»Suzy»

Top Academy. The school of everyone's dreams. Well, here I am, standing on the front steps of this supposedly wonderful school, and I am not

1. screaming

2. jumping up and down, or

3. acting like I'm in a commercial advertising school uniforms, smiling cutely and twirling around with my hands on my hips. 

"Thanks, Jeeves." I grunted, before shutting the door of the sleek limo I had just stepped out of. I glared at my shiny surroundings. Seeing the marble statues of past and now-famous students lined up around the school, I scoffed. Those statues totally clash with the golden fountain. For a school with a tuition fee that high, you would think they'd have good taste in decor. I spotted some wilting palm trees by the front entrance.

Guess not.

I watched Jeeves drive away longingly, secretely hoping that he'd turn around, come right back and say, "Get in. I'm saving you from this disastrous mess and taking you back home." But he soon disappeared from sight, leaving me hopeless.

Jeeves was our chauffeur. His real name is Joon, but I just call him Jeeves. He was a new addition to our household, just like the new Italian leather sofas, diamond chandeliers, a poodle so fluffy you can't tell the difference between its head and its tail and, oh yeah, the, uh, actual house. We moved into a huge mansion on the richest side of town. Just to keep things classy.

Oh wait, did I say classy?

I meant flashy.

My father, the cheeseman, if you will, had recently opened up a restaurant selling, that's right kids, cheese. It had been slow at first, and I had obviously been teased for his seemingly silly profession, but a couple of TV appearances and one stupid television persona invention later, the cheeseman was born. Of course, even though he owned the entire "Cheesy's" restaurant chain, now that he was a millionaire, he moved onto other things that came with being an obnoxious rich person, like producing movies and buying into stocks.

"This place looks nice." My mom was absent-mindedly flipping though Top Academy's 50-page pamphlet. I rolled my eyes. She stopped reading long enough to glance at me and the completely unamused look on my face. 

"Suzy, dear, I know you aren't happy with our decision to move you here, but it's for your own good." She said, her eyes returning to the pamphlet. "You'll make new friends and soon enough, you won't even remember your old school." 

I said nothing. My mom sighed, and decided to take a different approach. 

"Wow! Did you know this school has a professional recording studio? Look!" She held up her pamphlet so I could see the picture. 

I fell for that way too easily. "OMG! No way! Are you serious?!" I yelled as I jumped up and down, clapping my hands. My mother smiled with satisfaction. Holy crap all of the singing I can do in there the professional equipment I can really put my hands on all of it and oh my gosh I can just imagine all of the hours I can- My thoughts halted. Wait a second. I'm supposed to be mad. My frown returned immediately. 

My mom just sighed, and put her sunglasses on.

I hoped I looked as upset and cheated as I felt. I wanted to show my parents how unfair it was that they'd moved me to a completely new school a month into sophomore year. It was supposed to be the year. I sighed. My dad isn't even here to drop me off on my first day. I cocked my head to one side. Well, maybe that's a good thing.

"Oh honey! Look! There's a little birdy! Hello little birdy!" My mother squealed as she ran over to a tiny blue jay perched on the shoulder of IU. Well, her statue, anyways. 

My parents are officially insane. Either that, or they've never gone to high school. I nodded my head, agreeing with the voice in my head. That would explain how they could do this to their one and only daughter. 

As soon as my parents had sent in a letter to Top Academy saying that I was interested in joining their school, they had accepted me right away. After all, how could they reject the only daughter of "the cheeseman"? 

I guess I shouldn't be upset. They were sending me to the "it" school of Korea. I mean, if you ever wanted to pursue a career in the arts, this was where you had to be. Top Academy. The key to success. An easy way to become a world famous singer. But for some reason, I didn't want to be just another singer from Top Academy. I wanted to be known for my talent. 

My mother had come back from her bird chasing. "So, let's get you all settled in!" As she walked towards the big double doors, my stomach took a plunge. I had to admit, I was extremely nervous. Although I didn't really want to be here, I was still scared being the new kid in a big school like this. Would I even fit in here?

I held my breath as my mom grabbed one of the large golden handles and pushed open the door to reveal... 

