopted when I was seven after my parents died in a car accident. They left me behind, along with my older brother Jake, who was 13, and my younger sister Kate. Kate was only a few months old when it happened. All three of us were put up for adoption. Kate was never adopted and continued staying at the orphanage. I visited her on weekends if I wasn't working. Sometimes I brought her treats or new clothes, but that was once in a blue moon, when I had money to spoil her. Jake was adopted into a good, well-off family. We lost contact for years, but when I finally found him and wanted to reconnect with him, he wouldn't talk to me. In fact, his new family threatened to sue my foster parents if I ever tried to contact him again. I don't remember being too close with Jake back then, but it really hurt me that he wanted nothing to do with me. I wasn't so lucky with my own new family. I asked myself why they had adopted me in the first place if they would treat me the way they did. Most of my childhood with Erica and Harold was blurry, but I remembered the beatings and the bruises. I had to work ever since I turned sixteen just to have food on my plate. Honestly, I don't even know how I survived before that. As soon as I opened the door, Harold's rough palm collided hard with my cheek. I staggered back, stunned by the harsh sting that spread across my face like wildfire. The room seemed to shrink around me as tears welled in my eyes. I stood frozen, the imprint of his hand burning into my skin. "Just where the f**k were you?!" His voice rang in my ears. "T-The l-l-library," I stuttered. I burst into tears, not because he slapped me, no, that was usually every day, but because I was already having the shittiest day of my life and he just had to make it worse. "And who the f**k do you think was gonna make dinner?! What am I gonna f*****g eat?! The f*****g table?!" In that moment, the door burst open, and Erica scurried in. I could tell she was anxious. She took one look at me and then looked up at her husband. "I'm sorry," she began apologizing. "The interview lasted longer than I thought it would, and I couldn't—" Erica yelped as Harold grabbed her by the hair and dragged her across the room. He threw her petite body hard against the wall, and she crashed onto the floor like a lifeless thing. Harold pulled out a cigarette and a lighter from his pocket and lit it. He took a puff and exhaled sharply. "I'm gonna go take a smoke and a walk. When I'm back, there will be a f*****g hotplate on this table." Harold left, slamming the door hard behind him. After a few minutes, Erica picked herself up slowly. She glared at me with eyes full of rage. In an instant, she took off her left heel and threw it right at me. I jumped out of the way to avoid the blow. When she spoke, her voice was quiet and menacing. "Go to your f*****g room before I kill you." I immediately picked up my bag and my shoes before running to my room and locking the door behind me. I couldn't help it and burst into tears once again. I buried my face in my pillow as I didn't want to make any noise. Erica always had a fit when I cried. The only thing I knew and remembered about my mother was that it was her dream to go to V&M. I thought I could do it for her, but I just failed to fulfill it.