Introduction:

Winter Knight was a 16 year old girl who lived with her single mother. Her father passed away when she was little. Her mother was a specialized international aid worker for the biggest Humanitarian aid company in the game, Universal Relief Inc., because of that Winter and her mother were forced to move around a lot. Winter had been in four different high schools and she was only a sophomore.

Part 1

Winter sighed as she laid on her bed, staring at her star-sticker covered ceiling. There was a knock at the door. "Come in!" Winter watched as her mother entered the room "Hi, sweetheart. Just wanted to check up on you, see how you were doing. Make sure you're ready for school tomorrow." Winter looked over at her mom, "yes, Mom. I'm ready for school." Her mother smiled. "That's my Winter. Lights out in 10." Winter rested her head back after her mother left the room. Another school huh.. Winter closed her eyes not looking forward to what tomorrow would bring.

Part 2

Winter sat groggily staring in the dark as her alarm went off. "Winter your alarm is going off!! Get ready or you're going to be late for school." Winter sighed, looking over at herself in the mirror as she got out of bed. She pulled on her uniform and went downstairs. Winter noticed her mom staring at her and tilted her head. "Yes mom?" she noticed the tears in her mother's eyes."What's wrong?" Her mother hugged her and said "I'm sorry that we have to keep moving around, my Winter. I made sure to tell my boss that I wanted to stay in the same location until you graduate." Winter hugged her mother back, "It's okay, Mom. Really, I understand." She smiled softly as her mom looked at her, "What a good daughter I was blessed with." Winter walked to the counter to grab a banana for breakfast before walking towards the front door, "I'm off to school Mom." Her mother nodded, "have a good day honey."

Part 3

Winter looked down at her white, green, and blue uniform. She then looked at the giant sign at the front gate that said "Golden Academy High" before walking on campus. Woah, this campus is huge... She ruffled her long, black hair before walking. Well I would expect nothing less from an elite academy, she thought. Winter's crystal blue eyes darted around, attempting to take it all in. She noticed everything; people bickering, friends greeting each other, teachers supervising students. Her mother said she had always been her "little detective." Winter was so absorbed in observing that she didn't notice the boy behind her until he knocked into her. Winter's eyes moved to his red ones. Red eyes? "Ah! I'm sorry," Winter said as she stared at the boy. He did not acknowledge her as he kept walking. Winter watched him and noticed that she wasn't the only one watching him. It seemed to Winter as though everyone's eyes were on him. He was soon surrounded by people. Winter kept walking towards the teacher's office. As she entered, she realized that no one's attention was on her so she walked to the nearest teacher and said, "Hello, excuse me. My name is Winter Knight. I am a new student." The male teacher looked at her, bored before looking at his clipboard and mumbling "Night.... Night..." Winter looked around the office. Most of the teachers seemed occupied, except one young looking female that was watching her. "Yes, Night. Class 3." She leaned over and shook her head "No, Knight. K-N-I-G-H-T." The male teacher grimaced and looked back at his clipboard "Winter Knight, class 5.... with me." Winter noted his scowl. "You will address me as Mr. Cornell. I am your homeroom teacher." He stood, "follow me now to the classroom." Winter nodded before looking back at the young woman and smiling. The woman immediately averted the eye contact and Winter followed Cornell smiling to herself. They walked to the classroom. Mr. Cornell entered first as Winter counted thirty seconds in her head before entering. "Quiet class! Now! You have a new student today.. she will introduce herself. blah blah blah..." Winter studied Cornell out of the corner of her eye before focusing her attention on the class. She smiled brightly. "Hello everyone! My name is Winter Knight. I am a new student. I just moved here from Florida. I hope we can be friends. Please take care of me!" Winter identified whose attention she had and the body language of each of the students. She took into account who clapped when she was finished and whose eyes were still on her as Cornell told her where to sit. "Um, my eyesight isn't the best so can I sit in the middle?" Cornell sighed and nodded, annoyed. Winter smiled brightly and took her seat, still feeling eyes on her. This is going to be a long day isn't it?

