ST. VERITAS HIGH: THE DIAMOND LEAGUE.

CHAPTER 3 :A DIFFERENT WORLD.

Aurora Simpson took her first step through the gates of St. Veritas High.

And immediately, she knew.

This was not a normal school.

She stopped walking.

For a few seconds, she simply stood there, staring.

The campus stretched farther than she had imagined from outside the gates. Magnificent buildings rose on either side of the perfectly paved road, their glass windows reflecting the afternoon sunlight.

There were gardens everywhere.

Not ordinary gardens.

Perfectly trimmed hedges surrounded fountains that looked as though they belonged in a five-star hotel. Tall trees lined the walkways, their branches carefully shaped and maintained.

And then there were the cars.

Aurora's eyes widened.

Cars of different models moved slowly through the school grounds, dropping students off at various buildings.

She spotted a black luxury SUV.

Then another.

Then a silver sports car.

Then a long, elegant vehicle she couldn't even identify.

She blinked.

These are students?

She tightened her grip around the handle of her suitcase.

Students walked past her in perfectly pressed uniforms, their backs straight and their steps confident.

Nobody seemed rushed.

Nobody seemed lost.

They moved as though they belonged here.

Aurora suddenly became painfully aware of herself.

She looked down at her own uniform.

Her fingers unconsciously curled around the edge of her skirt.

"This doesn't even look like my old school." She muttered under her breath.

She immediately felt out of place.

At her former school, students walked around carrying ordinary backpacks and talking loudly between classes.

Here...

Everything seemed calculated.

Elegant.

Expensive.

Almost unreal.

Aurora swallowed.

Maybe she had made a mistake.

Maybe she didn't belong here.

"You're Aurora, right?"

Aurora jumped slightly.

She turned around.

A woman in her early thirties stood behind her, holding a tablet.

She wore a neat navy-blue staff uniform and had a warm smile on her face.

"You're Aurora Simpson?"

Aurora nodded quickly.

"Yes, ma'am. I'm Aurora Simpson."

The woman's smile widened.

"Welcome to St. Veritas High."

Aurora nodded politely.

"Thank you."

"I'm going to be your tour guide today. I'll show you around the campus, help you settle in, and explain some of the things you'll need to know."

She glanced at the tablet.

"You're entering Year Two, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Perfect. Then let's begin."

Aurora picked up her backpack.

"Yes, ma'am."

---

The first place the woman took her was the art building.

Aurora stepped inside and immediately stopped again.

There was air conditioning.

Not one small air conditioner struggling to cool an entire classroom.

Several units were built neatly into the ceiling.

The classroom itself looked nothing like the classrooms she was used to.

There were no battered wooden desks.

No chalkboard.

No piles of old textbooks.

Instead, every student had a sleek tablet placed on their desk.

Aurora stared.

"Are those... tablets?" She asked, looking bewildered.

The woman laughed softly.

"Yes."

"Do they use them for classes?"

"Every day."

Aurora slowly nodded.

Of course they did.

Why was she still surprised?

The woman continued showing her around.

She showed her the cafeteria.

Aurora nearly forgot to close her mouth.

The dining hall was enormous, with different sections for different meals and several counters offering food she had only ever seen in expensive restaurants.

Then came the bathrooms.

Even the bathrooms looked luxurious.

After that, the woman showed her the lockers and storage areas where students could keep their books and personal belongings.

Everywhere Aurora looked, there was something new.

Something expensive.

Something she had never seen in an ordinary secondary school.

Finally, they stopped outside a quiet corridor.

The woman handed Aurora a thick, dark-colored book.

"Here."

Aurora took it.

She looked down at the silver words printed across the cover.

ST. VERITAS HIGH — RULE BOOK

"This contains everything you need to know about the school," the woman explained.

"The rules, regulations, academic expectations, student conduct, dormitory policies and other important information."

Aurora nodded.

"Thank you, ma'am."

"Read it carefully."

Aurora glanced down at the book again.

"I will."

She was about to place it inside her bag when something caught her attention.

Students were walking past them.

Aurora looked at their uniforms.

Then she looked at her own.

A small bronze star was attached neatly to the upper part of her blazer.

But not everyone had the same star.

One student had a silver one.

Another had a gold star.

Aurora frowned.

"Ma'am?"

The woman turned.

"Yes?"

Aurora pointed toward the students.

"I've noticed something."

"What?"

"The stars."

She looked at her own bronze star.

"Some students have bronze. Some have silver. Some have gold."

