Borrowed Identity

Chapter 1: New Day, Same Bullies

*Maxine’s POV*

While walking to the station, I keep taking long and deep breaths while keeping my head down, just to ease my nervousness and tension. I don’t want to go to school but I also don’t want my parents to be disappointed. I want to give them a better future but in order to do that, I have to raise our family’s rank.

I sighed and whispered to myself,

“How will I be able to do that if there are beings who keeps on stopping me from doing it?”

“I can’t go to summer jobs, my family can’t go to hospitals, we can’t even enter the clinics, not to mention the mall, we can’t even go to temples to pray for Selene’s blessings,”

“D*mn this stupid hierarchy system!” I stomped my feet on the ground, acting like a child, and kick a small rock on the ground on my right, and soon after that, I heard a loud meowing of a cat as I wince at the sight of the black cat running away.

Oops, I’m sorry.

I decided to just wait patiently for the public cart to arrive, I can just walk my way to the university but someone from my school might see me and I don’t want to have to enter the school looking like a beggar.

Even though I am in Class D.

“Uhm excuse me,” I heard someone speak, so I turned my head towards my left, where I saw a grand chariot, a flag, waving on top of it, the windows are open and it is being pulled by two white horses and two brown horses.

Tsk! Another royal blood.

The coachman called me, I bowed my head first and stand straight but I did not dare to look at his eyes, instead, I just looked straight at their chariot’s intricate design especially on the door of the chariot, where a dragon is circling the moon.

“Yes, sir?” I asked, still having no eye contact.

“Looked at me vampire, don’t you know that you are being disrespectful?” The coachman said.

“I am sorry sir,” I said and looked straight to him. I don’t want to get in trouble, the passengers of this chariot feel like they are very powerful vampires, I can’t afford to anger them.

“Good. Now, I’m sorry for bothering you, but do you know the way to the Universidad de Vampiros?” The coachman asked.

I guess they’re lost.

“Yes, sir, it’s that way,” I answered while pointing on my right, and straight ahead of the road where my school is located.

“Just a straight way?” He asked, again.

“Yes, sir,” I replied.

“Alright, thank you,” he said and started manipulating the carriage, so I bowed my head again. As they pass by in front of me, I was able to see a glimpse of the passengers. It was a man with grey hair and a woman with brown hair. The man looked at me so I quickly bowed my head.

Cripes!

Soon after I slowly lift my head and they are out of my sight already and then I heard the loud rang of the school bell so I just smiled weakly and whispered, “well, I’m late again,”

I waited for another thirty minutes before the public cart arrive. I always use this as transportation when going to school and as a payment, I’ll just give the driver a kilo of rice.

“Thank you,” I said as I got down of the cart and walked straight to the gate of the university.

“You’re late again,” the security guard said while checking the things on my bag but I didn’t bother talking to him, I just thanked him and run towards my classroom.

Thankfully I’m a vampire, at least I can just run faster.

While running in the hallway, I saw a group of students walking their way towards me. I stared at their ID cords and saw a golden color so I quickly put myself on a halt and walked on the side of the hallway and waited for them to pass by me while bowing my head but they still saw me.

“Oh, look who’s here!” A girl with blonde hair, skinny and tall body, speak as they stop walking right in front of me.

Don’t fight back. Just let them be.

That’s what the disciplinary office told me when I asked for their help last year. They can’t do anything against the royal students here or else they might lose the financial support from the royal families.

“A trash can?” Another girl with black hair and chubby cheeks said, she’s smaller than me but her status is way higher than mine so the others just laughed at what she said, not knowing that I’m also offended with the way they talk to me but since they are royal blood, I can’t do anything but stay still and listen to their insults.

“You’re right, a trashcan,” the girl in the middle said. She’s Princess Dianna Lauva El Credentio, the eighth princess of the Credentio Kingdom from the southern west of Mount Luna. A real, pure blooded vampire, very powerful, unlike me, just an ordinary and infamous one. Princess Dianna was also the one I interfered with during my first day here as a student and since then, she’s been targetting me and bullying me.

“And you know, we should take care of the environment,” Princess Dianna said as her obsequious followers keep nodding at her.

I heard her proudly say, “Which is why I will do this,” she said right then, I felt a gush of hot and steaming coffee on my head down to my blouse.

“Ahh!!!” I shouted as she keeps throwing the hot coffee on me while I crouch on my knees and try to protect myself by using my hands as a shield but it’s still of no use since the coffee just keep on dripping on to me. As her glass cup is finally empty, she throws the cup on my head which causes it to break and for my forehead to bleed.

“Ow!” I winced as I wipe the blood off of my now injured forehead, while silently sobbing and wishing that she and her friends will just leave me here, but fate has never been good to me.

Princess Dianna grabbed my pure black hair and pulled me up to stand.

“Ow! Please let me go!” I cried myself as she keeps on pulling my hair and her nails are sinking onto my scalp.

“Why should I listen to a low class vampire like you, huh?” She said as she pushed me hard to the wall of a classroom. My heads spinning already and I really want to go back home now and just lay on my bed. I tried to get up but Princess Dianna’s rumored boyfriend, Prince El, kicked me so hard on my back that I end up smashing my body back to the ground.

“Ouch! Stop, please!” I pleaded but nobody heard me, they just keep acting as if they can’t hear me.