Nothing. 

Absolutely nothing. 

No loud and obnoxious students, no dying plants in the corner... there wasn't even a speck of dirt on the ground. There was just a long hallway filled with emptiness. 

"Huh. Well." My mother said, stepping inside. "Well, I'll go to the front office to let them know you're here... Why don't you wander around and make some friends?" 

I examined one of the big, spotless walls. "That is a terrible idea." I bent down and swiped my finger on the floor. No dust. "You can't just make friends here by walking around and hoping someone will notice you."

I stood up and glanced up at the ceiling. There was a big crystal chandelier lighting up the room, but other than that, there was nothing. "The only way to make friends here is to tell people what your dad's job is, and let the word spread. Then they start coming to you." My mother sighed. 

"Bae Suzy." She took off her sunglasses with one angry motion and shoved them into her purse. "Your father and I made this decision because you want to be a singer. We are being extremely supportive of you and the career path you have chosen and you're being nothing but negative about it! I understand that you're scared-"

"I'm not scared!" I exclaimed, my eyes wide with annoyance. I turned away from my mother and faced the wall. I felt so angry. Angry because she was right. Angry because I had tried so hard to put up a front, and she could see right through it all along. After a while, I took a deep breath. 

"Maybe... maybe I'm a little scared. I mean, it's this elite school, and I've never been somewhere like this before." Silence. "It's just so new to me and I am nervous, who wouldn't be?" There was no reply. "I'm sorry, for everything I've said - and it's just been kind of overwhelming, OK?" I felt so vulnerable and embarrassed. I hated it so much. Why wasn't my mom saying anything?!

I whirled back around to see that my mother was gone. I turned around and around, but she was nowhere to be seen. And in this one moment, I felt all of my nervousness escape and my annoyance return. That woman just does not listen to a word I say. I began walking angrily towards the end of the hallway, where there were more hallways. 

I tell her to get me ketchup on my burger, she gets me mustard. I turned right and began walking down another empty hallway. I tell her I don't want to go to a new school in Gangnam, and she ships me off the very next day. 

I just kept mumbling to myself while I walked through long and endless hallways. The click-clack sounds my shoes made echoed eerily off the walls. Why does a school need so many empty hallways? 

I felt like I was just walking in circles. Finally, I gave up. Great. Now I'm lost. 

Suddenly, I heard the click clacks of someone else's shoes. "Hello?" I called out, hoping they would answer. "Mom?"

I walked towards the sounds until I came across a hallway filled with shiny, silver lockers. There was a girl going from locker to locker with an arm full of flyers. I sighed with relief as I quickly skipped over to her. She turned around as I approached her.

"Hi, do you mind..." I trailed off as I saw her face. My mouth almost dropped open. 

She was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. I mean, I'd seen pretty girls before, but she was just so naturally pretty! She had milky white skin with pretty brown eyes and long, wavy hair. She smiled, revealing bright white teeth that seemed to shine. I felt so oddly jealous, even though I didn't know her. And the fact that I'd been staring at this girl in for too long dawned on me just a little too late.

"Do I mind..." She giggled, breaking me out of my stance. She even has a cute laugh, darnit.

"Um. Yeah." I coughed. "Do you know where the front office is?" I said, looking down at the ground. I suddenly felt so awkward in this uniform. It looks so much better on her...

"Oh..." I felt her eyes examining my face. She glanced at my uniform. "Are you a new student here?" 

"Mhm." 

"Ah... I see..." She looked deep into my eyes, and cocked her head to one side. "You know, you're very pretty." 

Thrown off guard, I reddened with embarrassment. "Th-thank you. You're very pretty as well." 

She chuckled. "Not nearly as pretty as you." She can't seriously believe that. Has she seen herself? She smiled again, but this time, there was something weird about it, sending chills down my back. What the... She turned around. "Anyways, I'll take you to the front office." Oh whatever, I probably just imagined it. 

We walked silently through the halls until we finally came to one without an end. But it was just as empty as the others. 

"Where's the front office?" I asked, confused. 

