The Alpha's Forever Mate

CHAPTER: 3

Violet tried to calculate in her head how many roast dinners all the equipment in that foyer could buy for her family, but her brain just kept coming up with an error message that this school is absurd. That was what her brain said.

"It is in here," said Yana, pushing her toward a set of mahogany doors between the stairs as if all that was perfectly normal.

She led Violet through the doors and down a set of steps into a large paved courtyard. The school bordered three sides of the courtyard, with more steps along the back. The back steps led down to a marble terrace with a fountain in the center. Beyond that were more gardens. In the middle of the courtyard was a garden bed with little seats set around the edges. There had been a four-sided courtyard at Violet's old school, but it had been concreted, with some old tables and a few plant pots. It was kind of the same thing.

There was a podium set up at the far side of the garden bed, and the back half of the courtyard was currently filled with rows of seats facing the podium. It was now obvious to Violet why she had not seen many other students out on the grounds. They were all gathered here. They moved about in small groups, the low buzz of their chatter filling the courtyard. Yana led Violet around the side of the courtyard to a few empty seats at the back.

"So where did you go before?" Yana asked while placing Violet's suitcase under their seats and sitting down.

Violet shrugged. "Just my local school. Nowhere special."

A look of understanding flickered over Yana's face, and Violet knew Yana must have understood that she was not a rich child.

"Well, it is probably not too different," Yana said. "I mean, I assume. I have been here at Elite since kindergarten, so I cannot compare, but high school is high school, right? I mean I have heard that the library here is way better than the one we had in middle school, while a lot of teachers here are also not permanent staff, they are teachers who are experts in their fields, and get flown in specially to give their lectures. I have heard that one of the science teachers won a Nobel Prize, but these things get talked up, you know," Yana shared with Violet.

Violet was sure that none of her teachers at Smith College had ever won anything. Maybe they would have won the ring toss game at the country fair.

In the pause in their conversation, Violet heard two girls in the front seat chatting. They both had long, shiny hair and very white teeth.

"I cannot believe I missed Fashion Week," said the blonde one, while flicking her hair over her shoulder.

"I know, it is like you may as well not even exist," said the redhead. "Still, your new nose is such an improvement, and I am sure the Alps must have been lovely."

Violet snorted. What had she gotten herself into? New noses, the Alps, and Fashion Weeks? Were these people even real?

Looking around, everything seemed to be so clean-- the buildings and gardens, the people, everything. Not that things in normal life were dirty, just that things at Elite were unnaturally clean, as if someone had scrubbed the crime scene, to clear up all proof.

Thinking that way made her a bit uncomfortable, though.

"And the social structure is very simple to understand," Yanah continued.

Violet raised her eyebrows. "Social structure?" Her middle school had not had any sort of social structure that she had been aware of. But then maybe she had kept to herself a lot, so she was just oblivious.

"Like social groups, divisions? Here we mainly only have two, Red and Blue," Yana shared with Violet.

Violet screwed up her face in thought. That sounded kind of familiar.

"I read something about that in the brochure. Study packages?" Violet had kind of browsed over it. It was not relevant to her when she was on a scholarship. She was not exactly in a position to pay for any add-ons.

Yana nodded. "Right. So the basic package is 'Red.' Basic dorms, basic services, basic food, and so on. That is what you and I have. The step up from that is the 'Blue House' package. Better dorms, better food, better service. Everything is better, which makes them think they are better, which creates a divide between the Blue and the Red, that is the basis of our social structure here." Yana shrugged. She did not seem that bothered by it, just stating facts.

"Wow. That is surprising," Violet said. "I thought once you got to the super-rich level, there wasn't anything past that." Violet did not want to offend Yana by saying it, but she thought it was maybe the dumbest thing she had ever heard. Rather than worrying about how rich they were, they should be rolling around in their piles of cash.

Yana laughed. "It is practically the only thing people around here think about." She wanted to say something else but was cut off by the screech from a microphone. Everyone who was standing around chatting hurried to find seats as a bulky woman took her place at the podium.

"Headmistress Zeenia Peter is probably at the U.K campus this summer," Yana said. "She divides her time up between all the campuses. That is the Assistant Head, Elise Steven. She is nice."

"Welcome to another year at Elite Academy," she said in a loud and deep voice once everyone had settled down. "As always, it is an honor to have such bright, sharp, and sparkling minds in my care." She smiled down gently at them. "It is the beginning of a new academic year, a new chapter in our lives, and filled with new possibilities. Napoleon Bonaparte once said, 'Impossible is a word to be found only in the dictionary of fools.' I would urge each one of you present here, to strive for the impossible, for only when testing your limits can you find what you are capable of. Only when reaching for the impossible can you find the truth that you hold inside your hearts."

The assistant head, Elise Steven, had never tried to feed a family of five for forty dollars a week, or she would not talk so fancy about the impossible, Violet thought. She let her attention wander to the other staff members, who were seated at the base of the garden bed, facing the students. There were not that many of them, she assumed, because of what Yana had said about most of them flying in, especially for classes. The one seating at the end looked barely older than some of the students. He had a hipster beard and he had worn a crappy suit. He had the same glasses as Violet, but she would bet his glasses were not inherited from his grandpa. She expected they were some expensive designer label. Beside him was a woman with blond hair that was pulled back in a neat bun.

"That is Mr. Jordan Freeman," Yana whispered with a groan, noticing where she was looking. "Remember I was saying about the p*****t biology teacher from middle school? Looks like he has been transferred to high school."

Violet wrinkled her nose, but before she could reply, there was a sharp change in the air. She glanced around, wondering what had caused it.

Assistant Head Elise Steven was still talking, but nobody seemed to be listening to her, everyone had their heads raised to the sky.

Violet could hear an engine, she realized. The sound grew louder and louder. It was a helicopter. The day was fading fast, and Violet squinted into the sun as she turned to watch it circulate through the school, then land in the garden behind the fountain.

A/N: To be continued...