“Huh? What was that?” A man’s voice whispered to my ear and I’m sure it’s Prince El.

“El, don't get too close to her, or else you’ll be just like her,” I heard Princess Dianna talked to Prince El.

“Nah, I will never be like her. She’s just a nobody,” Prince El said and stomped his foot on my body nonstop and the followers of Princess Dianna did the same.

“Ow! Please! Please stop!” I cried again and again while crying and spitting blood from my mouth. I may be a vampire but I’m not as strong as they are.

They keep kicking and hitting me with their bags until the bell for the second period finally rang and that is when they stopped.

“We should go, we still have a quiz on that old, useless professor,” Princess Dianna said and they started walking back to their classroom. I can feel the pain all over my body, especially on my back.

“O-Ow!” I writhe in pain and as soon as I was able to sit and lay my back on the wall, I noticed that there are a lot of students watching and looking at me.

So you guys just watched them kick me and did not bother to help me? Stupid Maxine! Of course they won’t help you! No one wants to help you here unless they want to be dragged on this mess and nobody wants that.

I whimpered and tried my best to stand up but my ankle is broken so I can’t stand properly and I ended up slumping back to the floor.

“H-Help,” I whispered since my throat hurts too. I looked at my classmates on the left side of the students gathered here and mumble once more, “help,” but they just looked away and turned their backs on me.

Right, no one will help me.

I pushed my self up and even if my foot hurts, I keep on limping-walking towards my classroom. I didn’t bother going to the school’s clinic, it’s only exclusive for Class C to Class S.

As I enter our classroom I decided to just sit at the back and beside the open window. I looked outside and saw the building for Class C and from where I am sitting right now, I can see most of them staring at me and laughing, some of them are looking at me with pity but then their friends will call them and tell them that don’t bother to get involved with me or else they’ll have the same fate as I did.

“Is everyone here?” I heard the voice of our professor so I focused on our lesson.

“Attendance first,” the professor said and started calling out our surnames.

“Delavan,” my professor called out my surname and I tried my best to raise my right hand even if my shoulder is hurting so much.

“P-Present,” I said and I saw how the professor looked at me with pity, so I just lowered my head and pretended that I was writing something on my notebook. I can also feel my classmates staring at me, I mean, who wouldn’t be? My white blouse looked brown now because of the coffee, my forehead is still bleeding and I just keep wiping the blood off, the back of my blouse and my sleeves are covered with shoe prints and dirt, even my skirt has been ripped on the side, good thing I’m wearing a short.

After three hours of lecture, the bell finally rang for our lunch break but the bad news is I can’t afford to buy a single meal in the cafeteria and the good news is that I don’t have to go to a crowded place where all royal blood is located.

I waited until my classmates left the room before pulling out my lunch from my bag. It’s just the same sandwich as my breakfast. Plain bread with a sunny side up egg as it’s stuffing plus a bottle of water which I got fresh from the river near our house.

After an hour, our lunch break is finally over and another three hours of lessons left before I can come back home since my class starts at nine in the evening till three in the morning.

I really can’t focus now, my whole body aches.

The fourth period of the day has finished without me realizing it.

“Alright class, see you tomorrow! Class dismissed!” The professor shouted as her cold voice echoed around the classroom.

Last subject to go.

“Uhm, excuse me?” One of my female classmates approached me while keeping her head down.

Well, this is new.

“Uhm, yes?” I asked her and smiled at her but because of the pain in my jaw and cheeks due to being pushed earlier on the ground, it turns out to be a forced wistful smile.

“H-Here,” she said and put a piece of paper on my desk then hurriedly walk away, back to his friends and then I saw her cried while her friends are comforting her and glaring at me.

What did I do?

I decided to just ignore them and pick the piece of paper.

“Please proceed to Class E’s old building, it’s about your scholarship,”

Signed by the owner of Universidad de Vampiros

That is what’s written on the paper.

My scholarship? I hope they won’t remove it, it’s the only way for me to enroll here.

I decided to just put the paper on my table, underneath my notebook where I was doodling.

“Go back to your seats!” A loud voice of our female professor boomed around the classroom so my classmates, lazily went back to their respective seats. No one really likes this subject, except me since this subject focus more on the religious belief of vampires. It’s about our Goddess, Selene, the Moon Goddess from the Greek books and in Latin, she’s called Luna, which I have read hundreds of times already in the library, a place where most of the Class S students don’t want to be in.

“Today, we will discuss the relationship about our beloved Goddess, Selene, to our ancient ancestors,” Professor Hilda said.

“But before that, I have to check your attendance first,” she added and started the roll call but when she mentioned my surname, one of my male classmates, replied to her.

“Don’t bother looking for her professor, she’s over there at the back, the dirty and ugly one,” he said and the others laughed at me. I bit my lip to suppress my tears.

Well, you don’t have to rub it in, you know.

“Hush! You even looked like a grandpa with that hair color,” the professor said which shocked me because it was the first time that someone defended me. I looked at my professor and was about to smile at her but then,

“Don’t bother with her unless you want to anger the royal bloods. We all do not want that, right?” She asked the rest of the class and they all agreed.

“Let’s just proceed with our lesson and ignore her,” the professor added. I kept my head down once more and let myself cry silently.

Oh, dear Goddess, why does no one consider my feelings too?