“Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement.”
Matt Biondi
The next morning, Amanda finally found the strength to go back to her habit of waking up early in the morning for her training. It was still dark outside and her body wasn’t cooperating as much as she wanted to because of the jet lag. Yet she managed to put on some trainers pants, a hoodie and a pair of sneakers to go out for a run.
She went out of the dorms’ building, passing through the interior garden that looked extremely creepy the night before when she arrived. There was no one there to see her going out, so she just went ahead and entered the main building, walking with heavy steps towards the entrance, but a voice stopped her.
‘What are you doing?’ The voice came from upstairs, followed by some fast steps on the stairs. Amanda stopped when she heard that voice, but she continued walking, eventually being stopped by a grip on her arm. ‘You can not leave the building without permission!’
Amanda took off the hood on hear head, looking at that person with a frown on her face. She jerked her arm and looked in the eye of the one that tried to stop her. It was a boy… not much older than her.
‘Says who?’ she snorted, making a step forward.
‘You can not leave. The rules do not permit you to leave without announcing the headmaster.’
‘And you are?’ she looked at him from head to toe.
‘I’m…’ the boy replied, but Amanda didn’t let him continue.
‘Look. I’m not gonna flee, okay? I’m just going for a jog, that’s all.’ She shrug and prepared to turn her back on him, but that boy wasn’t going to give up any time soon.
‘It’s six o’clock in the morning! Why are you up so early for a jog?’ he looked at the watch on his hand, then at Amanda, with a confused look on his face, like she just fell from another planet.
‘I can ask you the same thing, but I’m not really interested in your answer. You can come with me if you want. Looking at you outfit, you can run comfortably.’ Amanda lifted her chin, pointing at his shoes.
‘I can not let you…’
‘Okay, okay. I get it, you’ll be in trouble for this.’ She nodded, crossing her arms. The boy sighed relieved, his shoulders letting go of the stiffness like he just got rid of a few rocks he was carrying on his back.
‘Thank you.’ He bowed his head, his voice breathy.
‘Just act like you haven’t seen me. Bye!’ She waved at him and she was gone.
He tried in vain to catch her, she was already too far away from him, the rain and the absence of an umbrella, making it impossible to follow her. He could just look how she was going further and further away, not even looking back. He closed the door and went upstairs to change his clothes.
After less than an hour, Amanda was welcomed by the old woman she met the evening before and the guy who tried to stop her. Neither of them were happy about that situation, and Amanda felt the uneasiness in the air the moment she closed the door behind her. The woman was looking at her with a raised brow, her arms crossed, the guy behind her bag with an “I’ve told you” look on his face.
The woman’s office was nothing like Amanda’s room or even the bright and spacious hallways of the two buildings she saw till that time. Even though, at first sight, the office seemed big, the bookshelves rising up to the ceilings and the dark color of the wooden furniture made Amanda feel like the walls were getting closer the more she stayed there. Her eyes fixed wooden name plate on the desk. Elizabeth Browne. She looked at the woman before her eyes, like she was trying to find a similarity between that woman and the name written there.
‘Can you please explain what happened?’ The woman was standing with her back to Amanda, her voice serious, similar to someone else’s. A shiver went down Amanda’s spine when she remembered Desmond.
‘I went to run a bit. I have to do my daily training routine, and…’
‘And who allowed it?’ Mrs. Browne suddenly turned to face the girl.
Amanda’s mouth remained open, but no sound from her. She tried to look anywhere else, just not in that woman’s eyes that seemed like she would have skinned Amanda in an instant for who knows what kind of crime.
‘I understand you are new here, but you can not just go out whenever you feel like it. It is against the rules and another deviation like this will cost you. Did I make myself clear?’ Mrs. Browne looked over her glasses at Amanda, but the girl did not reply.
‘Was I not clear enough?’ the woman repeated herself, and Amanda could just nod and swallow the lump in her throat.
‘I’m… I’m sorry. But can you please let me run in the morning?’ She couldn’t believe that she had to apologize for something as trivial as running, when nobody was even awake. ‘I won’t create any problems. Just…’ She stopped when she realized she was about to beg a stranger not to take any more things from her… Like that woman would have cared about her misery.
‘Just what?’ The woman raised a brow, continuing to look at Amanda over her glasses.
‘It’s just… I really have to maintain this routine and keep myself in shape.’
‘Is that really necessary? We have all the facilities you need for a healthy lifestyle, including a spa and a gym at the basement of the dorms’ building. You can use them whenever you have free time, so you won’t have to wake up early in the morning.’