The woman nodded.

Aurora hesitated.

"What do they mean?"

The woman opened her mouth to answer.

But before she could say anything—

A strange sound filled the air.

Whirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr—

Aurora looked up.

Her eyes widened.

Three helicopters was flying directly over the school.

"What?" She didn't know when a sound escaped her mouth.

The woman glanced upward.

Aurora stared.

The helicopters slowly descended toward a landing area farther across the campus.

Aurora's mouth fell open.

"Helicopters?"

The woman smiled as though this was completely normal.

Aurora pointed toward it.

"I can see some helicopters!."

"I can see that."

"But..."

Aurora stared at her.

"In a school?"

The woman laughed.

"Yes."

Aurora looked around.

"Students come to school in helicopters?"

Before the woman could answer, loud screams erupted from somewhere ahead.

Students began running toward the landing area.

"Zayn is back!"

"He's finally back!"

"Look!"

"They're here!"

"The Diamond boys!"

" I love the twins jacket ! "

Aurora's eyebrows knitted together.

"What is happening?"

The woman looked toward the crowd.

Aurora followed her gaze.

Students were gathering around the helicopter.

Some were taking pictures.

Others were whispering excitedly.

Aurora couldn't understand why everyone seemed so interested.

"Who are they?"

The woman looked back at Aurora.

"Don't worry about that."

"But—"

"You were asking about the bronze star."

Aurora blinked.

"Oh. Yes."

The woman gestured toward Aurora's blazer.

"St. Veritas has different League levels."

"League?"

Aurora nodded.

"There are four."

She pointed toward the star.

"You're in the Bronze League."

Aurora looked down at the bronze star again.

"Why?"

"You'll learn more about it in your Rule Book."

The woman gave her a knowing smile.

"But just remember this for now: the League system is an important part of life at St. Veritas."

Aurora nodded slowly.

"Okay."

She glanced back toward the helicopter.

The crowd around it had grown even larger.

"Do all the students belong to a League?"

"Yes."

"And they all take classes together?"

"Yes."

Aurora frowned.

"So Bronze students and Gold students study together?"

"They can."

"What about Diamond?"

The woman smiled faintly.

"You'll learn everything you need to know."

Aurora opened her mouth again.

But the woman gently raised a hand.

"Trust me. The Rule Book will answer most of your questions."

Aurora looked down at the thick book in her hands.

"Okay, ma'am."

"Now, let's get you to your classroom."

---

By the time Aurora reached her classroom, the commotion outside had begun to fade.

She stepped inside.

Her eyes immediately wandered around the room.

Everything was spotless.

The desks were arranged perfectly.

Large windows allowed sunlight to flood the room.

A digital screen covered most of the wall at the front.

Aurora placed her suitcase beside her desk and sat down.

She ran her fingers over the smooth surface of the desk.

"Wow."

She couldn't help smiling.

This was beautiful.

She pulled out the Rule Book.

The cover felt heavy beneath her fingers.

She opened it.

The first few pages explained the school's academic system, student expectations and general regulations.

Aurora continued reading.

Then she reached the section about accommodation.

Her eyes moved slowly across the page.

All enrolled students are required to reside within St. Veritas High's designated dormitory facilities every Saturday and Sunday during the academic term.

Aurora blinked.

She read it again.

"Wait..."

She turned the page.

The rule was repeated under the dormitory regulations.

Weekend residence is compulsory for all League students.

Aurora leaned back in her chair.

"So I have to stay here every weekend?"

She frowned.

She had expected school to mean Monday through Friday.

Go to school.

Return home.

Repeat.

But St. Veritas apparently had different ideas.

She continued reading.

There were pages and pages of rules.

Dress codes.

Academic requirements.

Dormitory regulations.

Extracurricular activities.

League regulations.

Aurora stopped at the last section.

She stared at the words.

LEAGUE CLASSIFICATION

Her fingers rested against the page.

She looked down at the bronze star on her uniform.

For the first time since arriving...

Aurora wondered what exactly she had gotten herself into.

Outside the classroom window, students were still whispering excitedly about the helicopter.

About the three boys who had arrived.

About the Diamond League.

Aurora knew none of them.

She didn't know their names.

She didn't know why everyone was so fascinated by them.

And she certainly didn't know that one of those three boys would eventually become the person she least expected to matter to her.

For now...

She was simply Aurora Simpson.

A new student.

A Bronze League student to be precise.

And a girl who had just stepped into a world she didn't understand.