Winter\, ahead in all her classes despite the move\, was still taking notes to appear respectful to her teachers. She had done independent studying since before she and her mother started moving around. It became more of a habit as she got older. Winter yawned as the next teacher came in for Advanced Algebraic functions. *I can relax a little on the note taking\, this is easy.* Winter shut her eyes and allowed her mind to wander. A million thoughts flooded her mind. She thought of her old friends from all her past schools\, her studies in every area\, her mother working hard for their benefit\, and her dad. When Winter thought of her father\, she developed a headache\, so she decided to focus. The second she opened her eyes\, the lunch bell rang and everyone flocked to her. "She's really beautiful" "A new student in the middle of the year!!" "Wow you're so pretty!" "Look at her eyes." "Her eyes! They're so blue." "Her hair is so long\, and shiny she must have been growing it out for a while." "She's gorgeous." Winter studied all of them as she noticed one girl get closer to her. "Hi I'm Layla. Winter\, right?" a girl with golden hair and green eyes said. Winter nodded. She said confidently to the group surrounding her "Hello everyone. I'm Winter\," she smiled brightly. "How come you moved schools?" Layla stared at Winter. Winter kept on smiling\, "My mom is an international aid for Universal Relief. Her job causes us to move around a lot." A blonde haired girl next to Layla\, seemingly excited\, said "Wow! You must get to see a lot of different places then." Winter laughed\, "I guess you can say that." The blonde haired girl's\, brown eyes danced around. "Oh I'm Mandy by the way\," she smiled. Layla looked at Mandy and then back at Winter\, "Wanna eat lunch with us?" Winter's sharp blue eyes landed on Layla's soft\, green one's as she smiled "Sure." As Winter stood\, Mandy linked her arms with Winter's\, "Come on. We'll show you where the cafeteria is."

As they walked through the luxurious hallways\, Winter noticed how close Mandy and Layla were standing in proximity to her and each other. *Your first new friends in this elite school.* "What do your parents do?" Winter looked at the girls. Mandy said\, "My mom is the fashion designer 'Elle Marinette.'" "Wow. Your mom is Elle Marinette? As in the number one fashion designer in the nation?" Winter looked at Mandy. "That's the one. And my dad is mayor of this city." "That's awesome Mandy." Winter watched as Layla flipped her hair. "What about you Layla?" "My dad is the CEO of SC inc. and my mom is the president." Layla preened. "Your parents are leaders of one of the biggest business conglomerates?" "Yeah." Winter smiled. "Your parents have such cool jobs." Winter hesitated a step and looked around as she felt someone staring at her. Her eyes locked on hazel eyes filled with something like anger. The girl with the dark bob cut turned away and disappeared around the corner. Winter tilted her head\, *hmm.* They reached the cafeteria and Winter almost gaped at its sheer grandeur. Winter looked around at the marble floors\, the heavy satin curtains\, the crystal chandeliers\, and the long\, meticulously designed oak wood  tables. *THIS is the cafeteria?* Mandy looked at Winter\, "What are you standing there for? Let's go get our food." Winter examined the different kinds of foods and their presentations. There were so many options. They were all beautiful; the lobster with caviar\, the steak with skillfully made baked potatoes\, the miso soup\, the salad. Everything was gourmet.  Winter grabbed a salad and followed Mandy and Layla to the spot of their choosing.

Winter sat down and looked around the cafeteria. She detected the hazel eyes on her again and ignored them. "Do you have any questions? About us, about the school?" Mandy daintily ate her soup. Winter looked up from her salad, "I have a few." She stared. "What's the story about this place?" Layla picked at her caviar, "Golden Academy High is an elite school that is extremely hard to get into. The students of this place are usually the children of important people. Business conglomerates, political leaders, famous actors. People with influence." Mandy's eyes narrowed, "the person who made this place is about as mysterious as they come. Most people don't know anything about him. All we know is that he's rich, he's strict and very secretive. Few have ever seen his face." Winter shifted in her seat, "Are you talking about the headmaster of this place?" Mandy nodded. Layla leaned forward, "What I want to know is... how did you get in here?" Winter tilted her head. Layla smiled, "You said your mom works for Universal Relief. You're relatively well off compared to normal people  but that doesn't earn enough money to be granted a spot here. What's your story? What does your dad do?" Winter swallowed, "My dad died when I was little. My mom and I have been on our own since then. We've moved around from place to place because of her job. This is my fourth high school in two years." Mandy's eyes widened, "Woah. Seems like you move around every semester." Winter nodded. "That's got to be tough," Layla sighed. "Eh, I kind of get used to moving. Apparently this will be the school I am going to graduate from." Winter's wandering eyes found hazel ones again and narrowed. Mandy's spoon clattered against her bowl, "Which means we can stay friends!" Winter's eyes darted to Mandy at the sound. "How long have you two been friends for?" Winter smirked. Mandy and Layla looked at each other. Layla sighed, "We've been friends since we were 2." Mandy smiled sweetly, "Our parents always made sure we've had the best of the best. And so because of that, we've been together in everything for as long as we can remember." Winter's thoughts wandered to her father, and she shook her head. Mandy looked at Winter and then smiled deviously, "Winter, do you have a boyfriend?" Winter's eyes widened in surprise at the sudden change in topic, "No. I have never had a boyfriend before." Layla looked at her, "Never?" Winter nodded. "Well surely you've kissed a boy before..." Mandy watched Winter in disbelief as she shook her head. "Kissed cheek? Held hands? Hugged?" Winter laughed, "Of course I've hugged a boy before." Mandy and Layla both sighed simultaneously. "Our precious, innocent little Winter" Mandy looked at her. Winter chuckled. The bell rang. "Well looks like lunch time is over," Winter stood. "I still can't believe how delicious the school lunch is." Mandy and Layla laughed as they all walked back to class.