Amanda’s face had an amused and “oh seriously” kind of face when she heard the word spa. She scoffed when realizing how Mrs. Browne sounded just as controlling as Desmond. It seemed like almost every person she met since she arrived there was trying to change her life in any possible way. She clenched her fists again, losing the number of times she did that since she stepped into that place.
‘I prefer running outside… And getting fresh air.’ Amanda started to get angry.
‘If the press will find out that you are one of our students, are you willing to take full responsibility for any possible damage you will cause to our academy?’ The woman pulled a piece of paper and started writing on it.
‘The press? Do people really care about all this in the first place?’ Amanda looked around the room with a smirk on her face. Mrs. Browne stopped writing, staring at Amanda like she was some kind of criminal.
‘They are indeed. We have here ladies from some of the most known elite families in the country, as well as young ladies from other countries, with the same amount of fame or even more. The government is directly linked with this academy and it’s also the biggest investor so you can all can become as accomplished as possible.’
Amanda blinked several times, trying to decide if it would be okay to tell the woman that she couldn’t care less about the academy or she should just give a nod and forget about all the things Mrs. Browne talked about.
‘Here.’
Amanda took the piece of paper in her hands, reading it, looking at the woman, and back at the piece of paper.
‘I have to sign to be able to run? For real? This is ridiculous!’
‘You can choose not to sign, but you will have to use the academy’s gym. Also, you should take and study this,’ the woman handed Amanda a flyer with the academy’s picture on it, and the same four letters she saw on the statue’s plate the other evening: E.L.L.E. Amanda chuckled when she read what those four letters meant.
“Elegant, Lofty Ladies of Elite society”
The flyer was not an invitation to find out about the wonders and the dark corners of rich people’s lives and way too big houses, nor a pompous historical description of the building that apparently has the responsibility of teaching young girls what they should be. It was actually a summary of rules the students should follow, glamorously and superficially hidden behind the title of “How to be an eligible student of The School of Elegance”.
‘So?’ the woman was waiting for a reply.
Amanda didn’t say anything, she just looked dumbfounded for a few more minutes, trying as much as possible not to laugh or shout… Or both at the same time. Everything seemed like a joke and she was just the object of a very strange experiment or prank.
However, she was the only one laughing, the woman in front of her, more serious than anything. Amanda sighed and she just took a pen on the desk and scribbled her name on the paper.
“When did my life become just an unending flow of papers to sign to be able to do anything?” she thought, while still holding the paper and the pen in her hands. She won the right to be able to run in the morning, but the paper stated that if she was asked where she came from, she would have to either act like she doesn’t belong to the academy or that she’s a staff member.
‘Just one question’, Amanda managed to mumble through the shock. The woman looked at her. ‘Is this going all the way down to the basement?’
A look of surprise on Mrs. Browne’s face that Amanda could not decipher.
‘Beg your pardon?’ she asked, offended, making the girl even more confused.
‘This.’ Amanda showed the woman the flyer she got. ‘Is this so long it will go all the way down to the basement?’
Mrs. Browne rolled her eyes, a sly smile appearing on Amanda’s face.
‘You can go back now. We will have a gathering after breakfast and you will get a more elaborated version of the regulations.’ Mrs. Browne made a sign with her hand, telling Amanda to go back to her room.
Still confused, Amanda made a few steps, eventually leaving that dark office, but stopping for a few moments. Her hand was still on the door’s knob, trying to process what had happened. She went down the stairs with slow and hesitating steps, and when she stepped on the last stair, she suddenly stopped. The boy from before was looking at her with a winning grin on his face. Amanda turned red, storming towards him, stopping right before she could do something she would regret later.
‘Seriously? How old are you? Three? You told on me?’ she hissed at the boy.
‘And what are you? A teenager throwing a tantrum and running away from home?’ The boy snapped back.
Amanda scoffed at his reply.
‘I went for a run!’ She clapped her hands with each word she said. ‘What did you think I was doing? Going to bring someone to burn this place down?’ She stopped for a moment, thinking about what she said. ‘Wait, that’s not a bad idea, though…’ she muttered, but the boy didn’t hear her.
‘I do not care what you went for. I told you that you are not allowed to leave this place, but you gave me no choice.’ The boy crossed his hands over his chest.
‘I remember clearly telling you to act like you haven’t seen me. Do you know that saying “Ignorance is bliss”? You could just spare yourself some useless trouble… And myself too.’ She shrugged.
‘Just because you’re rich doesn’t make you entitled to trample on the dignity of this establishment. Your money mean nothing if you do not have the minimum of common sense to respect the others around you.’
‘Please, don’t throw me in the same boat with all those proud divas, okay? I have enough pride not to identify with them.’
