4. Introduction

I was jolted out of my thoughts when Lana’s voice came. I looked to my side and saw her sitting beside me on the bed, holding a tablet. I put the letter back in the file and placed it aside.

"Look, it’s our academy group!" She said with excitement. "There are two groups... one is only for students and the other is for the whole academy.”

She showed me the groups on her tablet where pictures of students were posted. The pictures had plenty of likes and comments. I was never a fan of social media. I only used it if it was necessary. So it didn't catch my interest. But Lana looked very excited as she scrolled through the group.

"These things were installed beforehand. We need to use them." She added.

I frowned in confusion.

"Havn’t you checked your bag yet?" She asked, noticing my expression.

"No." Only then did I notice that the tablet she was holding was very unique.

"Hurry! Check! They have given so many things." She pushed my shoulder.

I grabbed the bag that the school had given us and opened it. There was a tablet, some documents, a uniform, and other things. I took out the tablet. Lana helped me create a new account. After checking the tablet for a while, we began to arrange our things.

By the time we arranged everything, it was already evening. Aspen didn’t talk much with us and was busy on her phone alone, whereas Lana practically spent the entire time on my bed chatting. She was a chatterbox. The time passed in a flash.

The sound of a ringing bell came, and we immediately realized it was dinner time. We had already read the rules and routines on the tablet. As we got up, I looked at Aspen. She was still busy with her phone.

"Are you coming with us for dinner?" Lana asked her.

The girl looked at us for a moment before clearing her throat.

"Go ahead. I will follow after a while." She replied.

"Okay." Lana said, but I didn’t miss the disappointment in her tone.

She wanted to be friends with Aspen as well, but the girl’s attitude suggested otherwise. Did she think we weren't good enough to be her friends because we were scholarship students? Well, if she thought like that, then she could go to hell.

We left the room and found everyone else leaving their rooms as well. I guess it was good as we didn’t have to search for the dining area. We followed everyone and arrived at the other side of the building. We entered through a door, and a huge dining hall appeared before us. Just like everything else here, it was a sight to behold.

"Wow." Lana gasped.

There were three rows of long tables. But what captured my attention was that the three rows had different colors... white, brown, and red. The red and brown tables were almost full.

"Attention!" A girl, who I assumed was a senior, announced. "New students, you will all sit in the white row for dinner. That row is for you."

Everyone hurried to take their seats. I looked at the other two rows and realized the division was according to academic year. The white row was for first-year students, the brown for second years, and the red for third years. Everything here was systematic.

We found two empty seats and sat down. As I looked around at the other students, I suddenly spotted Aspen. She was sitting with some elite students. Our eyes met, and she looked away. I narrowed my eyes at her. She was clearly avoiding us. I also averted my eyes and focused on something else.

Soon, another voice drew our attention when Victoria Adair, the captain of our house, stood at the centre of the raised platform in the distance and cleared her throat. "Attention, everyone."

All eyes darted to her.

"Today is a special day for our academy, as today the new students of the Royal Academy officially join our prestigious school. Congratulations to everyone." She clapped her hands, looking at us.

Everyone followed her. After a while, she raised her hand, and everyone fell silent.

"This is your first dinner at the house and in the academy as well. We are glad to welcome all of you to House Roses. I promise to be a good leader to all of you. Let's celebrate this journey with this special dinner." She finished her speech and returned to her seat on the red table.

When I looked around the table, my gaze fell on a pair of black eyes. His eyes were already on me, with an arrogant smirk on his face. My blood boiled with anger. He was the same blonde-haired alpha who had hit me with the ball. He suddenly winked at me. I looked away, clenching my jaw. The food appeared before us by magic, and I began to eat without looking anywhere.

.

The dinner was peaceful and we returned to our rooms and went to sleep. We didn’t talk to Aspen, as she was acting like we didn’t exist. Maybe because of the tiring journey and everything that happened, I fell asleep quickly.

.

Around midnight, some people burst into our room and dragged us out of bed. It was so sudden and unexpected that we didn’t get any chance to react. They covered our faces with clothes and led us somewhere. By then, all our dizziness had vanished as our bodies went on alert. When the cloth was finally removed, I found ourselves standing in a crowd of students. All the new students were there. Everyone looked at one another in confusion. Some of us, including me, felt self-conscious because we were in our nightwear.

Suddenly, ice-cold water fell on us from above, drenching us completely. Everyone began to shriek and escape from there, but there was no way out. The door was locked.

"Relax, girls." Victoria's voice rang through the room, silencing everyone. "This is the coronation ceremony. The water will wipe away everything from your bodies, now that you are all part of my house."

The area at the end of the room, which had been dark until now, lit up and we could see Victoria and some other senior students standing there.

What the hell? I immediately realized what was happening. They didn’t even wait a single day. I dug my nails into my palm, controlling the rage inside me. This was ridiculous.

The water stopped flowing. One by one, everyone calmed down and stood there silently, waiting for whatever would come next.

"Now, it’s time for the introduction." Victoria declared proudly.

"What?" Gasps filled the room as all the new students looked at each other in horror.

"Oh, come on. If you think it’s bullying, then you are mistaken. We are just preparing you all to survive in this academy. After all, it’s not easy to be here, let alone survive." She paused, letting the words sink into our mind. "But don’t worry, my team and I will guide you through every step. And today marks the beginning." She added, and all the senior students with her smirked.

My eyes landed on the blonde-haired alpha, and I froze. So there were also male students to watch us suffer in this condition. Just great.

Victoria pointed at a raised platform in front of them. "Just imagine it like a fashion show and consider this your stage. Then introduce yourself. We are eager to know you."

Silence fell as her words sank into the air. It wasn’t something huge, but it was humiliating, especially because we were in our nightwear and drenched in water.

"So, without any delay, let’s start. You all have your first classes tomorrow." She continued.

The other students behind her watched silently, enjoying the show with sick pleasure. The boys even stared shamelessly at the girls’ wet bodies. They didn’t even bother to hide their lust. I felt disgusted. I had been bullied all my life, but there was never a boy involved as I had attended only girls’ schools.

So this was the ‘safe haven’ my mother thought I had come to. I sighed in frustration.