Walking back to class, Winter noticed a commotion further down in the hallway. As they approached, she noted that in the middle of it was the red eyed boy. Winter stared. Mandy, watching Winter smirked. "Ahh so he's caught even our pure little Winter's attention." Winter's eyes snapped to Mandy, "Huh?" Layla sighed, "That boy over there." Winter nodded, "uh huh. What about him? No- I mean. Who is he?" Mandy laughed, "That's Sam Tudor. The school's center" The wheels in Winter's mind turned. "Tudor? As in, Blake Tudor and Katherine Tudor? The potent author and famous idol?" Layla grinned, "The reaction is always the same. Yes. Blake Tudor is Sam's older brother and Katherine is his mom." Winter's eyes wandered back to the commotion, "Wow. That's impressive. What about his dad?" Mandy and Layla shared a look that Winter couldn't place and then looked back at her. Mandy said in a hushed tone, "We don't know much about his dad. There have been many rumors over the years." Layla swayed her arms slightly, "Some say his dad is the powerful leader of C.J. Stars Group. Other people say his dad is the headmaster of this place. We don't know for sure, because the family never talks about him." They walked passed the group in the hallway, silently. Winter made sure to keep her eyes forward and not make eye contact with the red eyed boy.

When they arrived at the classroom Mandy and Layla huddled around Winter's desk. They were having a hushed conversation about their speculations of Sam's father. Winter\, uninterested stared off into space\, resting her chin in her hand.  The bell rang and Winter twirled her thick\, black hair between her fingers. She sighed. The young looking female teacher walked into the classroom. Winter watched as the young woman looked around the classroom\, assessing. "Class open your English book up to page 287\," she said in a voice that was soft and assertive at the same time. "Yes Miss Terran\," echoed throughout the classroom. Winter absentmindedly opened her book. *This teacher. Terran\, probably English roots. In her early 20s. Has something for Cornell maybe. Plays kind but has a commanding side to her.* Winter observed for a while before checking out of the rest of the lesson until the dismissal bell rang. Mandy and Layla approached her at the end of the day. "We'll see you tomorrow Winter\,"Mandy hugged Winter. "See ya Winter." Layla waved with a smile on her face. "Bye." Winter went home.

Winter walked through the door to an empty house. "I'm home." She walked to her room, ripped of her uniform and tugged on a big shirt. Winter flopped down on her bed, sighing loudly. "Well, day one is over." She looked up at her star stickers, remembering her older brother. "I miss you Michael." After an hour, Winter heard a noise at the door. She sat up on her bed. There was a knock at the door. "Sweetie?" Winter smiled, "Come in Mom." Winter's mother entered her room, "How was your first day at school hon?" Winter watched as her mother sat next to her on her bed. "It was fine. Same old, same old."  Winter's mother sighed, stroking her daughter's hair, "What did you think of the school?" Winter's eyes shut, pleased "the school? It was beautiful Mom. The campus was teeming with splendor. The food was delicious and the people are.." Winter recalled everyone she came in contact with. "... interesting. To say the least." Winter's mother smiled, "It seems like it. You didn't run into any trouble did you?" "No Mom. No trouble. By the way, I was meaning to ask you..." Winter's mother stroked Winter's long, black hair and gently tied it up, "Hm?" "How did I get in to Golden Academy High anyway?" Her mother's hands stilled in her hair, "what?" Winter looked at her. " I mean we're well off but not ridiculously wealthy like the students who go there. You do work at Universal Relief, but you're an international aid. How did I get in?" Winter's mother stood from the bed. "Even though we are not 'ridiculously wealthy' as you pointed out, you are ridiculously special my dear." Winter furrowed her eyebrows as Winter's mother left the room. "Huh?"