‘Then what are you doing here?’
There was a long silence between them, Amanda not being able to come with a witty comment, a rare occurrence.
‘I’m asking myself that too… I’m still trying to find out.’ She replied, calmer than the boy expected. The sound of Mrs. Browne’s office door forced Amanda to finish her argument with that boy.
‘We’re not finished…’, she pointed at him, looking into his eyes, then noticing his name tag on his jacket. ‘…Jason.’ She turned her back on him, leaving the building, going back to her room.
The other girls were still asleep when Amanda entered the room, the morning’s light trying to get inside, through the switchable glass. She threw the papers on her bed and went right to the bathroom to take a shower.
Gemma was already up when Amanda got out of the shower. She was rubbing her eyes, barely able to keep herself woken up.
‘How come you are up already?’ Gemma mumbled, leaning her back on the bed’s headboard.
‘I went outside to run a bit’, Amanda whispered, not to wake up the other girls. Suddenly, Gemma’s sleepiness dissolved, jumping and sitting on the edge of the bed. Her eyes were big and curious, but Amanda didn’t notice Gemma’s begging eyes.
‘Where?’ Gemma asked, a shocked look on her face. ‘We are not allowed to go out…’ she shook her head slowly, like she couldn’t believe what she heard.
‘Yeah…’ Amanda stopped looking for her hoodie, looking at Gemma with a guilty expression. ‘…I know.’
‘You sneaked out?!’ she yelped, Amanda making a sign to stay silent. ‘Oh my goodness…’
‘When should we go to eat breakfast?’
‘You sneaked out?’ Gemma insisted, looking like a little puppy.
‘I didn’t… Or…’ she sighed. ‘I didn’t know we do not have the right to go outside… So I had to sign a… contract.’ She took the piece of paper she signed in Mrs. Browne’s office and showed it to Gemma who took it into her little hands.
‘Oh… You were caught.’ Gemma covered her mouth with her hands and then chuckled. Amanda looked at her with a smile. At least she wasn’t the only one who found that situation funny.
While heading to the dining room, Amanda told Gemma some details regarding her meeting with Mrs. Browne and how much Jason annoyed her. Gemma was more than happy to listen to anything Amanda had to say, paying attention to even the smallest detail.
Before entering the huge dining hall, Amanda stopped walking, Gemma almost bumping into her. She looked at Amanda with curious eyes, not understanding the sudden change in her new friend’s demeanor.
‘What is happening?’ Amanda looked at all the girls that were already there, moving from table to table with plates in their hands. They were all dressed elegantly, not even one wearing a pair of shoes that could keep them at the level of the floor. They were all moving around like ballerinas, choosing from the wide range of fruits, pastries, cereals and more others.
After scanning the room, she suddenly looked at Gemma. She had a navy blue dress on, all dolled up like she was ready to go to a fancy restaurant.
Nobody could lie, that hall, where they were about to have breakfast in, could make any fancy restaurant hide its face and all its stars. The room was huge, almost like a ballroom, filled with light that was coming from every corner. The floor was so shiny, it seemed like it was covered in mirrors. The perfect place to eat while dressed in sweat pants, a hoodie and sneakers.
Gemma didn’t seem to be even a bit thinking about the disturbance Amanda’s presence would cause the moment they stepped together in there, she just grabbed Amanda’s wrist and dragged her around, putting a plate in her hands. It didn’t take long till Amanda’s bland colors got the attention of the other girls in the room. Some of them looked with the corner of their eyes, trying not to be so obvious, others were literally staring at Amanda, gasping or whispering to each other.
Amanda just raised her brows, trying to concentrate on what to eat. Thankfully, they prepared most of the things she had in her daily menu, so she didn’t have to spend too much time around all those girls that seemed to look obsessively at her. However, the curious looks did not stop, they were even more intensified after all the girls sat down to eat.
There was a strange silence in the room, a few whispers echoing from time to time. Among all those girls, one of them looked at Amanda the whole time since she appeared there. There was astonishment and disgust in the way she looked at Amanda from head to toe, a crooked grin appearing on her face while mumbling something to the girls next to her. She wasn’t even trying to hide all her feelings on her face.
Amanda saw all the more or less colorful expressions on that girl’s face, staring back with almost the same impudence, like she was saying “what’s your problem?”
‘That’s all you’re eating?’ Gemma asked her, looking at the plate.
‘Yeah…’ Amanda looked at her plate too, wondering why Gemma was so shocked. ‘That’s what I usually eat during my training months. Why? Is it strange? That’s why everybody’s giving me all these dirty looks?’ She looked around the room and saw only one girl that wasn’t looking at her at all, just eating her food. ‘Well… Almost everyone.’