"I have no idea." She said, sarcasm edging her voice. "I'm sorry. I guess I can't help you. Good luck!" What..? She hurriedly walked past me, but as she did, she tripped on my shoe and fell, her flyers flying everywhere. 

"Are you OK?!" I held out my hand to help her up, but she just smacked it away to the side. She got up on her feet.

"I don't need your help!" She shouted alarmingly as she took a step forward, causing me to stumble backwards. Her eyes were dark with anger. She had transformed from the nice, cute girl into a nasty, angry snob.

She looked around at all of the flyers scattered on the floor. "Have fun cleaning all of this up." She muttered, turning around so sharply that her hair whipped me in the face. 

She stalked away briskly. "Wh-what?" I stuttered, completely bewildered. "But-"

Still walking, she turned her head and gave me a look that said, "Don't mess with me." 

I just stared at the ground until the sound of her footsteps disappeared.

What a total bish. What did I ever do to her? Sighing, I bent down and picked up a flyer from the ground. 

TOP ACADEMY ART EXHIBITION

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19TH

IT'S YOUR TIME TO SHINE 

SHOWCASE YOUR TALENT FOR THE ENTIRE WORLD TO SEE

AUDITIONS NEXT SATURDAY FROM 12PM-5PM 

I wonder what you can win at a rich school talent show. All I got for winning the talent show at my old school was a mug that had the words, "You rock!" engraved on it. 

I picked up all of the flyers and put them into one pile. Not knowing what to do with them, I just walked over to one locker and shoved them all inside. 

Now what do I do. I'm just stranded here.

I just wandered around, hoping to meet someone, anyone. I blame you, mom. I felt totally isolated and alone.

Is it always this quiet here? What kind of school is this?

I kept walking ever so slowly, staring down at the ground.

Suddenly, I heard a scream.

I looked up sharply.

Another scream.

I froze. My heart began to beat rapidly. 

Then I heard the sound of people running. What the hell is going on?! Frightened, I squatted and put my head between my knees. 

The footsteps only came closer and closer, and I squeezed my eyes shut with fear. Please, don't let me die here. Please oh please oh please.

I looked up to see a mob of students running towards me. 

"Ahhhhhhhh!" I screamed, scared out of my mind. They all stopped running and screamed in return. Then there was silence, during which I stared at them crazily while they stared right back. 

"What is wrong with you?!" A girl blurted, breaking the silence. "Why are you just sitting in the middle of the hallway screaming your head off?" 

Someone else began to speak. "Whatever." It was a male this time. "Just leave her behind." The students continued running.

Leave me behind? I don't think so! I got to my feet and chased after the students. Thoughts were running through my mind at the speed of light. What the heck is going on? Why are they running? Are they running from someone? I ran that thought through my head and frowned. This is a school. Who would they be running from? It could just be nothing. I heard more screams. Or it could be a serial killer on the loose. I ran faster. 

I heard lots of noise up ahead. Running as fast as I could, I reached the hallway of the front entrance I had started in. Except it wasn't empty. It was fully crowded with people. There was so much noise that it was hard for me to focus. But I kept hearing snippets of conversations...

"...killer..."

"...we ran so fast...from the...murderer..."

"I didn't have time...the serial...killer..."

My eyes widened with astonishment. Killer?! There's actually a killer here?!

Huffing and puffing, I pushed through the crowd until I got to the front. 

"Where's the serial killer?" I demanded to a group of girls chattering nearby. They just gave me a very weird look, and continued to whisper excitedly amongst each other. 

Why are they so calm? I bent down, struggling to breathe. I knew I shouldn't have moved to this snobby rich school. It's the first day and I'm already going to die!

While I was frightened out of my mind, no one else seemed to care. The noise in this hallway became louder and louder, and it became even more crowded. Where are all of these people coming from?!

"The pretties are coming!" A pair of girls standing close to me shrieked. Everyone in the hallway started cheering. 

These people are insane. 

"Myungsoo!" Someone shouted. 

"No, Baekhyun!" 

"Minwoo is the best!" 

You can all die if you want to. I'm outta here. 

I ran towards the doors, and grabbed hold of a sleek, golden handle. 

Who the hell are the pretties, anyway?

I pulled the door open.