‘Oh, no!’ Gemma said while moving her chair closer to the table. ‘It’s probably because of what you’re wearing.’ The easiness in her voice took Amanda by surprise, but then she looked at her clothes.
‘What’s wrong with them? Haven’t they seen pants before? Or sneakers?’ she asked, clearly confused. ‘Like… I’m not really the type to wear high heels in the morning… or everyday’.
Another girl scoffed when she heard Amanda talking, so the rest of the time, Amanda tried not to talk too much or look around, but just eat and then go back to her room. Unfortunately, her dream of spending the rest of the day as far away as possible from other people became just a steam that disappears in the sky. Mrs. Browne and Jason made their appearance in the room, the first one looking at each one of the girls then at the maids that were standing opposite to the tables, prepared to clean everything after breakfast time was over. The old woman told Jason something and then left, leaving the boy in the room.
Amanda noticed him and when they looked at each other, she sneered at him, wishing she could just tell him to get out. He just looked uninterested by her annoyance, made a few steps and started talking with one of the maids. She started giggling, the other two close to them, trying to hide their smiles.
Despite having her plate full with all kinds of food, Amanda could barely finish eating one biscuit before she stood up together with Gemma, heading for the door, but Jason stopped them, stretching his hand like a barrier in front of Amanda.
‘You all are expected to be in the dancing room in about ten minutes.’ He smiled cordially, action that made Amanda annoyed. She knew he was trying to mess with her, but he managed to do that way too easily. She looked at the girls he talked to, raising a brow, wondering why would anyone think that boy was funny. Without looking back at Jason, she just started walking, Jason’s arm moving like a revolving door.
‘Wait.’ Jason stopped her and then made a few steps closer to Amanda. ‘Mrs. Browne wants to tell you that you should stay here. The information and any other things will be shared with you via one of your roommates.’
Amanda could not believe what she heard. She blinked a few times, making one step back.
‘And why’s that?’
‘It is because of your attire… The press will be present for the opening and maybe that’s why.’
Amanda started laughing in a way that made the other people around her uncomfortable. She did not say anything, she just went back to the seat she left a few moments ago. Gemma chose to stay with her.
‘Do these people really discriminate by how one chooses their clothes?’ Amanda suddenly asked Gemma. Everything showed that Amanda was angry: from the aggression in her voice, to her way of sitting on the chair.
Gemma had a crooked smile on her face, not knowing what to respond.
‘Well… a bit?’ she said, moving her index and thumb finger close to each other. ‘But that is just because there is going to be a press conference for the opening ceremony. Firstly, it would be appreciated to have an evening dress as decent as possible. After you will be chosen a personal tailor, they will have to take care of your wardrobe and they will find the perfect pieces and accessories for you to wear on a daily basis.’
Amanda suddenly straighten her back, like she was struck by a rock.
‘A personalโฆ what? Like a person that will make clothes for me?’ She gazed at Gemma in horrified disbelief.
‘Yes!’ Her eyes were glowing like a little child’s. ‘Donโt you have tailors in America?’
‘We do.’ She paused, trying to process all the information. ‘But not personal tailors. We donโt really afford that kind of luxury. At least normal people donโt. And to be honest, I donโt need one. I have enough clothes already. I donโt need more.’
“And I will go home way sooner before I would need someone like that.” She thought.
‘Wellโฆ’ Gemma continued, ‘We have to follow some rules at our academy. At least that’s what I’ve heard. And we have a dress code. Even though we do not have certain uniforms, we ought to give a refined and elegant air.’
‘Oh yeah, uniforms. British people and their obsession with uniforms…’ Amanda thought out loud.
‘Sorry?’ Gemma asked.
‘No. Nothing.’ She made a sign with her hand, going back to the main subject. ‘But what will happen if I donโt follow any of those rules?’ A cunning smile appeared on her face, but Gemma didn’t seem to notice. She was looking at the ceiling like she was trying to remember all the things she had to say.
‘Um… You will not attend the balls, umโฆ’ she started counting on one hand. ‘Oh! You will not get permission to go out of the dormitories, and, maybe the worst of them all, it is possible that you are expelled. Haven’t you read the flyer? It’s all written there.’
Amanda’s face suddenly became brighter, seeing the light in the thick darkness for the first time in a while. She tried to keep the happiness to herself since she could not be a hundred percent sure if she could trust anyone around her.
‘Okaaayโฆ And not attending to balls is bad becauseโฆ?’ she continued with a more calm voice.
‘You wonโt be able to find a suitable husband.’ Gemma shrugged.
‘WHAT?’
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